I am looking at training with Prime - advice?

There is a reason they don't release their driver turnover number. I am being nice when I said 100%. Its probably closer to 120%. We all know prime has to recruit rookies by the bus load every week to replace all their drivers that quit due to poor pay no hometime and their rip off lease. Go ahead and post your settlements and prove you made that kind of money at Prime.

 

What's your point? High turnover rate does not mean they are a bad company. It means that experienced drivers leave. Since they are a training company, high turnover rate is not just normal, it is literally required for their business model.

 

There are many reasons, none of which is related to trucking.

 

What experiences drivers? They hire rookies because experienced drivers know better than to work for Prime. You have had too much of the Prime Kool aid.

 

After someone has been driving for six months to a year, running fair to decent miles, I think we can all agree they are an experienced driver.

They might not be a Super Trucker. They might not even be a driver that impresses you. They are still experienced.

 

I was at Prime for a little over 2 years, came back home as my Dad is 87 and needs some help, not possible when you are OTR, the bonus is I get to spend time with him before he goes, my motto has always been family comes first.
I started as Company, the training, like most, can be good or bad, it's all in who you end up training with. Problem with the bad ones is, no one says anything, so they get to keep training. If you are having an issue with training, you can request a trainer, just don't request a new one every week or so, they won't tolerate it anymore. If you feel you are not getting what you need, or don't gel with your trainer, ask for a new one. It's bad enough having to share a truck withe someone else to get your CDL for 3-4 weeks, then spend another 10 weeks, don't be miserable, you are there to learn.

My trainer had been OTR with CRST, Swift, and then Prime, he was a good driver, but he didn't have the ability to train, which was fine with me, I was just there for a refresher. Had I been new, never in a truck, it would have been challenging, but from talking to others from Stevens, Knight, Swift, JB Hunt, Schneider, and even some of the smaller ones like Palmer, this isn't specific to Prime, seems to be an industry wide issue.
When I first went to Prime they were picky over who they hired, and as the 2018 rush for freight hit, they lowered the hiring and training standards, but since the market tightened they tightened the standards again, not just anyone can train, and not just anyone gets hired. Hopefully they will regain their reputation for training.

I was never pushed to lease, I started out as a company driver, and took home over $1k a week, not the best, but not the worst either that was in 2017-2018. I was kept busy, and as long as I made appointments on time, didn't hit anything, they left me alone. I rarely spoke to anyone on the phone, most of my contact was on the QC. I had the ability to turn down loads, and ran all 48, but like the mid-west and west, made it known, and they kept me in that area with an occasional can you take this load to the east coast.

Company drivers - Not much different than a lease operator. You get the same truck a lessee does, and run the same loads, you just paid by the mile, and of course get benefits. The truck is governed at 62, but the loads are suppose to be set at 45 so there is cushion. As you get experience and show your driver manager/fleet manager you know how to manage your clock, and are reliable, you will get tighter loads, and high value loads which equate to more miles and better pay. I ran about 70% high value or hazmat, and 30% regular refer freight, some drivers only see regular freight. Going 62 wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Leasing - I leased my second year to see what it was about. The trucks are governed at 65. You have to successfully complete a lease before you can enter into a lease purchase agreement at Prime. I went into it with the mindset the truck lease is like an apartment lease, I am leasing it for a time frame, and when I am finished, I move to the next truck, or apartment so to speak. If you lease thinking you are an owner operator, you shouldn't be leasing, and it isn't a get rich quick scheme. You also have to make decisions based on your business, not Primes. I saw many fail at leasing, most could not make a profit because they couldn't manage their clock, were constantly late, had accidents, and should not have been allowed to own a business, just my opinion from observation. I never had a bad or negative week, and when I hung up the keys to be at home after a year, had enough in the bank to pay myself for 4 more months, so there is money to be made there. I read here were folks failed at making a buck, but if your not squared away, just like the real world of working with brokers, they only want to work with folks who do what they should be and deliver on-time with no claims.

Driver turn over - I met drivers who had been at Prime 10+ years, and some just off the bus. Most of the turn-over isn't from low pay, it's because newbies can't handle the OTR life, being away from home, the isolation, and let's face it, the industry has a turn over problem, mega's the problem is amplified because they hire the inexperienced I want a CDL person, not realizing the job isn't just driving. Mega's are a necessary evil, most insurance companies won't touch a new driver, so the mega's have to hire them, mom and pop's and small companies can't afford it, we all know it.

I made decent money company and lease, if I were to go back, I am not sure which I would take. The only advantage leasing had was home time. As company you get 1 day for every 7 days out, which is 4 days every 4 weeks. As a lease operator I took a week off every 4 weeks I was out. I am close to 60 so I have zero desire to purchase a truck and be an owner operator, I plan on being a recliner jockey by the time I am 65.

If you can't make a dollar here, especially as a company driver, you need at look at yourself. You can switch from company to lease, and from lease to company. I ran reefer, flatbed, and intermodal (Reffer and RailDecks), the only division I didn't run was tanker. Tanker is only available in a select area, and it is food grade.

 

I don't know what makes a driver "experienced" but I've driven for Prime for over six years now, and I like it here. Made 75k last year as a lowly company driver. I deliver on time and don't hit stuff though, maybe the people complaining about Prime find that hard to manage.

If you are looking for OTR you could do a lot worse. Beats the hell out of paying for trucking school.

 

Does Prime hire in the PNW? What type / quality of equipment to they run?