Prime, Inc. - Springfield, Mo.

The ability to go home and come back out in the hole is someone that does not know how to run a business. It would make sense to have the money in the bank to cover those expenses while your at home. Too many times they go home and come back out advancing their selves to death and it takes two to three weeks to get on the plus side again. That is just bad business practices.

Its called you should have an emergency fund. Nobody with any business sense starts a business without having money set aside to cover unexpected expenses. If they do they have no business starting it because it will fail.

Why do you think they are flooded with trucks? because drivers are going under, Mexican drivers are hauling freight cheaper, drivers who do not have a good business plan and the big companies are chewing up the little ones. The day of the 1-2 truck O/O are disappearing.

 

I find it a sad state of affairs for the OTR lease driver if they have to run 161k miles a year and break the law to bring home 72k, when I was making that and more leasing a couple of strait trucks to a furniture company over a decade ago doing local work. Granted it was harder labor and cheaper fuel but you could still have some kind of a life instead of just driving yourself into a early grave.

 

Well, here I am, with my new 2007 Columbia ($1,500 a month, 8%APR) and getting 72% of gross pulling Prime's new flatbed trailers (with no trailer rental). I used Prime's bonus money and my savings as a downpayment... I did not run illegal; I just wasted no time. Was inspected by DOT in Washington, Oregon, Wisconson, Georgia, and a couple more I don't remember, and did fine, thank you. Also received $100 from Prime for a clean log book each time. I am now sitting at the house on a run to Houston, and reading about all you knuckleheads who have nothing to offer but negativity. So be it. I'll make my money and go my way, and watch to see who is next in line to post about something they have no first hand knowledge of. Prime is the real deal; they are not perfect, but tell me who is and I will go there (I have my own truck now). I started trucking Jan of 05; company driver 6mos (Arrow), went to Prime and leased a truck for 20 mos. Finished lease, took bonus money and savings and bought new truck: total elapsed time: 2yrs 2mos.

 

Nice truck slick--good luck to ya! Always thought of doin the same myself--just not sure yet! Maybe one day

 

I did not say that any co. was perfect. Check out primes past. They got in a lot of hot water over their lease deals. Some do make it with leases. A lot don't. There is a lot of reasons why. When you have put enough time on the road you will have a good insight for what each company history is. Simple life on the road lessons. I don't have to know buy doing it if I fall out of a tree and land on my head that it will hurt.

 

I know of Prime's past, and I know of their present. It's TODAY that I'm driving, not yesterday. My information is UP TO DATE, not old news. The United States of America used to have separate facilities for black and white, but not TODAY. I look to the future, and when (and if) Prime does not give me what I need, I will go elsewhere. But until then I will keep putting money in the bank and my kid thru college. I've done my research, and Prime's got what it takes for me to make a great living. And I am not alone.

 

History has a way of repeating itself. Prime may be decent, now, but I talk to a lot of their drivers. Most are not happy with the lease currently. They say it is to high. I have a copy of their package and DVD. I go by what a multiple of drivers say over a recruiting dept. It sounds like it is working for you. I hope it continues for you.

 

well im sure this had been said before but a lot of these posts are just people bickering back and forth. granted i have learned a lot, but cant we just offer insight on a post without getting defensive about it. I haul local, home ever day and make 40k a year. doesnt mean I like my job but im sure some drivers on here would kill for it. We all know lease programs are designed to benefit the company not the leasee thats life. some people just learn that early enough to still make a living. I seem to see more positive stories about primes leasing than any other company so they must be doing something right. So grats to slick and every other driver who took the chance and is making it work.

 

I agree with you, NoTarps, it is too high. I never liked the deal with the trucks, that is why I went out and got my own. But the lease deal did allow me to make up my mind on either becoming an O/O or not, and to save money for a downpayment. Prime makes their money, I make mine.

 

I had a 6 month stay in purgatory a.k.a. Prime's lease deal. Went from caught up on all my bills to 1 bad paycheck away from losing everything in 6 months. I ran miles, but after their nickel and dime program, after 2500-3000 miles I would sometimes only see $75 or $100. It was so bad that I couldn't even afford to service the truck. The thing had only 1 'B' service in 6 months. I was somewhere around 45000 miles since oil change. And they say I was doing better than most. Some drivers were $10k in debt to the company, because they couldn't get ahead enough to put money away for food, they would take a few bucks advance just to buy lunch meat for all their meals.

I work for Crete, and ran into a lady who just came to Shaffer from Prime. She and her husband were solo drivers for Prime. Together they didn't make enough to keep up. They had lost their house, most of the stuff that wouldn't fit into the truck, was in storage. She was just starting here and her husband was just wrapping up at Prime and coming over asap. Robert Lowe has screwed a bunch of money out of the drivers for years. It should be against the law. But, all their charges are included in the 'phone book' size contract you sign. But there is so much by the time you get to the charges, you are numb.

They still send me recruiting info. Guess they have some yacht payments or vacation condo payments to make and don't want to use any of their own money.