My Prime INC Experience. (A Running Log)

That's good to hear IP. What made me think about it was I was watching a bunch of Youtube videos of these guys getting in and out of the truck to make a 2" adjustment because the tandems wouldn't slide in place. And I thought, this is freaking stupid! So, glad to hear most have air slides! I guess there are still some of the old trailers kicking around?

I've already got a military modular bag JB, so I guess I'll bring it on the Train with me. It's got a pretty good compression bag with it, it will compress down to about the size of bed roll, so not too big of pain to bring with me.

 

Myself, I was offered that WIA training money from the State to go to driving school with CR England. You can figure where I told them to stick that training money...hehehe. For me, it was more important to get trained by the right company, than to get a free ticket from another Carrier I didn't want to jump into bed with. Just my .02 worth. Hlangston, if you had the opportunity to get yours through a local Community College, Kudos for you! I hear that is the best route to take if the option is available to you.

 

Prime reimbursed me a total of $750 in '07... no idea how that is working today. I spent $4500 at a good quality third-party driving school to get my CDL. The truth is that none of the commercial schools or for that matter community colleges can afford to give you serious seat time in training. It's too expensive. Their objective is to get you past a road test with your state's testing authority to get you a CDL. IMO, after paying for it myself, you are much better off to go through Prime's PSD course. I felt the trainees who went through PSD were much better prepared for the TnT training than I was.

 

You only skip out on the "get your CDL" portion of Prime's training. And unlike drivers that go thru Prime's entire program, you don't get the 10K miles off the total required for upgrade to A seat. B2 is what Hubby started as, with this very scenario. They paid a certain amount per week re-imbursement (you HAVE to make sure you get your recruiter to set this up) until you upgrade to A seat only.

 

IP The CDL program I thought to apply to was Iowa Cental Community College ICCC. Roughly 6k dollars. 2000 OTR driving miles. After reading this thread and others. ..I came to the same conclusion about being prepared for TnT that you did. I want my TnT to be as positive and helpful a learning experience it can be. I've read (don't know if it is true), trainers are participating in the PSD and choosing what trainee they want to bring on board with them. Seems like a good way to increase the success rate of the TnT.

 

I went through a three month course at a technical college for my initial training, with HUGE emphasis on PTI and HOS, with plenty of miles on top.

 

This is pretty much what you get doing PSD (not that I did this) - lots of PTI and HOS (although this is in the TnT phase) - and 10,000 miles behind the wheel. Most accredited schools give you 160 hours behind the wheel, of which only half is on the road - the rest is backing practice, which you get in PSD as well. Just not that much. So the driving school gives you 40 hours of local work (say at 35 mph to be charitable) and 40 hours of highway work (say at 55 to be charitable) - that's around 3600 miles. Now I know I'm pushing Prime's way of doing things here, but I'm looking at this in hindsight. If you do the full program at Prime, including a year of driving for them, you spend nothing on your training and are paid after you receive your CDL. That's quite a difference from paying your own way at a driving school or community college. If I were to do it over again, I'd choose the PSD program.

 

I don't disagree with the value of the system, but I personally would go through the college again.

I had good and experienced instructors, very comprehensive training, and upon completion, I got a state certificate on top of the licensure.

I also didn't pay for the course. While it may not be possible for all folks to have the same experience, I was able to use the Georgia HOPE grant to pay for it.

Only money I fronted was the state fees for the CDL, and a few necessary materials.

 

The va covered me all I had to prove isnthat I was under employed

 

Really appreciate all the threads on Prime. Has provided more of the detailed insights I've been looking for.
Will decide between Prime or Central Ref this week. Reviewing the details of each program.
Will continue to follow this thread & the others IP suggested. Thx!