Prime the facts

I'll make I look for ya mr slowsky

 

It's been quite here lately, I hope you guys and gals are keeping busy!

 

Runnin' my butt off!

 

Has anyone here any news about the lightweight truck? Has there been a lot of stink about them at prime

 

hi all have a question, I have sleep apnea already and have the machine and all i use. can you still get into prime even if your bmi is high and you use the cpap already. or do they still require you to pass the bmi? thanks for your input

 

Hey dirtysidedown did you test out on Monday. If so did you pass.

 

You have to be under the maximum BMI - no exceptions. You're ok on the sleep apnea though; they won't hire folks with the condition that is undiagnosed prior to coming into orientation.

 

Same here! Isn't this supposed to be the slow season? Currently right at my 70hr clock, so I have to wait until midnight to roll again when I get some hours back. Will use the time to get some much needed rest and relaxation.

 

Truckers Mike, any luck with those pictures of the pete that you took?

 

Yeah, sorry for the delay on that. And sorry for the quality...sucks I know. But it's the best I could do with my camera phone and the small space.

Check out this link for some better quality pics that somebody else took: http://picasaweb.google.com/rockhardridefree1/PrimeTrucks

An importaint note:

They seem to be ordering more and more of the lightweight Internationals and Freightliners. These trucks are much, much, much better! In fact, I think I would prefer one of them over a regular "condo" type truck. I was getting some work done on my truck a couple weeks ago and right next to mine was an International getting an APU installed. Mechanic told me to take a look inside. I didn't take any pictures because somebody was already assigned the truck with his stuff inside and I sort of felt bad looking inside as it was, let alone taking pictures with his property inside.

There is still no passenger seat (fine by me - more storage space) and no top bunk (again, fine by me), but it was a "stand up" style sleeper. Instead of a top bunk, there were a few extra shelves for storage. This is TOTALLY doable. I would have absolutely no problem being put into an International or Freightliner. I haven't seen the inside of the freightliner, but I'm told it's very similar.

According to the mechanic, the long term plan is for all of the lightweights to have an APU eventually. They are currently testing a few different models and once they decide which model will work best, they will start to install them on all trucks. They are hoping to begin installation late spring / early summer before it gets too warm. They all are already equipped with auxilary heaters. So, there is a silver lining here.

The only other major complain I'm hearing is that they don't pull hills very well. The trucks are designed for fuel mileage and to be lightweight...not for power. I believe the Petes have Mercadies engines in them? Not sure about the others. I can live with that. My main beef was storage, and they seem to have fixed that problem with the addition of the International and Freightliner.

Due to all of the problems I'm having with my current truck, I may end up getting a lightweight in the next few weeks. I'll be sure to give a personal review as well as some pictures with all my crap inside. I'll fight getting a Pete as much as I can, but if I'm issued an International or a Freightliner I will take it with no problem.

Photo details:

Photo 1 - A side view of the truck I looked at
Photo 2 - View from the sleeper into the cab
photo 3 - From the "passenger seat area" looking into the sleeper
photo 4 - Drivers side of the sleeper. Small storage area on top of the sleeper and a little cubby next to that.
Photo 5 - Passenger side of the sleeper. Same setup only the cubby has a TV hookup.
Photo 6 - "Passenger seat" area of teh cab. Lots of room for storage here.
Photo 7 - Storage area when the bunk is lifted up. Hard to see, but it's small
Photo 8 - Glove box. This is the ONLY storage area in the cab other than small pockets in each door.
Photo 9 - You have to look at this one sideways (sorry). This is the "closet" space. There are two of these, one on each side.
Photo 10 - Again, you have to look at this sideways. This is the emergency sleeper door. When open, you can get into and out of the bed and it also allows you to access the storage area under the bunk.

Sorry again for the quality, but I hope this helps peoples expectations.