PRIME NEWBIES~Any comments from orientation?

Thanks. I have done the clutch in a fork lift truck but I am sure it isn't the same. Thanks again for the vote of confidence. This is something I really want to do and I don't want to fail.

 

Ive been wondering what that extra pedal was for.


Jam it in granny gear turn the key and hammer down. when she tops out, letoff the gas grab the next gear. sooner or later you'll be watchin all the big dogs pass you in the Hammer Lane. But dont worry........... if you cant find em - grimd em!

 

Ok gotta ask this question about Prime. They say after orientation you get set up with a trainer and you will be with them 4- 6 months?? Did I read this right? Cause that seams like a long time to be with them. Not that it wouldnt be good training, but after so much time you need to get on your own?? I like the looks of Prime but this part of it totally turned me off.

 

Read beteen the lines. New Drivers with no experience must log 100 hours with instructor and then move to 2nd seat for 50 thousand miles. During that time you are advanced $200 per week to live on. Remember this is an advance and they will require you to pay it back.

Getting into a 1st seat is tough! You must run as a team and spend 24 hours a day in a truck with driver. Better make sure you're up to the challenge. After you are promoted to 1st seat you can drive Solo.

Two men living in a truck! Oh My.........

Or, you could shuck-it and just go out and buy a truck, get a drivers permit, take the written exam and driving skills test. Apply for a DOT
number, plates, permits and insurance then hire a Broker and run under your own authority. No forced dispatch and home every weekend.

 

Ignore the bitter individual who went to Prime, and didnt like being told he was overweight and potential Sleep Apnea sufferer who needed a sleep study before he could be hired... and then threw a hissy and left.

Here are the facts.

Drivers with NO CDL spend 100 hours minnimum with an instructor on the road. Advanced $200 intrest free per week to live on, paid back at $25/week. No team driving. Instructor is in passanger seat everytime the student drives. Student is not an employee. Student has 7 days on the road to quit free and clear if the life isnt for them. Quit after a year and the school is free. Quit after 6 months and owe half.

Trainees are employees.

Drivers with No experience (Have CDL) run team. The training is for 60k miles (50k if you graduate from Prime's CDL course)

Recent CDL school grads (non Prime School) run the first 4 weeks at .10/mile or $500 whichever is greater. After 4 weeks its .12/mile or $600.

Prime CDL school grads start immediatly with .12/mile or $600.

Recent CDL school (non Prime school) grads have only a 6 week window to apply to Prime or they wont be hired and required to get some experience elsewhere before they can be hired. Dont quote me on this but I think its three months.

I completed CDL School AND training miles in 3.5-4 months. I didnt go home once, however I took 2 weeks off before upgrading to solo.

Training time depends alot on how often the trainer and trainee want to go home. Ive had a Trainee complete the 50k miles in 3 months, and another complete 60k in almost 5 months... guess which one went home the most.

 

Thanks U2. You have really helped me decipher the recruiters mumbo jumbo about the pay. I leave out on Feb. 14th and start orientation the next day.

So it is a 4 day orientation (these are the classes) then 3 week training on simulators and the actual trucks and then I start the driver training with a trainee? The recruiter didn't really detail this out either.

 

Do you have your CDL already?

If not you will probably be out with an instructor for 4-5 weeks before testing. Assuming you get assigned an instructor on Friday.

Oh and Students should expect 6-8 weeks before going home for the first time. They want you to get your CDL and some training time in before you go home.

I said expect, but sometimes you get home sooner.

Depending on where you live, you may get to stop in overnight, time permitting. I didnt have this advantage because of where I lived, but my Instructor/Trainer lived in the Chicago area and we got into his house for overnight stays 4-5 times while under load. I got a couch, and he let me drive one of his cars to run errands.

 

No I don't have my CDL yet. I am not worried about home time. I would rather just do all this all at the same time. If I get home time then I get it and if I don't then I don't. My family knows that I could be gone for about 5 months all together with the orientation, the training and the OTR training so we have no worries there.

I live about 3 hours south of Chicago, 1 hour east of Burlington, IA and 1 hour west of Peoria, IL. Kinda smack in the middle of west central Illinois.

 

Sorry, I have a few more questions.

Do I need to have a passport before I go to my orientation? I have been reading through all of the posts throughout the entire site and have seen some that say I would need it but not sure.

If for some strange reason, I don't pass the physical exam (I'm 5' 11" and 170 pounds) do they provide me with a way home? If they don't, what if I drove my car to Springfield?

When you get paid after you are a trainee, how do you get your pay? Do they direct deposit or do you receive a check or ??

I have a speeding ticket from almost two years ago. It is the only ticket on my record and the only one I have ever had. Stupid cop sat at the bottom of a steep hill and pulled me over as soon as I got down. Will that stop me from passing orientation? I have heard that they go over your entire application and some people get sent home due to tickets.

 

Anybody know about Primes health insurance? Expensive? Crappy? Awesome?