(New) Prime Inc. Springfield Mo.

Hey ChickenHawk,

Thanks for the good info about Prime. I've done quite a bit of research, though with limited understanding of the industry, and feel that I'll apply with them and them alone at this point, hoping to be contacted. A few questions for you... Being a lease contractor, is having good or great credit vs below average or bad credit, worth anything when seeking to be a lease operator? Would having good credit reduce the average weekly lease payment? (It seems like their website caters to those with not such good credit by saying "no credit check".) Their site says they'd be adding other makes of trucks in '06. Do they offer KW T2000s to lease or any other models besides the Century S/Ts? Which area do they need help in the most - van, flat or tanker? Which do you haul in and how do you like it? Are you comfortable with sharing how many miles you've driven each of these last two years? And how much $ per mile average does your 72% of the load come out to after taking into account fuel surcharge,...? I've heard cost per mile to operate a truck on one of their leases is approx $.80 after all expenses to the leasee. Is that about right for you? On average, how long are you away for and then how long are you home for? Do you take the truck home with you or if you live near a terminal, do you leave it there? If so, is there a charge to leave your truck at the termail while on TAH? Do they encourage or discourage having a lap top in the truck when you lease? What about talking on a cel while driving a truck, is that a pretty stupid thing to do? Regarding the $.045 per mile they take beyond the weekly lease of approx $700, part of that $.045 comes back upon lease completion, I understand, but only part of it. What is their reasoning for taking that amount? During training, if I perceive a serious problem w/ my trainer as an example, is there any recourse with the company? If I don't feel I'm getting good training or we butt heads and I feel it's unfairly, will anyone listen or am I one my own to make the best of a bad situation? As well, I've heard that a bad dispatcher/fleet mgr can really hurt a driver. If I or any driver were to ever have a problem such as this, is there any recourse with the company? Will anyone listen and more importantly, help to do something about the issue? Though not perfect (nor am I obviously) my overall sense is that if I take care of them and their loads..., they'll take care of me... Is that an accurate assessement in general? And my final question, can you or anyone else give me good reasons to apply with any other company besides Prime? I know answering all of my questions would take some time, so if you're able, I'd really appreciate it! If not, I understand. Thankyou!

itsup2me

 

Just curious, what model trucks do they lease out, is it still Freightliners, or have the included KW's and Pete's?

 

Thanks for the info about Prime, Chickenhawk. Question for you - you wrote that you scan your documents to transflow off the truck? What does that mean? And you say you have a multifunction machine (copier,fax, scanner, printer). Do you keep that in your truck and use the scanner portion to scan docs to transflow?

I applied to Prime and I report in June to earn my CDL...

itsup2me

 

One more thing - like Higgins asked, do they Lease brand new Kenworths? Particularily the T2000?

Thx

 

ItSUP2ME, if you can, will you post back once you find out. I have been seriousially thinking of going to them for my CDL (I applied, they said yes, I have'nt scheduled the start time yet) training. I have read lots of bad about the lease, and a couple good, but being a former leasee with crengland, I have no intentions ever of doing one again but I am very curious about there company driver program.

Thanks Mate!

 

I worked there in the early 90's......had 2 small children....didn't get home near enough.....so I finished my lease and went home. Kids are gone now.....Getting ready to go back....Orientation starts June 11......gonna take Momma with me so she can pick us out a truck......then when my 90 days are almost up she's gonna go through the CDL training and I'm gonna train her and we're gonna be teaming. Really looking forward to it!

One thing to note guys......you may want to try out one of the trucks that only have a few months left on the lease. Check and see which ones have the most left on the Maintenance Fund......finish out that lease.....and in the mean time you can order your truck to be there when you finish the first lease. That's what I did.....and got money back when the lease was finished.....It was hard for me to leave seeing that brand new truck waiting on me....But, I got to watch my kids grow up and got to go to their basketball/soccer games. Now, it's my time again.

 

We'll be bumping into each other......either on the road or @ the palace(Springfield)..... I didn't get out of trucking.....I just turned into a Freight Hauler for 11 years. Been working @ Con-way. I'm gonna be there on the 11th for my orientation.......and Momma is coming up for her CDL training when I have about 2 weeks left to go on my 90 days. Then I'll be training her after she gets her CDL. I've pulled tanks, refers, & flatbeds in the past. Gonna have to check out all 3 divisions and see if they could keep us busy.......(I'd kinda like to go back to Flat Beddin') but we'll have to check out the types of freight they are pulling.

 

Thanks for the information about Prime. Just so happens that I'll be starting there in June as a lease operator. I currently drive a company pumpkin. I've been doing my reasearch and have determined that Prime may be a decent way to go. I'm a runner. I don't like wasting time and strive to do a minimum of 500 miles a day. I'm from Houston, TX and try to go home maybe every 4 to 6 weeks.
I've noticed that when I meet Prime drivers on the CB, at fuel islands, laundry rooms, etc. Their comments about the company seem ok. The typical response is "You hae your good days and your bad." The lease ops all claim to net anywhere from $1500 to $2000 weekly. The seriously bad comments always appear on the web and many times come from people who don't and/or never have driven for Prime. Those that do have experience with the company make me wonder if they are spending too much time posting on message boards rather than getting down the road making money.
Granted no comapny is perfect. (Believe me. I know. I started with Stevens Transport) and companies, like drivers, are all different and sometimes don't fit together. (Like me and Schneider. I think Schneider is a great company. We just don't fit together but that's another story).
I'm interested in finding out for myself how good or bad Prime may be.