Flatbedding transition and other questions.

Hello,


I was curious if anyone that might be reading this has any experience in coming into prime as an already experienced driver.
I currently have fourteen months otr experience, incident accident free.

You might ask why I would consider prime, and it's a pretty simple answer; I need to spend a little more time in a truck and wait until a few points drop off my MVR to get a better job driving local and that happens around April of next year.


I'm finishing up with my current company in the next two weeks and am a bit tired of pulling reefer freight and more importantly going to those unbelievably annoying docks. On another level I'm very interested in the physical aspects of flatbedding.


Why prime? Good equipment, livable wages and flexibility in fleet options. I currently work for FFE so it's not overly hard for many companies to be better than what I'm already dealing with.




Now my questions;

• If I go flatbed, how much if any training will I be getting/needing from these folks for flatbed securement. I'm specifically interested in the length of the training and location? Any other particulars you have to offer would be hugely appreciated, that is to say do they offer a per diem for food expenses, ect?

• Wll I need to attended their TNT or mentoring program even though I'm already "an experienced driver. I Ask this in the sense of prime making me go out for ah short period of time to learn more hands on experienc as I believe they do with their tanker division.

Thank you for your help- cabby.

 

And I never implied it.

I found out about 3-4 months after I joined FFE that Prime was willing to accept me into their training program, and that there had been a few cross lines with my application and hiring process- long story short I got the green light but was never told.
This really...REALLY pissed me off, but oh well. I was and still am for just a short time longer stuck with FFE.

Prime, or more importantly their insurance regulations are sympathetic to the fact that both tickets were earned BEFORE I had a CDL and or while I was still around 19-20 years old.

The first was a speeding ticket, 43 in a 25. This is the one Prime was most concerned with. It's two miles an hour under reckless operating, but I got it back in 4/11 and it's getting ready to drop off my MVR and it's the one I'm most concerned with. It's stopping me from getting really great jobs when it comes to local hauling (hazmat and or tanker for instance) and boxing me into pulling local reefer and dry van which in my area tops out around .36/.38 cpm or around $14-15/hour. Versus Local tanker jobs and hazmat jobs paying nearly 20-30% more in most cases.

The second was improper backing. I hit a motorcycle in a parking lot about a week before I left for the FFE Academy. I have no excuse for this other than my head was pretty far up in my ###.

As far as TMC or melton or maverick and why I'm not interested in them, is simply because they're not nearly as flexible and their equipment doesn't have the amenities I'm looking for. I'm not looking to have my opinion changed at this point and I'm simply just trying to get some information.

Four MVR points and a four wheeler accident with a year on it aren't necessarily a deal breaker with most companies, just some. With others it simply complicates my possible relationship with them.
This is buffered by my 14 months of OTR experience incident/accident free with a whole 9 points on my CSA.

I can and am planning on taking a defensive driving course to get 2 points off my MVR.


At any rate please keep the information coming.
If there are any Prime trainers out there have taken on an already experienced driver to teach them flatbed securement I would really appreciate your input.