Prime INC.

You can find the thread I am referring to under the New Prime heading. But for your benefit, he stated that he was netting on average $1,800 per week during the summer and I believe $1,200.00 during the winter. Have you driven for Prime? If not are you just basing your knowledge of the Prime business model on hearsay? Have you talked to actual Prime drivers to develop your understanding of the Prime business model?

 

Who knows...maybe Prime has cleaned up its act and that outfit can now be given the benefit of the doubt.

 

I really don't see what's so bad about it. This day in age, stay away from lease's and stick to being a company driver. My step dad leased through Prime and fell flat on his face. They kept telling me "no, you don't want to go there! They will ruin you! You saw what they did to us." Well, I'm not yall (my parents). For one, my step dad think's he know's but is horrible with business ethics. He didn't heed the warning that other driver's told him to try and help him out and keep him out of the hole. The main thing was keeping his foot out of it and strive for the best fuel milage. What did he do? He ran the stem living #### out of that truck and not once gave a #### about the fuel milage. I remember the last I saw on the dash was a little over 5MPG. These guy's L/O on the Prime Driver website are getting 6 to 6.5 almost 7MPG because they don't run wide open. They keep it around 58-60.

Running with it hammered down like that just blow's fuel out of the stacks. That's why everyone is saying, slow down and you will save. To hell if it take's you a little longer to get there because saving fuel is a lot more efficent than trying to get there in a hurry to get more miles. He fueled where ever. He never called to check on fuel price's some where ahead of time. If your under child support, L/O is not for you. Yes, you will be gone for some time. It's not a 9-5 job where you can be home every night. It's truck driving. Think of what the guy's went through way back in the day. It's hard work and dedication that gets these successful guy's where they are. I'm sure everyone has had their bad moment's with this company, but look at the guy's who stayed tough and stuck it out. Successful right? Also include money managment to that.

Me, I'm not going L/O even though they will teach you everything in training, but with fuel like it is, to me, it's not worth it right now. However I may consider it in the future depending on how fuel price's look. Another thing, most people at Prime rather you didn't lease until you got a year or two in and learned the ropes. Don't just dive in. Your asking to go backrupt then because your new and don't know hardly anything about it. However some guy's have and they are doing quiet well. It's paying attention to every detail your being taught. I know this from the experiance of riding in one of their truck's as well as talking with many of their driver's and the company.

The company driver's also have to strive for good fuel milage. From what I was told, you need to get at least 6.0 MPG or better, but they rather try for 6.5. With a trainer, I can understand this. They are paying for that fuel. A seat company driver's have to achieve this or they will bring you in and cut your truck back from 63 to 62. If you aren't doing any better within two week's time, they will bring you back and cut you down to 60. If you still can't get better fuel milage and it's not the truck fault, they will bring you in again and talk with you about your job. This is what I have been told directly from one of the big cats on the Prime Drivers web site.


This all make's full and complete sense. Your right. If you aren't getting paid, your FM isn't getting paid so they strive to keep you moving. For company driver's I don't know. Stay out of truck stops. If your one who insist's you must have a steak dinner every night, then your pretty much done. I don't mind living off of food's from wallyworld. Go and stock up for a week or two. I can easily live on $60-70 all week eatting cheap and keeping thing's down and still staying happy not starving myself. Not saying that a nice hot meal every few day's couldn't hurt. I've done. Thing's are going up in price so it maybe a little more now. Cigarettes... Well, that's on you. Me, I'm trying to quit now so I can save on the extra expence.

I'm seeing a lot of people diving into this like, "hey, let's go truckin'. It'll be fun! We can see the country side and meet new people while making money. There's nothing to it. Just drive and collect a check." No, that's not what it's about. Those who think this need to erase that thought and start all over because that's far from what the job is about. I saw some post's as i'm sure you guy's did too about these guy's wanting to drive a truck but get home every night or every couple days. NOPE! Never gonna happen. Not OTR and it's a 99.98 percent chance you won't get a job like that unless you have 1-2 or more year's OTR. If you wantor have to be home, this business isn't for you. It's not just a job or a career, it's a life style and a way of life.

Everybody want's to be home at some point or another but these are long hard week's even month's spent on the road earning an honest living. It's tough, the hour's are long and the stress for most is high.

Sorry, I did get off topic a bit.
Thing I can't get though is people who bash on companies when they've never worked for them and are only going by what they heard. I'm going on what I know and what I've heard and I already like Prime. I have a good feeling I am going to do well even as my first company. May not do so well with the first trainer, but that's life. #### happen's, request another one. FM doing you wrong? Request another one. Don't let one bad apple with a company ruin you with out moving around within the company and explore your option's before quitting and then bashing on them. Your only letting them win when you do. Part's of this reply is fact, other's are opinion so please don't bash on me for it if you disagree. Just my $.02

 

Well i wish you luck with what ever you do and maybe Prime has changed I hope so but they have ruined more than 1 good truck driver by making promises they couldn't keep and down right fraud in there Fleace to own program. I know for a fact 3 that ruined they used to run with me and were #### good drivers and #### smart when it came to buisness but when you bring your truck in for insp and with out giving you an option change all 10 tires out and charge that to the truck maint fund then turn right around and put those used tires on there company trailer that is fraud. Especially when there was nothing wrong with the tires except your maint fund got higher than they wanted it. I personally saw that happen to one of them. Like i said they may have changed but you are sure high on them i was just wondering why you are so high on a company you haven't worked for or even been around than on the internet. It all sounds kind of funny coming from some one so young and never been in the buisness to be so high on a company known to ripp drivers off at every chance they get.

 

Many show they don't know what they are talking about when it comes to Prime because Prime does not run a lease to own program. Theirs is a straight lease. Can a person buy the truck at the end of the lease period? Only if it has reached a certain "length of time in fleet" level. Also, I am not sure how a 2000 truck would be a part of Prime's actual fleet as they run all late model Century Class and some Pete 387's. It can be a privately owned because, what they have been telling me, if you want to own your truck and lease it on to them it can be no older than 2 years to start and must be removed from the fleet when it is 5 years old.

 

LOL! My friend there are so many ex Prime drivers out there and current ones trying to keep the reaper off their back that it would be almost impossible not to run into one. I ran 2 strait trucks back in the 90's as a contractor doing furniture and appliance delivery's. I grossed $216,000 my first year with a personal income of around $61,000 after employee and truck related expenses. I was home every night and drove around 40k a year. I am to old to do the physical labor required for that work now but I would do that before spending 10.5 month a year in a prime truck with toothpicks keeping my eyes open just to keep out of bankruptcy.

You don't have to be a road warrior or sacrifice your health and family to be on your own in trucking. My suggestion for drivers who want to have their own business is to stay away from leasing company equipment and save up to buy their own or lease equipment to a company.

 

There's the truck. 00' FLD 120. One thing I can't remember is whether we had it in 03' or 04'. I think it was 04' but I'm not sure. He swap's job's to #### much to keep up with all of the truck's and companies.

 

I love the guy who plays in a band
His plan was to drive 8 hours a day then play at the local clubs at night