Day 1 at Prime

If things haven't changed too much, you're looking at 3 days of paperwork, medical examination - including the "wizz quiz," a driving test (I understand this is on a simulator these days) and then being assigned a trainer. If there isn't a wait for a trainer, you should be on the road within a week.

We deliver to plenty of places in and around Atlanta. Basically, you request your hometime (a week or two advance notice is really advisable,) and then your FM arranges a load to one of the places we ship to in the area. Getting home on a specific date can pose a problem if there isn't a load available, but a range of days always works - helps to be a little flexible. Do the delivery, drop the trailer where they direct you to, and bobtail home.

In my experience, I've never had trouble getting home time, and I've only been late by a day once.

 

Doesn't prime guarantee the trainees $600 per week while in training?

 

So typically how long will you be in Springfield before you hit the road with an instructor? Never mind, I found it on an earlier post...got up early to go deer hunting and did not see what page I was on.

 

I was told that the 600 a week is for the 4 months you are with the instructor AFTER your 4 weeks on the road, prior to getting your CDL.

 

I have narrowed it down to Prime and Central Refrigerated.
The difference I see is that at Central Refrigerated, you get to go solo after 4 weeks with a trainer.
My question is do you guys think that 4 weeks with a trainer is enough time to adequately prepare you for what you need to know to be a safe, professional truck driver?
Thanks!

 

Appreciate the info, Ironpony...

 

That's correct - you aren't a Prime employee until you've received your CDL. BTW this is based on miles mostly rather than time. They will advance you some cash ($240, I believe) to cover expenses while you're with a CDL instructor, that are reimbursed to the company at $25-per week.

When I was training (came in as a C-seat with my CDL from a third-party school), C-seats were paid $400 a week guaranteed for the first 4-weeks. You got a boost to B-seat, and made the $600 or 12-cpm over 6000-miles for the remainder of your training to 60,000 miles. That rate as a C-seat may have changed, so you should talk to a recruiter about that.

Or get ahold of U2 - he has a better handle on this than I do.

 

No one has an opinion on my question?

 

I haven't even driven a truck yet... but I know one thing... the more good training I can get before I am out on my own driving 80,000 lbs down the road, the better off (and safer) I will be.

Prime's training program is one of the longest, and also one of the best-- according to most. You can never be too prepared IMO.

My .02

 

Seems whenever I mention something good about Prime, the naysayers jump on and make this into a war of words.

At the 4-week point in my training, I certainly wasn't ready to be a solo professional CMV driver. You won't either. You'll be dangerous to us and yourself. That's not a put down, it's just that the extra experience driving with a trainer makes such a big difference in your abilities.

I'm sure there are plenty of folks who will say Central is a great place, and plenty who will say it's the worst trucking company on the planet... er, well maybe there's JB, Swift, CRE....



OTOH, there is the same sort of group saying the same about Prime. I think the extra training at Prime is well worth your consideration... you're doing this for a career, yes? Not just to hold the steering wheel until something better comes along? Either way Prime and Central are "starter companies," and you may or may not end up staying with them. Actually, Prime wasn't my first choice - I went to orientation at May and went home because they didn't like something in my past. Glad it turned out that way because of what I've seen since then - I don't think their recruiter was straight-up with me either, and because I think I was much better served by the longer training period at Prime. IMO, I'd go for Prime and the extra training - its a pretty fair company in my opinion. Thinking back, I wouldn't change that now.

Use Central as your second choice, and get on wherever you can if you're determined to get into trucking. Remember this is training. If you decide you hate the company you start with, make sure you stay through at least your first year... better if its two. Then go find an outfit you'd like to drive for. By then the economy should be better, and the demand for drivers should be back.