Question from a cousin

If you google "truckingtruth prime cdl school", you'll find yourself ending up on the trucking truth website which has a 4/5 page rundown of Prime's program. That page should answer most of your questions.

 

The 200 a week is for your first 30 days up until you actually get your CDL, I don't believe it is taxed as it is actually an advance that they will draw back from your checks once you start getting paid, I'm not positive on this, so your best bet is to ask a recruiter for prime. I do know that the cost for the sleep ap test through prime can also be docked from your pay if you do not have the money up front. That was one of the top five reasons I chose to apply to prime, that I didn't have to worry about shelling out money I don't have, and that even though it will take away from my pay, they don't hit you hard for it. They want people to have enough money to live on and be able to take care of themselves while on the road, that way you are less stressed and distracted, which makes you a safer and happier driver. That was another reason I chose prime, they genuinely care about their drivers, if they didn't they could really gouge you on your paybacks, or not offer them or advances at all. I can't wait until I leave this weekend and start my training!

 

I would call, it never hurts to be proactive when applying for a new job. The only thing I'm not certain of is if the recruitment center has certain hours of operation, as I first applied after midnight on a saturday, and the message only said that all personnel were busy, never had anyone come online after an hour. But I called back that monday and had someone on the line within 5 minutes. If Anyone reading this working for prime knows if they do have certain hours of operation in the recruitment center, might want to make a mention to someone in charge that their message could use an update informing people of their hours of operation, just to save confusion.

 

They do work on weekends. If I'm not mistaken their times off are during the week.

 

Hey guys, I'm the cousin from the original poster; I thought I would get on here and tell the entire story and see if this is the best way to go. I've been working at another LTL terminal as a yard dog/dock worker for the past year and a half. So far the job has been great I enjoy it but looking for better pay and the ones that make the big bucks here are the driver. My boss told me they have a training program which allows a trainer to show you the ropes once you get your permit. I went and got my permit and got my physical which the doctor only gave me 3 months because he said I could have sleep apnea. I have no problem taking the test but who can afford the price for testing. But the killer part of this they don't want to train me because they want me to get tested first but I have a medical card from the doctor saying I can drive 3 months. If they could let me train I would have my CDL in like 3 weeks and they would make me full-time and I can get insurance to pay for the sleep apnea testing. I make like 12 bucks an hour and since im part-time working 50+ a week and not getting overtime for it which i think is weird to begin with I don't get medical with that either. I can drive a truck no problem and I can back like there's no tomorrow. I was told that prime will pay for your testing and its not that much... so I was thinking maybe this is where I need to be because I feel at my current company im not getting anywhere and its pretty discouraging. I've done what I had to do to get to this point now it seems they are not wanting to hold up their end of the deal.

 

Why does the doctor think you have sleep apnea? BMI?

If you go to Prime you will get another DOT physical. As long as you haven't been diagnosed by a sleep specialist as having sleep apnea I'd think your OK. The problem would be if you are diagnosed, but are not under treatment. That would cause Prime to reject you.

If Prime asks you to get tested, its $125 if you don't have it. I think its around $2200 or so if you do, but that is for the test, machine and follow-up care. They'd amortize that over a number of pay periods to make it affordable once you're employed - I'm not entirely sure how that works for students. There are a number of threads in the Prime forum that discuss this in more detail, and could give you a better idea of the cost. Just search the forum for sleep apnea.

 

I've never been diagnosed of sleep apnea but he said that I could have it due to bmi and neck size. But the doctor I had to go to had it set at 36bmi and a neck size of less than 17.

 

okay just an update i got a call today and im off to prime on June 5th!