PSD Starting 8/21 Any Flatbed Instructors/trainers

TBH, I have seriously been considering the lease option but I plan on running hard as getting home often is not a big deal.

Jimmy, this is the kind of thinking every naive rookie has rattling around in his head. This is a performance based business. It's not easy to run with the big dogs when you're just a little pup. You will have to spend some time building a relationship with your dispatcher , and the only thing that will cause him to trust you with big miles is a proven track record. I watch new guys on my dedicated account drop out all the time because they thought that all it took was a CDL and they would be racking up the big miles - running hard, as you put it.

The problem with thinking you are going to bust right out of the gate like that is that there are well established drivers already in place who are regularly trusted with the best loads. It's one more great reason to start out as a company driver and build your craft and skill. One of the many tricks and tactics that experienced drivers employ is getting their appointments moved forward so that they can get more done during the week. There are a lot of little nuances like that which new drivers are completely unaware of.

It takes a good while to develop your own style, and for your dispatcher to understand how you go about things so that you can mesh together as an efficient team. There is a very competitive atmosphere in the trucking industry, and the ones who end up doing well at it are very creative at lobbying for themselves.

I have no doubt you can do well at this, but want to caution you about jumping into a lease as a beginner. You just end up having all the same responsibilities as the big dogs, but none of the know how.

At my fuel stop, and I wanted to throw in that the lease payment alone is $1200 a week at Prime. So yeah you can go home when you want, even for 2 weeks. But you'll come back not only having not made any money, but also owing $2400 that must be paid before you start making money again...

No rest for the weary, I'm off again. Next stop: Mooresville Love's for the night.

If you wanted to learn all you can about leasing you would.read the thread both Old School and I posted.

In it I posted my Prime reefer average weekly pay and my regularly home time weeks. I also posted what I make as a company trainer. I very accurately posted many of the expenses lease.ops have that company drivers don't.

Ask a lease op how much he makes and .you usually hear $150,000. Sounds great!

But....$52,000 goes to the truck parent.

OK..$98,000. But...$30,000 goes to taxes. Oh....so well $68,000 is still good.

Oh wait...you mean I have to pay for fuel, tolls, prepass, all maintenance, all accident deductibles, tows, and the hotel and car rental bills when the truck is in the shop.. I even have to pay to lease the APU that constantly needs repair...then pay for those repairs??? Hmmm... So now I'm down to $25,000 IF I'm lucky!!!

Oh wait...as a lease op I can't get the company health insurance, disability, vision, dental, life insurance.... Well..hmmm that drops everything down to about $12,000.

Oh crap....I never paid the accountant to figure this stuff out...so now I'm down to $10,000.

Darn..I thought I was a big deal picking out my new KW and bought the $3000 Bose seats when I got the truck....

So now my $150,000 dropped down to $7,000 take home. Darn...the company drivers are taking home $35,000 to $50,000 AFTER paying all the health care and insurances AND putting money into the 401k.

But but but.....now I have been driving for nine months...so I can train! Yeah..I can do double the miles! Oh...but I ha e to PAY the trainee? .14 CPM and workman's comp etc?

Well that's OK...I'm still making more.money.

BAM!!! What the heck...my trainee just ripped the front end off my truck and wrecked the trailer....a couple thousand for the repairs..the truck is down making no money. I have to pay the hotel for both is us. Hmm.

Wow...I'm in the hole this week but I still have to pay the trainee /his $700 per week??? This sucks.

Oh well...I went lease to go home which I never do. And to have freedom to do what I want..but I'm forced to train and have no privacy just to break even. But I drive a sharp bright yellow KW with cool decals....oh wait..they cost a few hundred dollars too.

I guess I'll just use the walk away lease part. WHAT??? I STILL have to pay for any damage and any money owed even though it's a walk away? Well they can deduct that from my company driver salary....OH CRAP I owe $6,000???

Hmmm. Now I'm a company driver who pays $300 per week towards the debt I accumulated so I could be a cool lease op coming out of TNT.

And..if you think THAT scenario is bad...here's a true one for you: new lease op picked up the first load across the street from prime..and ROLLED the truck before even reaching the terminal and scales. Seriously they drove 2.5 miles and rolled the truck. Now they not only killed their career cause roll over is the kiss of death in trucking....but STILL had to pay the $1000 weekly payment, $2000 or so for all the claims including product. Which was ruined. Oh wait..the PSD contract that is probably up to $4000 now.

So $7000 in debt to prime, no job and no company that will hire them

Leasing is AWESOME!!! Sign up today!!!

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

PSD:

Prime Student Driver

Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.

The following is from Prime's website:

Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.

Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days

• Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
• Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
• Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).

On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles

• Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
• Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
• Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.

TNT:

Trainer-N-Trainee

Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.

The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.

The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.

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.

Don't mince words now.

If you wanted to learn all you can about leasing you would.read the thread both Old School and I posted.

In it I posted my Prime reefer average weekly pay and my regularly home time weeks. I also posted what I make as a company trainer. I very accurately posted many of the expenses lease.ops have that company drivers don't.

Ask a lease op how much he makes and .you usually hear $150,000. Sounds great!

But....$52,000 goes to the truck parent.

OK..$98,000. But...$30,000 goes to taxes. Oh....so well $68,000 is still good.

Oh wait...you mean I have to pay for fuel, tolls, prepass, all maintenance, all accident deductibles, tows, and the hotel and car rental bills when the truck is in the shop.. I even have to pay to lease the APU that constantly needs repair...then pay for those repairs??? Hmmm... So now I'm down to $25,000 IF I'm lucky!!!

Oh wait...as a lease op I can't get the company health insurance, disability, vision, dental, life insurance.... Well..hmmm that drops everything down to about $12,000.

Oh crap....I never paid the accountant to figure this stuff out...so now I'm down to $10,000.

Darn..I thought I was a big deal picking out my new KW and bought the $3000 Bose seats when I got the truck....

So now my $150,000 dropped down to $7,000 take home. Darn...the company drivers are taking home $35,000 to $50,000 AFTER paying all the health care and insurances AND putting money into the 401k.

But but but.....now I have been driving for nine months...so I can train! Yeah..I can do double the miles! Oh...but I ha e to PAY the trainee? .14 CPM and workman's comp etc?

Well that's OK...I'm still making more.money.

BAM!!! What the heck...my trainee just ripped the front end off my truck and wrecked the trailer....a couple thousand for the repairs..the truck is down making no money. I have to pay the hotel for both is us. Hmm.

Wow...I'm in the hole this week but I still have to pay the trainee /his $700 per week??? This sucks.

Oh well...I went lease to go home which I never do. And to have freedom to do what I want..but I'm forced to train and have no privacy just to break even. But I drive a sharp bright yellow KW with cool decals....oh wait..they cost a few hundred dollars too.

I guess I'll just use the walk away lease part. WHAT??? I STILL have to pay for any damage and any money owed even though it's a walk away? Well they can deduct that from my company driver salary....OH CRAP I owe $6,000???

Hmmm. Now I'm a company driver who pays $300 per week towards the debt I accumulated so I could be a cool lease op coming out of TNT.

And..if you think THAT scenario is bad...here's a true one for you: new lease op picked up the first load across the street from prime..and ROLLED the truck before even reaching the terminal and scales. Seriously they drove 2.5 miles and rolled the truck. Now they not only killed their career cause roll over is the kiss of death in trucking....but STILL had to pay the $1000 weekly payment, $2000 or so for all the claims including product. Which was ruined. Oh wait..the PSD contract that is probably up to $4000 now.

So $7000 in debt to prime, no job and no company that will hire them

Leasing is AWESOME!!! Sign up today!!!

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.

Reefer:

A refrigerated trailer.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

PSD:

Prime Student Driver

Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.

The following is from Prime's website:

Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.

Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days

• Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
• Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
• Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).

On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles

• Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
• Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
• Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.

TNT:

Trainer-N-Trainee

Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.

The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.

The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.

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.

She never does. That's why we love this Jersey Girl.

Wow!!! Really excellent insight. Beginning to see that company will probably be the best route for me. Thanks

And with all that said...I LOVE prime. I love my FM.

What Brett says is true....I know I get special treatment cause I do my job. I'm NEVER in the hole, not even home time weeks. Other than truck issues or snow delays I have ALWAYS gotten home on my requested day. I have never been denied any special request. Such as a 34 where I want. I've never been prodded to drive or questioned about drive times or lengths. I've never been questioned about my routes I choose or about weather shut down. Nothing.

As a company solo driver my bad weeks I probably gross $1000 and top out at $1500. As a trainer I've grossed $1700-$3000 a week. And I actually sent a copy of the high end pay stub to Brett to prove it. My worst pay as a trainer was $1000 due to having the trainee drive solo rather than teaming the first week.

Old School....I love you too.

Sorry that I'm often blunt..but I'd rather get my point across and save you some headaches than have you in here in a few months asking how to get out of it.

And Prime does offer "lease balances" so when a fool doesn't complete the lease they re-lease it. So you have the option of leasing a used truck for the balance of the lease.....1 yr, eight months...six months...whatever.

IF you really want to lease...cause some people never learn from others...try that only AFTER you get your year experience in. Most trainers are lease ops cause they have to train to make money. Then they tell the trainees how great lease is. The trainee then gets the lease trainers FM. Hmmm....hand your FM a new driver from whom he makes commission and its more money in his pocket...which makes him happy and causes him to treat the lease trainer better. Totally not selfish. Lol

Another MYTH: Prime will force you to lease.

Prime will NOT force you into a lease. Our FMs for lease and company are different. If I went lease I'd loose my FM. That alone isn't worth it.

The real trick to making money in trucking....Be EARLY....don't hit anything.. Tell dispatch of issues right away and keep your FM/DM happy.stay positive.

Fail at the above and you will.make nothing. And get no.miles

Rainy. I'm the type of person who appreciates someone being blunt and straight forward. I am the same way. Thank you. Once again, I really appreciate everyone's input on this matter. I wish you all safe travels.

Jimmy, it's important you understand we're not trying to pick on you or give you grief. We really only want the best for anyone passing through here. Good luck with whatever you do, and safe travels to you as well.