Profile For David M.

Don’t look forward to the bus 😂 it’s the worst part of the entire experience.

As for the pre-trip the only real “secret” is memorizing the terms

Properly secured not cracked bent or broken.. for just about everything no abrasions bulges or cuts and not leaking.. etc

Once you have those terms it’s about going over one part of the truck at a time and being about to point and identify the parts - get one section burned into your mind at a time and eventually the entire truck will flow. Go over it every day.

The only big piece of advice I can give you is if you have a laptop - take it and use it at campus to do your CBT’s on, you can relax and kick up your feet in your room while mostly everyone else is stuffed into the no food or drinks computer lab. The cbts often come up early as well.. check the portal on your way in, check Sunday, I had all my CBTs done before the end of the day Monday Best thing you can do Tuesday is get on the 1st shuttle to the dmv .. even better if you have the finances to do so Uber there and back. Being ahead of the line is critical, everyone will take the elevator.. take the stairs. I was back 90 minutes earlier than anyone else from the DMV first because I Uber’s with a permit all CBTs done at 10:30am Tuesday, allowing me to just focus on simmlab and pretrip for the rest of the week.

Good luck coming to Prime! I came to Prime over a year ago and have had a very positive experience with the company with the exception of one bad trainer. Knowing your stuff before you arrive in Sprimo will help jumpstart you in the direction. The permit test if you use high road will be a non-issue, people pass it every week who start studying on Sunday when they get to campus 🙄. .. know your pre-trip 100% before you arrive and you’ll be well on your way to your CDL.

:D Going to orientation on June 5th, Prime was my 1st choice and I'm determined to make this happen and become part of the trucking community, I know the whole thing is an interview and to be ready for it. Any other tips on things to bring etc? phew... gotta get my whole life ready to move asap

Hope to be there soon, jumping through the application process hoops with my Prime inc recruiter currently :D

Best of luck Cullman!, I'm currently trying to decide between a few of those companies myself including Roehl, The positives I've heard so far are that their in house training is great, very detailed and everyone is nice. The negatives I've heard are their trucks are pretty bare bones and there is a lack of miles. Again.. this is just my personal research, it may depend on division, hometime, lazy drivers and a number of other factors. I'd really like a current driver from Roehl to outright say they are very happy and have a ton of miles thrown at them and they'd be #2 on my list after Prime.

Again, best of luck maybe I'll see you at Roehl someday !

Thanks guys, appreciate the responses, any opinions or things anyone can add are appreciated, Calkansan it's nice to know i won't be asked to change tires or some other BS with the truck lol. I'm determined to learn to put snow chains on properly however even if it's the only mechanical type thing I do. I guess I'll also need to add companies that accept inverters to my list as well as being cat friendly, I never thought of the folding table thanks for that idea.

I probably should have trimmed down my original post.. wall of text lol but I'm eager to start!

Good luck to ya!

Hi everyone, I'm Dave and I must confess I've been lurking here for a couple months since I decided to look into trucking.

Little background on me, I'm 36, from RI and I've worked in restaurants, sales and security over the past 15 years. I think trucking would be the perfect option for me as a career, bought Brent's book for research and the more I think about it the more I love the idea. I'm single with very little family, so being away from home for months at a time would be a non-issue for me, however being away from my cat is a deal breaker so I'm going to need a pet friendly company.

I'm registered to start trucking school at NETTTS in 2 months and have the cash to pay for it up front, but was also looking into going to a sponsored school, Prime, Roehl, Knight, Jim Palmer would be on my short list. I'm also Considering Reefer as a main option with Dry Box and Tanker not ruled out as of yet. Whatever company I do sign with I plan on being there for a year to get my experience and open up more options if I'm not fully satisfied.

That being said, I have a clean driving record for 10years plus, 3 speeding tickets over my first 7 years of driving and 2 accidents both 10+years back that I was not at fault for and both were unavoidable (got hit by a guy getting chased by the cops and a motorcycle trying to bypass traffic on the wrong side of the road while I was making a left). So I don't think my driving record would hinder me at all.

My employment history may be an issue, I've had the same job steady with no problems for the past 8 months and should get a good recommendation from my current employer, however I was out of work a year previous to that with shoulder surgery and rehab stemming from being out of work almost 6 years taking care of my mother while she was terminally ill, I know these go back 10 years, during the other 3 I worked for a company which is no longer around. How big an issue would this be?

But anyway nice to meet you all, and I look forward to joining in the discussion and keeping you up to date with my progress.

Questions.. forgive me if these have all been answered in one form or another before.

1.) Having stated my background above, What should I get before applying to companies or going to school? I've already applied for and received my Twic card and Passport. I'm also in excellent health so my Med card should be a non-issue. Should I apply for and obtain my permit and endorsements?

2.) When out on the road or in the yard, would I need to do any repairs to the truck myself? change tires? Other than applying snow chains? I'm not a very "handy" type person, was handed a baseball bat instead of a wrench at a very young age, I'm not completely helpless but I wouldn't feel comfortable touching the truck. (This is the main reason I have ruled out going flatbed)

3.) How much noise from a reefer actually gets through into the cab? Enough to upset your sleep? Disturb a pet? or is it just a low hum.

4.) Can I take the truck home, who foots the bill for the fuel, how does that work? Can I take home time not at my home (Visiting friends/family in other states or going to a destination I'd like to visit)? I know these are probably more company oriented than specific driving questions but I'm curious what your experiences are in these areas.

5.) Which Cell phone/Internet providers and data plans do y'all use? I'm thinking of getting a verizon jet pack so I can have access just about anywhere as my laptop is my main source of information and entertainment.

6.) I want to get regular plugs in the cab so I can use an electric cooktop (nu-wave) is that an option?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer me :)