Wanting some addvice, Om switching from Refer to Flatbed.

Company is a good choice to start with the economy the way it is and also to familiarize yourself with the way things operate...

Company Drivers get 2 free tractor washes a month. We can get a trailer wash/out anytime for free within our network of vendors... or reimbursed with a reciept from places we dont have accounts with

Wash outs are mandatory and it takes permission to skip one depending on the situation.

Our Reefer Units are easy to operate... the load dispatch message contains the Mode and the temp setting for the load. Pre-cool trailers before arriving for pickups can really speed up the loading process (especially on hot days)

Turn your reefer off when in a dock with the doors open otherwise its just drawing warmer air over the load from the open doors, and yes even from the gap between the dock. that wont be an issue if you have a newer trailer where the reefer shuts down automatically when the doors are open.

Wait times can vary, depending on shippers and recievers. Most meat loads have DDT (drop dead times) which means your load could be ready anytime all the way up to that time. Example, I had a load yesterday where the appointment was set for 0830-2130 (thats 13 hours). 2130 being the DDT. I arrived at 2000 and it was already loaded on another Prime trailer and I dropped and hooked it. Thats not always the case and they are sometimes waiting on your trailer ot the load just plain isnt ready till 2130... Myself, I just couldnt get there until 2000.

Sometimes loads are drop and hook on one or both ends... drop your empty grab the load... same with the delivery end.

The big hassle you dealwith on Wal-mart loads is you cant arrive more than one hour early for your appointment, but one thing they are very reliable on is getting you finished within 2 hours of your appointment time.

Pretty much there are 3 stages of waiting you can find yourself in... waiting for a dock, waiting in the dock, and waiting for your paperwork. Use the time to catch up on paperwork, trip planning and sleep... most places will wake you up when done. others, you can tell are close to being done when the trailer stops shaking and the dock light goes from red to green.

Prime reimburses all lumper fees with a reciept (a reciept with all the info Prime requires, especially tax id info)

This next part confuses most new drivers when they get their paycheck.

Basically, the lumper quotes the fee... you request Prime loan you that amount on your Comcheck card, you write the check to the lumper, you scan the reciept in with all the other paperwork from the load... on your check, for each lumper fee there will be a deduction for that amount titled Driver Advance, and then furthur down there will be a Lumper Fee re-imbursement for that amount. So dont lose those reciepts. I hold onto all my paperwork for one month... just in case something doesnt jive on my check. Fees can run from 50 to 300 plus dollars... imagine taking a hit for 300 dollars because you didnt safegaurd a reciept from getting lost...Its very simple... I lost an 80 dollar one and I will never do that again.

 

Does Prime keep their company drivers as busy as the L/O's and O/O's?

 

I would be leery of prime's flatbed. Unless they changed it company drivers have to pay for the equipment. Most of the freight I seen with them was brokered. Did not seem to have much on the flat customer accounts.