Picking The Right Company To Start With
Topic 21980 | Page 2
Gotcha, thank you both! You've really been a lot of help in clearing everything up for me. I wish they would've stuck with 10 speeds, but no worries, I'm 95% certain I'm going with Prime now! I really appreciate y'alls input!
I drove a LW for a little over a year. After training and all, the extra CPM helped get me caught back up financially.
I just went over 2 yrs here at Prime, and I enjoy it. I have minimal contact with people at the terminal , pretty consistent miles, and don't really sit much. (DCs will have you sitting though) You can always switch to another division if you like. We have a food grade tanker division, as well as flatbed. The only thing I've noticed that is different from others, is that we have to purchase our own securement devices and tire chains. Also, don't use the cheap truck stop load locks. Prime has their own that they want you to use.
The cost of securement devices is payroll deducted over time.
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.
I drove a LW for a little over a year. After training and all, the extra CPM helped get me caught back up financially.
I just went over 2 yrs here at Prime, and I enjoy it. I have minimal contact with people at the terminal , pretty consistent miles, and don't really sit much. (DCs will have you sitting though) You can always switch to another division if you like. We have a food grade tanker division, as well as flatbed. The only thing I've noticed that is different from others, is that we have to purchase our own securement devices and tire chains. Also, don't use the cheap truck stop load locks. Prime has their own that they want you to use.
The cost of securement devices is payroll deducted over time.
Awesome, thanks for the info. In think my minds made up about coming to prime now.
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.
Rainy D. Diver Driver and Brett. I've been researching and watching videos about Prime. I've noticed when people graduate with their trainer and go solo they complain that their checks are actually even lower than the $600-$700 they get in training. My question is how long does that phase last? What weekly income can I expect as a company driver starting out at .42cpm. What do the raises look like. I know I could be asking a recruiter these questions but I don't think they would be as honest with me as you guys would be. I appreciate any info you guys can give me.
CPM:
Cents Per Mile
Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.
I don't drive for prime, or even OTR. The amount of money you will make is almost entirely up to you. Old School talks about it all the time how this business is all performance based. You need to prove you can handle the miles, and get the freight there on time and safely. To gross $700 that means you'd be running what, maybe 1800 miles a week? That seems like a rather easy thing to do if you utilize your clock effectively. The experienced OTR the drivers will be able to more accurately help you. In the meantime look into the High Road training Program on here and look at the logbook section.
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.
Logbook:
A written or electronic record of a driver's duty status which must be maintained at all times. The driver records the amount of time spent driving, on-duty not driving, in the sleeper berth, or off duty. The enforcement of the Hours Of Service Rules (HOS) are based upon the entries put in a driver's logbook.
OTR:
Over The Road
OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
You need to take into consideration a few things...many who go through PSD borrow up to $200 per week and that gets paid back. the chains, load locks etc all get deducted. You can buy used chains and get load locks from empty trailers to cut costs. Did they add refrigerators or satellite TVs right away? that gets deducted. Were they getting solo or family insurance? the health insurance drops significantly after the first year. i now pay $50 a week for ALL the insurances for a single. I think it was $65 per week for just the health the first year.
Also were they company or lease? Did they pay a pet fee ($300 first payment and $50 a week for $1000).
And coming in with the CDL gets you tuition reimbursement during training. That can help offset whatever costs you fear.
i don't believe for one minute that they did not GROSS $700. the deductions will reduce the take home.
My first week solo:
2572 miles Gross $1061
after taxes, chains, insurance, borrowed PSD food money
Take home: $753
----------- after two years my bad check which is usually home time or shop time ..
2046 Miles Gross $960 Put $80 into my 401k after taxes health, cision, life and disability
brought home $707
on a good week: 2944 Miles
Gross $1439 put $125 into 401k take home $1186
those are from recent checks in a condo, not running the Northeast (remember LW get an extra 5cpm and Northeast in both trucks get an extra 5cpm)
I posted a thread awhile ago with my real numbers... including like 6 weeks of training pay...i averaged about $800 per week in 2016. By Jan 2017 i was averaging $1100 gross.
--------
average as a company team trainer was much higher.
My bad week was $1550 gross, my good week was $3200 gross.
heres my thread i did last year breaking down the numbers
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.
CPM:
Cents Per Mile
Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.
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.
Thank you Rainy! that thread was a good read. I'm torn between Stevens Transport and Prime Inc. now. At Stevens they're offering me $4500 back for my tuition, and a $2500 sign on bonus paid out over 5 months. They also offer detention pay, layover pay and are strictly delivering to distribution centers. They're also guaranteeing 50k in my first year. I really like their trucks as well lol. I've seen both good and bad reviews, but the bad reviews were mostly mad and angry drivers. I still haven't made my mind up. I really appreciate your input and information.
You need to take into consideration a few things...many who go through PSD borrow up to $200 per week and that gets paid back. the chains, load locks etc all get deducted. You can buy used chains and get load locks from empty trailers to cut costs. Did they add refrigerators or satellite TVs right away? that gets deducted. Were they getting solo or family insurance? the health insurance drops significantly after the first year. i now pay $50 a week for ALL the insurances for a single. I think it was $65 per week for just the health the first year.
Also were they company or lease? Did they pay a pet fee ($300 first payment and $50 a week for $1000).
And coming in with the CDL gets you tuition reimbursement during training. That can help offset whatever costs you fear.
i don't believe for one minute that they did not GROSS $700. the deductions will reduce the take home.
My first week solo:
2572 miles Gross $1061
after taxes, chains, insurance, borrowed PSD food money
Take home: $753
----------- after two years my bad check which is usually home time or shop time ..
2046 Miles Gross $960 Put $80 into my 401k after taxes health, cision, life and disability
brought home $707
on a good week: 2944 Miles
Gross $1439 put $125 into 401k take home $1186
those are from recent checks in a condo, not running the Northeast (remember LW get an extra 5cpm and Northeast in both trucks get an extra 5cpm)
I posted a thread awhile ago with my real numbers... including like 6 weeks of training pay...i averaged about $800 per week in 2016. By Jan 2017 i was averaging $1100 gross.
--------
average as a company team trainer was much higher.
My bad week was $1550 gross, my good week was $3200 gross.
heres my thread i did last year breaking down the numbers
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.
CPM:
Cents Per Mile
Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.
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.
Aram; every company offers detention pay. It's very, very rare you'll ever use it because it requires on-duty status to collect. Best not to use it and safe your on-duty hours for driving.
Second...and something we state with great frequency here; the information on the thrasher-net is not worth the concern or consideration you are giving it.
Apply to both companies.
I understand. Yea I've applied to both companies and have a prehire with both of them. I talked to a recruiter from both companies and they both had good things to say. I honestly just don't wanna make a decision I'll regret. I want to pick the company that I can spend a good few years with for the time being.
Aram; every company offers detention pay. It's very, very rare you'll ever use it because it requires on-duty status to collect. Best not to use it and safe your on-duty hours for driving.
Second...and something we state with great frequency here; the information on the thrasher-net is not worth the concern or consideration you are giving it.
Apply to both companies.
Prehire:
What Exactly Is A Pre-Hire Letter?
Pre-hire letters are acceptance letters from trucking companies to students, or even potential students, to verify placement. The trucking companies are saying in writing that the student, or potential student, appears to meet the company's minimum hiring requirements and is welcome to attend their orientation at the company’s expense once he or she graduates from truck driving school and has their CDL in hand.
We have an excellent article that will help you Understand The Pre-Hire Process.
A Pre-Hire Letter Is Not A Guarantee Of Employment
The people that receive a pre-hire letter are people who meet the company's minimum hiring requirements, but it is not an employment contract. It is an invitation to orientation, and the orientation itself is a prerequisite to employment.
During the orientation you will get a physical, drug screen, and background check done. These and other qualifications must be met before someone in orientation is officially hired.
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Brett is correct in all. We deliver to a lot of DCs for walmart, target, dollar store, krogers US foods and others. A lot of the meat DCs deliver to small places. so we do have a variety. But in training to get used to that.
LW is something you can opt out of, but in addition to an extra 5cpm, you also earn vacation time much faster. You must drive 125k miles in a condo for a 7 day vacation. But a LW you only need 85k miles. i got condo right away and have my cat on board. they will tell you thT if you refuse a LW for a condo, you are stuck paying for the hotel until tbe condo comes in. both my condos came i the next day.
All of the company 2016 trucks that are still manuals will be replaced with automatics this year. There will be some lease and owner ops with manuals, but until 65% of the fleet is automatic, they are still testing in manuals. My 2016 is due to be sold in Sept.
CPM:
Cents Per Mile
Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.