Prime Inc driver thread

It's been the windyest spring I recall, that doesn't help. Then there's the fuel we're getting - I've heard they're mixing all the left-over no. 1 diesel in, so the cetane rating is even lower than normal winter blend. Better weather is coming.

Slow down. Be careful how much throttle you use... don't make a habit of flooring it. Watch your idle time. Balance the load between your tandems and drives - tail-heavy is bad for fuel economy.

Get a notebook and start a fuel economy log. Break your trip up into legs and record distance, fuel used and calculate your mpg. Calculate it for the full trip too. Change your driving technique doing only one thing different at a time, and evaluate the change for a couple of weeks. Keep what works, discard what doesn't.

DP Date is the dates of the settlements you're looking for. It needs a date range - try using the whole month. They show the format on the page if I recall.

Sorry, don't know about that one.

 

Are you company or lease? If you are lease, you don't get a fuel bonus. If you are company, you don't have the "start right" program. As for getting your mileage up, we need more info. Year, make, model. Also, search the Prime board on this site. There's a ton of info there.

As for #2, don't delete them from your email, and you can look at them as long as you want to. Yes, there is a way to see them online, as company it's easy. Driver code + Pin, don't put in any dates. As lease, not so sure (could be the same, but I'm not sure if it's "free" or not).

 

Hi All, new to site & this type of trucking...Although been yard-jockey since 2000

So, rusty266 what made U go with prime, & not Shaffer/Crete?

Was looking into prime, till U mentioned shaffer/crete, plus they have terminal in my area, KCK.

 

An outside opinion from someone that isn't fully invested can frequently offer a better view of the big picture because there's no rationalization based on attachment through years of expended effort. I don't think that lack of experience in the industry makes someone any less qualified to research and point out the risks of leasing from the same company that controls your freight. Especially based on the many lease operators who failed because the miles were simply not there. There are no options available to you when your company doesn't have enough freight to support their drivers. Your lease payments are still due, and you can't go elsewhere to supplement your loads.

Instead of discrediting my opinion, perhaps you can offer a differing perspective?

 

LEASE OPS DONT WANT MILES. They want the revenue with as few miles as possible.

 

There are no options available to you when your company doesn't have enough freight to support their drivers. As of 3 minutes ago PRIME had 232 SURPLUS loads of reefer / van freight and 18 Flatbed loads

 

I set up the e-mails but they have not started coming. I drive company, NE regional and a 2010 light weight Pete. I am on the start right. I need took caller payroll for the details.

THX

 

And we know this how?...

 

Just because , its from the Logistics side of the company.

 

Seems you're getting beat-up on the subject right and left. You're new here, but one of the things you should know about TTR is BS opinions get called out.

So it's not "rocket science" eh? Any dolt can be a millionare - just add diesel and miles is it? That attitude is one of the major factors in "lease operators who failed."

This is a Prime thread, and if you're going to join in then we expect that you know enough about what our operation is about that you can express a VALID opinion. As was pointed out above, our renumeration is not based on "miles" but linehaul revenue and accessory payments. Too many miles will bankrupt you. A valid opinion in this case would be "lack of freight."

Determining whether there is enough opportunity to prosper is part of the due diligence that every business person must place enough effort into determine whether a given business opportunity will bear fruit. I take it you're drinking the lease-fleece koolaide sold by the crowd that insists that the only way to make money is to pour it into a broken-down junker truck and strike off as an independent. Easier written down than done. Search for "Coastie" among others who bought into that.

Really?

You haven't read our contract. We have a contractual minumum revenue guarantee that kicks in during bad economic conditions. While it won't replace lost revenue, it will keep you whole viz fixed costs. In case it hasn't occured to you if things are bad at Prime, they're going to be worse elsewhere. Flatbed and van freight are tied very closely to overall economic conditions, something that is not as much of a concern in the reefer world.

I'd be happy to. From where I sit, you're opinion is based on ignorance of the industry due to a lack of experience... no insult intended. You need to educate yourself.

First, even in bad business conditions lease operators do succeed. Must not be for a lack of miles - or perhaps it's due to running shorter loads that minimize costs? Frankly, the reasons that there is such a high failure rate in leasing just might be due to the same reasons that 80% of ALL new business start-ups across ALL industries fail within the first year...

- Undercapitalization

- Lack of knowledge of the industry

- No business plan

- No business education

But of course, if you're drinking the koolaide it's that evil old carrier that screwed you. Why they were out to get ya, weren't they? If I could have just taken that truck somewhere else, why it would be all roses and green grass on the other side of that fence!

Bovine Excrement to the max.

I've seen just as many people with a truck payment going to Arrow, Leasors, or whats-it Mountain fail as anywhere else - mostly due to the reasons above. Places where they can take their trucks where they will. Frankly, most of these people are one major breakdown from bankruptcy - they're undercapitalized for what they are attempting. No plan... no customer base, and don't start thinking that working off of the load boards is a plan. By the time most folks think they need to move that truck its too late - they don't know what their numbers are telling them because they've never done a profit and loss statement. That's mumbo-jumbo the CPA is supposed to do... of course that person is your guardian trucker, isn't he? All you need to concern yourself with is the extravagance of the buffet, and passing all slow trucks.

Now that I've unloaded, let me tell you something else. Leasing at my carrier is just as fraught with risk as anywhere else. If you're not paying attention to your numbers, if you aren't socking the cash away for a rainy day, if you're not paying attention to business conditions - you can get blindsided here too.

Of course, if business were such a sure thing then we'd still be buying Enron stock, buying big-screen TVs at Circuit City, buying brand new Humvee's, shipping our flatbed freight via Arrow, going to Europe on TWA...

Educate yourself rookie.