My Prime INC Experience. (A Running Log)

Like I said, where did you get that? Because there was no pressure to lease at all when I went through training. The only point I really heard about it was a short, "Gee, we have this lease program" spiel during orientation that could not be considered "pushing," "selling," or "pressuring" at all. In three years on the company side, I NEVER HEARD ONE WORD ABOUT IT. So... where did you come up with this, or are you passing along that crap NewNashGuy has been posting? I'm just curious...

 

Need information on the eco-49 truck. Originally told by recruiter it's an option. After reading posts here I inquired further. Looked at the paperwork they sent me and they stress the $.41 a mile. But recruiter made it clear it was an option. Emailed because I wanted a written answer. Reply was there going to push toward it because it makes sense but it's not mandated at this time. Very different response from my initial recruiting conversation. Which I interpret is that they will make it the standard. More cents per mile but how does it pull. What are the engine specs? Does higher cpm cover the fact that you'll be taking longer to do the mileage? Being out 3-5 wks as stated by prime, is smaller living space noticeable after months on road? Some of my q's. Hope to get more info.

 

Excellant questions !

 

IP I tend not to react to something I've heard, read or even seen once or twice. But the last time I read about a guy getting "stong-armed" into signing a lease was on TruthInTrucking. I can't remember the thread...I do read too many forums and blogs...but I remember his handle/avatar: longhairedcowboy. After reading about this stuff for the third (or more) time, I wanted to ask about its pervasiveness. Thank you for assuring me it is not a problem.

 

Hey tats man I'm at orientation now in pittston and tje eco 49 is a light weight truck and almost all company drivers are in them now from what we were told also depends on the division you want to be in

 

Hey thanks for checking in. By division do you mean type of area to run ... Dedicated regional or Walmart or reefer?
Unknown is how they pull & handle. Any covert info u can pass along appreciated. Are the peterbilt 384? Much appreciated.

 

No, division is Reefer, Flatbed or Tanker.

 

Division meaning flatbed reefer and tanker and the petes I hear have electrical issies a lot they do have them there also internationals freighties I wouldn't worry about it I got 40000 miles to knock out til I get solo

 

I suppose that it is an option - especially from a standpoint of "selling" it to a prospect (you.) You can "opt" to be a solo reefer driver (in an Eco-49,) or you can "opt" to be a team driver in reefer, a flatbed driver (team or solo) or a tanker driver (team or solo) in a larger truck. In that respect, the recruiter told you no lies. Looking at it from your end, yeah, if you desire to be a solo reefer driver in a company truck, there aren't many options there. You will be in what we refer to as a "lightweight," or what the recruiters are calling an "Eco-49."

Essentially it is standard for a solo reefer driver in a company truck.

The lightweight Cascadias have a DD13 engine in them- you can look up the specs compared to a DD15. The Prostars have had a 13-liter MAXXFARCE engine in them- I'm not sure what kind of Cummins the newer ones have since International dumped the Navistar engines.

No. It's an inducement to put you into the smaller truck, and not much more. Remember, there aren't many starter companies that you hit 41-cpm out of the gate. Prime company drivers are required to meet a minimum fuel economy mark- how you do that is your business, but you will not last long if you can't do it because of either lack of skill or hard-headedness. The company trucks are limited to 58 on the pedal, and 62 on cruise. If you can nail 62 and the fuel economy mark, that's cool beans. If you can't you'll be slowing down or finding a new job. I'm a lease driver, and driving just fast enough to make my load and unload appointments has it's own direct economic benefit to me; that being said, there are plenty of company guys passing me - except when I need the speed.

Now let's talk about the reality of temperature-controlled freight... i.e., food. Except in limited circumstances, its not drop 'n hook freight to a great deal. We're talking live loads/unloads. You back into a dock and wait until you're unloaded, the freight is broken-down and counted. Most places these days do not do the ol' 0-dark-thirty free-fer-all, where the first guy in the dock is the first guy gone. Most places you have a hard, fixed appointment time, and they don't want to see you much more than a hour beforehand; you're luckin' out if they have overnight parking, and work the early-birds in along with the early schedule. You may want to run pedal to the metal, but in many cases that just means you'll be cooling your heels at the truckstop longer. In other words, you'd do better to slow down and work on your fuel bonus. So it really doesn't matter what size engine you have as long as the job get's done, does it?

I've never been in one, so I can't respond to that directly- perhaps the company guys can respond to this.

Here's a link to a discussion on the lightweights directly... http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/prime/190273-lightweights.html

Just so you know, the original idea was that these would be used in a more regional application where someone might be running past the house every week or two. But as things progressed our clients saw the benefit in being serviced by a fleet of these trucks. Putting 49,000 pounds (the "49" in Eco-49) over say about 45,000 pounds in one of our other trucks is a pallet or two more per truck... let's say 2. In a typical 26-pallet load, that means that a shipping manager is now looking at say 12 trucks doing the work of 13... less traffic, less cost.

So what's in it for you? First, more loads. A good proportion of our larger shippers have given us more loads, kicking other carriers out of their facilities because of this, and some have just given us all of their business at certain locations. It's now Prime's problem (not a bad place to be!) to supply the trucks whether they are ours, or are shopped out to independents. Second, anything much over 46,000 pounds I can't pull in my full-sized truck- they are company-guy loads only- more for you. A lot of carriers that pay better, can't supply the miles to go along with that increased pay. Third, more money- 5-cpm to be exact. Not all company guys are in the lightweights, but usually there is a good reason that they aren't. Like someone who is just too tall to be in one, and they don't get that 5-cpm bounty.