Profile For Christian R.

I almost got a job with Ups as a feeder driver off the street. I just couldnt get off work at Old dominion to take the road test so they forgot about me. In my area by Philly they Hr at the willow grove facility said they needed 40 drivers this year and probably another 50 in 2020. ( pre covid of course) I know in Harrisburg also middletown now because they built a super hub or whatever they call it they were hiring some crazy number like 200 plus drivers. All I know from my limited exposure with them and a few close friends who now work for them, Ups is in a real bind with hiring feeder drivers and will hire them off the street by the dozens. They say the package drivers are signing up for the transition into feeder drivers less and less, then on top of that the ones that actually follow through in get into a cdl a truck are about 1%. Ups is a tough outfit to work for with all of their rules and micro managing , but well worth it when the new contract ,up in this area ,is someone around 40 dollars an hour overtime after 8. With attrition you can get high up on that seniority board real quick.

I dunno maybe when all of this covid stuff dies down i might give it another go.

just my .02

Hey bud welcome to the group, and hello everyone else. Its been a long time I know but i have some free time because of this covid 19 really screwing up ltl freight. Well Im back for a short bit and I missed you guys too, but enough of that. I worked at Prime for my first yr and on the same fleet as kearsey. HI KEARSEY! Learn all you can there at Prime its a great company, and will teach you alot. Trainers differ like underwear and some are good and some are bad. At the end of the day all of them will get on your nerves and vice versa, its a small space and people are set in their ways. Just make sure they communicate and you also communicate effectively, never be afraid to ask a question... Ever! The more you know the less you will make up for on your own when no one is there to help and Sprimo is 1000 miles away.

I have a challenge for you and please this is just for fun , but when you get the hang of driving that rig. Lets see how long you can run on recaps before you burn out. That means you have a 70 hour clock and at the end of the week your clock will start giving back your previous weeks hours. Meaning you started on Monday you ran 7 days and on the 8th day ,the monday of the next week, your clock will give you back the time you used on the first monday. This will happen with every day there on forward. Most guys like to run 9 hours a day 7 days a week so their clock never runs out. This is in a perfect world of course. This is all in fun and it really helps manage your clock with proper pre-tripping, and learning the interstates especially in trickier states with elevation or in densely populated areas like Atlanta, Miami, and New York city which will slow you down depending on the time of day.

This little challenge is all in fun, just learn all you can take care of yourself out there. The most important thing is your new, its a big truck, and backing in those truck stops can be nerve racking at the end of the day when your tired. You have a great advantage to being "homeless" on the road and saving alot of money. Essentially changing your life's trajectory, with a debt free beginning in a years time.

be safe keep the shiny side up

Chris

Hey g town another question for you, How much do you make on average running pottsville dedicated? I have alot of Prime walmart exp and I am looking at my future options of local opportunities?

I work for Prime as well and I dont get to California much at all. I get turned around at wyoming, idaho, nebraska, missouri, and illinois. I zeroed in on hometime with your post. Its a lovely paradox hometime, in my limited experience in trucking and my experience with prime specifically I can say this. If you go OTR, hometime will kill your paychecks because you dont get paid for that time. If you go home every three weeks for 3 days which is primes bare minimum you will effectively work 324 days a year give or take. With that I worked somewhere around 350 days this year and I am on track to make about 58k this year as my first year in trucking with Prime. Also coming off hometime and going home for hometime are weeks notorious for lower mileage due to logistics of getting you home on your preferred day. This means they wont be high mileage weeks either, so boiling it down, that will lower your gross pay for the year. Simple terms the more hometime the less money you will make, and Prime isnt set up for plentiful hometime. I work 6 weeks take off 4 days just to give you perspective. This isnt meant for discouragement but as info for you to make a more informed choice.

shiny side up

Christian

Mr. Banks wrote:

So none of you guys are jealous that G gets to spend the day with me? lol

I'm really excited about the opportunity and to really get to pick someone's brain is the icing on the cake. I'll definitely update you guys on everything that happens.

I like the "moxie" there Banks.

I feel very lucky and fortunate to have the opportunity to positively influence and inspire as you progress through this process.

I also feel lucky to have the chance to learn from you as well. No doubt I will.

Looking forward to it. Peace.

I only live 70 miles from pittston and about 50 ish miles from the walmart dc, I want a ride too damn it! Just kidding G town I did enough walmart dedicated in Lewiston and Olney for awhile. I am curious thou, is swift keeping the account? We lost both of ours.

Since Rainy brought me into this lol I will say training SUCKED! At the end of the day its just circumstantial thou, I mean two people in confined a space is gonna grind some gears. In hindsight its a blink of an eye compared to everything else. I am on my 11th month with prime and its been a wild ride! Prime is a great company, but trucking is alot of different circumstances from your attitude, common sense, and ability to think on your feet. Things change out here constantly and the road grinds on you when your out on your 5th week running every day on recaps, but for the positives I get paid a respectable living with no college degree and I am left alone. That didnt come easy, I had to persevere through orientation, psd, tnt, earning my fleet managers trust and respect by running efficient and Safe. Me and Rainy have the same fm and she made me smile this morning when she told me "see Matt messaged you first thing in the morning he only messages his good drivers first thing in the morning! Welcome to the big leagues!" Lol thanks Rainy! All im saying is with anything in life you have to make your mind up and take the leap of faith. Analysis paralysis wont get you anywhere and luck is a fallacy.

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

― Seneca

Shiny side up

Christian

Well I guess Prime likes it because they put a ring on it lol! Good job girl! I know you always drill in my head, 2 hours early is on time, hour early is late lol ,Except Walmart.

Just got on back on the forum, Ive been lurking lol but not active. I didnt get the job at ODFL, they encouraged me to reapply when my year was up due to lack of verification of driving school from my company I am employed with now. It stinks, I liked the managers, and everything, but o well maybe in the future my year is almost up. safe travels

Bran009, I am the infamous Christian, Rainy refers to. I am also a driver here at Prime, and yea me and Rainy have the same Fleet manager. Needless to say we talk alot and compare notes on everything lol. Anyways to the questions, be upfront and honest with your recruiter and you should be fine with the job history. Schooling is important and shows intelligence, Prime definitely just wants to verify who they throw into these trucks and make sure they are a good fit for all the responsibility. This isnt gonna be like a interrogation with the CIA lol. Its alot of money and risk for everyone involved these trucks are expensive, the loads are expensive, and people can get hurt out here if you arent careful. Enough with the seriousness, doom and gloom. The truck vocabulary you are looking for in Primes world is Condos (full size) and Lightweights ( smaller) and I cannot speak for diver driver but I asked for a condo and I received a condo with no ifs and or buts. I am company same as Rainy just in case it wasnt obvious. Lastly its alot of information being thrown at you from the recruiter, just make sure your honest with yourself on what to expect from this company and from this lifestyle/job. Its not for everyone and there are alot of different facets to trucking that could fit your lifestyle better. One thing I learned is trucking is in huge demand, play your cards right keep your eyes and ears open and listen, you will be in high demand staring at some great pay with a clean dac, great experience, and a new lease on life. Good luck to you be safe out there and shiny side up!

Hey 6 string just wanted to add myself to the list, I have been working for an Otr company that I won’t bad mouth and things didn’t live up to what was promised. I applied at Old dominion and now a rookie with 6 months Otr exp got a contingent offer of employment pending background and drug test. Which I have my twic and I don’t do drugs so I’ll be fine on that stuff. I’ll let you know if anything goes sideways but as of right now I’ll Be your neighbor in the east working out of the Allentown terminal. See you around hopefully.

Hey turtle maybe I didnt read this from your previous posts or maybe you didnt mention it. Did you pick condo or Lw? Im headed to prime on the 12th and have a long way to go, but Is there a huge wait for condos? Also what was the cost of the hotel room for the waiting period?