Jim Palmer Training

It was the second guy, from Wil-Trans who actually called and spoke with me today and started the process rolling. And when we discussed cdl training it was Springfield he said that they would most likely send me to. My guess is Wil-Trans. But seeing as they are basically the same company, or two wings of the same bird, that's ok with me. Shouting my prayers that I can get on with them, as not a week ago I was thinking I may end up with Carolina Cargo. I have a phone interview with PAM Monday morning as well that I had already set up, so you can see where I thought my career was headed in the immediate future lol. Still could be, but Lord willing I will have the opportunity to get on with either branch of this outfit. Would rather be running flatbed than reefers, and rather be doing drop and hook than live load and unload, but this would be an opportunity to learn from a very good outfit, make awesome starting pay for miles(compared to the McMega Companies) and I actually view the 40,000 miles with a trainer as a very good thing for a person starting out. I just hope they don't love their husband or wife because I want to run run run and get every bit of experience I can. I plan on making the most out of every second of individual attention from a mentor I can get.

Here's hoping. I've seen threads where people get denied for random minor tickets like cell phone in a 4 wheeler(odd because we can legally text and drive in Texas still lol) or other random non moving violations. As of right now, the recruiter insists that won't be an issue. I think maybe bouncing around jobs that don't pay much, or supplementing self employment with temp jobs a little too much may be what gets me. Prime flat turned me down, and I know JPT/WT run some of their loads as well. Everyone say a prayer for me man, I need it and I need this opportunity to provide a better life:

 

@RedRover you have the right attitude to succeed. Keep us posted because that can benefit others that have been in your situation. Best wishes!

 

I spoke with another person on this board privately who is with JPT and had a nearly identical, maybe even a slight bit worse, felony than my own and also a suspension on their record in the past. Won't name them, but it does give me some hope. I'll feel a lot more hopeful when I'm putting pen to contract, but I digress. Most of these companies seem to either hire or dismiss for what seem like completely arbitrary reasons, even if two identical applications cross their desk. When I talk to the recruiters and they ask me what I am hoping for and what I am looking for with their company, I tell them the truth. I hope that they are the company who will give me so many miles that I eventually forget my own mailing address. For some companies, they simply can't hire me even if they wanted to, for various insurance or personal reasons. I don't hold it against them. Wasn't the company for me. This is the first one where I will genuinely be heartbroken if for some reason I can't get on.

The guy I spoke with, and really both guys(one from MT and the other from MO) made it a point to talk to me about the strains of being otr on family and missing events and birthdays and holidays. That was the beginning of the sales pitch. It was almost like they were trying to scare me away or weed out people who would have a spot tied up for training and not show up, or show up and wash out because they are too codependent to handle a month away from the street they grew up on. I just assure them right out of the gate, my situation is unique and they are doing me a huge favor not only by training me for a career that could in a bad year double or triple an income I slave away in a hot factory for, but because where I live ain't worth pining for anyway. I should be paying them for the opportunity to get out of this town, out of this factory, and out of this pattern of having a dead end life. It's difficult when working as hard as I do to make less than people on this forum complain about as training pay. Once I get my cdl, I'd instantly be making double what I make in a 60 hour week in a hot factory, more or less sitting on my butt and seeing states I have never been to.

I realize everybody's situation is different, but I am exactly the right kind of person for this job. That's one thing that sucks about the highly impersonal nature of a lot of these companies is that I can't really get them on the phone long enough, let alone keep them on the phone long enough, to tell them my story. If I was running a trucking company, I would want to hire pretty much only people who felt the same way in that regard. As such, it often makes me sad when they say no... Not even as much for myself as it does for them. They just passed on someone who would work his ### off for them and as long as that check is accurate and on time, they wouldn't hear from me except for MT calls and requests for more miles.

 

@RedRover - You'll do well in trucking. I could have gone to DuPont right out of high school as a factory worker and made good money. I was chided by some of my classmates for not doing it. Did a hitch in the Navy and knew factory work or office work was never going to be for me. Tried a couple of factory jobs and the first day when I hit a time clock, got a sickening feeling in my stomach and knew I was not going to be part of that scene for the rest of my working life. Only lasted a couple of months at both places.
OTR trucking was the right fit for me. Couldn't care less what anyone else thinks of it; they're not me and I'm not them.
Keep the good attitude through the good times and the bad; seems you already know how to do that.

 

The place where I work now, we have to clock in early because we can't be on the floor off the clock, and because you need to be at your station at 5am or you are terminated, and are expected to clock out 5 minutes late, no more, no less... And the time clock works in 15 minute intervals either way, so they get us for 10 minutes on duty. Then say we are scheduled to have a 15 minute break at 7:30am. They will release you for that break at 7:30:58 and tell you to be back at 7:45:00 or you are terminated. So they already got you for that minute. Your break is now 14 minutes. No matter where you are in the factory, it takes a minimum of 4-5 minutes at #### near a dead sprint to get to the break room and even longer to get back because let's face it, who is going to run back to a job they hate... So your break is basically about 4 minutes in which you don't have to be on your feet, and 8-10 minutes of sprinting to get to the break room and back. You can't smoke a cigarette and drink a soda. Take your pick and resign yourself to finishing neither, and definitely not both. That's twice per day, and your lunch break is 30 minutes. Did I mention you clock out for 15 and 30 minute breaks? So those 4 minutes are often spent in line with 600 people clocking out, walking to the back of the line and clocking in. I wish I was making this up but I'm not.

That's my life. If I didn't have bills to pay and a family to feed, I would go otr for a year just for the chance to travel and have my meals paid for and leave the job I am at. That's no lie. So when I see people here complaining that they wouldn't get out of bed for .50cpm, I just want to slap the piss out of them. I am awake at 3am to be at this job 6 days per week, 8 dollar an hour, 12 hours a day straight time, no time and a half, because the way it is set up we are all considered contractors.

Why not quit? Population 30,000... Per capita income averages 28k per household, there's a Kohls DC, a Walmart and this factory I work at. There's a McDonald's and a Whataburger. That's it. None of them is ever hiring and none of them is going to give you even 30 hours per week, nor will they pay much more per hour anyway if they did. There is nowhere to quit and be hired on. And likewise, if you tell your supervisor to #### off, that is likely the cousin, brother, uncle, sister, mom or baba mama of the person you would be asking to hire you on at the next place anyway.

People knock Swift, but a person making 1500 miles at .36cpm at swift would be considered upper middle class in this town. When I hear about any salary over 30k, all I can think of is how that's double what I make now and I bust my ### for. Even when recruiters try to give me the rope a dope about training pay, I'm just laughing to myself because 90% of the time, it's more than I will make in a week at my current job, working 60+ hours a week.

So as I said, if the company that hires me keeps their promises, I can handle whatever rate of pay they are giving me. Just don't tell me that you will and then give me less. Do what you promised and I will take that money and move my family the hell out of this place, then I can start worrying once I have the experience about the relative fairness of the wage, detention pay, all that other stuff.

 

@RedRover you live in reality. Those truckers you mention that complain so much, if it's so bad why are they still driving. They're still driving because it isn't so bad, but they love to complain and whine anyway.
Travel around the USA for a few months and look for a new place to live. Find a state with no personal income taxes and eventually move there. I've lived in 3 states with no personal income taxes; Florida, Tennessee, and now Nevada which is where I will remain. Texas is good also if you find the right town; no personal income taxes in Texas either.
Hang in there until you find the right fit in trucking; you have what it takes to be successful. You also have the life experiences to make intelligent companrisons from trucking jobs to places to live.

 

Hope it works out for you

 

I found their recruiter(s) to be truthful, honest, no-pressure. Their new-driver, new-hire process is pretty similar to Prime Inc, even thought the two companies are separate. IMO, you can trust the info the recruiters tell you.

 

RedRover from your frequent mentions of Springfield it sounds like you/they are going into the Wil-Trans part of the operation. Jim Palmer side has a school in Missoula, MT. Wil-Trans, O&S Trucking, Jim Palmer are owned by Wilson Logistics. Essentially Jim Palmer runs mostly west, Wil-Trans runs mostly middle & East. I'm not familiar with what O&S Trucking does. I have seen all three companies in my area of Middle TN & Northern Al. If you live in the middle of the country they may assume you want to work with Wil-Trans, because your location fits better with WT than JP. All three companies have the same pay & benefits. Jim Palmer has drivers that live as far away as south Florida. Living far away may impact your frequency of hometime. It's a good company. Once they can rely on you they don't seem to micromanage you.

If your trainer is comfortable & confident in your driving you can get miles fast as a team. They have team freight and know how to run team. I believe new drivers are not allowed to drive overnight. Also, after you are assigned a truck you have a 2 month period where no riders or pets are allowed to ride with you. After the "quarantine period" you can have a rider or a pet.

 

Yea man it was like anti-pressure. Pretty disarming actually, when you have been on the phone speaking to countless recruiters for weeks. Everyone else I have spoken with was more like a used car salesman. So either this recruiter is a highly dangerous sociopath, or a genuinely nice guy. Felt more like I was on the phone with a lifelong friend who was telling me about an opening with his company that he works for. By the time he started even talking about pay or benefits, I was ready to let him marry my sister.

Hell, what I have really been wanting is to drive flat bed. By the end of the call, I was hooked on reefer(see what I did there?).