Prime TNT - Reefer

If you haven't done so already, I recommend you read my posts under the header: "Prime Inc - Flatbed/Reefer - CDL Trainee" ... this topic picks up exactly where I left off.

Within a few short days of obtaining my CDL, I got a call while sitting in the lobby of SLC terminal with my limerence friend (read prior posts) that I would begin my TNT on December 29. I was the first person in my cohort to start TNT, despite having experienced some major technical difficulties (to say the least) finalizing my CDL in California.

I was absolutely ecstatic. It was abundantly clear my TNT trainer was aligned with my personality in more than just a few ways. [Note: take your time filling out that personality assessment they give you on Day 1 PSD]. Quick summary: about 10 years older than me, type A personality with ADHD complex (all of us, right?) and otherwise very honest and straightforward guy.

I wish I could tell you that I was ready for TNT. After my ordeal finalizing my CDL I was honestly exhausted and irritable and not the same guy I was when I arrived in Salt Lake City. I needed rest. Quality sleep. No such luck.

We departed the same day he arrived. First load took us to Minnesota. I had only been there once back in 1998 on a summer vacation. In the winter time, it's cold. Bone chilling cold. I didn't have adequate equipment to keep me warm, despite having 'layers'. Minus 10 degrees with wind-chill introduced me to a level of cold I wasn't prepared for.

My TNT trainer was cool as a cucumber. He sat in the B-seat for the first hour or so before we departed on I-80 thru Wyoming during a heavy snow storm with significant wind. TNT is nothing like the training you receive in PSD. I repeat...

We were on a schedule. We had a destination that we had to hit by a certain time. My trainer was just like me in that he desired most to pick up the slack at the front of the trip so that any hiccups along the way could be resolved. But still, I was completely exhausted and my first 8 hours behind the wheel was blinding white blizzard conditions and virtually no other vehicles on the highway. We were literally the last truck on the highway passing through a major storm event. This is the reality of trucking. You can either press on and stay 'ahead' of the storm (which means, press on until you can no longer drive). But this is actually the game that makes trucking easy. My trainer was pleased with the fact that I was onboard with him when it came to 'staying ahead of the storm'. My entire TNT experience could be summarized using the words 'stay ahead of the storm'. That's winter driving as a trucker.

On New Years Eve 2022, my TNT trainer backed us into a tricky 'hole' at a local truck stop within a short distance of our destination, and we enjoyed some quality food before hitting the sack. Despite -10 degree temps outside and heavy winds, the truck stays warm and toasty. On the night before my first delivery I learned the importance of adding anti-gel to the fuel to prevent the engines from stalling in sub-zero temps.

In the AM, the truck was very slow to turn over. But that's business as usual I would learn.

We hauled our produce load to the destination, and my TNT trainer pretty much processed the paperwork and bumped the dock and set us up to unload. I was grateful. It was nice to be able to 'watch and learn' rather than having skin in the game. I was still exhausted and mentally out of it. My trainer asked me to lower the landing gear and I felt like a complete amateur when I couldn't perform this simple task.

It was -20 with wind-chill and I did NOT have the proper equipment to keep my hands (and the rest of my body) adequately warm while performing these simple procedures. To boot: the landing gear was frozen up and required some gut wrenching to lower it so that we could move the tractor away from the trailer while unloading (this was the SOP of the receiver).

The landing gear is the most annoying piece of equipment on the trailer. Always make sure it's operating smoothly. My TNT trainer admitted this one was a bit stiff. I was absolutely winded trying to lower this while my fingers were completely numb after just a few minutes of exposure. I'm a California boy... I had never encountered these temps for this duration in my life.

That was my first load with Prime. Minnesota is beautiful in the winter - just as long as you're warm and cozy inside your truck. :)

Qualcomm/Garmin GPS/iPhone or Android Maps

Don't care how we get there, just get us there legally, on-time, and don't damage the trailer or tractor.

This said: the QUALCOMM (Which is God if you're a company driver, which both my TNT driver and I was), is often out of sync with reality. Do not be surprised if the QUALCOMM instructs you to take an exit which will have you make a U-turn on the highway you've been on randomly half way to your destination.

This is why we have Garmin or Rand McNally GPS or your phone GPS even to 'double check' what QUALCOMM is telling you to do. As a new truck driver student, be kind to yourself when you blindly take instructions from your primary GPS unit sending you in the wrong direction (usually an infinite loop of U-turns!) until you learn how to finesse these instructions with your GPS unit (which you must buy on your own) to get to your intended destination.

I do not wish to turn this into a GPS unit discussion, so I will say simply that I learned how to use the Garmin GPS my trainer had onboard and that influenced my decisions to purchase a Garmin DEZL (pronounced 'diesel' for anyone that cares) OTR 800. I'm sure someone would like to tell me how I made the wrong choice. I dropped about $400 on it (on sale) so please keep this to yourself. I've spent hours on GPS threads. It's a wash which one is 'the best'. Everyone has their own reasons. My logic is: your phone loaded with 3rd party apps and a little bit of research will give you the best of all worlds if you're patient and diligent in learning your equipment. It was abundantly clear to me that my trainer wasn't the sort of guy to read the details of his GPS unit -- it wasn't properly setup, but it got the job done and I was sold on this particular unit for my own SOLO endeavors.

The most important thing to understand is that the built-in company GPS Qualcomm is pretty awful and unreliable and you will learn very quickly why it is an irritating and distracting (safety?) instrument. I'll leave this discussion at that.

My first 7-10 days in TNT was mostly teach-show-do.

I was really lucky to have a highly organized TNT trainer who had clear linear methods for going through all the various tasks from pre-trip, fueling, locating parking (overnight) options, and getting us to our various waypoints safely and efficiently.

I regret to say that I wasn't in a good head space to meet my TNT trainer at the level he was training me. Brain fog was turning into depression as I overanalyzed every little detail along the way rather than going with the flow. If you read my trainee thread, I think you'll understand why this was the case. Even still, at the end of that first week, I experienced a nervous breakdown of sorts which had me pacing outside the truck talking to my limerence friend seeking emotional support, only to find none there, and then finally having an 'episode' on my trainer and dispatcher and fleet manager. I didn't receive any understanding from anyone; and I pushed back hard and said I was finished. Get me off the truck.

Fortunately, God, or some higher power stepped in... (next post).

I have histrionic or quiet borderline personality or some combination of the two. That's me. That's life. We're not all pretty humans with perfect software and hardware. I'm a kind soul deep down with a big heart and that is my saving grace. But I am that guy who absolutely goes nuclear when I experience compounding stressors without intervention or help. I didn't know this when I was in TNT. I would learn this after completing my 30k miles successfully, in spite of it. We're all humans, if you're not perfect, be kind to yourself. Find help. Get treatment. Don't suffer alone. If your family is a little shop of horrors, get away from them. If your life is depressing in one direction, go another direction. Don't suffer.

I'm almost reluctant to continue writing about my TNT experience from this point forward. After the meltdown I discussed in the previous post, I checked out of reality. I was me. But I wasn't me. I was some THING else. I was in limp mode. Some higher power inside me came to my rescue and gave me the power to do the one thing I struggle with most in life: asking for help; or redemption; or a second chance. It's so taxing to my personality it absolutely destroys me when I feel like I can't handle simple life problems on my own.

The rest of my TNT is a wash of teach-show-do. I was very fortunate to have a TNT trainer who said 'okay' when I pleaded with him on the side of the highway as he was taking a whiz (in the middle of the night in the middle of bum-**** Utah) to take me back so that I could complete my TNT training. I honestly felt like a ghost. I was just following steps to survive and keep my place in this world so that I would have some place to come back to and have an occupation. A purpose. Anything. But I wasn't me. Not by a long shot. I was in survival mode.

I don't say this with a light heart: if you find yourself in this place, try to get to a place of safety. Find mental help. Get medication if you need it. Get therapy, even if you're like me and you cannot stand talking to someone you think is a complete fool. In truth, you're going to end up in this place no matter what, because the only the other option is suicide.

I completed my TNT successfully and somehow managed to get an apartment in Oregon despite all kinds of torturous issues knee-deep in COVID. I really don't know how I made it through all of that without collapsing. But I did it. And I'm deeply proud of myself. But in the end, I had to check out of Prime Inc because I was no longer the person I was when I applied for training. I was a monster.

Toward the completion of my TNT training, I had vanished. I was now in some reptilian part of my brain that was focused on the most biologically simple endeavors. I 'hooked up' with a complete stranger I met while chatting online. She moved in with me to my new apartment and we fell into a sort of decay. Both of us were identical mentally. It was as if the universe had sent her to me to say: are you okay?

She was me. I was her. It was like seeing a young version of myself. It was fun at first and then it just melted down. We split on each other and I was left alone in my apartment in Oregon. I was experiencing severe depression and suicide seemed inevitable. It came, and I sought treatment, and here we are more than a year later, and my mental health is finally back to where I was before I packed my bags and moved all my belongings into a storage unit in Utah before attending my first day of training with Prime.

What follows? Hopefully, Prime will have me back. It sounds like I'll be required to so another 30k miles. This doesn't bother me though. I'm in a different head space. A better head space. It's all about learning. I'm looking forward to getting back OVER THE ROAD and hopefully I'll have some interesting stories to share along the way.

Cheers & Best,

Moose

TNT Holy Grail (Prime Inc) -- This is what you came for!

I wish someone had made this list for me to review/learn BEFORE going TNT. My TNT trainer implied that Missouri students receive this training over Salt Lake City students.

1. Read up on certified scales; know how to balance a load in your trailer and adjust tandems so you don't have to go back to the shipper and ask them to re-load truck.

2. Port of Entry; know when to stop at this point (always, pretty much).

3. Watch videos on YT to learn how to adjust tandems. SLC student were NOT taught this.

4. Watch videos on YT to learn how how to properly lower landing gear (and adjust speed). It's NOT obvious.

5. Maintain a 10-second following distance. Stay away from the flock of sheep or herd or group. This will save you so much headache.

6. Respect speed. As soon as you get to east or west coast, drop your speed below the gov'd max.

7. Learn washouts (trailer, tractor, and trailer/tractor). Blue Beacon is great!

8. Scan 15-20 seconds ahead for vehicles/trucks on the shoulders. Learn to SLOW DOWN and MOVE OVER.

9. Bathroom kit - toilet paper at the very least. They're not all well maintained.

10. Top of fuel/DEF at all opportunities.

11. Master the art of getting sleep while truck is moving. Binaural beats/rainfall with noise canceling headphones.

12. Eat healthy. Eat healthy. Eat health. (You're not going to do this despite me repeating it 3 times).

13. Nervous exhaustion creeps up fast and hard and catches you off guard.

14. Do not assume bathrooms will be available and shipper/receiver. Ziplock bag/bucket. Plan ahead.

15. If you're feeling rushed, slow down. No load is worth your life. Be cautious. Your license is at stake.

16. Nav/gps equipment is unreliable. Glance at route (major highways/intersections/final destination over-view of facility Google Maps. This will make you a very happy driver.

17. Time distortion living/working in multiple time zones is unreal. Get sleep. Close your eyes while listening to an audio book. Sleep. Get rest. Sleep.

18. Exercise at rest stops. Stretch. Walk. Jump rope. Move. Get blood flowing.

19. The vibrations of the bed while team driving is the most amazing gift of team driving. Leave your Hitachi vibrator at home, ladies.

20. Company drivers are force dispatch. Your dispatcher gets paid based on you making loads on schedule.

I went through Prime's PSD and TNT back when the mileage requirement was 50,000. It can be taxing mentally.

My first trainer basically lived at the SLC terminal and loved downtime. Two months in and I only had 20,000 miles. It was basically going to take 5 months in the TNT phase at that rate.

I requested a new trainer and we busted out the 30,000 in a little under 4 weeks.

Prime has a very strenuous training program. It's tough but the fact that you got through says a lot and your a lot stronger than what you think. If you left on good terms with Prime I would imagine they would take you back. They're are way worse companies to work for than Prime. I enjoyed my time there. Best of Luck

I went through Prime's PSD and TNT back when the mileage requirement was 50,000. It can be taxing mentally...I enjoyed my time there. Best of Luck

Thank you Shane! I did leave on good terms, in spite of all the madness. :) I'm currently working with the same recruiter who helped me out a year ago. I don't usually give out endorsements online, but having worked with this guy and interacted with him over a long span of time, I feel comfortable strongly endorsing my recruiter Jorge Rogel. He's very honest; he doesn't sugar coat any aspect of Prime. I highly recommend him if you're prefer that kind of interaction.

TNT -- The dirty, the ugly, the foul (If you are easily offended by reality skip this post!)

1. #1 is tricky. The bouncing and wobbling and vibrations of the truck that may help lull you to sleep unfortunately have a tendency to make you want to use the bathroom to empty your bladder more often than you want. Especially if you adhere to a healthy consumption of H20 to stay hydrated. Catch 22 right? Quart size zip lock bags (don't go cheap here) will hold a fully grown adults empty bladder. This discrete activity is something virtually everyone does but no one talks about it. Fear not. Don't keep your bladder in pain.

2. #2 is easy. Your gut actually triggers peristalsis of your intestine every time you begin to consume food. This is why many people feel the urge to release their bowels after breakfast. If you don't want to trigger an urge to go #2, don't eat until you're within minutes of a rest stop. Otherwise, consider alternative options. I never felt urgent given this pattern of eating (I also am keto/low carb for the most part, so one movement a day is pretty normal).

3. Bathrooms at shippers are either pristine or horrendous. I don't mean plug your nose and lay down some toilet paper horrendous. I mean, plan to wait 2-12 hours until you depart shipper to find an alternate (see #2 other options point).

4. Eating healthy IS possible, but it requires planning. Team driving means the truck is virtually almost always in motion. You'll need to communicate with your team driver about your needs. It's not always feasible or practical to add a stop at a legitimate grocer between pickup and delivery points. To boot: you may have to interrupt your quality sleep to wake and shop. As a solo trucker, I intend to maintain a 7-10 day supply of fresh fruit and vegetables and meats along with non-perishables rich in fiber and nutrients. Pinterest has many wonderful ideas.

5. The truck is going to feel like a prison cell. Embrace your inmate status. You will feel and think things you imagined. Two strangers living in such close proximity is the death nail, unless they're both introverts who maintain a healthy balance of private space. If you're an introvert (me) onboard with an extrovert (TNT trainer #1), god help you and him/her. Picture washing two feral cats in a sink that haven't been declawed.

6. The urge to increase risk (drive faster; cut corners) is positively correlated with your bottom line. But the reality is, as you increase risk, your likelihood of enduring a time setback increases infinitely. Prime has speed governors -- this is why I am with Prime. It's a straight jacket to help keep you and your license safe. I whole-heartedly endorse it.

7. The speed governor means that if you can only hit 62-65 mph and you get behind that driver who likes to rabbit foot between 68mph and 55mph (serious, what are they doing?), you haven't got much of a chance to get past them. A quick 30-minute rest break will at least put them between you for a gap. Otherwise you have to be that guy who drops his speed constantly. This is frustrating, because on a number of occasions I felt myself getting sucked into the herd that I try desperately to stay away from simply because we do not have any additional speed allowance. I stand by my 6th point above.

8. Many truckers lack depth perception. You'll be in the middle of Iowa in the middle of the night in the middle of a snow storm in the middle of an alien invasion and a trucker will creep past you and move directly into your lane leaving less than a few bodies gap between you and their beat up trailer. All I can say is let go of the gas and give yourself distance in anticipation of this maneuver as the truck creeps past you. It gives you peace of mind when they do exactly what you expected them to do. And they keep doing it. Over. And. Over.

9. Many truck stops are depressing places filled with negative energy. I personally enjoy the peace and quiet (and 45 degree cut-in parking) at rest stops. I've never felt the urge to strike up a conversation with anyone at any stop except for a few truck stops in the north (Minnesota, Wisconsin) -- they're really nice down to earth people up there!

10. Truck chains are heavy. With ice and mud it feels like lifting an obese corpse. Before you say 'sure let's go over the Continental Divide I'll be happy to chain up if we need to' be sure to examine the state of your chains. Are they properly hung or are they bundled together into a rusted ball that will have you unwinding them in blizzard conditions at high altitude only to find that you have 2 out of 4 chains available to rig your truck, forcing you to flash your lights and crawl down the mountain at 15 mph for 6-8 hours -- oddly specific, I know.