Prime Inc Good Starting company?

I would recommend prime to a family member. Got my CDL with them and still here over 2 years later. Sure there are challenges and I always keep my eyes open for other opportunities but nothing has jumped out as a huge improvement yet.

Regarding not getting resets, not getting home on time, not running the hours you like, whatever... To survive this industry you need to have a spine. Do not be afraid to fight for what you want and don't be afraid of that all powerful word "NO". You are driving the truck. Your dispatcher probably has never even seen the inside of a truck. What the hell do they know.

You protect your record and don't hit anything and there are countless other driving jobs out there so why be scared to stand up for yourself?

Sorry for the rant but I don't understand so many people rolling over with "but dispatch made me". I tell dispatch how I run and we make it work together. I get a reset every weekend. I shower every day. I run pretty consistent hours every day and run decent miles every week. I get home on time when that is important to me. These things don't just happen. I have fought for every one of them because they are important to me.

Is it always perfect? No. We all have ####ty weeks but the good outweigh the bad for me.

 

Chinatown, I took your advice last year and I went to FFE cdl school in Chicago, that’s was a bad experience

 

As a company driver I was told that I could not turn down loads, all of my trainers told me that. Are you company? Have you turned down loads? What were the repercussions? Bc I asked to be home for the 29th, over 10 days in advance and I get a load that gets me in the general area a day later. Am I missing something? I just started and my intent was to do my yr. and leave but I'm seriously considering turning in my truck.

 

Did you graduate and get a cdl? If so, that was the purpose of attending plus to gain a little experience to move on to something you prefer.
Describe the bad experience.

 

I am company. Refusing loads is definitely frowned upon. Getting home on time generally means planning to be back a day or two early as I expect will be the case anywhere. Hard to guarantee freight will cooperate perfectly. If I have a flight on Friday I'm aiming to be back Weds so a day late would still be acceptable. I also do my best to keep my plans at home flexible to make things easier.

This comes down to communication with your fleet manager. When I was new I was often weeks plus late for home time. I once let them push me into a load going to the opposite side of the country days before supposed to be home.

Now I notify them of my hometime as early as possible and then I actively follow up with dispatch as we get close to time and make sure we are on the same page. If they send me a load taking me out of range of home then I'm immediately on the phone reminding of home time and spell out why this doesn't work with my planned home time. If you are reasonable and up front with your expectations, your fm should understand and do what is necessary.

I wouldn't exactly call what I've done refusing a load so much as explaining to FM why the load doesn't work so he pulls the load and finds something else. Can't back down though. Stick to your guns if it's important.

I could go on and on but hopefully that helps at all. Let me know if I help more with specifics etc. I hope it works out for you but it sounds like it's getting pretty late to do much to change the course of this hometime. Experience will help future results.

Also mentioning I've had to deadhead home before. Not paid the miles but didn't pay for fuel either, maybe that's an option if you are close enough with no fitting loads.

 

Its is tough when your off the beaten track to give you home time, companies may be reluctant to let you drive their truck to your home with no load however if you could make it back to base and drive home i can't see it being an issue getting home time. if this is an issue i'd stay for 12 months then start looking else where as there are companies out there that will look after you LW Miller i found were very good at this we even had a driver whose home town was in Joplin MO and he had no problem getting home time even though we were based in UT.

 

I'd like to be home for thanksgiving but after this debacle I don't know what to expect, I'll request thanksgiving and get there the Saturday after. I'm suppose to be home tomorrow but im sitting here at a receiver that doesn't open until 8am tomorrow with a load that doesn't deliver until 7pm tomorrow night. The only thing I can do is hope that the receiver will take me in tomorrow morning that way I can try to be home by tomorrow afternoon.