My experience in Prime's lease program so far.

Post the numbers here Moglar. Sorry im late to the post, but im interested in a lease with Prime.

 

What was your total miles for that settlement?

 

EXPLAIN THIS, Im new to trucking hint hint Nondriver i will be coming along!
tend to run hard to get to my 90 and set myself up so by the time I'm unloaded I have a reset clock.

 

whats your dispatcher name im coming along..

 

OTR life is expensive, no doubt about that. When you have to eat at t/s and Mcdonalds all the time it adds up, not just your wallet, but your waistline, and overall health. Granted you can stop at Wally Worlds or Meijers and pick up a few things, if they let you park there! And you can only fit so much in a tiny fridge in your truck. With this being said Trucking aint for sissies! So you if you are coming into this lifestyle, expecting free handouts, and to get something for nothing, then this career is NOT for you!! There are an insurmountable amount of challenges a professional driver has to overcome to become successful in this industry. First and foremost, is the amount of unprofessional drivers you will meet when operating a big rig. IDIOTS that want to take off your front bumper to squeeze in front just so they wont miss their exit, JERKOFFS that want to tailgate you in the slow lane, and will ride your ### for miles. If your not reading my trailer license plates, then go around dummy.
MORONIC dispatchers, that just got out of college, and think they have the answer for everything, but know very little about the real world, and cant seem to understand the time it takes to move 80,000 lbs across the George Washington bridge, and so they send harassing messages asking for your eta on 1500 mi load that has to deliver tomorrow. YOU WILL NEVER REALLY LEARN HOW TO CUSS UNTIL YOU DRIVE A SEMI, when you miss your exit then you have find somewhere to turn around and your gps takes you down some curvy road not meant for 4 wheelers and you come upon a 11 ft bridge or road closure. Then there are the shipper and receivers , which could be a real nightmare, holding you hostage in their dock until they unload you at their leisure, because they have no regards for the truck driver, his time, or well being.Dont even get me started on some of these so called security guards. Then there are the FUSTERCLUCK Truck stops and service areas that seem to fill up by noon and trucks end up parking on top of each other. And last but not least, is driver FATIGUE, which is usually why you see large vehicles taking naps in the median. When you drive 14 hours a day 7 days a week on very little sleep, it adds up quick, and when you are staring headlights and white lines all night, you will get tired of it, real quick, dont matter how much coffee or red bulls you have had, when it hits you it hits you! And when your dispatchers are riding your ### to make ontime delivery, ultimately you have to make the decision to SHUT IT DOWN. Because YOU are the captain of your ship, NO LOAD IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR LIFE OR MINE!!! Did I mention it helps if you hate your family, because if you are lease driver, chances are you wont to see them much, unless you can afford to be stuck in the hole.

 

Honestly I have driven for several trucking companies, and they are all essentially the same. Driving a truck is like eating a turd burger, you just have to find one that tastes best for you. Which is why I like driving for Prime as a company driver. I really enjoyed it! I had very little issues with the company,my truck, my fleet manager, or getting paid on time.The only reason I cleaned out my truck was because of a previous injury that was aggravating my arm so much I could barely lift to shift gears. The only real issues was dealing with issues on the road ( see above post)! So lets go over some power points of why Prime Inc is driven by the best!

1. Pay. Pay is excellent even starting out. My first year I averaged 1250 / wk and netted over 45k as a solo company driver. I ran hard, but I had a few down weeks where I was really tired and didnt drive much and only made 600 or so. But, I did like to spend some time at home when I went home. Usually I would stay out about 5/6 weeks then take a week off.

2. Equipment. Had very little issues with the trucks mostly just the APUs and I blew a couple hub seals due to pulling heavy lds with my lightweight truck. Only had to 2 trailer tires with flat tires, but got that taken care of fairly quickly. And when you get to a terminal, they have Nascar like crew lanes that get you all fixed up and back on the road. Did I mention, I really liked the driving the automatic lightweights, plenty of room for me and my cat, and plenty of room to maneuver and back into tight docks and get out of hairy situations if needed.

3. Terminals. Prime Inc has the Taj Mahal of all trucking terminals in Springfield MO. Full Movie Theatre, Basketball Court,Pool Tables, Exercise Rooms, Showers,Laundry, Spa with Steam room, Full Cafeteria where you can get Prime Rib for 8$. Which is all nice and dandy if you are in the shop for a day or so. But as all Drivers know, if your wheels arent moving, then you arent making money.

4.Mechanics. The Mechanics are all fully certified and work hard to get you in and out as quickly as possible. No backyard mechanics you might find at a T/s that take 4 hours to change a trailer tire.

5.Fleet Managers. When you drive a semi, you run as a team with your FM. So you want to find someone you could put up with and wont try to run you into a ditch. At Prime I had one FM the entire time, and while we did have a few issues to iron out, she worked with me to make my life as easy as possible and to make the most money for the both of us. If I had an issue making ontime delivery or getting held up at a shipper or receiver, she got me detention, and found someone to relay the load on time.She always kept me moving too, rarely ever did I sit at a truck stop.

6. Drivers. Most of all the other Prime drivers I talked loved their job, and never really encountered a rude driver at Prime. Didnt really have time to sit and talk to other drivers either. Was always keeping the wheels moving, and never saw too many driver stuck at the terminal. Although at Prime, I wouldnt mind being stuck at their terminals.

7. Home time. One day off for every week out. Always got home when I requested.

8.Truck Wash. Never had any issues with getting truck or trailer washed out for a customer. Although sometimes they were hard to find any in the NE. and had to sweep out trailer best I could.

9. EZ Pass, Pre Pass. This made bypassing the chicken coups and taking toll roads a non issue.

10.Right Weigh. The have scales on their trks, trailers so you know how much weight is on your tires and you dont have keep going through scales for reweighs.

11.Open door policy. If you have an issue with whatever you can go to your FM, and work your way all the way up the chain of command to Rob Lowe himself, until it gets resolved.

12. Automatic Trucks. Did I mention they have autos now, and it just makes my job so much easier

13. Training Program. They have a multimillion dollar training program that is state of the art with driving simulators, all the tools you need to succeed, whether you want to go company or lease, and some fine trainers who will train you right!

Well I could go on and on but Im running out of time, and I was trying to think of cons, but I guess everyones experience is different, and you cant please everybody. Some people might consider driving a truck that is governed at 62 mph a con, but honestly I consider it a pro, you will never get a speeding ticket,hopefully, and you can just sit back and watch the other trucks engage in an elephant race. I guess there are better trucking companies out there , but you have to really work your butt off to move up and everyone has to start somewhere. I would definitely consider going lease when I go back to work for them, I hear some drivers say they make 80k a year doing that but they might be exaggerating a bit. But with Prime driving a semi seems like a walk in the park, easy money, for the most part!

 

Are you able to leave your truck behind and Uber to Walmart for groceries? I'd much rather do that then to eat something without knowing its ingredients.

 

Uber is not cheap either, plus I dont really like the idea of leaving my truck behind under a load. Especially not with Uber drivers knowing it, really dont trust them

 

Yeah I wouldn't be standing at my truck when it came personally. The money to Walmart and back would be worth it to me instead of the expense to my health. However I didn't hear you say it's "not allowed", just that you prefer not to.

 

When youre on a 10hr break you can do whatever the freak you want!!!