Prime Lightweight Fleet Drivers

I'm going to want a truck with a bit more motor that isn't going to struggle on the climbs where you will lose precious time and fuel economy

aren't the Prime LW's governed at a lower speed than the full-sized? So wouldn't that offset the additional income you receive, since you can't cover as many miles in a day that a full-sized can cover?

Ok, the good news is that you guys are way overestimating the amount of time you're spending climbing and the difference that one or two mph might make.

Unless you're climbing Everest all day, every day, there will be no noticeable difference in the number of miles you're going to cover in a day or how long it's going to take you to do it with a bigger motor. It feels awesome to have good power going up the hills and when you pass someone you're thinking, "Oh heck yeah! I'm making great time!" But seriously, how long are you climbing most hills? Five minutes, maybe? Even if you're 25% faster than another guy you're only getting to the top of the hill about 75 seconds faster. Makes no difference.

And say there was a difference of two mph in governed speeds. That's theoretically a difference of about 20 miles per day which at 40 cpm would be $8. But of course you're not at top speed all the time. You're also sitting in stop and go traffic, cruising in and out of parking lots, going in and out of customers, etc. And 20 miles per day isn't going to cost you any freight or keep you from making appointment times on time either. So again, it makes no difference.

Then of course how many people are maxing out their logbook hours consistently every week? Are you really bumping up against the 70 and running on recaps all the time? Of course not. You will at times, but most of the time you'll have a little time left on your clock anyhow. So you're not really maxing out the miles you can turn in a day most of the time anyhow.

So don't trick yourself into thinking you need every last digit of speed or every last drop of horsepower you can get in order to make more money. Once you really think it through you'll realize it will make no noticeable difference whatsoever.

The one thing you will notice however is the lack of space in a lightweight truck. It's definitely going to make it a little more difficult to arrange things. They'll let you take the passenger seat out so that helps a good bit. But that's just an individual decision. Is it worth a little more per mile to drive in a smaller truck? To some it is, to others it is not.

What Brett said, but Prime company trucks are governed at 58 on the pedal and 62 on the cruise regardless of whether it's a lightweight or not.

Lots of misinformation in this thread - glad to see Brett jump in here with some remarks.

I just wanted to say a few things. Having a light weight truck or not does not limit your lanes of freight. You will be pulling all kinds of freight with what ever type of truck you have. The main purpose of the lightweight trucks if for fuel efficiency. My friends who drove lightweight trucks often would be pulling much less weight than they were capable of - I can't even tell you how many times Daniel B. would call me and tell me he was pulling a load that was under twenty thousand pounds in his lightweight truck. In fact the percentage of time he was hauling extra heavy loads was miniscule in the over all scheme of things. They find you freight based on where you are at, not based on which type of truck you are in.

You're going to make more money in a lightweight truck- that's a fact. Forget all about how long it takes you to ascend a hill, or limitations on freight - none of it is relevant information. You're getting a much larger pay package, and you are going to be much more able to accomplish the measurements required to get your fuel bonus money, which adds up considerably over a year's time.

Thank everyone, for the replies/insight.

I won't bust your chops Old School, because you generally dispense sage advice; however, the lightweights are not more fuel efficient than the full size.

It was 100% to increase the payload per trailer. In that way it's more efficient, it takes less truckloads to move the same freight.

For myself, and almost everyone company that I've talked to at Prime about it that has driven both, they either got better fuel mileage or the same moving to the full size. Most guys pay attention too, due to the fuel bonus program.

It's a common misconception though. Everything else you said is true, you aren't hauling 47,000+ very often. I look at like hazmat , sometimes the ability to haul something others can't can help you move out a slow freight area.

Ultimately it comes down the smaller living space vs 5 cpm. And if you can convince Prime to let you have a condo if you prefer that.

Matt, plain old physics indicates less overall weight gives you better fuel efficiency. My point was that 95% of the time you will be carrying the same loads that the condo trucks are carrying. That is where you get a slight advantage in overall fuel mileage. There is simply no way Prime would pay a driver that much more if they weren't saving money on fuel with those trucks.

Well I'm no physicist but I can promise you they are not. I'm guessing the lighter engine is less efficient than the larger dd's.

I thought like you did, and of course there are tons of variables to fuel mileage, but it has not been the case.

I'm sure that the advantage to Prime and its customers is that they can move more contract freight on less truckloads.

https://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2011/3/31/PrimesEco49companydriverstoreceivesizeablepermileboost.aspx

What Brett said, but Prime company trucks are governed at 58 on the pedal and 62 on the cruise regardless of whether it's a lightweight or not.

Thanks, that's what I was wondering :)

Matt, that article you linked to said this:

When the company decided to increase its environmental footprint, Prime officials decided one way to become greener was to increase the payload on reefer units, according to John Hancock, director of training and driver recruiting.

“When we first approached our customers there was skepticism because we moved up our rates on those shipments, but when they began to see that it took less truckloads to move the same amount of freight, they were understanding,” Hancock said. “Then they began to say ‘for every 10 trucks I send out, that’s one less truck I need.”

What they mean by "become greener" is that they're moving more freight with fewer trucks, which of course means doing it with less fuel. Getting better fuel mileage doesn't necessarily mean the driver will see a better miles per gallon reading on their screen. It can also mean you're moving more freight with the same amount of fuel.

So a standard truck might move 45,000 pounds of freight at 8 miles per gallon but a lightweight truck might move 49,000 pounds of freight at 8 miles per gallon. Therefore your fleet is more fuel efficient based upon the total amount of fuel it takes to move a given amount of freight.

Because they're moving more freight per load, Prime can charge their customers more per load, and that's why Prime can pay their lightweight drivers better. They can command a higher price from their customers and pass some of it on to the drivers.

It was 100% to increase the payload per trailer. In that way it's more efficient, it takes less truckloads to move the same freight.

I'm glad you agree?