I am looking at training with Prime - advice?

Instead of talking #### and bragging on your bank account, why don’t you be helpful and describe how you flourished at Prime?

 

Would you be able to offer a comparison of company versus lease in terms of miles driven, pay after settlement, dispatching, and average trip miles, running reefer? Did you complete the lease or walk away? Walk away penalties?

 

Thank you, @SC-joe.

 

They also train in Salt Lake City at the Terminal there. For the PNW you can always request Western 11 State Regional, see if any slots are open. They have both Company and Lease spots.

 

When I ran company reefer I averaged 2500-3000 a week, lease isn't about the miles driven, but the revenue per mile, which in reefer has a lot of variables. I average $1.74 a mile, but you need to deduct for expenses, which for me was right around $1.02 per mile. I pocketed after expenses around .74 cpm, which isn't bad. You also have to remember as a lease you have pay taxes yourself, so get a good tax person, I paid less than $2k a year in taxes. This is where folks get in trouble, they look at miles driven, not what is the load paying per miles, and what will it cost me to move that freight per mile. You need to watch your operating costs, and keep them as low as possible.
Prime leases are walk away, I have never known them t go after anyone who walked early and still owed them money. I turned mine in early, I was only charged for detailing the inside and outside, but I took care of it. If you don't take care of it and have other repairs, if it isn't warranty you will be charged for it.
One option if you don't think you will be there more than a year, try and find a lease truck that has a year left on the lease. If you see the lease through you will see a few extra bucks in your pocket. I have never driven a new truck, have no idea what one is like, I usually drive an older truck, let someone else work the bugs out.

 

Very helpful. Thanks.

Were you dispatched or choose from a load board? Are some regions of the country more profitable than others?

 

I was dispatched as company and lease, there is no forced dispatched for company, people will tell you there is, but I turned down loads I didn't want, and never had any grief over it. Company is all about miles, never had an issue there, there was always more than enough. As a L/O, I stayed away from the east coast, while the loads there pay better, the traffic, tolls and lack of parking kept me away from there. As a L/O I made it very clear I preferred west of PA, no Northeast, no Florida (Florida pays well going in, but you will do good to break even on the way out), and did well. I ran the Western 11 for about 6 months and did well there also, but after being OTR for a year it seemed like I was boxed in, I was either in the PNW, or the SW, you follow the harvest. If your company you will load and usually drop in Salt Lake City at the Terminal, a team sill grab it and take it to it's destination.