Prime: Orientation and Training?

Wow. Antioch. That's where I live. Thanks to you and Sazook for the info. I've sent an email to two of the Prime salesman who work the western region about i-80 and i-5 freight lanes, inbound and outbound, but doubt I will get a response. Living in a lane is one thing, having time to stay two or three days at home is another. Thanks again!

 

Loads in that I have hauled where frozen chicken from East Texas to Long Beach, Hershey candy from Ogden UT to Modesto, and this last load in was frozen pigs feet bound for Hong Kong by way of Oakland

They had me drop my trailer at a customer we have in Lodi... same thing when I left, I picked it up there... and loaded packaged walnuts out of Diamond in Stockton.

As for my other solo loads out of CA... they were frozen Strawberries from Oxnard... and wharehouse trash out of Onatario (pallatized expired products going to a burn facility)

If you come to Prime I suggest getting your Hazmat endorsement as we have a specific customer we haul Hazmat from in Antioch. Like I said, they typically book team loads in CA but I imagine a Hazmat load doesnt have to be as quickly delivered as produce... so if booked for a solo they probably set a delivery date furthur out than a team.

Antioch does not allow commercial vehicles to be parked in neighborhoods... even without trailers... according to the Police Dept. They told me they advise all drivers to park at a Grocery/Shopping Center... out of the way... and clear it with a store manager... clearance is key, as it is up to these places on whether they will alow you to park the cab or not... some have towing policies.

I parked in the area between the Theatre and Longs Drugs on Lone Tree Way as my parents live up the hill off Mokolumne... there were a few other tractors. The manager allowed it, but said that they may stop the policy because there have been a few too many trucks parking WITH their trailers along the back wall causing congestion.

 

i talked to a prime recruiter today...i was surprised they are willing to hire out of the Northeast<NH> .....how is the freight right now? she said id be out 3-4 weeks at a time...hows the FM's to work with?

 

Thanks for the info! I will add that to my notes. Yeah, not too many places to park in Antioch. I'll keep an eye on the forums and post again when I need some info. Thanks again to you and Sazook and drive safely.

 

Hello drivers... I have a few questions were is prime running area for solo drivers mainly? Prime seems like a good choice to start out with as a new driver. Also what fuel stops do they use since Pilot owns everyone now? How are the milies right now?

 

Iffy... I got in and out ok the last time I was up that way. One of our "favorite" runs is the potato run up to Easton ME... always goes out down to Bethlehem PA.

That's the company line. More likely 4-5 minimum... it takes a week or so to get reestablished in the freight lanes, then most folks have to get ahead enough to be able to afford some time at home... unless you're one of those fortunate few who are blessed with no bills to pay. It's pretty much the same all over. With the economy being what it is, it's been hard to get far enough ahead to afford time at home. I've been out more likely two months at a time this summer, but that's my choice and not something I'd prefer to do either.

My FMs great. We get along very well - that's because he never has to worry about me delivering on time. If he has something that's going to be tough to do, he knows he can give it to me, and I'll do my darnedest to get it there safely, legally and ontime always. Always keep the communications lines open with him, never take advantage of the freedom of operation he gives me. When it gets tough, I don't whine. In return I think I get loaded just a little faster than some of the other guys - and if there's a choice in who gets a better load, I think I might have a bit of an edge in that. I think I'm very lucky in the way the cards were dealt FM-wise... some of the other drivers aren't so lucky. It just depends.

 

The lower 48. No restrictions, but Cali loads mainly go to teams due to time pressure and distance. I'm solo, and generally tend to run everywhere east of the Rockies. Get down to NM and AZ, but mostly it's the front range and east of there.

I think so.

Pilot, TA, Petro, Loves mostly. There are many independents in the fuel network as well... it just depends on what is around. Also, if you need some fuel to get to the next stop, I've never had problems getting a cash PO reimbursed for say 10 or 30 gallons.

A lot better than they were through the first quarter. Sure hope it keeps up!

 

Nice, a fellow New Hampshire resident. rmarierii, I'm from Keene, NH going through Prime's CDL Program right now. I drove down to Springfield from Keene to avoid the dreaded Greyhound. Love it so far, cant wait to get my own truck. Getting alot of shorter runs, but we had two 1,300+ mile runs in the last two weeks, better than the 400 mi ones we had been getting.

 

U2Exit and IronPony

I'm scheduled for Orientation on Aug 11th, I've been following your posts and appreciate all of your insight and information, from both of you. I'm curious what you guys think is the reason for what appears to be the high turnover rate at Prime? When you hear about between 40 and 70 people in orientation each week it seems kinda scary. I've been following the forums since I joined and have done a lot of reading, Prime seems like the best choice for me at this time. I don't have a CDL yet so I need training (limits my choices right off the bat) I had a pre-hires from Cre and Werner thru a school (not my first choices) for reasons covered on many threads. I had an offer from CRST but don't really want to run team full-time. I live in Maryland so Roehl and Millis turned me down due to location. Swift turned me down because only their schools in the West are training and they are not sending anyone from the East to those.

I'd be interested in your thoughts?

TJ

 

I used to be an avionics instructor in the Air Force... we called it "pipeline training." You know about how many old bodies you loose on a historical basis (say per month). You also know what your washout rate is... that gives you the number of new bodies necessary to maintain the status quo.

As to why any company looses drivers? Tickets, accidents, get "grass is greener disease," medical issues, can't deal with the lifestyle changes, get tired of driving (its not an easy job,) can't make load and unload appointments on time, can't maintain fuel economy (leadfoot syndrome)... you name it. It's not just Prime, it's every trucking company has driver turnover issues.