Prime or Stevens

You got through paperwork, fingerprinting.... didnt even get through the physical... yet you can make blanket statements about what goes on in the company.

Prime is a standup outfit... too bad you threw a fit. oh, and gained 10lbs in the week before you showed up.

I made 17k my first 5 months solo (last 5 months of 08)... thats over 40k over 12 months. 48k in '09 and 58k in '10.

Does your company pay odometer miles? Cause I would like to see exactly how you got 4500 miles between those cities... Google maps puts it at about 4k. Very rare that company milage is actually better than any mapping software.

BTW.... No shortage of miles on this end at Prime. I left Ft. Morgan CO last Sat. morning and went to upper Mass. then to Murfreesboro TN, to Kalamazoo MI, and got here in Tomah, WI this morning... 9 days, 1 restart, 4k miles, and a 24 hour delayed delivery because of the storm (not part of the restart)

So bully for you.

 

Yeah. Right.

The only way you'd make only 30k at Prime in a year as a company driver is to spend 4 months sitting at home. You don't have a clue - go troll some other thread.

 

My intention here is NOT to be mean spirited--Having said that--I have no use for Prime(the corporation)but I have seen very little problems out of their drivers on the road--so they must be doing something a little better in their training methods.
Now as for STEVENS--sorry folks but this outfit was never any good and has gone down the tubes in recent years. I routinely load at a very good(old customer)in Pa--they use 3 small o/o companies for all their LTL loads--to all 48.
Recently they hooked up with some half-assed broker(probably CH or someone like that) to cover their T/L freight. So for the last year or so, Stevens has been getting that freight--All rookie teams--and it isn't team type freight-typically no more than 2 big grocery warehouse drops--with lots of time to get there. Anyway it got so bad there with Stevens guys trying to back in(and believe me there is more room than you could possibly need--I have a 04 379 w/285wb and pull a 53'spread) One guy in truck all over parking lot while another stands outside and guides him in all the wrong directions. So know they are required to drop their trailers so the yard switcher can put them in. Since then I started paying attention to the Stevens trucks I see out and about--it is mind boggling to me any of them got a bicycle license!! Like a said not trying to be mean just answering the question like I see em. And no I am not one of those old school hates new guys kinda guy--YES I am very very old school(and proud of it)but I'll be the first to help anyone I can--and have for over 35 years out here. But from what I have seen of this bunch since I started paying attention truly concerns me!!
Just my$.02

 

We continue to read hundreds of post on this forum by disgruntled drivers, wifes, students and who ever. The Prime outfit has two or three cheerleader. The odds are againts you gentleman. No one here personally attacks u2 or the pony or trucker mike, but those guys on the other hand are ripping everyone if anybody expresses a negative opinion. Get over it already, LOL and grow up. people can and will say whats on their mind here and there is nothing U2 can do or say that will change that. Must I recite the old cliche' " You can lead a horse to water but can't force it to drink." the post here only opinions no harm is intended. "Bad Trucking companies" exist and here is where We the people get to rag on them.

 

You're the one who needs to grow up. You threw a hissy fit and walked out of orientation over nothing. There are not " hundreds of post on this forum by disgruntled drivers, wifes, students and who ever" on this forum. You can "rag on" all you like, but in the end it is just BS. You have no experience to base your comments on outside of 2 or 3 hours in Springfield.

Multiple pickup's and deliveries? Pretrip, fueling, the occaisonal pee break? 70 hours in 8 days means an average of 8.75 hours per day, and 563 miles per day on the average to cover those 4500 miles. At 65 mph it would take you 8.65 hours of continuous driving to do that 563 miles leaving about 6 minutes for everything else. Any way you stack it up, this is total BS.

Personally, I like throwing darts at liars.

 

We run at 70 mph and I log on paper. Your the loser with a 60 moh truck blocking the freaking lanes, Your company has become worse than JBHUNT! I would rather work at Swift with Injun than any company that Lies and Sucks like PRIME!

 

Where is admin? Wow... someone has a real burr about Prime after being told by recruiters (they all mention it) about BMI, what the standards are, then porking out, gaining weight, then squealing like a stuck pig because he fails the BMI standards. Wow. It is getting really ugly and personal... and the newbie who started this thread only had one question - whether he should choose Prime or Stevens. We have logged our choices and opinions and nobody needs to get all personal and nasty.

 

I get it. You made your point, popmartian. You don't like Prime. Time to move on.

I've followed guys going through training at Stevens and Prime for a long time now, and they both seem to be outstanding places to get a start in this industry. Each seem to offer very thorough training.

However, I also agree with American Trucker in that not everyone learns at the same pace, and just because you didn't log 60K miles with a trainer, does not mean you aren't ready. You simply need to know yourself and what you're comfortable with. I'd venture to say a lot of people are intimidated by the big trucks and the job when they first start and really appreciate the extra time with a trainer. However, others like myself, may have grown up in it and pick things up very quickly. In that instance, 60K at Prime or 56 days at Stevens may very well be overkill. Personally, I wouldn't want to do that, but then again, I grew up learning from my dad who (if he were alive today) would think it's crazy that you actually have to go to school to get into trucking these days.

Nevertheless, if you're looking primarily at Prime or Stevens, the main advantage I see with Prime is the money. $200 a week while getting your CDL and a minimum of $600 a week while training. That is very reasonable.

And I wouldn't worry about having to stay for a year to keep from paying for school. Just go into it ahead of time with a commitment to YOURSELF to stay there for the year, no matter what. You're doing yourself a favor regardless of where you go in the future. Remember, these are your goals, not Prime's, Steven's, or any other company's. They are simply helping you get there.