Prime, Inc. - Springfield, Mo.

I have looked into the claims of "no paycheck for XX number of weeks" and found that those individuals to cash advances equal to or in excess of their net revenue. So, while they didn't get a paycheck, they got their pay in advance. Prime would do well to limit cash advances to keep this from happening. Kind of like pay day loans.

 

Listening to all these good a bad claims about Prime is MIND BOOGLING. Who's telling the truth. One can't tell.

I went to the local T/A this last week a spoke to 4 Prime drivers.

The first guy was retireing he worked for a company that was bought out by Prime he didn't care for it and refered me to another company.

The second guy loved Prime and showed me his gross for the week, $7500.00. He used $4000.00 in fuel $3500.00 was his and he had a $1000.00 draw. After the draw he had $2500.00. We sat down and talked for 1/2 hour. He started driving with Prime as a new guy, no cdl, went to lease after 8 mos, then bought the truck, all in 3 years. This guy sat down with me in the patio giving me the whole low down.

The third guy thought the company was great, drove bulk, he said he makes about $2,500 a week and he's on lease. He also stated he would never drive for milage again, he gets a %.

None of these guys once tried to give me their name or truck number or anything. I had to ask them their names. What I'm get at is that they get credit if you use them as a referance when you sign up with Prime.

The forth guy worked hourly and he said he love it at Prime. He was siting in a great look'n truck, looked new, it was black with purple stripes, big sleeper.

 

Wait just a minute nwebb. Your introduction at the top right says you've been driving 10 years and your comment says you've been driving 15 years.

 

Good Morning Mannmk,

Good post. I am looking at Prime as a starter company. I have never driven before, and I am looking at them mostly due to location. They are based out of Springfield, only 45 minutes from me in Carthage.

I worked for Americold Logistics for 9 years as an Inventory Specialist, and spoke with several truck drivers. I always wanted to just leave with them, as they could drive away once loaded. I was stuck 97 feet under the surface of the earth in the caves.

Saw many down there, and some would complain, while others would praise the company. In fact, I found this with almost all of the companies that would pick-up and deliver to us. Allot of couples were seen driving now. I thought that was pretty cool. At least they got to see something of each other.

So, did you ever get the real scoop on what was real and what was promotional? Wonder why they did not come outright forward and give you all of thier information. Especially since they would recieve a credit for the referal.

Well thanks again for the post. I have been trying to get all of this information read, and make sense of it all. Allot of thoughts to be sorted.

Be Safe and Have Fun !!!
Nick

 

Hey Nick,

Good morning.

I see this post seemed helpful to you. Please think about the following.

The guy I was writing about had no home. He was basicly living out of the truck. I didn't know what I was reading when I was reading the info he was showing me. It could have been two weeks worth of work I was looking at.

If a person has a secure job they should probably stay with it. Times are shaky to say the least. If one has lost their job they might try driving out, but this could be a waste of time. Truck driving is much much more "trying" than one thinks. IT IS VERY HARD ON YOU. As I understand it many more people drop out than stay in. This is probably one of the reasons for so many outfits that train drivers.

Understand the frame work, the context, of my write up. I am looking to drive because I am looking for work; things are slow right now. I have nothing to loss. I have had some exposure to truck driving, again it is hard on a person.

Imagine being a team driver, in a truck. Each drive should be doing about 10hrs driving each. This means that the truck should be moving 20 hours a day. 20 hours a day in close quarters. The engine running all the time, noise, and vibration. Living out of the truck for weeks can cost money. this has to be figured in. There are many things to consider.

If your saying thanks to me hit the little thank you button below on the right. That little yellow thumbs up for each of the comments that were helpful. And or click on the little scales in the upper right and follow the info.

If you have more questions I'll try and answer.

From one new guy to another.

 

team driving: only stop for gas or good reason. =11 hr drive, switch 10 hr break while the other drives.

I can't drive for more than 4 hrs in the dark before my brain goes dead. I like running early AMs though.

Try Prime as a company driver for a few months before you commit to a lease.

 

Badsey,

Good to hear from you on this. I've tried to explain the difficulties of team drive'n. Some may not even think of, or understand that, they basicly don't even get out of the truck for hours and hours on end. And that they will be sitting for hours and hours on end while somebody else is driving.

Hearing you say how you feel about night driving and how you handle it is great and important. I recall reading a driving trainer demanding that a trainee drive 500 miles on his shift, which was at night. The trainee replied he would drive as long he was able to and that was it. I don't recall how that paned out. The point is that the night driving is an important issue. It sounds like you won't drive longer than you are able and you have put a time frame on it.

Do you mind explaining how you handle night driving when it's your shift and your scheduled to drive 11 hrs but can only drive 4 hrs?

How long have you been doing the team drive'n.

Thanks

 

The only 'draws' I had were for lumpers and maybe if I could afford it $75 - $80 a week for food. PB&J, and Bologna were my primary meals.

Teams do fine at Prime. I also talked to a guy that works for the local parts store in my home town. He and his wife were team flatbed for Prime and made more money than they new what to do with. They decided to come out of trucking because of age and health issues. But once again they were team. The majority of solo's have a tough time keeping their head above water at Prime.

 

Do they have solo seats for someone who has 13+ years of driving? right out of the gate or do they want you to go thru there (brain washing) Driving School first?

 

Well, of the 40+ solos I spoke with they were all doing in excess of $1,300.00 NET per week. Maybe things have improved.