Prime Inc. CDL Training. Springfield, Missouri

12/29/16 0900hrs

Prime has it's own embroidery shop within the Millennium Building. Naturally they have their own company store also. Many things from the store already have something Prime related embroidered on them. But you can have your name added if you'd like. You can also buy something at like a Walmart and bring it in and have them embroider something on it. The shop is VERY busy. Many peoply , especially students, like to buy something and have it sent back home. I was no different.

The company store has a good selection, and the prices really aren't that bad. But they were out of the right size/color combination I was looking for. So I got a jacket at Walmart for my wife, brought it into the shop, and picked out a nice pattern to be embroidered on the back.

I went back the following morning to pick it up, and the guy had embroidered the wrong pattern. He gave me a reefer pattern instead of flatbed. So he told me to go get another jacket, and he would absorb the price of the second jacket, as well as give me the first one anyway. Back to Walmart I go. Came back with the jacket, and browsed through the company store. I found the cutest little onesies and a tiny skirt for my newborn granddaughter. They already had Prime Inc on em, and I wanted to add her name. No problem he said. Come back this afternoon and pick them up.

Later that day I popped in and he had the jacket done........ but had forgot the onesies! I think he's a little overwhelmed, with Christmas back orders and all. Either way, everything was done by this morning and he gave me a HUGE discount for my troubles. I shot down to the post office and sent them home. If I ever switch to reefer, she'll have a jacket for that as well.

Moral of this story: If you want something embroidered, start the process early. You'll want it done before you ship out.

1100hrs Back on the pad. Al was here so Danny had me hop in his truck, hook up to a trailer, and left me on my own to practice whatever I wanted. Meanwhile he grabbed another truck and went over in-cab pretrip with Al.

I felt a little proud, being able to self study. There were other trucks on the pad, as well as cdl tests being conducted. So I just tried to stay out their way as I hopped from pad to pad. By the way, for any of you reading this that don't know what I mean by pad, it's simply a huge concrete parking lot. One of the other students asked me what the heck I meant by pad lol.

Anyway, this went on for a while. In fact, I was getting kinda bored. But I'm a firm believer in repetitious practice. Especially when it comes to the cdl test. I'll repeat these maneuvers until my leg gives out. I'm pretty sure I can do em blindfolded now.

No road time today. Danny sees Al as a real challenge, he says. So he wants to focus on him tomorrow, and that I really don't need any more pad time. I get tomorrow off, and we'll go out for road time saturday.

Oh, I learned an interesting statistic the other day, but forgot to mention it here:

Within Prime, on average 75 percent of ALL preventable accidents occur in parking lots against stationary objects (parked trucks, poles, curbs, etc.)

Food for thought.....G.O.A.L.!

Peace

I am set to go in 1/16. I disclosed a breaking and entering deffefed conviction from 2001. Am I ok

Good luck Turtle.

Hi Brian,

I think you'd be ok with that. It was long enough ago. If you disclosed it and they still sent you an invitation to orientation, you're ok. But that would be a better question for your recruiter. Just make sure you tell them everything. They'll find it anyway. It's what they do.

Good luck

Turtle I have loved reading this post from you, I was pretty convinced on a specific company that a couple of guys I know drive for but after reading this I am starting to research Prime! Gonna have to take it to the forums and ask peoples opinions now to help me decide lol.

Look forward to more posts.

I actually didn't disclose until invite due to what my past attorney said but read all posts. My recruiter said it it shouldn't be a problem. I am still nervous. Am I okay

Hi Brian,

I think you'd be ok with that. It was long enough ago. If you disclosed it and they still sent you an invitation to orientation, you're ok. But that would be a better question for your recruiter. Just make sure you tell them everything. They'll find it anyway. It's what they do.

Good luck

Thanks for reading, Patrick.

I'm not really writing this to sway anyone towards Prime. I just want to put my experience out there for all to see. When I was still researching, I really appreciated the advice and info I received here. So now I'm just trying to pay some of that back.

Lord knows I changed my mind several times throughout this process before settling on Prime. At one point I liked Werner. Then I was solidly into Swift, even had a start date in mind.

Eventually, for me, it was Prime that rose to the top.

Do your research, and just go with your gut. Good luck wherever you go, and please share your experiences as well. Knowledge is power, right?

Absolutely! I just posted in general a slightly lengthy topic requesting some feedback. I would like to see myself talking to a recruiter beginning of Feb, swift was my #1 since I have started researching and such, but between this post (which I loved because of how great everything seemed to have gone and your overall training structure) and the pages on this site that show the benefits of both prime is my lead candidate at the moment. I love the idea of more 1 on 1, not sure how I feel about going right into OTR after 4 days in the class but I feel it will defiantly help more in the long run once I'm more comfortable getting the actual real life experience vs a classroom/parking lot.

Biggest downfall I have seen for Prime so far is I live in NC, they don't seem to have any terminals here so harder to get in the area for home time. I am slightly concerned about the "50% drop and hook", and very much less worried about the forced dispatch as I don't plan to refuse any loads but still could be a bummer at some point.

Keep in mind, my training experience is a little atypical from the normal. Much smaller class size (a huge advantage), a trainer who wants to stay close to home, so I can just complete my PSD phase here as opposed to OTR.

But in general, it was indeed the training structure that attracted me to Prime. I didn't want to spend 2-3 weeks here learning the permit info. The HRTP took care of that for me long before this. So a few days of orientation followed by OTR was ideal, for me.

As for hometime, a nearby terminal isn't necessary for you to get home. Prime has approved, secure drop yards and customers all over the US. You simply drop your trailer in one of the yards or at an approved customer, then take your truck home. No worries. Rainy would have better specifics on that. But don't sweat that a bit.

Thanks so much for the info, ill stop bombarding your thread with my posts lol. I got a lot of thinking for Prime is currently my top at the moment. Wasn't excepting to study for HazMat right away though, better get on that.

Don't worry about bombarding my thread lol. That's what it's here for. I want to help.

Also, don't worry about hazmat at this point. They only want you to focus on general knowledge, combination, air-brakes, and tanker. That's it. When you go down to the DMV here, they won't even give you the option to test for hazmat. Only those 4 sections.

You're encouraged to get your hazmat AFTER you complete TNT. When you return home to transfer your license back to NC, that's when you take your hazmat tests. I think it has to be done in your home state by law anyway.