Wheeler Trucking

Hello trucking family! It's been quite a while since I posted here. I'm starting a new adventure and thought it would be interesting to write about this new and different experience.

After months of research and careful thinking, I have decided to apply for Wheeler trucking. Wheeler is a specialized trucking company based in Flushing, MI. they haul cab chassis of Ford, GM, Isuzu and also sprinter vans.

I have seen their trucks a few times while on my travels and thought that it looked kinda cool, a mix between car hauler and flatbed. I traveled the Midwest a lot and saw their trucks more often and even saw them in PA around Harrisburg. I have been looking for a new company and seeing them close to where I live sparked an interest in me. One day in April I parked at a small truck stop in Ohio off of I-70 and saw two Wheeler trucks. So instead of me closing my curtains and going to sleep, I decided to walk over and have a talk with them. It ended up being a two hour conversation. They told me about the company, the job duties, the good, the bad and everything in-between.

One guy named Bill told me to fill out an application and he would call the office to get my application pushed forward. So I filled out the application the next morning and received a call in the afternoon. I spoke with the recruiter and he seemed to be honest about the company and not feeding me lies just to get me hired on. They had an orientation comong up for May 20th but we decided that I would come in for the June 17th orientation.

After speaking with the Wheeler drivers and the recruiter, I felt like this company could be the change I needed. Hopefully I am right about my decision...

I fly out to Michigan on Sunday June 16th and landed in Detroit. The company sent an employee to pick up the three of us that arrived and drove an hour and twenty minutes to Flushing. We are staying in a house owned by the owner that is directly across the street from the main office where majority of the orientation will be. There are 5 people in orientation and it lasts for a total of 4 weeks.

The first week m-w is paperwork and details of the company. Th-S will be heading to the load yard down the street to see the duties we will preform. Sunday we will head to Springfield, OH in our trucks for week number 2 to do the actual loading of the equipment. Weeks 3 and 4 we will follow behind a mentor for additional training then head home. The first 2 weeks are paid hourly at $26 a day weeks 3 and 4 we will be paid our cpm of $1.10.

Day 1: The day starts at 7am. Today is paperwork, road test and meeting with the I.T department. After signing away our freedom we have lunch and then head over to the shop down the street to do the pre-trip and road test.

We get to the shop and go over the pre-trip. It wasn't extensive, they just wanted to know if we had basic knowledge of doing a pre-trip inspection. While doing the pre-trip, we were informed that we will do the road test in a 13 speed standard transmission Peterbilt.... my heart dropped to the floor... the only time I have driven a manual was in cdl school nearly 3 years ago and it was a 10 speed. Now I'm panicking because I have no idea how to split gears and downshifting is a major problem for me.

As we sit and wait to be tested, the conversation amongst us was, did anyone know we would be tested in a manual?. The answer was no... the recruiter never mentioned that the road test would be in a manual. He asked me if i had any restrictions and I don't but I told him I haven't driven a manual since cdl school. He told me that it wouldn't be a problem because I would most likely be driving an automatic...

Now the instructor comes in the room and lucky for me, I am the first to get tested. That's great. Let's get this over with so i can go home. No need to prolong this. As we walk towards the truck I ask him why are we doing the road test in a manual? He looks at me and says, you do know how to drive a manual, right? I said honestly I haven't driven a manual since cdl school and it was a 10 speed. He looks at me and says what do you want to do? Well we should go forward with this and see what will happen.....

We get in the truck, I do all my checks, put the truck in gear and let my foot off the clutch. It was bad from the beginning. I started in 3rd gear and he immediately asks me what gear am I in. I told him 3rd. He says why? I say because i am pulling an empty trailer and just thought to start in 3rd. He said wrong answer hahaha. It's going to be a looong test. We haven't even left the lot and already I'm getting yelled at.

Putting the truck into 1st we then start. Nervous doesn't even describe how I was feeling. Shifting through the gears it was going better than expected until I grinded the gears going into 7th. Ouch. Lost the rpms so I went fishing for a gear. Got it to 5th and started over. Coming up to a stop sign I don't attempt to downshift. He noticed that and tells me that he will not pass me if i don't downshift. So now my confidence is shot.

I get to the stop sign, get it to 1st and off we go. Going up the gears wasn't a problem but I didn't split any gears and didn't go past 8th. Now it was time to downshift again... 8th to 7th, good. 7th, to 6th to 5th, all good. 5th to 4th, not so good and 4th through 1st, horrible. I couldn't downshift from 4th to 3rd and was coasting out of gear while grinding the entire time. He reaches over and grabs the shifter and tells me to release the clutch. He puts it into 2nd gear and immediately I knew I just failed. Now I'm thinking about what company to apply to next.

As we are driving he asks me questions like, what color was the car that just past us, the color of the house on the right, what's behind us.. I got all of those questions correct. But downshifting was horrific. I was able to downshift from 8th to 5th fairly good but 4th to 1st I couldn't get it in gear and ended up just coasting until I stopped and reset it to 1st. Oh well I thought to myself. At least I tried.

Finally we get back to the shop and I felt defeated at that point. He looks at me and says, look, I'm going to pass you but you will never touch a manual truck at this company. He tells me what I did wrong and says he's only passing me because I kept the truck straight and showed that I was able to control the truck while driving. Also he says I am lucky because they started an automatic program 2 months ago.

Feeling a little relieved when I got out the truck but not totally convinced that I passed. I won't believe it until I actually move to the next step. The road test was horrendous and I don't see why I would have passed.

After everyone has took the test he handed us a paper and told us good job and sent us back to the office. Now I can be calm. Now I can forget about the tragedy that occurred and focus on the next steps to come....

Day 2: Again at 7am we head over to the security building around the corner to meet with the security and safety dept. They talk to us about safety and the security of the equipment amd damages. We met with 5 people that day. Watched videos about loading and filled out more paperwork. Two 10 hour days of paperwork and videos is quite boring.

Day 3: 7am at the main office for more paperwork. Today we met with HR and went over the permit book. Also telling us about HR stuff like sexual harassment and things like that. Signing more documents and I'm starting to get a cramp in my hand. Tomorrow will be at the loading yard down the street at 8am. We were suppose to get assigned a truck today but only one guy got his. We will be assigned a truck tomorrow. Here they have mid roof Petes 389 i think?, Volvos, w990 Kennys, freightliners, and some westernstar trucks.

Today wasn't a 10 hour day and after we left we went to the yard to look at the truck that was assigned to the driver. He got a 13 speed standard w990 kenworth. It is nice. I guess he aced his road test hahaha. These trucks and trailers are very very different. I took a picture of one of the brand new Petes.

Day 4: Today we were at the loading yard in Flushing and did some hands on work. We met with the training supervisor and got straight to work. He told us about all the equipment we would use, how to load and what to expect when at the yards for pickup and drop offs. We also did a practice load with one of the trailers. Spent about 8 hours with everything, talking about the equipment and loading.

That is a practice load we did. We all drove a truck up the ramp and onto the trailer. Then chained it down. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. It's a lot of movement and can be tedious. With more knowledge and repetition it will become easier.

Also received my truck and trailer today. It's a 2024 Western star and I was assigned a step deck. Seems like I can't get away from the flatbed scene.

Tomorrow is back at the loading yard for more basic training. Next week we will be at the Springfield, OH yard for the real thing.

Day 5: Today we off loaded the units we loaded yesterday. Its somewhat tricky getting the trucks to line up so they don't fall off either side of the trailer. Both loading and unloading. That is the most difficult part of this. Having to drive with both feet, one on the gas and the other on the brake, so there is no over throttling which can cause a lot of problems.

After unloading the units we did inventory on our equipment, received our prepass, EFS cards, GPS and instructions on what to do tomorrow when we arrive in Springfield. We practiced in the staging yard and the Springfield yard is the actual terminal where loads are shipped out.

This is similar to flatbed. Just as demanding and it's physical work. With repetition and learning I think it won't be as difficult as I thought. A lot of drivers say they like the company and thats a good thing. Everyone is helpful so far and it seems to be a friendly place.

Awesome diary. Great to see you around. A friend of mine is considering wheeler. Hope it goes well. Sounds like interesting and challenging work. With what you survived at your previous place, I'm sure you can thrive just about anywhere. Please keep us posted on your progress for sure.

Dude that sounds awesome! Hey man if you don’t mind and have time shoot me your number in an email. I’ve been looking at this place for a while.

That’s pretty cool they’re starting at $1.10 a mile too. That’s what they’ve been advertising but their website says $.96 so I wasn’t originally sure if it just wasn’t updated.

Good luck man! Looks fun!

Like Davy and Pianoman, I really enjoyed reading your diary. Good job describing the process.

Your CPM is great, of course. But how many miles do you expect to drive per week?

Like Davy and Pianoman, I really enjoyed reading your diary. Good job describing the process.

Your CPM is great, of course. But how many miles do you expect to drive per week?

Thanks guys. Yea this is totally different from my first company. Im in a whole new world of trucking.

BK, to answer your question about miles per week, I was told to expect anywhere from 25 to 2800 starting off because I'm new. Drivers with a year or more experience average between 28 and 3300. Right now it's not about the miles, it's about learning and being safe.