Just Got A Call From Prime!

So far, I filled out on-line apps for Roehl, Knight, Swift, and Prime. Prime was the last place I applied for (on Friday) but they were theirs was the first recruiter to call me. She said that in my area (Phoenix) I'd be driving a refer and the starting CPM is .43! That sounds pretty good to me! Then she said that next orientation was 9/28 followed by 10/5 and wanted to know if I could make one of them. That's awful quick! I told her that I could not make 9/28 because I needed to give my current job more notice.

Still waiting to hear from Knight, Swift, and Roehl. I missed a call from Roehl last week and called back leaving two messages, but so far still haven't spoken to anyone.

The only negative about Prime is that their nearest terminal to me is in Salt Lake City whereas Roehl, Knight, and Swift have terminals here in Phoenix.

The recruite from Prime said I'd be driving what they call a Eco 49? Anyone familiar with that rig? I think it's a Peterbuilt.

Thanks.

So far, I filled out on-line apps for Roehl, Knight, Swift, and Prime. Prime was the last place I applied for (on Friday) but they were theirs was the first recruiter to call me. She said that in my area (Phoenix) I'd be driving a refer and the starting CPM is .43! That sounds pretty good to me! Then she said that next orientation was 9/28 followed by 10/5 and wanted to know if I could make one of them. That's awful quick! I told her that I could not make 9/28 because I needed to give my current job more notice.

Still waiting to hear from Knight, Swift, and Roehl. I missed a call from Roehl last week and called back leaving two messages, but so far still haven't spoken to anyone.

The only negative about Prime is that their nearest terminal to me is in Salt Lake City whereas Roehl, Knight, and Swift have terminals here in Phoenix.

The recruite from Prime said I'd be driving what they call a Eco 49? Anyone familiar with that rig? I think it's a Peterbuilt.

Thanks.

ECO 49 is Prime's name brand for a lighter weight tractor and trailer combination. The lighter overall tare weight allows for a higher payload increasing $$$ per mile for the carrier (in this case Prime). Although they did run Petes and Columbias (pre-cursor to the Cascadia), I think Prime is currently running Cascadia's in their ECO fleet; short hood, mid-roof sleeper height, and 48" bunk width. Pack light!

Many of the truckload carriers are moving in this direction. The Swift tractor pictured is similar to the Prime configuration with the exception of (I think) Prime has super single tires/wheels on the drives.

David, my first advice to you would be to take a look at all the companies. Browse your options because they all have great perks to offer you. For example, Prime pays the best, Roehl has an unbeatable hometime program, Swift has many dedicated opprtunities, and Knight has a Western 11 regional route. Every company you mentioned will be a great start to your career for you. But its your job to figure out which company fits your needs the best. How To Choose A Company will help with that decision.

My second piece of advice to you would be this; forget about the terminals location. It really does you no good and simply should not be a deciding factor in your decision. Sure, theres the benefit of being able to leave your truck in the shop while you go home. But it does not help you get home any faster. If anything, it will make it harder to get home because there's greater competition for freight because there's always a hundred drivers needing to go to a terminal for repairs/ drops/ etc. Not only that, but everytime you'll go home you'll have to leave your truck at the terminal instead of driving it home. I don't know about you, but I strongly prefer to drive my shiny truck home and show it off to friends and family.

Now before I disappear like I've been doing, let me clarify what a Eco-49 truck is. An Eco-49 truck is basically a smaller, lighter truck than the typical OTR truck. You save the company fuel and can haul heavier loads, in exchange, they pay you more. An Eco-49 truck in Primes fleet is usually a Freightliner or International. They used to have Peterbilts back in my day but they don't use them anymore. An Eco-49 truck is often called a Lightweight truck or 'LW' for short. Want to know more about these trucks? Check out my link below:

Lighweight Eco-49 Trucks

PS: Jetguy, that link is so old its not at all accurate or relevant anymore.

Thanks for all the quick responses. With Prime having you out on the road for longer periods of time than other companies, I just wonder how much of an issue it is to be on the road for 3 weeks at a time in such a small sleeper area.

Thanks for all the quick responses. With Prime having you out on the road for longer periods of time than other companies, I just wonder how much of an issue it is to be on the road for 3 weeks at a time in such a small sleeper area.

Go to your nearest truck stop and try to find a LW truck. Talk to the driver and talk to him about it. I'm sure he will let you take a look inside. Then you can decide for yourself.

Well, things are moving fast. Just got a call from Roehl. And while I was on the phone with them, I missed a call from Swift.

Roehl said that all they have available out of Phoenix right now is flatbed. I asked about their rates and she said rookie flatbed pay is 35 CMP and box is 30. I kind of chuckled when she said that some people like flatbed better because it keeps you in better shape, etc. But 35 CMP is a quite a bit less than the 43 I'd get with Prime. Of course, one advantage with Roehl is that you are hired and getting paid from day one where with Prime you do not actually get paid until you start your OTR team driving which would be about 5-6 weeks with no pay. Still, in the long run, the higher CPM with Prime would make up for the initial period of no pay, plus I'm not too thrilled with flatbed. (however, she did say that there was just no box truck available at the time and that after a while that might become available but they could not guarantee it)

There is also a difference with the away/home time. Prime said to expect 3 weeks out/3 days home, whereas Roehl's options are 18/4 or 11/3 so there is a little better home time with Roehl.

So, since I'm not that thrilled about the hassle of tarping and straping, and since even with flatbedding for Roehl I'd still be .08 less CPM than Prime, Prime is looking better than Roehl at this point.

Oh, and Daniel B. thanks a lot for your post on the Eco-49. It doesn't look too bad and for the extra CPM, I think it'd be worth it.

Roel also does this crazy 7/7 thing, or 7/4/7/3 and its slip seating in my area :-(

I was texting a few more questions to the Prime recruiter on the DriverPulse app and after a couple of back and forth texts, I decided it'd just be easier to talk to her. I called and left her a message and she called back within two minutes. Anyway, after we discussed a couple of questions:

Q: If I get my permit here in AZ which requires a DOT physical, do they still redo the physical? A: Yes, they still redo the physical.

Q: If I get my permit here do they just transfer it to MO? A: Yes, they just transfer it to MO.

Q: What about after I get my CDL? A: I have 30 days to transfer it to AZ.

Q: When on 30K mile team driving with the trainer, what about hometime? Do I take hometime in his area? A: She said they try to find a trainer from my area and he/she drops me off at my house en route to their home area and then picks me up after hometime is over.

Q: Do the APUs provide enough juice to run a high-draw appliance like a microwave? A: Yes.

Q: Is there a set amount of miles that you can go off route? For example, if you are making a run to someplace, and you have the time to do it, can you go a certain amount of miles off route to visit someone or someplace? Or if you are not home but are taking your 34 hour reset, how far can you go in the tractor? A: She initially said she did not know and would get back to me. Then someone must have walked by because I heard her asking him. Then the answer was you can't take the truck someplace during your 34 hr reset time. As to detours en route, it was up to your fleet manager.

Q: Is the person you train and drive with when you have your permit pre-CDL, the same person you will train/drive with after you have your CDL for the 30K miles? A: No necessarily. Some trainers only do the 10k training and some only do the 30k training.

Then, at the end of our conversation, she told me that MY APPLICATION WAS APPROVED AND THEY WERE READY TO SEND ME TO ORIENTATION! I told her that I needed to give my employer notice and that I had prior commitments through the end of October. She said that she can only book out up to October 19 and the 26th is the earliest I could be there. So she said to call her in a couple weeks and she can book me for then.

I never expected any of this to happen so fast! I am still waiting to hear from Swift and Knight though. I would like especially to hear from Knight since I have heard good things about them and they would be local.

Anyway, thanks again for all the advice and insight you guys are giving. A:

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

DOT:

Department Of Transportation

A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.

State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.

Fleet Manager:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

APUs:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Davis, that's great you have one in the bag. Chances are Prime will have a place for you when you call back. And yes, keep at it with Swift and Knight. It's fun to have a real choice to make!

Thanks. As a matter of fact, after I posted that I got a call from Swift. They got me signed up for their online course and said they wanted me to get my CDL permit before attending their school. Their recruiter said their pay is 36 CPM. That is .06 less than Prime, but I am considering it since their terminal is close to home, they don't put you out on the road for as long, and they have full size trucks (according to her -- she said they run the Cascadia but it has a double berth). I know my wife would prefer I go with Swift... but still, .06 more per mile might be hard to pass up.