Bunch Of Questions, Advice Needed
Topic 34627 | Page 2
Jaybird apologizes for the obvious:
xmisinformation"
Who wants to post things in general? The ones who "make it" in technology generally are too busy making their money any joking for their next load. The losers are the cry babies who want to blame anyone but themselves.
Here in Trucking Truth we have successful & experienced people who do come back to the beginning of there careers and help out those who do want to understand what's going on. Some whiners do pop in here, and either get set straight or just leave because they can't find anyone who will agree with them.
Jaybird, props to you. In your first post we saw you had done your homework in your prospective career. We are here to reinforce the truth you found and to clear out the junk.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
In 2015 I signed a 1 year contract with Prime. If i quit I owed $3500 which could be made in monthly paymehts. CDL schools in NJ wanted $7,000 to $9,000 at the time
In the first 2 years. I paid off $70,000 in credit card debt. I was in no way a slave. No way was i paid crap or put into a bad truck. I gained a ton of experience and in 2025, i am still here.
It is highly reccomended that you stay a full year at your first company. I see so many people come in as a "free agent" with their CDL. They get paid less, have to go through mpre training, and many have attitude problems. They think that CDL is a guarantee. It isn't. Only a safe and experienced druver is in high demand, not a newbie with less than a year. Sorry, but it is true.
We have seen tons of people job hop on this forum.. and many wind up making less and less as they inadvertently limited their choice by job hopping.
Below I show the walls and walls of plaques filled with 1 million to 4 million mile drivers. We recently had a guy receive a 5 million mile award. There is a reason why people stay at some companies for decades.
Every company is good for someone.. and everyone has different priorities.
Is Prime Inc Just a Starter Company?
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.
Was the same @ CRST, they had a wall with picture plaques for million+ mile drivers, might'a been 30 of those..A few of them had been there 15-25 years.....My friend and mentor drove for 'em 10 years, got his million + before he retired @ 70. He only retired when his 30 something year old son died in his sleep in Oregon of natural causes. He took off to go be there, and decided it was time to quit driving, and handle his son's business affairs
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Yep and as for "bad company"... i admit that i have steered people away from CR England. However, someone with past issues may need such a company tp get their foot in the door. So the company is good for 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.
I would like to know your youtube channel. Also I am thinking about applying with Prime I have actually done it once before just never did anything with it and other companies over the last few years Now i work for delivery service driving 16 ft box truck home every night. But only 3 of us including owner so As of this writing we have no part time person so that means I can't even take of work to take CLP or dot due to my late times getting back home.
So I guess I should wait on applying to Prime.. I have spoken with Angela at Prime.
Ask Prime about California hiring. Because of AB5, they were only hiring company drivers... which we recommend over 1099.... but over the summer, they stopped hiring from Cali all together. Prime will do this from time to time in order to not have too many drivers from one area. It makes it difficult to get people to and from home. So they freeze a state for a bit.
Get the idea out of your head that someone with a CDL can automatically find work. Not true. And companies won't just take anybody.
I have a youtube channel. Check it out. It has lots of info on my playlists "Considering CDL school?" And "rookie tips" even training videos with a student so you know what to expect.
I have been using Adobe Premier Pro with a Canon Rebel T7i. Be careful what you say if you go that route. Not all companies allow the social media content.
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.
CLP:
Commercial Learner's Permit
Before getting their CDL, commercial drivers will receive their commercial learner's permit (CLP) upon passing the written portion of the CDL exam. They will not have to retake the written exam to get their CDL.
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I’m sorry for the misinformation. I have always assumed the term “Starter Company” as referring to any of the companies with any kind of company provided training. I’ve also lumped in the companies that I guess now that I think on it more, company sponsored training , which is different I think?
Errol is correct. No company wants to hire, train and provide resources, only for the driver to not remain with said company in the future.
Company Sponsored Training:
A Company-Sponsored Training Program is a school that is owned and operated by a trucking company.
The schooling often requires little or no money up front. Instead of paying up-front tuition you will sign an agreement to work for the company for a specified amount of time after graduation, usually around a year, at a slightly lower rate of pay in order to pay for the training.
If you choose to quit working for the company before your year is up, they will normally require you to pay back a prorated amount of money for the schooling. The amount you pay back will be comparable to what you would have paid if you went to an independently owned school.
Company-sponsored training can be an excellent way to get your career underway if you can't afford the tuition up front for private schooling.