New to Prime INC - What to expect (Springfield edition)

Also if you scroll down to line 52 in that spreadsheet i have a 2 lines for total and averages. And if you take away the weeks I went home the average miles are 2661 and average take home pay (net) deposited is $792

 

Not bad at all. Hope you do as well in the lease.

 

Thank you so much for this info. I start orientation on the 16th and have been worried if I'll get the miles driving solo at Prime. I currently work for CRST and have a week left before my contract is up and I can leave this torture.

How well does Prime maintain there equipment? Right now with CRST I am having to spend on average 4-5 hours at the TA if there is no wait for a simple tire change on a trailer. Just yesterday I spent 8 hours on at the TA to get air leaks on a trailer repaired. They found 3 and repaired those but it was still loosing air and they couldn't find where. Ended up taking the load back to the shipper and spending another 6 hours waiting for them to swing it to another trailer. This new trailer will need a tire replaced as well it looks like.

I find I spend over 24hrs a week on trailer repairs which means I am not rolling and making money.

Is this going to be the normal at Prime as well?

Thanks

 

2400 to 2800-miles per week is a reasonable average here.

Very well, but it's up to you to report it and get things fixed while you're on the road.

No... I certainly don't have that many problems with Prime's equipment. However, if you're not in an area with one of our shops, you will need to report maintenance deficiencies to Road Assist, get the equipment to a shop (TA, Petro, etc) and get it taken care of. It may be the carrier's equipment, but it's your CSA score and PSP report that will suffer from bad inspections.

 

I can't ever recall being in the shop for a tire, air leak, or anything for a trailer in over two years. I will say I replaced an alt belt on a refer two weeks ago myself. Found one at the first TA I stopped when the refer alarm went off for alt and coolant. Took about half an hour total time, and I was back rolling...... No big deal..... With the first heat of summer you will find quite a few refers with low coolant, so you will want to carry extra coolant with you. After every one tops these off you will be good to go for the season.......

 

hmmm... not everyone tops these off. (Unless Carrier re-designed their units for the newest Prime reefers).

If i recall from personal experiance (at least 3 times), you need a serious ladder to get up to the top of the reefer, where you add coolant. Its a shared opinion that the design is ridiculous in this regard.

Radiator fill neck is at the very top of the unit on the right side (facing the unit) Zero chance of reaching it, even from the cat walk, without a ladder.

First thing Road Assist will ask you with a coolant alarm is if you have a ladder, or find the nearest flatbedder and ask if he has one.... if not, the next step is to get into a TA or Petro... worst case a Carrier dealer.

One RA guy asked if I could find a nearby Lowes or Home Depot and buy a ladder. He wasn't going to reimburse me, and I would have had no place to put after I used it....

not the first ridiculous RA request... I had a loose cab extender from a "Frankenstien" patch they used to fix damage by the previous driver (made sure that was noted when I got the truck) It was suggested I remove the screws and store the entire piece in my bunk until I got thru a terminal. Where was I gonna sleep? "Oh, just lay it across the front seats." uh, no.

 

Not all RA guys are known for their practicality...

 

LOL,,,,,, Coolant bottle is still up top..... I guess I should have added the part about the coolant alarm. Common sense would apply on how you top it off. I still manage to top these off in my old age....

 

Hi all,

I got my cdl last week and I have been looking at Prime as one of my best options for a company. I have some questions though.

1. How long is training, what does it pay, and how was your experience with it?
2. After training what is the pay?
3. What trucks do they run?
4. How hard do you run?
5. How is home time?

 

Most of your questions are answered in the first few pages of this thread.