prime orientation next week

The Millenium building is awesome!!! Spent a lot of time there after finishing with the simulator.

 

Anyone headed to Pittston next week for orientation

 

So. Orientation has been done. A few recaps of the ongoings (at least, for those of you who have no previous experience, no permit, no license).

This only pertains to Prime orientation in Springfield, Missouri. Unsure if the others are similar or not.

Monday, most people arrive this day via Greyhound and are shuttled to the Campus Inn, where they are assigned a room. This place also doubles as the orientation building. (You'll see when you get there)

Tuesday, Welcome orientation in the "Company Driver Orientation" room (you'll get a map of "campus"), fill out your application, piss test, physical (cough for me, please), application turn in (along with $100, have cash only at this point). More classes, and you get a Missouri CDL booklet with all the goodies to study. Make sure to read sections into General Knowledge, Combination, and Air Brakes (those are the three separate sections you'll be tested on later). You also get a meal card for the little dining area they have here. The food's not the greatest, but for not having to pay it's good enough for me. Your little meal card will get a letter punched out each meal you show. B L D. You should be able to know which is which. Keep in mind you'll only get lunch on Friday, but more on that later.

Wednesday, in the Dogwood Room, time to study more! It's also permit test time! The ladies at the Highway Patrol will come over to administer the tests, so it's the real deal. You get three segments to test on, and are allowed to step out after each test to brush up on the next (highly recommended). Don't botch it. You get to take each test two times. If you fail twice on a subject, you must return the next day to retake. If you fail three times in a row, you're sent home. After you pass, you'll be given paperwork by the ladies and hop on a shuttle to the DMV to get your permit. Have $32.50 in cash on you. When you return to campus you'll have a copy made of this permit and get to play with the Simulators. They're obviously nothing like the real deal, but will give you a decent idea at least with how to move a trailer around. The guy in charge is grumpy, but funny. If you screw around too much (no seat belt, mainly), you'll find yourself driving through fog in the snow and sliding out of control in 100MPH winds.

Thursday, in the Lease Class Room (next to the cafe), you'll be briefed on sexual harassment, human resources, security of your vehicle and cargo, given information packets on health insurance, how the qualcomm (e-log) works,head out to the Millenium Building if you were unable to get your ID yesterday. Also, those who failed any tests yesterday will have to get on a shuttle to the DMV to retake the tests. More time on the Simulator. For PSDers, this involves 8 different driving scenarios. They're a little out there, but worth trying your best at. If you can go around corners without slamming into the curb or knocking over a street sign you should be good. You'll later get your physical paperwork (keep this in your wallet/purse!) and have a Prime Student Driver ID made. By this time you might notice the numbers of people around you starting to shrink. We had two or three gone by this point, I think.

Friday, you'll be learning about PTI (Pre-Trip Inspection) goodness, and if you've had no issues during the week you'll head out to the Training Pad and do some real PTIs along with hopping into a real truck and practicing some simple maneuvers. You might also head out to the shifting pad, which is obviously for working out your shifting. Even with double clutching, I managed to upshift just fine. It's downshifting that kicks my 4$$ (###### RPMs!). At the end of the day, you head out to East Conference Room (here's a tip, it's next to the cafeteria in the Millenium Building), get congratulated on surviving the simple week, and hopefully be paired up with a trainer who'll be taking you under his/her wing for the next 100hrs/10,000 miles. Not everybody's going to get paired up this day, but don't fret. They'll trickle in throughout the week. Also, if you hadn't noticed by now, some of the trainers you'll see here were also hanging around the sim-labs as well as the training pads. Hopefully you were on your best behavior then and had some chats, since they're looking for their next student at that point. At around 1700 this evening, your Prime ID card will have $200 advanced to it. Be wise with this. Also, that meal card that's punched out? Take it to the little store in the back of the building on your left for a free hat and lanyard. Silly, I know.

On Saturday and Sunday, and the following days, you'll either meet up at the Training Pad or in an orientation room for roll call. By now you'll see more and more of your classmates vanish. Fortunately, the only one I kept tabs with is BBradUMA here Also, you might get a trainer by this time, but no freight to pull, so you'll be playing the waiting game. Me? I found one on Sunday. He had a student around his age fail the CDL test three times. They sent him home. I also saw a guy instantly fail the driving portion of his CDL test for not clearing a curb while leaving the training pad! Insanity.

So here I am now. I leave today around 1500. A short trip, about 200+ or so miles. Then from there it's out to "Meat Country" as my trainer put it. Good times. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

I may open another thread to post my adventures around while doing this training thing, or keep posting here, whichever one's okay. Later.

 

ZiBop - thanks for the great info! A few quick questions, if you come in with your permit already, will you be allowed to practice on the simulator or the practice bad while others are taking their permit test? Also, can that $200 advance be setup to be direct deposited?

I hope everything continues to go well for you!

 

A couple of observations...

1. You'll note why its better to get your permit in your home state BEFORE coming to orientation. A lot less pressure.

2. Everything is a test. Being on time is a test. Anyone want to guess why the instructors are checking you out while you're on the sim? Its a test.

3. ATMs on the road charge $3.50 a transaction... get your cash out all at once, and be very stingy with it. If you have some money in the bank, so much the better.

Good luck guys!

 

I'm meating the country as I type

No, not driving, instructor is. Headed to Joplin, MO and then to Houston, TX.

 

Those of you with your permit will be on a slightly different schedule the first few days. I know that you'll start on the simulator the same days as everyone else, but you'll be taking classes on other days that would otherwise be crammed into most for us total newbies. We had a few show up with permits, even more with their own license.

That $200 advance goes straight to your card. Nothing you can do. They'll tell you that it's primarily for you to buy food and living items while on the road. You can withdraw a majority of it and send it to bank account via western union or some such, but otherwise are stuck with it being on your ID.

 

Student: no you can't set up direct deposit. The money goes on your fuel card each week and it's up to you whether to use it or not. It is a loan.

Trainee: you are officially hired. You can set up your pay for direct deposit. It maybe 1-3 paychecks before it goes thru. In the meantime it will go on your fuel card.

You can setup some on your fuel card and the balance to your own bank account. I have $100 put on my fuel card each week.

Fuel card pay shows up around midnight on wed. My bank posts the balance of my paycheck by direct deposit early morning on Fridays.

3 day weekends kinda suck. Payroll extends the week a day... Deposits take a day or two longer to post depending on your bank.

 

Lucky you I get to drive pretty much from here all the way out to our first drop-off. About 220+ miles. Yay. And I get to do all the backing into the docks! >_< Talk about pressure, but I won't even think about it then.

 

While quite a few truckstops offer a western union service... It's a little more complicated than what you deal with at the western union office at the grocery store or Walmart type place.


I got as far as the truckstop clerk handing me a piece of paper and telling me to call Western Union, before I deemed it a PIA.

I did help my trainee once and we found a Western Union office at a grocery store. He was in and out in less than 10 min... And none of the BS that the truckstops have. (he tried at a truck stop also, and it was too confusing)