Prime: Orientation and Training?

Yeah, outta 31 that started in my class, nine are already gone from Prime. Some during orientation, some just this week for all the reasons listed by pony.
Ironpony, I was avionics in the Corps. I-level Ea-6Bs.

 

F4E Weapons Control Systems myself.

 

Hey U2,

Thanks for timely and detailed info on Prime. I catch the G-hound on Tuesday afternoon to Springfield,Mo. I have my CDL A from another school and will start as C seat driver . I was going to KLLM in the ATL but the recuiter didn't have his act togehter. Ben at Prime answer all my questions and followed up with me on anything that was needed. I feel strongly I made the right call after reading your Blog and Ben working circles around Mike at KLLM.

Peace!
Sparkyhd

 

cobra, I hope you make the decision to turn this so called trainer in. By not doing so you allow him to continue the same unacceptable behavior with other students. You have a responsibility to let management know what's going on so they can solve the problem. I can imagine being new you don't want to make waves, but it seems to me this is a situation where it would be merited. Just my two cents, and good luck to you!

 

I thought the U can stay at my house while I get mine was crazy but hey maybe U-2 didn't have anyplace else to go. If my trainer going home I'm going home too.I'm a grown 41 yr old man and don't mind telling a trainer it's about me and my family. I ain't sleeping on his couch for a weekend while he lays with his honey! LOL!

Regards,
Sparkyhd

 

Depends on your trainer... some are standup guys, some are total jerks.

When I was training, the "kid" I trained with (who had his moments) was basically standup about it. When we pulled into Denver, we were both "home," so that worked out well - and Prime does try to match up home locations when possible. The demand for trainers is such that it isn't always possible. When we stopped on the road to visit one of his many "friends," he paid for a hotel room for me - so he was pretty decent about it.

I've read other situations where a "jerk" expected you to stay in the trucks' sleeper for a week. So it varies.

 

hey ironpony if i go with Prime will i make a decent living...what is the pay like for a newbie starting out...and will the miles look good..and will i get home often..i live off of I-12 and I-55 in Louisiana..and is prime just a good starting out company(honest)..Thanks and be safe driver.

 

I'm making a decent living... was used to better, but this sure beats what I hear from a lot of drivers and what I made in retail after my career became a "tradable commodity."

Training pay at Prime is about the best there is. Once you get your CDL, and a boost to B-seat, it's a guaranteed $600 per week as long as you are available for dispatch, or 12 cpm for all miles once you hit 5000 per week - that's team driving with a trainer. You might want to check the earlier posts in this thread, I know there's more details in there. Keep in mind that you aren't an employee or being paid until you have your CDL, and it's lower than that to start. You'd probably be best advised to talk to a recruiter about that.

After training, drivers start out at 30 cpm and get a reasonably quick boost to 36 cpm, and there's a fuel bonus for getting better mileage than 6.5 mpg - not too hard the way we drive. It gets regular boosts up at prescribed mileage points. Per diem helps out (that's part of your pay that's provided tax-free,) and Prime doesn't "charge" you a penny or two a mile for the privilege of getting it - I hear Marten requires you to go per diem, and then charges you 2-1/2 cpm for the privilege, for example.

This all being said, it depends on what your bills are like. If you're living a high-maintenance life, it will be tough. I suppose it depends on what your expectations are. Advice... pare things down to the minimum wherever you go, and bank as much as you can. I am very careful with my money out here... I really try to stay away from taking advances - unless they are going into costs I will be reimbursed for. I rarely eat at truckstops, but do go to WallyWorld once a week to fill my fridge. That's something I invested in. I really do try to stay out of the truckstops for most things... they can charge 2x to 4x times what you'd pay in a "normal" store.

We're primarily a refrigerated carrier... people have to eat, recession or not. That's good from where we stand. I'd hate to be a dry-van carrier with primary lanes up in the car-building country. They got hammered. Things were slow for us around the turn of the year into the first quarter, but still not nearly as bad as others had it. Been doing real well since April. So yeah, the miles are there.

Before I go any futher, remember, this is a job that relies on averages...

Miles as a solo can certainly vary between say 2400 - 3400 per week. Depends on the week, when you deliver, what part of the country you're in, etc. Teams are doing pretty well... company teams split 52 cpm right down the middle for all miles (don't quote me there, I'm relying on memory...) Again, I really can't tell you what teams are doing mileage-wise because I don't operate that way.

Leasing is a real toss-up right now. I wouldn't do it, and if I did, it would have to be as part of a team. Minimum would be training. The solo lease operators who are making it are experienced, know the lanes and how to minimize their overhead... like fuel. Lease-ops get paid on a percentage basis of what each load pays plus 100% of the fuel surcharge. Freight rates are down right now - that's why leasing is so tough at this point.

You should know that if I make as much as I did last year, it will be because of the pay increases (including the introduction of the fuel bonus) that I have made. But that's something that everyone is going through. You'll find a lot of posts from drivers of other carriers who are really hurting pay and mileage-wise, so I consider myself fortunate to be with Prime.

When you get TAH, you aren't earning... keep that in mind. Generally, you have to build up some cash to make home time work, so again, it depends on your bills. You earn a home-day per week, and can take up to 4 days at a time. My FM is pretty good about getting me home... although the freight has to cooperate to get you a load near where you're going. Drop the trailer, bobtail home - which for me is the nearest truckstop to where I live. Realistically, you need to be out at least a month before coming in - that's due to the financial end of things. Yeah, you can be home more often, but there are limits. If you happen to live right on a freight lane that you happen to run frequently, there is the possibility of spending a night while under load - depends on the timing of it.

I've delivered in the area before... Hammond, Roberts, Baton Rouge. You're not off in a bad place. Then again, you're not on I80 or I40 either.

I think it's the best of the bunch as far as training companies are concerned. The apprenticeship is longer here than elsewhere, but you'll see quite a few drivers complaining about newbs being thrown in the deep end on this forum. The longer training period is a good thing - this is a difficult job, and a dangerous one as well. From what I've experienced and seen on the road, I don't think you can do much better. Financially, many of the other companies set you up to fail so they can fianancially benefit from you. Pay-wise, we're much better than most. As OTR companies go, you're either going to love the place, decide to get some initial experience and move into another company that more suits where you want to be, or decide that trucking just isn't for you.

A lot of your experience will depend on your Fleet Manager. I'm lucky in that both of the fellas I've worked with have been really good. Both are straight up with me. Prime is different than many places in that for your FM to get paid well, you have to do well as a driver... we're tied together like that. That relationship is important.

Maintenance wise, Prime takes care of their equipment. I've never had to "go to war" to get something taken care of, and I don't have to go to a company shop to get things fixed. I know the company is doing well, because we're still investing money in facilities, and they demand that I spend the time to get my equpiment washed regularily - look at other companies' equipment... if they are running dirty, they are having money trouble. This is an important point - you don't want to be broken-down, or operating unsafe equipment.

In hazardous weather, we have the option of shutting down. I am regularily told by my FM, if I don't feel it's safe to be on the road, he'd rather have me stop. I have only heard a few other drivers from other companies saying the same thing. Because I have my FM's trust, I can deviate from fuel routing when necessary, and regularily get approval for other detours that help get the job done - like going Tappan Zee around NYC traffic instead of being required to go GWB and the Cross-Bronx in midday traffic. It's not all roses, but I'd say things are better here than 95% (at least) of other OTR companies.

So... there you have it. I'm not a company shill - nor a recruiter. I drive solo on the company side. Other folks experience may vary, but mine has been very positive so far.

 

You are a little off in both pay departments... .36 is where the flatbedders and tankers start from as A seats.

the difference between .30/mile to .36 is about 170k solo dispatched miles (.36 starts after 250k miles) in the REEFER division.

I can explain it a bit better...

D-Seat is a CDL permit holder recieving instruction on a Prime truck running solos miles for no less than a 100 hours seat time. Not officially an employee until they pass the test. Has the option to take up to $200 a week loan for living expenses paid back at $25/week. (10k mile credit given and immediatly graduates to B-seat for training)

C-Seat is a graduate of a truck driving school, other than Prime, with no experiance. They are employees and spend 5 weeks of their training miles at .10 per distpatched TEAM miles or $500 whichever is greater (must be available for dispatch all 7 days to get the gaurenteed $500) after the 5 weeks they are graduated to B-Seat pay scale

B-Seat is paid .12 per dispatched TEAM miles or $600.... again whichever is greater (just like C if you and your trainer run over 5k you make more than the gaurentee)... again must be available all 7 days (If you take home time, no gaurantee, just the .12 for the miles you ran that week)

Training miles are 60k team dispatched miles (Prime CDL grads get that 10k credit)

At 60k the trainee can come to Springfield and take the A-seat upgrade test and classes and get their own truck. Upon upgrade the A-seat gets .30/mile until they reach 80k (60k training + 20k solo A=80k) at which point they get a raise to .34/mile.

(The trainee can stay with their trainer up to the 80k and upgrade straight to .34/mile... advantage is you can knock out that 20k quicker with the team miles than doing it solo)

I preface these raise numbers as the only ones Prime has given me in a hand out and could have been updated.

80k - .34 (a difference of 40k miles to make .35)
120k - .35 (60k at this level)
180k - .355 (70k)
250k - .36 (70k)
320k - .37 I have numbers all the way to .42 at 1.5 million miles

TEAM

A seat team drivers start at .40 mile (50/50 split between both drivers) plus a .10/mile bonus for each mile over 3500. (so if a team runs 6k there is a .10/mile bonus for 2500 of those miles)

80k - .40
120k - .405
180k - .41
250k - .415 the scale max's out at 720k and .45

Fuel Bonus

is available to both A seat solos and Teams. Im not going to list ever tenth of a mile but highlight a few. (for every tenth of mpg its .002 cents)

6.5 MPG - .01 per mile
7.0 MPG - .02 per mile
7.5 MPG - .03 per mile
8.0 MPG - .04 per mile

Paid for all miles in that particular week IF you scan your trip documents within 72 hours of delivery.

This is company pay scale... Leasing is a whole different can of worms

I hope I made this easy to understand

 

Thank you U2Exit, good post. It is good to hear the positive things about a company.