Griffin CDL Diary- Wilson Logistics

My bad for the two orientation day 1 recaps, they both are identical in text but I thought the first one didn’t post

Reruns are okay every now and then. I’ll stay tuned.

Orientation Day 2 So today was DMV day for the four of us in my class with one guy passing all three tests on the first go around while the remaining 3 of us (myself included) just missed the mark. Because we did not pass, we three spent the bulk of the day studying and ate pizza for lunch from Costco up the road (the guy that did pass got some complementary pre-trip help from our trainer in the mean time). The Montana DMV is super small and intimate, so there isn't any kind of a waiting period which is nice and they make the whole process that much more smoother. Short post tonight, I need to brush up on the handbook before returning again tomorrow for another go.

You got this griffin. Just go slow and read everything answer carefully. Most of The given answers are just worded cleverly to trip you up. Good Luck!

Orientation day 3: So today was a far better day for us all then yesterday. My three colleagues and me have officially ALL passed the required Montana Tests and have received our Montana Permits!! Yesterday when I took the test I was hurdled onto a computer that operates totally different than how the Nevada CDL test worked (the Nevada test shows you when you’ve gotten something right or wrong while the Montana test waits till the end to tell you if you’ve gotten a question correct). Today I was given the option of a paper version of all three tests and I passed them all with minimal errors! The paper option is a BREEZE because you can actually look back on what you might have missed and keep record in case they come back up haha. The coolest thing about us all passing today was that, our trainer Ryan decided to start working on the pre-trip portions with us on an actual truck which is arguably one of the hardest things to grasp when you’re a rookie so we all were grateful for the tutorial. After lunch at Jimmy Johns we spent the rest of the day testing each other on where things were and the right acronyms to say for each discovered part. We also took the time to all go grab dinner after a long day at work to celebrate which was cool because we all seem to have similar personalities which makes us all pretty good friends I’d say (training is that much more easier when you enjoy the people you’re learning with). Tomorrow we take on a new task along with more pre-trip help... practice on our BACKING. This should be good! PS: Ryan told all four of us today who our trainers are gonna be and it appears that three of our trainers (mine included) will be here this Friday to pick us up! The other guy has to wait till Sunday for dispatch. Till tomorrow..

Congratulations on passing the permit test. Now that you have that out of the way you can focus on the pre-trip and other things. Just be like a sponge and absorb everything. Ask plenty of questions and take this time to learn everything possible.

Orientation Day 4: Beware of the Backing Today was awesome. We started off the morning by looking over the pre-trip booklet they gave us with some having the opportunity to go out to the truck again to practice whatever they felt was needing to be practiced (I just sat back in the class and read the book while watching YouTube videos, I study kind of weirdly and book work oddly works best for me so). This was pretty much the first half of our day before being wrangled up to go eat lunch with our Ryan. Today we went to Taco Bell which, eh.. food is food right? Now after we got back we got our shot at trying out some coupling and uncoupling techniques along with backing the truck up (90 and straight back). Since there were four of us we had to do alot of waiting around for the others to finish their moves but I didn't mind too much as I was still learning away from being in the drivers seat. Once it got to my turn, I climbed up to the wheel, sat my butt down in the seat, and performed my first 90 back with only 2 or 3 pull ups! Backing doesn't seem to be hard to me personally, it's more about being aware of and knowing how to fix your mistakes if one occurs so that was pretty neat. Like I mentioned before, all of our trainers are either en route or stationed here in Missoula just waiting for us to start riding the open roads so tomorrow is (at this point) truly a blur depending on where I end up landing (hopefully out of the snow and into some sunny weather like i'm used to but we'll see). My trainer is based out of San Diego luckily so I suppose it's safe for me to say I will NOT be minding taking home time out there with him if I must.. Nothing like a shot at some good surf!

Thanks for the updates! Wilson is one of the companies I'd consider my first year with if/when I make the plunge into trucking, so thanks for all the info!

So yesterday was my last day of orientation and the whole day it was pouring snow. I was informed the day before that I was going to be heading out with my trainer Charles Friday night and needed to go and check out of my hotel room (YES, I was excited for that of course until later in the day when conflict happened). We got the opportunity to drive the truck out of the lot and around the neighborhood for the first half of the day along with getting a chance to couple and uncouple a trailor too which was nice to offset the bookwork. We ate lunch at a place called Roosterloo out here which served some pretty cool soup and sandwiches (which came in handy because it was stupid cold out, so I got a meatball sub) and after that it was more backing work. I was a little shocked we didn't learn anything about chaining the tires while it was pouring snow but I understand we didn't have much time so all is fair. Towards the end of the day I was informed that my trainer actually wasn't going to come and get me until today 2/15 so after I checked out of my room and hauled all my stuff over to the facility assuming a late pickup from there... I had to get another room booked back out for me again and then haul it all back into the room for one more night (a little irritating but still, i'm cool headed so no biggie). Now today, I have met my trainer Charles who is a cool relaxed individual similar to myself and learned that our first load is a bunch of newpaper rolls that need to be in Burlington, Colorado by the 20th so due to his good planning we get to make our way down 1,000+ miles at a slow pace. Till next time!