My Prime Upgrade / First Month Solo Experience
Topic 31808 | Page 5
Packrat, that may be as close as we ever get!
Got to get Little Mamma rolling again. Can’t call her Big Mamma because she’s a Lightweight!
05/15/22 wrap
From my fuel stop I made it to the PA Welcome Center to take my 10h break. I’ve stopped here before during training.
Today’s Summary: Total miles = 463 Driving = 8h 31m (54.4 mph avg) On Duty = 8h 48m
I stopped at 17:49 CDT. I’m 300 miles from my 90.
I worked out an ETA of 10:00 CDT / 11:00 EDT. Put my PTA at 12:00 CDT/13:00EDT.
Then 2.5 hrs to drive 125 miles to new 01 in NJ gives an ETA of 14:30CDT/15:30EDT.
With this input Dispatch is asking Sales to get extension to the appointment window that now ends at 15:30EDT.
On another nice note a Pack Rat met a Longhorn today in Ohio.
Hey! Is that Pack Rat trying to pick my pocket?
Your first truck is a great and scary feeling at the same time. Proud but oh crap someone is letting me loose with 80,000 lbs. Ha! Love it, that you and Packrat got to meet up. Hammer down!
OOS:
When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.
Looking good guys! Keep on trucking!
05/15/22 wrap
From my fuel stop I made it to the PA Welcome Center to take my 10h break. I’ve stopped here before during training.
Today’s Summary: Total miles = 463 Driving = 8h 31m (54.4 mph avg) On Duty = 8h 48m
I stopped at 17:49 CDT. I’m 300 miles from my 90.
I worked out an ETA of 10:00 CDT / 11:00 EDT. Put my PTA at 12:00 CDT/13:00EDT.
Then 2.5 hrs to drive 125 miles to new 01 in NJ gives an ETA of 14:30CDT/15:30EDT.
With this input Dispatch is asking Sales to get extension to the appointment window that now ends at 15:30EDT.
On another nice note a Pack Rat met a Longhorn today in Ohio.
Hey! Is that Pack Rat trying to pick my pocket?
5/16/22 - Day 4 Solo
Summary: Miles = 325 Driving = 6h 39m On Duty = 7h 7m Avg MPH = 48.9
I started driving at 03:57 CDT and arrived at my 90 customer at 10:18 CDT. This was 18 minutes later than my trip plan ETA that I prepared the night before.
I had overlooked including a specific stop to get reefer fuel prior to dropping the load trailer.
My average speed was lower today for a few reasons and below the 50 mph that I used to plan. Some reasons are PA mountain driving, several construction zones, long stretches of 55 mph speed limit, plus I used driving to move around a truck stop and customer yard after I had my empty trailer.
I completed the D&H in Hazelton, PA.
The total time required for the 960 loaded dispatched miles trip was 42 hours from 01 departure to 90 arrival. I’m sure that I will become more efficient with experience. Note that the 30 minutes spent to meet Pack Rat was time well spent.
By the time I got the empty trailer washed out and fueled, my realistic ETA to my next 01 in Bayonne, NJ was 17:30 EDT. The original appt window ended at 15:30 EDT.
The appointment was then changed for 08:00-08:30 EDT on 5/17/22.
I’m parked 115 miles away taking a longer break. I’ll be departing by 04:30 EDT to arrive between 07:00-07:30. This place opens at 08:00.
There are some issues still to be worked out with the delivery time and date once I’m in route and can provide a realistic ETA.
Based on my last trip of 960 miles, this loaded trip of 996 miles could take 43-45 hours. There is HAZMAT routing considerations plus the added risk of a DOT inspection.
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
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.
Reefer:
A refrigerated trailer.
05/17/22 - Day 5 Solo
I started driving at 04:20 EDT and arrived at my 01 customer about 06:32 EDT. About 116 miles including a short detour after I missed a turn in Bayonne, NJ.
I parked until I could check in at 08:00, when the docks opened. I was docked at 08:32 for loading.
They have me sitting inside while being loaded.
Can definitely tell this is Jersey from the accents!
This was my second time to drive through Newark to a customer. Can’t say that I enjoy it, but didn’t hit anything!
NYC in the background is always an impressive sight.
I’ve used some time here to scope out potential parking spots for late afternoon today on I68 or I79, depending on how far I get on my 14h clock. These rest areas are 346 and 402 miles, respectively.
I saw 3 additional rest areas along I80E this morning that could have cut ~1 to 1.5 hrs off my drive this morning, thus delaying the start of my 14h clock.
I stopped at a rest area yesterday to read the messages from my FM updating my appointment time. I looked ahead for potential parking closer to customer (no overnight parking), but decided that I had a “bird in the hand”, so stayed put.
With more experience and knowledge of the parking options on these routes, I would have pushed forward.
Driving solo is a lot different than what I experienced in PSD and TNT because I’m the only driver now. It is up to me to manage my time and clocks to make appointments.
I understand now why drivers from Prime say that the real learning starts when you go solo and have to figure it out for yourself.
Fm:
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.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.
05/17/22 wrap
This was a Shipper Load Driver Count job, so I verified the shipment count on the dock before it was loaded and watched the loading.
I’m hauling a UN1197, Extracts, Flavoring, Liquid, Class 3 Flammable, group III packaging.
It is liquid vanilla extract food flavoring. The dock foreman told me there are a lot of vanilla varieties that they make product out of.
I’m learning a few things the hard way. Such as to tape the placards in place. I had to use my spare placard when one blew off. Stopped to buy some clear Gorilla tape. Works good.
I had to ask the shipper for the Emergency Response Guide book because I didn’t have one on the truck. She gave it to me.
It is a light load at 10k lbs.
Typical driving day with beautiful scenery to go along with active work zones, traffic bottlenecks, strong gusty crosswinds, etc.
I ended up driving 464 miles today (116 miles to 01 + 348 miles towards 90). Drive time of 9h 16m (50 mph avg). On Duty time 9h 48m.
Stopped at welcome center rest area on I68W just into WV.
I’m working a split SB, so will see if it worked at 01:00 CDT. If it didn’t then my break ends at 04:00 CDT.
I’m 704 miles to my 90. I should arrive early on 5/19/22.
Shipper:
The customer who is shipping the freight. This is where the driver will pick up a load and then deliver it to the receiver or consignee.
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Prime Inc Driver Responsibilities First Solo Months On The Road First Truck Driving Job HAZMAT Photos
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Dennis;
Do you know what the Hazmat product is? It could be something super simple.
Don't overthink it; and it usually pays better, too! Plus, it'll look good in the eyes of your DM/FM (read: Brownie points!) Let us know, good sir.
Best of luck either way;
~ Anne ~
HAZMAT:
Hazardous Materials
Explosive, flammable, poisonous or otherwise potentially dangerous cargo. Large amounts of especially hazardous cargo are required to be placarded under HAZMAT regulations
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.Fm:
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.