My Prime INC Experience. (A Running Log)

I live in Cali so I want to be able to go home more than every few weeks if possible. Thats why I was hoping I could run regional. Is it hard to get regional as a newbie?

 

Lot of stuff here.

I will answer what I can when I stop for the night.

 

I just applied to Prime today but I had a question I am hoping someone can answer. I want to only run tanker and I have over 4 years tanker hauling experience. If I was accepted, do I still have to train with another driver? I really would prefer not to and it would probably be a deal breaker if I had to.

Thanks for any answers anyone can provide.

p.s. I don't mean train with another driver for a day or two. I mean run with one for two or three weeks.

 

If your experience is recent, I don't see why you'd get more than a week- just enough to show you the ropes. I've seen guys on the reefer side with quite a bit of experience hop right into a truck.

 

If the recruiter didn't specify the difference between base and LW pay, you could have pushed to get the .41 as base.

 

The mileage bonus does get paid to the trainee, but it counts against the guarantee, up until the 3500 mpw threshold. It is displayed in my TnT settlements as such.

The team bonus does get split with the TnT trainee, based on their seat class. While the pamphlet is a little outdated on some information, I will quote the company reefer division on handout given in orientation on the subject:

"Team Mileage Incentive
...
Miles above 3500 miles driven will increase the earnings rate by .10cpm
2 A seats share .05 cpm each
1 A and 1 C seat on a truck = A seat gets all .10cpm
1 A and 1 B seat on a truck = A seat gets .06cpm and B seats gets .04cpm"

While that is unclear and poorly written, with grammar issues galore, the mileage bonus DOES exist for TnT. Since the pamphlet was written, the seat classes are divided up even more with percentages. B1 gets more than B2, etc. The updated scale is on their powerpoint. Rather, a recent scale is on their powerpoint.

On that note, all other extra pays, including layover, breakdown, and detention, are also paid at that split percentage, with the pays counting against the guarantee - no trainee should notice them until breaching the 3500 mpw threshold. I know this from practical experience and a clarification from my FM during my training period.

As far as trainees with lease ops, I have zero experience whatsoever, and the pamphlet does not clarify a distinction, though I do know that some lease ops give an extra buck or two under the table to their trainees to pad the guarantee. Whether or not this is common practice is unknown to me at this time.

 

I go all over myself, but I do have some lanes I circuit frequently. I hit up TN a lot, because my swingin bachelor pad (where i hide my wife and kids) is there at the moment, and that usually leads me to other locations in the southeast. Where I go after that usually determines my next run; if I end up in FL, it's usually juice going west. If SC or NC, I usually end up in VA or KY with a produce or meat load. I infrequently hit up the New England colonies, but when I do, they tend to take me to interesting places, generally going westish. I do not tend to go into CA, but CO, WY, NE, and ID are frequent destinations for me. NY to ID is an awesome and easy run which nets a great paycheck, though yogurt tends to make the trailer smell funny.

And I went from living in GA to living in CO when I drove for Werner, and had no issues with altitude. My problem was the lack of humidity. If you're just driving through, you shouldn't really have any issues, especially since our main terminal is not the Denver terminal, it's the Springfield terminal.

A basic run with Prime looks like this: Hook up to a trailer. Bump a dock. Drive somewhere. Bump another dock. Wash trailer. Repeat.

 

JimmyBones,

i have been following your posts so I am pretty sure you will be one of the best people to answer some questions.
1. Does Prime take newbies for the LTL division?
2. If not should I try to start at Prime or would I better better off getting my feet wet with Schneider?
3. The other option is J.B. Hunt, do you know anything about their operations?

Thanks for your time! Stay safe out there.

 

LTL? No such thing at Prime.

 

Is it only OTR, regional, and local, Vans and tanks?