Prime Inc. PSD Covid Edition
Topic 28479 | Page 2
Great job.
Keep the faith through TNT.
Looking forward to hearing about your adventure.
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.
Good luck and Welcome to Prime!
Good luck and Welcome to Prime!
Stranger!!!
Are you back with Prime, Liz?
I never left, finished my TNT and been upgraded since March. I’m laid up sick a few days and thought. I miss ya all! I ought to drop a message or two!
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.
I never left, finished my TNT and been upgraded since March. I’m laid up sick a few days and thought. I miss ya all! I ought to drop a message or two!
I figured you had not returned after going home, since we'd not heard from you.
Glad you are back here, but don't wait until the next time you're sick to post.
Congratulations on your upgrade, too!
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.
Thank you!!!
I promise to be around more!
Talked with my tnt trainer. Should be ready to go in a few days since he is up in the northeast on a load. He's not super close to Atlanta where my home time would be but apparently it is close enough for Prime. Trying to book a DMV appointment before the 2 week period they want you to change your license over might be a challenge since they all seem booked for 2-3 weeks straight. Going to try an book at the Jackson DDS place, heard they're a lot friendlier to CDL people than most DDS locations.
The tnt trainer seems good on first impression, insisted on being clean and recommended just pushing through to try and get the miles knocked out fast. Non smoker which is really nice. Also said he won't keep me locked in driving nights all the time so I suppose that is nice but I've always been a night owl and still haven't broken out of the schedule of bedtime being around 9 to 11 am.
I forgot to mention during PSD I had 3 loads to run. One to Joplin and 2 to Kansas City. I think most PSD trainers get assigned a load a week for students to run if I understood it correctly. Also got to use a real truckers GPS which seems like a must have. Got some rain driving in as well which being from GA, it's nothing new. Doesn't quite have the same pucker factor as spreading rock in a flash flood on slimey pumping red clay. Would really like to have gotten a bit of snow and ice experience but doesn't look like I'll be getting any winter driving with anybody. Oh well, I'll manage one way or another. Looks like I have a day or another to kill. Might check out the world's biggest bass pro and get something to eat that isn't close by. I tried Uber eats and that seems about a scam but maybe I'm just unlucky. Ziggies cafe is good but costly. I've probably kept the subway in the Walmart in business just by myself. The McDonald's and Burger King are par for the course and I got steak and shake once which is also in walking distance. The Papa John's also delivers and is pretty good.
Overall, pretty solid experience with the first part of training. Prime is big but doesn't have that draconian corporate feeling, or at least I haven't witnessed it yet. It seems like as long as you aren't rising the ire of the DOT and not breaking stuff or being late, they let you drive how you want. I've been told by lots of different people the low governor speed isn't to do with safety but with fuel mileage. Mostly just missing having my own means of transportation and the option of eating whatever I want that day.
Something I'm going to have to ask about is the deal with the comdata card. They said my first paycheck will come next Friday and they took my direct deposit info but my comdata badge has 700 dollars loaded on it for some reason. My understanding is there are two sides of the card. One charges to company for fuel and truck expenses that you don't see but the other is your pay. I'm not going to touch it until I know what it is for but if anyone knows, I'd appreciate input. This is also checking it from the comdata app, not calling the number on the card.
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.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
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.
Soon enough you’ll be out there good luck! You shouldn’t just drive nights but as you both run your clocks and with loading and unloading and waiting you will drive nights and days. Good to get use to it. Hi
As far as Comdata goes and pay, your next pay should be going into your checking account but you can always conform with payroll that they have your info. Same thing happened to me first one went onto my Comdata, then went to direct deposit on my own acct.
Good luck again
Soon enough you’ll be out there good luck! You shouldn’t just drive nights but as you both run your clocks and with loading and unloading and waiting you will drive nights and days. Good to get use to it. Hi
As far as Comdata goes and pay, your next pay should be going into your checking account but you can always conform with payroll that they have your info. Same thing happened to me first one went onto my Comdata, then went to direct deposit on my own acct.
Good luck again
Yeah I gave them a blank voided check for direct deposit but I'd figured the first paycheck would be next week with the rental reimbursement and the trifecta bonus, and the 700 minimum a week would be taxed so it wouldn't be 700 even. I'll give them a call Monday to make sure the money is mine and not some oddity or error. I can't transfer my comdata money yet anyways due to the activation waiting period to link to your bank. Just seems odd they paid me for a week that I wasn't an employee technically.
I'm going to be changing it all over again after I can get home anyways because my local bank won't lift the travel restrictions so I can't use my card across the US annoyingly. Their rates are nonexistent anyways so I can at least make a little bit more with ally or a credit union or something else.
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Great work!