Prime: Orientation and Training?

If I do go with Prime, I am wondering after my training will I be issued my own company truck? It seems all the info I have seen is after training with Prime you will be directed to some kind of lease agreement. I'm new to trucking and not sure if I'm ready to be an O/O. Any info regarding this would greatly be appreciated.

 

i chose to do my last 20k miles solo in a company truck... when I hit that 80k total mark I took my pay raise and kept driving... other than fellow drivers asking me if Im considering it, no one above me has suggested it... maybe you get the hard pitch if you come in athe 80k mark to upgrade.

Terminals in Pittston Pa. Springfield Mo. S.Lake City. Denver. those are the ones I have been too... Hear we have Dayton Oh. Floral Company yards in FL. Portland Or. and Oxnard Ca... word was we were looking to put one in Ontario Ca, but with the economy the way it is who knows.

 

I keep seeing signs of a slowing economy in trucking and then Im suprised with some more miles... mediocre miles over some rough roads (1500 miles of which less than 50 on interstates.) So the weekend was shaping up to be a 1 or 2 more short trips... get a Texas to WA with very little time to spare on my 70 clock. Thr appt was set for 0000 Sun night... I figured I would need the 4 some hours I was to get back on Mon. FM got the appt. changed... and made it exactly on my original eta.

So the FM suggests a restart... ok, maybe another sign of slowdown... I guess I will see. Tues 1600 is the weekly cut off... so Im getting a 7 hour late start on the week... Im in WA and I heard the late harvest of apples is another record... so maybe a load of those or some potato type thing... last time was a full trailer of slipsheeted hashbrowns that has to be cut just enough make weight.

Lots of rumors about hiring only students and replacements...so either you have some experiance or no cdl can get you hired... like I said rumors...

Im thinking, still, about teaming, whether Im training or straight up team, i dont know.

 

do they have tuition rembursment??

 

from what I understand... we dont hire truck school grads that have no trucking experiance. Only a recruiter can give you the definative answer on that. You are either Prime schooled or if you did attend a truck school and gained experiance at another trucking company for a determined amount of time... As far as prime trained you sign a note for about 3500 dollars that you dont pay unless you quit... at 6 months its cut in half and at one year its zero... you get one week out with your instructor (about 2 weeks in) to decide if trucking is for you, and can leave free and clear...

There have been a few program changes and hiring requirements since I went thru... so really a recruiter would know the answers for sure... the economy has thrown up a few speed bumps in the selective process, if the rumors are true...

I was told that truck school grads were (not all, but some) were showing up for the training phase and the couldnt pass the basic skills test and had to be sent out with cdl instructors rather then trainers...

again drivers talk, and we may have the incorrect info, so check with a recruiter.

 

I am enjoying reading your progression as a driver. I have never driven for Prime but it sounds like they have done a real turn around from a few years back.

Several years ago they had a horrible safety rating and many, many bad tales came out of their lease program. At that time their lease trucks had no governors either. I ran with a couple of the the drivers a few times and heard their bad experiences. Of course that was not a true reflection of the company as a whole.

But it truly is a pleasure to see that you have been well trained and take your job seriously, a lot of new drivers can not measure up to what you have accomplished so far.

I am looking forward to reading more of your experiences.

 

Oh I almost forgot. The economy is bad but it is also normal that freight slows down from Nov. til around Feb. especially with reefers. Hopefully the declining economy will still allow freight to get back to full swing in Feb like always.

 

I did the orientation last week. I was sent a bus ticket from Atlanta GA to Springfield MO. Geez Greyhound sucks! ( I have heard they will reimburse you if you fly, but that could be just a rumor). I checked into the company owned Motel at around 1pm. When you check in I would tell the clerk to put you in a no-smoking room even if you smoke! (these rooms are a little bit cleaner and tend to have better AC and Heat controls). You will be sharing a room with another person during the week of orentation, but you can get a room by your self for I think 110 buck extra. ( not sure if thats a nite or for the week)
You will be offered a box dinner thats not much more than a deli sandwich chips cookie and a water the first night.
Day 1 Wednsday:
*Roll call: Dont be late!!!
*Review Personnel files and Applications. bring all phone numbers and info on Jobs you held in the past, very important this will save you lots of time!
*Physical, Drug Test and finger Print Paperwork
*Interview
*Road test (very basic, a couple of laps around the test pad shifting, and down shifting.)
*Maintenance Class ( very boring three hours long everyone must do it)
*(Flatbed) Securment Class
Day 2 Thursday:
*Hazmat 181
*Sexual Harassment Policy Review
*Load security ( high value loads)
*Permits
*Logs (Homework, just filling out your past 7 days in a log easy)
*Saftey
*Taxes
Day 3 Friday:
*Welcome/ Qualifications/ Wellness
*Health Insurance Benifits
*Dispatch Operations/ Road Assist
*Certifications

Keep in this in mind. Dont be late, you will be filling out lots of paperwork, so bring all the info with you i.e. Phone #'s, address's anything you think you might need for insurance or contact info. You get a meal voucher (4.25 for breakfast 5.75 for lunch & dinner, any thing more you pay out of pocket) Coffee and Tea are free. Dont get off on a wrong foot buy making a fool out of yourself. They will send you home for not giving respect where it is due! You will meet many important people that work at PRIME from various departments so dont make them mad, they will send you home!
If you make it to friday afternoon your almost done. The following is a Certification Checklist.
*Comdata Card
*Medical Card & Long-Form Physical
*Prime Certificate Card ( this allows you to be leagal to drive Prime trucks)
*Payroll Pin #
*Log ID # and Driver Code
*Turn in your meal card and Prime will give you a free hat.
* Meet your fleet manager tour the Facility (my TT driver did this with me)
*Get your first Load your on the road!

T & T Driver Trainer in Traning Driver, when you meet this person will vary, mine called me in the Hotel thursday night some ppl want know till friday, sat, or sunday. If you dont meet the TT driver till later in the week they will keep you in the Hotel for free.

I hope this answers alot of questions, if you have more post them and I will try to answer them.

For everyone that asked about Old Prime they have changed they are more about safty then anything else.

 

I'm in truck driving school right now and will graduate Dec 12. I contacted Prime and the recruiter said they do hire out of school graduates and orientation would be 2 days, then out for 90 days with a trainer. I would like to get into the flatbed division and was told that i would train with reefer and move over to flatbed when a truck became available. Has anyone out there ever done this? Is anyone out there with Prime flatbed, would like to know what its like to work for Prime?

 

The recruiter probably meant to say they do not hire students right out of school for flat bed, I wanted to do the same thing. I graduated school at the end of October and Prime hired me right out of school! I went to orientation, and its 2-1/2 day if you don't count the second part of Friday. My trainer was in the Flat bed division of Prime but switched over to refer, because freight was down. He's a L/O and has a 09 Pete, so he did not want to get in the hole with his lease.