Training With Prime

Alright, today is Sunday and I'm currently packing for my Denver orientation tomorrow which will be followed by another orientation in Springfield, Missouri.

Tonight, I'm mostly packing and sorting things out. My emotions kinda got to me today. For those who don't know I'm a young married man. I've been married to a beautiful woman by the name of Mariah since I was 19 (almost two years). I love my wife very much and I trust her even more, so there's no issue with the trust. It's just the distance will be tough but our living g conditions were even tougher.

I know it'll be completely worth it when she can begin to live comfortably. And down the road, when I have the right opportunity to go local, I will and life will be even better. For now, it's my duty to get out there and work as hard and as safe as possible.

I'm pretty stoked otherwise to start my driving career. My head is racing! And I just had my 21st birthday party last night so I got to say goodbye to a lot of my distant family (don't mix sugar/cake with drinks.... Ugh).

This will be all tonight, if you have any questions about my private schooling, shoot me an email burnside.justin@gmail.com because all of that is on the old forum. But I will do my best to log my journey with Prime to become a solo driver. Have a good night everyone and see you tomorrow!

Congrats! I look forward to reading about your experience. I got my training at Prime and had no complaints. They're a very good company.

Alright, today is Sunday and I'm currently packing for my Denver orientation tomorrow which will be followed by another orientation in Springfield, Missouri.

Tonight, I'm mostly packing and sorting things out. My emotions kinda got to me today. For those who don't know I'm a young married man. I've been married to a beautiful woman by the name of Mariah since I was 19 (almost two years). I love my wife very much and I trust her even more, so there's no issue with the trust. It's just the distance will be tough but our living g conditions were even tougher.

I know it'll be completely worth it when she can begin to live comfortably. And down the road, when I have the right opportunity to go local, I will and life will be even better. For now, it's my duty to get out there and work as hard and as safe as possible.

I'm pretty stoked otherwise to start my driving career. My head is racing! And I just had my 21st birthday party last night so I got to say goodbye to a lot of my distant family (don't mix sugar/cake with drinks.... Ugh).

This will be all tonight, if you have any questions about my private schooling, shoot me an email burnside.justin@gmail.com because all of that is on the old forum. But I will do my best to log my journey with Prime to become a solo driver. Have a good night everyone and see you tomorrow!

Been reading you since day one, buddy...big congrats on your progress thus far. Stoked for you that you are heading to orientation and jealous of you at the same time. You have a great attitude and a good mind. As they say, you are "On your way"..

Hey congrats! I'm also stoked that things are rolling along nicely for ya. I know it's super tough to be leaving for the road with your wife at home but you said it - in the not too distant future this will end up being a huge stepping stone for a better life for the two of you. You'll find local work so you can be home every day and have a better career and new opportunities.

So I'm looking forward to following along with ya!

So I had three quarters of my update and I lost all of it and my sleep study results appointment is in thirty minutes, so be patient with me ladies and gents and I will try my hardest to get an update to you tonight. If everything goes good, I'll be with my trainer tonight and I'll type it up before I go to sleep whenever that is. Don't lose hope, I'll be back! I do have to say, I'm gonna have to get used to the tight schedule of a lot of waiting, but I'll fill you in soon! Thanks guys!

Hey man, what happened?? Weren't you supposed to start orientation today??

Alright guys, sorry about the long wait for an update! It seems like I've been rolling nonstop with a lot on my mind until today, I have a little breather. My trainer is spending the day at home so I'm spending the day in the truck stop and I wanted to take the opportunity to update you guys and gals on my journey.

Starting with Springfield, I had to take the sleep test for sleep apnea but I cleared and I'm good to go (just a little payroll deduction for the next couple weeks). Unfortunately, before I could request the trainer I had met through this forum, they had already lined me up with one when I was still on the greyhound. He's a good enough guy, but I'll put more emphasis on this aspect after training.

My first week out was a hard one. I still grinder gears, but that's much better now. The big loop was going from learning to downshift to my desired gear (gear by gear) the to just pushing in the clutch and braking until I reached a satisfactory speed and recovering into the appropriate gear. I had huge issues with this beginning. In California I had an off ramp onto another interstate that was an up hill loop and I just felt out of control with the speed of the truck and lost concentration. Nothing bad happened but it wasn't my prouder moments. Now, I'll slow down and get into the appropriate gear before any loop so I can worry about acceleration in the curve if needed.

My second adventure was coming out of what seemed to be mountains in Tennessee, and in one night I had snow, rain, fog, ice and grades. Boy was that fun. And right as we were coming out we had a stretch of curves that big trucks weren't allowed to be in the left lane and we're behind a truck going extremely slow, but I figured maybe it's the first time for him too in these kind of conditions. Finally, after that little stretch, I was coming up on a bridge that was definitely icy before the road was. I was going fine at about fifty five (speed limit for everyone including four wheelers) but then I saw some headlights racing towards me from my left and out came this little white Toyota pickup going about seventy five and he hit the concrete barriers like a pinball and I was able to come to the a safe stop about thirty yards ahead of him (his pickup was in my lane, facing me by this point) I noticed his lights were completely done for and set my brakes, turned on my hazards and called the cops. After failing to be able to move his truck, I decided to stay in the lane until help arrived because all it took was for on person not paying attention to miss his truck in the road and hit him so I stayed there.

Other than that, I've mostly just been driving and driving. Had my taste of Jersey City traffic, spring break Atlanta traffic (ugh, right at the end of my shift too) and a good deal of mountain driving.

Don't have any complaints really besides the fact I wish I cod get a couple days home time before I go company but my trainer's a lease driver and I don't wanna cost him money. I really miss my wife, especially today where it's just me in truck.

Well, that's all I can think of for now, I am promise the next update will come faster! Thanks guys!

Justin, stay focused and keep at it. This is really crunch time when you're out with a trainer - some are better than others, but we pretty much are stuck with what we get. It's a chance to show what you're made of, just remember it doesn't last forever and as long as you're learning and improving your skills they'll let you go one day and you'll be doing this in your own truck.

We often talk about how when you first go solo the learning curve really kicks in, so try and learn as much as you can while you're with the trainer. Make sure and ask as many questions as you need to so you feel comfortable with what you're learning.

Best of luck to ya! It's great to hear from you.

Sounds like you have had some of everything! Great job it sounds like, keep us updated, love reading about others adventures!!!!!