Journey With Wilson Logistics - Springfield, MO

Hi Eugene !

I enjoy reading your training updates. I am i the application/ background check phase with Wilson Logistics and hopefully will be starting in March.

Update - Thu 14 Jan 2021, 0948, a DC in Lexington NC

HALLELUJAH! Not only did I sleep, I slept like a sedated baby on elephant tranquilizers. It was glorious and I’m feeling 100%, save for the slightest aftermath of a sore throat. Feels great to have that out of my system.

Backtracking to Tuesday night at a Pilot outside Charlotte, where we picked up our reset load. This load had four drops on it: 3 back over the border into SC and this last one here in Lexington. We switched trailers with the other driver at 0006 and arrived at our first DC (Walmart) in SC about an hour later, where I was up in the bunk and out like a light napping for the one-hour unload.

Then we got to our next DC around 0530, and things got .... interesting. We wound up not leaving until 1330, eight hours later, with the last two loads late by default and needing to be pushed back another day. I had read countless horror stories of insanely long unloads here on the forum, so I was prepared for this and took it in stride. Mercifully I was able to catch even a few more hours’ napping in until around 0830, when the yard just got too noisy. At least I was catching up meaningfully, though. It took long enough to get them started on the unload, though nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn’t until we were still sitting 3 hours after they were finished that my trainer started to get a bit frustrated. It turns out that the customer was rejecting a pallet of brisket from Tyson’s that they claim had the wrong date on it, and they’d been haggling with Tyson’s sales department for hours trying to figure it out, instead of letting us know so we could contact claims and be on our way. Once We finally found out what the delay was, it took another two hours to straighten out, but by then we only had 30 minutes left on our clock.

We went to a pilot just one mile away from the receiver and bunked down there for the night, with no alternative but to stay put. Not only did I hit the bunk and pass out around 1600, but we got to sleep in until 0415 today (Thursday) before rolling out to drop the last two stops. My trainer cannot wait to get this cursed reset load off of our hands, whereas for me I’m just taking it in stride as a learning experience. I’m certainly not arguing with the extra time in the bunk this has granted me, as frustrating as the delays have been.

I’ve now learned perhaps the most crucial rule in trucking: sleep when you can. Given my chronic insomnia and difficulty adjusting thus far, I’ve decided to take what many may consider a drastic step and abandon caffeine completely—it’s been 48 hours since I e had any. My consumption was through the roof when we rolled out and it was causing me nothing but difficulty, least of all with constant bathroom breaks, which don’t exactly jive well in trucking. Since we aim to be back in Springfield by Saturday, and I don’t test until Tuesday, this gives me a relatively stress-free week or so to detox and keep withdrawal symptoms to a minimum (it certainly helps I’m starting off fully rested).

Will keep you updated!

Hi Eugene !

I enjoy reading your training updates. I am i the application/ background check phase with Wilson Logistics and hopefully will be starting in March.

Update - Thu 14 Jan 2021, 0948, a DC in Lexington NC

HALLELUJAH! Not only did I sleep, I slept like a sedated baby on elephant tranquilizers. It was glorious and I’m feeling 100%, save for the slightest aftermath of a sore throat. Feels great to have that out of my system.

Backtracking to Tuesday night at a Pilot outside Charlotte, where we picked up our reset load. This load had four drops on it: 3 back over the border into SC and this last one here in Lexington. We switched trailers with the other driver at 0006 and arrived at our first DC (Walmart) in SC about an hour later, where I was up in the bunk and out like a light napping for the one-hour unload.

Then we got to our next DC around 0530, and things got .... interesting. We wound up not leaving until 1330, eight hours later, with the last two loads late by default and needing to be pushed back another day. I had read countless horror stories of insanely long unloads here on the forum, so I was prepared for this and took it in stride. Mercifully I was able to catch even a few more hours’ napping in until around 0830, when the yard just got too noisy. At least I was catching up meaningfully, though. It took long enough to get them started on the unload, though nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn’t until we were still sitting 3 hours after they were finished that my trainer started to get a bit frustrated. It turns out that the customer was rejecting a pallet of brisket from Tyson’s that they claim had the wrong date on it, and they’d been haggling with Tyson’s sales department for hours trying to figure it out, instead of letting us know so we could contact claims and be on our way. Once We finally found out what the delay was, it took another two hours to straighten out, but by then we only had 30 minutes left on our clock.

We went to a pilot just one mile away from the receiver and bunked down there for the night, with no alternative but to stay put. Not only did I hit the bunk and pass out around 1600, but we got to sleep in until 0415 today (Thursday) before rolling out to drop the last two stops. My trainer cannot wait to get this cursed reset load off of our hands, whereas for me I’m just taking it in stride as a learning experience. I’m certainly not arguing with the extra time in the bunk this has granted me, as frustrating as the delays have been.

I’ve now learned perhaps the most crucial rule in trucking: sleep when you can. Given my chronic insomnia and difficulty adjusting thus far, I’ve decided to take what many may consider a drastic step and abandon caffeine completely—it’s been 48 hours since I e had any. My consumption was through the roof when we rolled out and it was causing me nothing but difficulty, least of all with constant bathroom breaks, which don’t exactly jive well in trucking. Since we aim to be back in Springfield by Saturday, and I don’t test until Tuesday, this gives me a relatively stress-free week or so to detox and keep withdrawal symptoms to a minimum (it certainly helps I’m starting off fully rested).

Will keep you updated!

Agree, ma'am! Eugene's diary is phenominal!!

Hope Eugene .. ya finally got that MUCH NEEDED SLEEP, good man! That had ME worrying... so I didn't reply... sheesh.

SUPER GLAD you've got THAT in the bank! (Sleep, that is!)

Encouragement from Ohio, always!

~ Anne ~

Thanks all and welcome Tierra!

Anne I debated not submitting that post at all, out of concern with appearing too negative, but I decided I may be doing a disservice to those following along if I’m not fully honest. It’s where I was in that moment, and those considering this career need to know there will be moments of doubt and extreme sleep deprivation. After all this is truckingTRUTH.com! Gotta keep it real.

We are routing back to Springfield via Joplin MO and soon I’ll be taking the wheel to drive for the entire day. Cant wait!

Eugene, Just wanted to drop some words of encouragement and say you will get through this. Wilson is a great company to work for. Just went thru the training program myself and have been solo for about 2 1/2 months. Trust me when I came to Wilson I hadn't ever backed up a trailer in my life. Not even a trailer attached to a pickup 🤣. The pad trainers are awesome and really invest into your future.

It's good that you have found out that you need to sleep at every opportune time.

Thanks Evan! I know here we tend to stay away from “what’s a good company to work for” but I’m convinced Wilson really is the best. It’s awesome to hear you’re loving it!

Well, today is my last day of the D seat phase. It’s about 0545 and we are sitting outside the NICEST Love’s I’ve ever seen near fort Campbell KY, about to drop this load in Joplin MO. Our plan was to set out no later than 0300 and be back in Springfield by noon or 1, but the weather put a damper on that. Looks like I won’t get much if any backing time today but I still have tomorrow and Monday before testing.

Yesterday was by far the best day. I drove the entire 500 miles (9.5 hours) from Winston-Salem NC here to fort Campbell, and got to witness all the breathtaking scenery along I-40 in the great smokies that we missed coming in overnight earlier this week. (Fun fact: did you know that along with the extreme northwestern tip of Olympic National Park in Washington state, the great smokies are the contiguous US’s only temperate rainforest ecosystem?) I’m an avid hiker, so I can’t wait to head back this way on home time and bang these hills out.

Nothing particularly remarkable happened yesterday, other than that we witnessed two horrible accidents, one involving a tanker truck. Just a reminder that we can never be too careful!

Just got back to the hotel myself Eugene today at 530pm. Let me know if yall are going out to the pad Sunday.

Eugene, Just wanted to drop some words of encouragement and say you will get through this. Wilson is a great company to work for. Just went thru the training program myself and have been solo for about 2 1/2 months. Trust me when I came to Wilson I hadn't ever backed up a trailer in my life. Not even a trailer attached to a pickup 🤣. The pad trainers are awesome and really invest into your future.

It's good that you have found out that you need to sleep at every opportune time.

Evan, you should start (or re'create) a diary here, too!!

Welcome to Trucking Truth!

Just got back to the hotel myself Eugene today at 530pm. Let me know if yall are going out to the pad Sunday.

You as well, Cole ~!!

Welcome to Trucking Truth ~!!

Thanks Evan! I know here we tend to stay away from “what’s a good company to work for” but I’m convinced Wilson really is the best. It’s awesome to hear you’re loving it!

Well, today is my last day of the D seat phase. It’s about 0545 and we are sitting outside the NICEST Love’s I’ve ever seen near fort Campbell KY, about to drop this load in Joplin MO. Our plan was to set out no later than 0300 and be back in Springfield by noon or 1, but the weather put a damper on that. Looks like I won’t get much if any backing time today but I still have tomorrow and Monday before testing.

Yesterday was by far the best day. I drove the entire 500 miles (9.5 hours) from Winston-Salem NC here to fort Campbell, and got to witness all the breathtaking scenery along I-40 in the great smokies that we missed coming in overnight earlier this week. (Fun fact: did you know that along with the extreme northwestern tip of Olympic National Park in Washington state, the great smokies are the contiguous US’s only temperate rainforest ecosystem?) I’m an avid hiker, so I can’t wait to head back this way on home time and bang these hills out.

Nothing particularly remarkable happened yesterday, other than that we witnessed two horrible accidents, one involving a tanker truck. Just a reminder that we can never be too careful!

Eugene, congrats on making it through your D'seat phase~!!

That scenery IS breathtaking, for sure. Remember that .. and the accidents, also. Counterbalance in the brain. Absolutely correct; one can never be TOO safe, good sir.

I'm still following, glad you got sleep figured out!

Onward and upward~!!

~ Anne ~

And..... I passed, first time!

Now show me those dancing bananas!!!

(I’ll check back in later with a more detailed post to share all the details from the last two days.)

And..... I passed, first time!

Congratulations!!!