10-4 Magazine October 2020

Over the next few years, Mickey and his brother worked hard and built the business, peaking at 31 trucks. But, as most know, more trucks mean more headaches. In 2013, Mickey bought out his brother and became the sole owner of Gwillim Trucking and began downsizing the operation. Today, they operate six trucks full time and have one leased owner operator. Mostly pulling trailers for Prairie Farms, they also haul some grain and other ag-related products in hopper trailers, as well. In 2018, Mickey changed the name of the company to TKNG Transit but was able to keep the same three-digit operating number. TKNG is Tyler’s initials – Tyler Kenneth Nelson Gwillim – and Mickey is grooming him to eventually take over. This kid was destined to be a trucker in so many ways, even his initials spell out the abbreviated version of “trucking” (which was not a coincidence). Trucking is all Tyler has ever wanted to do, and idolizing his dad might have something to do with that. When he was younger, he participated in sports like football, basketball, and wrestling, but once he realized he needed to earn money to buy things, he began working in the shop and doing other jobs. At just 10 years old, he taught himself how to polish, and at 16 he was making good money on the weekends doing it. As soon as Tyler turned 18, he got his CDL, and later that year, after graduating from high school in May of 2016, he was ready to hit the road. Unfortunately, Mickey’s insurance company did not make it easy, wanting an extra $39,000 a year to add Tyler to the policy, forcing Tyler to spend an extra year in the shop while everything got worked out. When their policy eventually came up for renewal, Mickey switched to a different company and they did not even blink an eye that Tyler (and his young friend Jack Boehm who we featured last month) were both listed as drivers. So, away he went. Driving a really nice 2000 Peterbilt 379 with a 48” sleeper, owned by the company, the metallic gray truck had black stripes outlined with green. Powered by a Cat 6NZ hooked to a 13-speed, this was the first and only truck that Mickey ever bought brand new (it was all red when he bought it). He later sold it to Gwillim Trucking, and then when he bought the company in 2007, he got it back and repainted it. Tyler drove this truck for two years, and also helped 10-4 Magazine / October 2020 11 his dad run the company. Mickey recently took this truck off the road to rebuild it again, so Tyler was forced to drive various trucks – but what he really wanted was his own. While Tyler was growing up, his dad built a lot of cool Peterbilt 359s right there in the shop behind their house, and one was even featured on our January 2014 cover. That was Mickey’s thing – still is – he loves 359s and has owned, built, bought, and sold many of them over the years. Mickey’s first truck was a black 1981 Pete 359 with a short hood. After that, he built a lime green 1986 Peterbilt 359 with a long hood and matching reefer that went on to win a lot of shows and grace the pages of many calendars and magazines. When Mickey sold that truck, while going through his divorce, he stripped a few parts off it (which were also used on his first black truck) and put them in a box in his closet, hoping to one day pass them on to Tyler. Obviously, that love for 359s rubbed off on Tyler, so when he began looking for a truck, that is what he was looking for. When he found one he liked, it had a little added sentimental value (the Gwillims are a very sentimental bunch). This particular 359 had once been part of the Gwillim fleet! Mickey purchased the truck from a guy in Louisiana in 2013. At the time, the truck had a 63” sleeper with a crawl-through hole, so Mickey cut the opening larger and then swapped out the sleeper with a 36” model, made it a unibilt system, and then put it to work. Painted Firethorn red, the truck was used daily for three years, and then it became a spare truck. In 2016, Mickey sold it to Abe Wiser in Waverly, IL who used it as his personal truck for a little over two years.