Journey Of A Thousand Roads

Not very often. You're usually assigned a new load within 12 hours of emptying out. I certainly don't have a problem with that. OTOH... if you are consistently late, whine, require massive amounts of FM time to do the most simple things, hang out for hours at truckstops when you should be driving - yeah, you might just be at the bottom of your FMs list on a permanent basis.

 

On the tanker side I can tell you this, the day I left my trainer told me that there were at least 16 Prime drivers waiting for a load at OJ's tank wash in NJ..they have a big driver lounge and people hang out etc..He is very PRO-PRIME and won contractor of the month twice, he hustles a lot..

He has told me from the beginning that PRIME is supposedly trying to secure a few big contracts but that he has been hearing that for a while..he said they have too many tank drivers and not enough tanks, there was some restructuring a while ago and someone dropped the ball

My opinion, overall :

I have heard PRIME is the largest CDL training outfit in MO, I have heard they get money from the government for training also (i dont know)..no problem with either of those statements, here is what I would tell a newbie coming in that no one really told me fully

I think PRIME can handle any influx of freight, I think they can haul any amount and they have enough drivers to do so...so during extremely BUSY times, they can handle it all...now think...during slow times, all those PSD students coming in, you cant distribute it to them all, when it isnt there, there are times you will suffer, and suffer a lot...I now know thats part of the game, anyone in trucking any amount of time will learn that, I dropped the ball on finding that out beforehand

any trucker you go too, regional, local or over the road is subject to this, I think in PRIMES case they put out a lot of students so the students are subject to greater variations..

a trucking company that has a smaller amount of drivers to distribute too (and this is all proportional to their freight load etc) will struggle with busy times to keep up but wont have as many drivers struggling during slow times...i "think" that is common sense..

are they growing too fast ?, I dont know..how can this be avoided if you want to train all these students?, I dont know but I would time my entrance according to freight fluctuations and would NEVER start a lease at the beginning of a slow down

 

Heck, if I could time that, I'd be rich and wouldn't need to drive a truck.

Also, remember, the reefer division is a bit less volatile. While downturns depress refrigerated freight levels too, people don't stop eating. Consumer staples are considered "defensive" stocks for a reason.

 

200 miles to go, on a break, and I just got my third preplan this week,

I'd sure like someone to point out the exact program that OTR training companies make all of this jack from. Because if it existed, the house Republicans would be howling about it. Its not a VA educational program. Prime requires a real employment history so its not WIA.

Maybe 30% of the students make it through training to their own trucks. And then the attrition begins again. Seebs dropped out, and so did you (no offense) - Sazook and Trent headed off to college, and my friend Tim is in chemotherapy, CAGEtrucker had his problems as well. Optimus Prime couldn't deal with the stress. Lionsfan couldn't make the lease structure work for him. There's a lot of turn over in our 6000-or-so drivers for whatever reason. If 5% make it into their 2nd year, the company is probably lucky.

Sittin' around? Yup, there are a batch of flakes calling themselves truck drivers who sit around the truckstops, the terminal, and biotch about pretty much everything, especially not getting loads. Gee... I wonder why? Tanker isn't the hottest thing out there. I've had washouts done at tanker washes - and pretty much the entire industry segment (that's all the carriers) sits around... waiting.

Me? I have to throw the towel in to get a break. That's because I run. Its about attitude, time management, and gettin' it done. I don't see U2 sitting around very much, and I'm pretty sure Empton runs like a scalded dog too. If you're good at moving freight, you're going to get as much fed to you as you can take.

When you guys have made a reputation for yourselves (one way or the other) you'll find that out. So - get to truckin' - OK?

 

In reefer division, the time to make the change would be March - when the spring produce season starts. You may not get any of that, but the teams shift to it... leaves more solo freight for the rest of us.

 

you are right IP, If you noticed, once I made it to PRIME, I stopped posting on this Forum. I had my laptop with WiFi..unlimited, I used to to talk to the wife and kids a few times during the week. I made sure that I was well rested enough to run my 9-11 hours every time I had to drive. What amazes me is that not one PRIME driver on this forum would admit that maybe the beloved company dropped the ball..

I am a conservative who has never in his life had an unemployment check, I was told about the training by my last trainer (tanker) who is very pro-Prime and has won contractor of the month a few times, I have no clue if it is true, could be BS...no idea

the gentleman who I have talked to twice on the phone who is upper level management has apologized to me via email and by phone for what happened to me and for PRIME dropping the ball, he has asked me if I ever need employment again and our paths could cross, to make sure to look him up..

I try to point out to prospective drivers that they should make sure to follow up on everything, to be aware of what can happen..

and it is as if It never can...I have always, always always respected the right of large companies to exist and make money, I find myself trying to warn the little guy once and it never really happened as I stated

puzzling

 

You maybe one of the few around here that dont care for what I have to say or my opinions. Based on that, it might change your opinion of the Driver of the Month Award as I am a two time winner myself.

Here are some numbers to chew on. These represent the dispatched miles on the first 8 paychecks of the given year.

2009 - 16162 miles 3 days off
2010 - 14777 miles 7 days off
2011 - 17085 miles 3 days off
2012 - 20087 miles 7 days off

Since the current week for 2012 is the 8th paycheck, it has my current total dispatched miles until Monday. That amount may go up if I happen to squeeze in an overnighter by Tuesday 1600 cutoff.

I counted actual home time days used and not the arrival and depart days ...which in some cases I enjoyed the entire day off and did not count against my hometime counter.

I dont know anything about sitting around this year.

Numbers keep going up year to year. I cant ask for anything better than running more miles than years previous. I can remember getting 13 or 15 restarts between Jan and mid March in 2009.

Most of my reloads are sent within an hour of empty and have only had to wait once or twice for a couple hours. I have terrific communication with my Fleet Manager, he knows how I run, and knows that I always put my clock in the best position to run.

I wrap up this week and then its 4 days in Orlando. The way its looking I may get an extra hometime day depending on the load that gets me into Florida.

 

awesome, Had I not been jerked around, which I was I would have finished my year, I am certainly not going to lose my home...

no one questioned your work ethic, one thing I am not is a liar...

 

I never said that. Please point out where I said you were a liar.

 

You are right, you never said that..and please note I never said you called me one. I guess how a person reacts you can draw conclusions about how you are percieved...I guess I would recommend to anyone that is going to drive tanker ask for a written contract stating time or miles, tanker school, mandatory or not..just for the hell of it....disregard anything else I said..lol..its not important =)