(New) Prime Inc. Springfield Mo.

I also went with training in Schneider's academy out of Charlotte. Very extensive classroom time, and driving with a trainer on the road in the area. They operate it in half days. The first half you will be in the classroom and the other half up on the training pad and simulator and vice versa. The driving portion is paced based on your experience but if you fall too far behind they will hold you back one or two times at most. If you are one of the types that are expecting them to teach you how to "drive" you are wasting your time. They are going to teach you how to drive "A TRUCK", not teach you how to drive.

One of the best things I loved about Schneider is their focus on safety, if you are habitually unsafe, your *** will be going back to your house. If you aren't comfortable with something, let your truck trainer know as soon as you realize it is going to be a problem and they will do everything they can to help you through it, they will not babysit you though. Their program is designed to weed out the people that are just there for the paycheck and to do the minimal amount to get by. If that is the intention, you might wanna stay at home cause you will end up back at the house anyway.

(I know that is a little off topic, I just wanted to put that out there for the ones that saw the name "Schneider" and are going to research them further. That wasn't directed at anyone though so don't get b****y at me).

Had my grandfather not had his heart attack, I would still be with Schneider to this day I believe. Very straight forward company. They are hiring just to let you guys know, not sure about students though so it would be best to check with them. Any of you guys want more information on them PM me if you can and leave me a way to get in touch with you and we can talk about it.

 

Whatsup man, I don't know who said that but the only people REQUIRED to wear uniforms were the training staff at the Schneider Training Academy facilities. They would LIKE for you to have something with the company name on when you go into a shipping/receiving office, but it isn't mandatory by any means. They do have some pretty high quality and good looking hats, shirts and jackets though at the stores at the operating centers that you can get and have payroll deducted from your check if you want to though. I have several of them.

But yeah, unless that has changed in the past two years since I was with them, uniforms aren't required to be worn. If they are, there are alot of Schneider OTR drivers out there about to get fired cause I have never seen one with a uniform on personally.

 

Whatsup man, that is probably the best post I have read yet about how to approach the l/o - o/o side of trucking. I spent a good portion of my life riding with family members of mine with a combined total of 70+ years as owner operators as well as being a company driver for a short while. The same goes for everyone griping about being a company driver. Bottom line on this, if you aren't good with managing money and have the ability and desire to be out on the highways turning the odometer over, take the advice of everyone that recommends McDonalds as a career choice because 1, you will be miserable out there, 2, you will be unsafe out there cause your mind and heart is elsewhere, and 3, you will spend your entire paycheck eating, shopping, and seeing the sites.

 

Thanks for all the information for Prime! Sounds like a decent company to go with.

 

What is the avg length of haul with Prime? Do they have coast to coast runs? Ive noticed they have alot more trucks out here on the west coast.. Also how much do the lease ops net everyweek? It seems like there truck payments are high. Thanks for the info.

 

Prime pays on a percentage basis, rather than a per-mile basis. We do everything from a few miles to coast-to-coast. Ideally, you'd want high-income, low-mileage loads.

As far as net income, that depends. I'm a company driver so I don't have explicit experience there, but it can vary from negative to a couple of thousands (for team drivers) from what I've heard and seen myself. It depends on freight, how much goes in the fuel tank, etc - as I'm sure you know.

The truck payments are based on a three-year lease, rather than say a five-year lease as some other companies use. Shorter term, higher payments. That makes keeping your variable costs down all the more important.

 

I was with Prime this time last year. Went in to orientation as a company driver, left as a lease operator. I think it was a pretty good move. Good miles. Good money. I leased a brand new Cascadia with 47 miles on it. Had a ThermoKing APU. It was a pretty sweet deal. No money down. No credit check. Just pick your truck and sign the papers. If you actually READ the contract, it clearly states that you don't even have to run the truck with Prime. You can lease that truck with anyone. But the carrier has to be approved by Prime and the carrier has to agree to pay Prime for the truck.

I'm actually goin back to Prime in about a week. I'm gonna do the lease again, only this time, I'm gonna run flatbed instead of reefer. I was an O/O flatbedder for about 3 years. I miss it. Incase anyone is wondering, I averaged about 800+ miles per haul, and I also averaged around 1200 a week take home with the reefer. You have to be willing to run though. Learn your truck, learn how to get the best milage out of it. Learn good routes and plan your stops to get the best deal on fuel. If you run smart, you CAN make money at Prime as a Lease Operator.

Good luck to everyone out there. Stay safe. God Bless.

 

If you did good this time last year you should do really good now. It's a whole lot better than it was a year ago.

 

Last year I was driving company and doing pretty well. This year I'm leasing and doing REAL well!

 

Good luck Pony