Prime or Knight??? Which is best for a new driver?

"Port and rail"....aka, intermodal.

Been there, done that.

NOOOOT a good place for total beginners.

Your experience with intermodal will be good, or bad--depending (mainly, there are other factors, too) on how "together" the port (or railyard) has it with their procedure for getting trucks in and out.

And that can of course vary, from day to day.

Based on what I've witnessed with intermodal--get at least 8 months experience elsewhere (like OTR)--before you even consider intermodal duty.

More of course is better.

--Lual

 

To be honest I would not do either one. I went to prime in pittston pa terminal personally to me i passed the test the first time the trainers there are very good. However its the TNT training for 30,000 miles you have to get through once you get your license. I will tell you I am no longer with them because thats the part I could not pass If you have a trainer from hell chances are you may can switch once but hopefully get along with whoever they give you. You will be living with this person for at least 2 months in a truck so its a lot to get used to. Good luck I had a trainer from hell not to say that would happen to you but its just to give you insight. As far a knight lol well that's a story in itself. Knight will make you take another DOT and they do hair follicle along with 2 urine tests. I went there directly from prime passed everything including the DOT they paid for was told they would not move forward because I am a diabetic (no insulin) and they felt I was not HEALTHY enough to drive their trucks ROFLMAO yet I passed their DOT and got extended until March next year. Good luck whoever you choose.

 

Knight is picky on who they hire as of late. I've worked for them over 5 times in the last 10 years, no tickets or accidents and they will not rehire me, go figure. As for that yard they have in North Las Vegas, over on Berg Street, it's very small and flooded with intermodal containers most of the time. Holiday weekends are particularly challenging in that place. Most of the backing there is tight. On the plus side, In N' Out Burger is a five minute walk away! There is an interesting long haired safety guy, Hans is his name, who likes to put Orange Tags on trailers there as well. The drivers lounge has a workout room, a community PC, laundry,and showers of course.

 

Why do you think they would not hire you? I have absolutely no clue but the fact that you stated you worked there 5 times in 10 years might be the reason. Not judging just sayin

 

I was able to get some information on that via FB. They said that I've been "unemployed too long to be employable". Now what kind of company would say that to someone who has driven close to 200K miles with that company? I don't want to make this thread about me, but how can I resist? Considering the fact that the last time I drove for them, November 2020, I was getting 43 CPM, what a bargain price for them, considering my level of service and experience. The summer driving season is approaching and covid travel restrictions are easing. I'll be driving for someone within the month, just not them. As I've been told during orientation, "we only hire the best, the best drivers, the best janitors,the best everything". So I'm not the best, with regards to my employment gaps, but you know what? There's more to life than making the Knight family richer by the day. I've had them not hire me before and I've always landed on my feet, it will just take more time to get hired, as I'm living abroad.

In an ideal situation, I travel, having the orientation day set up in advance, land in Phoenix, and go to the orientation hours later straight from the airport at times. In present day USA, with people not wanting to work or able to pass the drug tests, not to mention no work ethic to speak of. I doubt I'll have a problem driving a truck for someone in the Phoenix area.

 

I asked because working for the same company 5 times in 10 years a A LOT. I have not read all of your posts and do not know your situation but I've read where Knight was a good company to work for. Also read where the delivery was 30 miles from the yard and you did not want to do it so you cleaned out the truck and handed them the keys. So are they good to work for or not? I don't know the reason they would not rehire you. It's possible they said unemployed too long just for the fact they don't want to hire you back only to have you quit again. No matter how much experience you have, on the face of it would you rehire yourself knowing that you would be quitting in a couple months? I wouldn't.
To the OP, you have to get your foot in the door and even though Knight is not at the top of the heap (lol they are in the heap somewhere), everyone has to start somewhere

 

If you're thinking PRIME, look at Wilson Logistics instead. They haul PRIME freight for OTR, but treat and train their rookies better.