I am 54 with a question concerning Prime

54 is only a number...and there are way more of us then them...Anyway...Ironpony is right...it makes more sense to do your training at a company sponsored program and stay for a year. If you do the private school route ( $4-6K cost) and sign on with a company you still sign a 1yr deal anyway.My findings were...the private school route is only designed to get you to pass the CDL test...thats it. The actual reality of learning to drive a $200K rig hauling 80K Lbs going 65mph safely is the task. I would of gone with Prime, but I was out of their hiring area. When I was checking out where to potentially sign on with I would always ask the recruiter " can you provide me with a couple of drivers names & phone numbers" That usually was followed with silence. Talk with the drivers direct...they'll tell you what the score is !

Good Luck and welcome to the " 50 something changing careers club"

 

im not generally in favor of company training, but the questions to ask to make an informed comparison are:

1.how long a contract am i obligating myself to by training through your company?
2.how much per week will they take to recoup the cost of training?
3.how much will i owe if i leave before the contract is up?

the cost of schooling through private school is probably close to what theyve said above, school i attended charged $4k, but that was a few years ago. they would finance everything, so no money necessary up front, but if you paid for it up front, the cost was reduced by half to $2k. guaranteed a job with choice of 3 companies upon completion. all 3 paid 100 per month reimbursement for school, so MY cost after 1 year with one of these companies was $800.

the one school i have info on is millis. $25 per week for 1 year is what they take from you, then contract is fulfilled. so that school's cost after 1 year is $1300.
not sure about prime, maybe the guy answering earlier that works there can answer more specifically about the overall cost. 1 year is not a bad amount of time, so thats good. to move to a higher paying company, most usually require a year of experience, so signing up for a 2 year obligation would be bad, but 1 year is ok imo.

your age means nothing, as many before have said. of course, as you get "more seasoned" you are statistically more prone to medical conditions that will force you out...diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. but that doesnt mean you will ever have a problem with any of them. as long as you can safely drive a truck, no one will care how old you are.

the one bit of incorrect information was the one that said youd sign a 1 year contract anyway, even if you went to private school. this has been patently false in any company ive worked for.

 

When you say "challenge your health," do you mean damage your health? Or do you think someone in their fifties could, with effort, move into a driver position and maintain a moderately healthy lifestyle?

Signed,

"Turning 50 in 2 weeks"

 

One year after you are a solo-qualifed A-seat driver.

Nothing.

$3500 before 6 months, $1700 from then until 12 months. It's free after that.

You need about a year of experience, many times 2 years to qualify for positions in companies that only hire experienced drivers. So yeah, a year isn't that long. Heck, folks sign cell phone contracts for 2 years, and 5-year car leases at the drop of a hat. It's not like you're joining the army... food's better too!

Driver health is a big concern at Prime. Our owner was very disturbed by the death of a young man who had raging, out-of-control, high blood sugar in the sleeper of his truck a few years ago. They've established a industry-leading, voluntary wellness program that is completely free if you complete the 13-week program. One thing that is common to all carriers is the tendency for drivers to put on weight - sometimes a lot - when there is nothing to do besides drive and eat.

Sure, you can "maintain a moderately healthy lifestyle," but it's up to you. You have to control your appetite, get exercise, learn to change your sleeping habits to the demands of a driving career, and eat the right foods. Grazing all day at the buffet with no exercise is something that'll get you in trouble quickly.

 

I rode with my husband for a year from 2008-2009. He had lost a weight while in school and driving with his trainer and kept it off, I also lost some. We didn't eat T/s food all the time, would have a Subway once in awhile with all the veggies added to the $5.00 footlong specials which would make 2 meals, had Arby's, the $2.00 hot dogs, and he liked the hamburger dogs. We mostly made most of the meals in the truck using a George Foreman grill, microwave, crockpot or plugin 2 qt pot. We would split a candy bar even, and limited junk food. You can lose weight if you want. We had a coffeepot so we did not go without coffee, and I would try and drink only one can of diet soda a day. He drinks Lipton premixed green tea mixed with cranberry, grape juice and a little water. You can lookup cooking in the truck for some ideas for food also.

Stopping when you can and walking helps, I know we didn't get carried away with it like some you see, but every loutittle bit helps.

 

Not sure which are the $2 hot dogs, but the 2/$3 at PFJ are quite good... but coronary death bombs. I wish I knew how much grease the awesome cheese dogs have. (Kind of glad I don't...)

I love hot dogs, and my favorite way is to steam them. 5-10 minutes in a steamer, and they are ready to go. (Stick the bun in the steamer for the last minute or two, as well!)

Also, the cooking in the truck thread to follow: cooking in the truck

 

Pilot (esp) and Love's had the $2.00 dogs, sometimes they would run a special where they were cheaper. I liked the ones with the cheese and hot peppers in them, they have the chile to add too if you want to make a real gastro delight. It probably isn't the best food, don't know what brand dogs they were but they use those revolving roller grills to cook and heat them.

We liked to stop by fruit markets and get fresh veggies in the summer. I would use the burrito wraps and put cooked chicken, cooked peaches with sugar and cinnamon, and other cooked veggies with some sort of a little sauce in them. Great for eggs and diced ham, etc for something different also.

An extra cooked potato was good cold like eating an egg, esp if we had no time to really stop and waste.

 

They use to be 2/$1 when I started trucking and then they went to $2/2. Did they go up again? Oscar Meyer is the brand. I know them well as I'm sure most truckers do. I liked the few Pilot's that had a full condiment bar. By the time I got dressing it up you had to eat it with a fork. Kind of New York style Chicago dog!

 

There's lots of ole' farts like yourself out here, you'll fit right in.

 

I'm not sure what they are now pricewise since I haven't been on the road for awhile, but husband does still eat them sometimes, esp if he can get the hamburger dog. I think TA used to carry those on a shish kabob stick at one time, got something like 4 of these big meatball types on them. I know what you mean about the fork. I just wasn't sure about the chili sometimes, it was according to if it looked like it had been there a million years or not. Good to know they were Oscar Meyer, I like Ball Park franks too.