Its all up to you on what company but before you choose, check out the " horror story forum." My choice would be w/s because you live out west.

Hunter

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Kinghunter: Truck Photographer, Airline Guru and Boat Guru

I drove for Swift then went to a local company while my son finished high school. Drove school bus during that time. Now, after extensive research on the companies that hire in my area, I am scheduled for orientation with Prime. Good luck to you.

I've read alot of your posts on various threads. You spend alot of time here, writing to us newbes. AS you know I've been asking alot of questions and reading alot of posts from all over the place looking for some information on where to get my CDL training without owing a ton of $$ and having as many choices as possible in the shortest amount of time. AND you seem to have the same view of business and work ethics as I do.
For whatever reason, I find valve in what you're saying and would like to know more! [of course you could be a total wack-o, but you sound good!]

So my question is this, you are going to join Prime soon, WHY and HOW did you pick Prime? Are you looking to L/O or O/O at the end of the training or contract period? Prime is on my short list but their training is soooooooo long, I was told it could be 21 weeks before I'd be solo.

My choices were limited because of my location in NM. Few companies hire in NM and fewer hire solos here. I came down to seven companies that met my initial criteria. My short list ended up being American Eagle, Prime, Werner, USX, Stevens. I had concerns with the integrity of Stevens due to conflicting stories from the recruiter at different times I called in. One example, he tells me on the first call, "Stevens does not drive high mountain passes." I look at their web site and every picture of a Stevens truck was on a high mountain pass. Plus, they specifically said I would have to do a couple of mountain passes to get out of training. When I confronted him on his statement he said, "We don't route our trucks over I-70 west of Denver." There were other things as well.

USX stayed high on the list until I contacted the recruiter a couple of weeks ago and was told they were no longer hiring solos west of I-83 and they weren't even hiring in NM at the time due to low freight volume here. I already had concerns about getting a load out after home time with them.

Werner remained low on my list because of the pay issue. They have good inbound and outbound freight from Albuquerque but I don't like the pay structure. Would take it if I had to but if something better was available that is where I wanted to go.

American Eagle also has good inbound and outbound freight plus a drop yard (like Werner) in Albuquerque. Problem I ended up having with them (although they were in a tie with Prime until a couple of weeks ago) was vagueness from the recruiters in recent calls. Plus, they were talking a lower pay rate then they originally told me. So there were some concerns that would have to be overcome.

Prime came to the top because of their equipment and their reputation among their current drivers. I have been visiting a forum that is just for Prime drivers or those seriously considering Prime. They were very helpful. I also have spent time on Prime's website listening to their monthly safety meetings and it seems as though they are doing everything they can to help drivers succeed. Plus, they have some good equipment and features which I have listed elsewhere. The biggest thing that sold me -- what the recruiter was telling me was verified by the drivers. When I told the recruiter what drivers said they were averaging per week, rather than agree just to sell me she said to plan on making less than that in the beginning.

I go to orientation the middle of next month. I am going to company orientation. I will most likely be teamed with a l/o for my 20,000 mile training requirement. At the end of the training I will be able to go company or lease. I will not decide that until the time. I know there are lots who say to stay away from the lease and that Prime is making money off the lease. Well, they are the company and they have a right (and a need which is to my and every other driver's advantage) to make a profit. They lease you a tool to run your business, which is no different than renting a storefront to open a business (except their rates are much lower than most real estate today). Plus, the lease payment is a legitimate tax right off. I still don't know which way I will go. I eventually plan to go l/o but that timing is yet to be determined.

Best thing for you, unless you have some emergency that forces you to the road right now is to take the time to do extensive research. That research MUST go beyond this forum. The best source of information is the "driver interview" with current drivers for the companies you are looking at. They are your best source of information. This site and ripoffreports and places like that mainly attract the disgruntled and bitter ones. Most of those who could write good reports are too busy driving to come here. I am certain I will spend a lot less time on here once I hit the road.

Sorry this has been so long. Hope it is a help.

that was good information and a driver interview is what I've been doing the last couple of weeks. I can live out of Tulsa or Phx so I'm not limited with one or two cos. It's just a big jump and I want to jump with the right chute on!

BTW - how do I add a thank you to this post so it shows up in your info box?

That button is just to the right of the "quote" button.

I would love to be able to move to Dallas or Phoenix to increase my opportunities but that is not an option at this point.

thanks, I have no idea how I missed it.

prime is not the best choice finace jsut left there and was there since feb 08 til may 08 we seen 4 paychecks that total to about 2500 after all exspense last load with the company we owed them $3500 he was a trainer and everything they didn't pay him the bonus for the upgraded seat. not the best choice..they have a great place, i noticed only team drivers make if they own there truck. check there rating they are bad really high they try to make is sound good. when he went to orientation for the job there were 20 people that he made friends with and not one are still there they left and went different companys some to the well jb hunt. but they were a better choice and at least they get a check.

Sorry to hear your fiance had problems. I have talked to over 40 Prime drivers, most of them solo l/o's and all of them report making in excess of $1,500 per week (after all expenses are taken out). The question regarding paychecks is, how much did he take in cash advances? See, most of those who claim to have not gotten a paycheck took cash advances through the week that equaled or exceeded their net earnings. In other words, they got their pay in advance. The rest are ones who were not running. Their rating on here may be considered bad, but then that goes for most companies, even JB Hunt.

The issue with Prime is that many are not cut out to be business owners, which you must be to succeed at Prime. From talking with Prime drivers who are succeeding they all say the same thing, "Prime gives you the training and provides you the tools to make money. It is then up to the driver to succeed." Name me one other company out there where the driver manager gets paid based on the loads they get for their drivers. Most are hourly employees who could care less how much you run or what kind of loads you get. They go home at night and get their $10.00 or whatever it is per hour whether their drivers are getting good paying loads or not. Prime managers are paid a part of the revenue of the load they get for the driver. So the higher the load pays, the more the driver gets and the more the driver manager gets. But the driver has to be willing to drive and not turn down loads.

I hope things work out for your fiance. Best of luck to both of you.

Hey dbook

I just joined this forum and your post caught my eye. I recently graduated driving school and am also looking for company to start with. I am actually scheduled for orientation with TMC starting Saturday. However I am now considering applying with ATS ( Anderson ). They pay decent for beginning drivers and I hear nothing but good things about them. They have their own training program and they have a terminal in Tulsa and a trailer yard in Oklahoma City. I believe they have regional runs in south central area around Oklahoma in addition to OTR. I've been searching different forums for info about them all day and the concensus so far is "their drivers love them." Might want to check them out.

Also there is a thread on this forum from one of their company drivers ( Pathfinder ) and he seems to be more than satisfied with them.

Good luck.