Talk About Bad Luck. New Prime Driver

I came to Prime July 7th as a C seat driver. Which means I had my cdl but no recent verifiable experience. So I did the 40k TNT training. I finished my training and came back to Springfield last Monday for upgrade. On Thursday I was assigned a company truck.(frieghtliner lightweight) After inspecting it, I took it back to tractor maintenance to have the brakes and clutch looked at as they were making grinding noises. That put me a day behind getting out as they were extremely busy and it was going to take time to go over.

Friday comes and the truck is fixed and I proceed to buy all the equipment I need as required buy prime. I spent almost $200 on a new atlas, jumper cables, abloy locks, air cuff luck etc. That comes out of my own pocket. Prime doesn't give you this stuff. I haven't even got the expensive stuff yet (tire chains, load locks) all of which new drivers foot the bill for. Prime will front you the money for all this equipment, then take it out of your next several checks until it's all paid back.

So my truck is fixed so I go ahead and head to driver line-up for my first load out, heading home to Florida to grab my winter clothes and CB. The only load going to Florida is a multi stop that gets me a little more than an hour from home. Another driver is actually picking up the load 435 miles away in Nebraska and taking it to the HQ where I'll repower it to Florida. Dispatch will only allow me to be home 24 hours to do what I need, even though I've been out 3 weeks since last being home. (Prime policy for company drivers is 1 day home for every 7 days otr.) But since I'm a new driver the policy doesn't really count. Whatever, I'm new so I roll with the punches.

So I go to my truck to get some sleep so I can get going as soon as it arrives. Well as I get in the truck the APU dies and won't restart. I try several times but it's dead. Ok no problem, I'm at the yard, I'll go to the shop and have them fix it right? Wrong, they are overbooked and I'll have to wait till Monday to have it looked at. Ok so I had to road assist and let them know. They advise me I can take the truck and head to Florida and they'll find a place to fix my APU. So back to the truck and I'll just idle the engine for a/c not a problem. Errrr that is unless you're a company driver in which case the truck will only idle 5 minutes unless is over 80 degrees or under 20. I didn't find that out until an hour after I went to sleep and the truck engine died.

So I wake up and call my Fleet Manager and let him know that I can't sleep in a truck with no a/c and to try and get out of the load I'm pre planned on. Too late the load has now arrived and since he didn't dispatch me, driver line up did, I have to go there to get out of the load. They got another driver to take the load so I was covered. All I need to do now is head back to the campus hotel and wait till Tuesday when my truck "hopefully" should be fixed. But unfortunately I have to cover the cost of my 4 day stay at the campus inn, but I'll be reimbursed on a later check.

So I haven't even got to drive 1 mile yet and I'm already out a whole bunch of money. THANK GOD you guys talked me out of going lease or I couldn't imagine where I'd be. I'm wondering if I should try to talk to someone Monday about getting another truck assigned since I didn't get the international I wanted because I didn't get a choice as to what truck I could have. A few others got assigned frieghtliner and turned them in immediately for internationals cuz they knew how to tell what kind of truck by the truck number assigned to it. I don't know that so I didn't know what I got until I walked all the way across the property to see it. By the time I found out that you could request a different truck, they were all gone so I'm stuck.

Don't get this post wrong, I'm not bad mouthing Prime. I'm just showcasing my horrible luck for the world to see and to make a point to people wanting to get in to trucking. Stuff like this happens so you better be prepared for it. It's not all fun and games out here.

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.

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.

Fleet Manager:

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.

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.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Awesome job of keeping a great attitude and rollin' with it Terry! Every single driver in America will experience that kind of stuff at times and a lot of careers end before they really even get off the ground because people often handle these situations poorly.

I gotta say though...that when you read some of the things that drivers go through out there, its no wonder there's a lack of people willing to go into the trucking biz.

Exactly! It's a really tough job, it's high risk, you're away from home all the time, and there are a million things that can go wrong at any time. Those are not your typical workplace conditions. And because drivers are the bottom of the totem poll in almost all circumstances we never really have much of a say in things. We can make suggestions and requests, but ultimately we never have any authority other than to shut the truck down when it isn't safe to drive. When you're constantly being challenged by your job and lifestyle it can wear on you. When you never have enough authority to make things happen the way you'd like them to (like getting a new truck, a better load, a different appointment time, or more home time) - it can also wear on you.

So you really have to have the patience of a monk and think long term. Don't worry about a slow week once in a while. Don't worry about a breakdown or two. Learn to take advantage of every situation and make the best of it. Get a little extra sleep, read a good book, get some laundry and cleaning done, spend some extra time talking to the family back home - anything productive you can think of during the downtime.

Nobody at Prime planned this to happen

Exactly! Whatever you do, don't get all worked up and draw too many conclusions about a situation. Just because you get a few lousy runs in a row doesn't mean you have a horrible dispatcher. Just because your truck breaks down a couple of times doesn't mean you have a lousy truck. And the big one - just because things aren't going well right now doesn't mean you're working for a lousy company. That is the unfortunate conclusion so many people draw when things don't go well.

If given this exact situation I can guarantee you a small percentage of drivers would have quit the company and went all over the Web bashing Prime when in reality this kind of thing is "just trucking" - nothing more. It's an extremely complex business that counts on three main things to operate - people, machinery, and computers. And anyone who has ever worked with people, machinery, and computers knows they all breakdown once in a while. When you combine the incredible complexity of a large corporation with the frail nature of people, machinery, and computers you're going to have big failures sometimes like Terry is dealing with right now. But rest assured, Prime is no happier about this situation than Terry is. This is just lost money all the way around for everyone. No one is making money when this kind of thing happens and in no way is it reasonable to expect a company to avoid this kind of stuff completely. It's just how things go sometimes.

Great job Terry! We'll add this to the list of unfortunate circumstances that the drivers here have shared with us. I know they'll go a long way toward helping new drivers enter the industry with the right attitude and expectations.

Oh...and one more thing to everyone out there....Please come to us when you encounter difficult circumstances and ask us for advice. Don't get in a fight with management, abandon your truck, quit your job, and then come here to ask us what we think. What we'll think is, "You're screwed now!!!!" So before making any major decisions, explain the circumstances to us and let us help. In this case Terry already knew how to handle it. He's working through it now properly. If you're getting ready to get your trucking career underway make sure you expect this sort of thing and remember we're here to help out when you need it.

Well I finally got home after getting my assigned truck and here's how it went down:

On Monday per Daniels advice I went to the leasing agent first thing in the morning and told her my plight and to see if I could get another truck (hoping to get in an International lightweight). I explained that my truck has been in the shop since I received it and they shop wasn't even planning on looking at it until Monday night. Well she called over there to get the 411 on what was going on and got the shop to take in the truck right then and there instead of later that night. If it was going to take time to fix, she was going to assign me another truck no problem. So I head to the wonderful cafeteria at the Prime Millenium building and have some breakfast and then back to the campus inn for a nap. I get a call 3 hours later from the shop and the mechanic asks me exactly what was wrong with the APU because they can't find anything wrong with it. (of course) They got it to start and run for a couple of hours. Isn't that how it always works with auto mechanics? Your machine will have a problem and as soon as you get it to the mechanic it freaking stops.

Soo without a problem they can fix and a truck with a working APU and the fact I've now been sitting for over a week between orientation and breakdown I say F--- it, I'm coming to get the truck and get out of here. I head to my fleet manager and let him know I"m ready to PTA and head home to Florida to grab some cold weather gear, rain gear, tools and other things to equip my truck. As I stated before he'll only allow me to be home no more than 24 hours to take a break, grab my stuff and go. Even though I've been away for weeks.

Monday night comes and I'm headed out the gate with a load going to Atlanta as there is nothing in the yard coming in or heading to Florida. Hopefully my fleet manager can find something from Atlanta head to Florida when I get there. I have no problems getting to Atlanta and even had enough time to stop at a CB shop on I-75 at the T/A in Cartersville GA to get my CB cleaned (it had been sitting for 14 years since my last time driving a truck) and mounted in my truck. I make delivery Wednesday morning an hour earlier than my appointment then am able to stay in the overflow lot of the receiver to get some sleep. I get my next dispatch and its heading to Macclenny Florida, less than a 100 miles from home! Everything seems to be working out great! Now I have until 11:00 PM to pick up this load and get it 624 miles. Since I started my clock earlier I stay in the lot to get my 14 back to make pick up and delivery and still make my 7:00 AM delivery at Wal-Mart DC.

Thursday rolls around and I make my appointment an hour early and check in. IF everything works out right and Wal-mart gets me unloaded in the 2 hour window they're supposed to I can drop the trailer and make it home before my 14 expires again. Nope.....they have a shortage in the load and now have to take extra time to make a complete count so my clock expires at Wal-mart. The plan was to take my empty trailer to Anheuser Bush in Jacksonville and bob tail home on my Off duty driving time. My FM gives me directions to AB over qualcomm and I read: "not able to drop empty trailer and bobtail out." I tell the FM about this and now he's gotta take time to find a place for me to drop the trailer. He tells me later to take my empty to the Prime floral drop yard in Pierson with is a little out of my way enough I can't do it in ODD. Plus I have to get the trailer washed out and fueled. More time waiting for my clock......when will I ever get home???

I finally get the trailer washed out and fueled and dropped in Pierson with the few hours I got back at the T/A in Baldwin, which was enough to allow me to get to Pierson and nothing more. Now I take ODD driving from Pierson the 42 miles to my house but its gonna be 6:00 PM when I get home and I have to be ready to go at 10:00 AM the next morning. Well as I'm thinking the worst is behind me and I"m heading home, one final blow happens. My check engine light comes on. Now I have to pull over in the middle of nowhere Florida and get a hold of road assist and let them know what's going on. I do a complete check of the truck and find that my engine oil is low. The truck just came out of the shop how can that be? I look at the truck every time I stop and haven't noticed any oil puddles on the ground where is it going? RA tells me how to reset the check engine light and lets me know its ok to get to a truck stop and get oil. Now I'm not getting home till late with only a few hours to collect all my stuff and try and get sleep and have to be back ready to go in 12 hours. By this time I've been up for 27. More bad luck........

But wait, I"m going to end this on a happy note!! I message my FM on QC to let him know of the events that have and are unfolding. I get the surprise of my life when he comes back and says: "you know Terry I"ve been thinking, we're going into the weekend and you're there in Florida close to home, why don't you go ahead and stay home the weekend. Will you be ready to head out for at least 3 weeks 10:00 AM Monday?" That's 3 days at home that weren't supposed to happen!! I tell him "Hell yes I'll be ready!!

TL:DR Newcomers this is just a little taste of the day in and outs of OTR trucking. Learn to roll with the punches. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Bobtail:

"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.

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.

Qualcomm:

Omnitracs (a.k.a. Qualcomm) is a satellite-based messaging system with built-in GPS capabilities built by Qualcomm. It has a small computer screen and keyboard and is tied into the truck’s computer. It allows trucking companies to track where the driver is at, monitor the truck, and send and receive messages with the driver – similar to email.

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.

Fleet Manager:

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.

DWI:

Driving While Intoxicated

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

What a bummer! On a positive note, things have to go up from here, right?

Wow Terry, that is frustrating!

But you are absolutely right to point out that this kind of stuff does happen. It can be very frustrating at times in this business, and especially when you are first getting started and you don't have a clue about what kind of curve balls might get thrown your way. All you can do is just hang in there and wait for the dust to kind of settle. I got assigned an old truck with lots of problems one time, and I took it and did the best I could with it without complaining. I'd only had the nasty beast for three weeks when I pulled into our main terminal and the guard at the security shack asked me what I was doing in that truck. I told him well, this is the truck they assigned me. Oh no, he says, that truck has been sold and we've been trying to find it. Sometimes, the right hand doesn't even know what the left hand is doing at these large trucking companies. I was in a new truck the next morning! Hang in there Terry, your fortunes will change soon enough.

What's wrong with freightliners?

Wow Terry sounds like you got a few months worth of hurdles outta the way at one time. I'm glad you realize sometimes s**t happens. Alot of folks would have jumped up and down and made some unfavorable friends from the start. I dont understand why Prime is charging you for some of that equipment though. If you were and O/O I could see it, but not as a company driver. Keep your chin up sir, it will get better.

This is exactly why I argued with you and Robert a while ago about you not leasing. I saw this coming. Just tried to look after you. Robert was feeding you a line of crap.

This is exactly why I argued with you and Robert a while ago about you not leasing. I saw this coming. Just tried to look after you. Robert was feeding you a line of crap.

Haha, I hear you Daniel and I sincerely appreciate the "arguments" now. I was also being coaxed by the first trainer I had at Prime about the benefits of leasing but not necessarily the risks. Also I'm not new to trucking, I got my cdl in 94 and drove otr and local for 6 so I was a bit on the defensive inappropriately and apologize if I came off a bit nasty to yourself and guyjax. But hey bottom line I listened and am certainly glad I did. You two and Brett were instrumental in talking some sense into me.

And I don't want this thread to dissuade anyone wanting to come in to trucking. I've learned a valuable lesson from the mods on this forum. I'd just like my little story here to serve as a heads up to those coming in. From my 2 years otr in the 90s to the my recent months recently one thing is for sure. In trucking expect the unexpected.

This is exactly why I argued with you and Robert a while ago about you not leasing. I saw this coming. Just tried to look after you. Robert was feeding you a line of crap.

Haha, I hear you Daniel and I sincerely appreciate the "arguments" now. I was also being coaxed by the first trainer I had at Prime about the benefits of leasing but not necessarily the risks. Also I'm not new to trucking, I got my cdl in 94 and drove otr and local for 6 so I was a bit on the defensive inappropriately and apologize if I came off a bit nasty to yourself and guyjax. But hey bottom line I listened and am certainly glad I did. You two and Brett were instrumental in talking some sense into me.

And I don't want this thread to dissuade anyone wanting to come in to trucking. I've learned a valuable lesson from the mods on this forum. I'd just like my little story here to serve as a heads up to those coming in. From my 2 years otr in the 90s to the my recent months recently one thing is for sure. In trucking expect the unexpected.

I gotta say though...that when you read some of the things that drivers go through out there, its no wonder there's a lack of people willing to go into the trucking biz. Hope things start looking up Terry..I'm sure they will after this start!

Very cool and professional of you Terry for not bashing Prime.

My first truck was a hot mess when I picked it up and it too went to the shop right away. After it was fixed and I was rolling, everything started falling into place and hasn't stopped yet (minus a few more stints in the shop and eventually a final ride to Volvo heaven).

Very cool and professional of you Terry for not bashing Prime.

My first truck was a hot mess when I picked it up and it too went to the shop right away. After it was fixed and I was rolling, everything started falling into place and hasn't stopped yet (minus a few more stints in the shop and eventually a final ride to Volvo heaven).

I'd like to think in my 44 years, I've gained enough wisdom to know this situation is not Primes fault. Nobody at Prime planned this to happen. Things like this will happen at every truck company, it's inevitable. It's how you deal with it that matters. I see this this as a hurdle and learn from. It's a character builder and one things sure about many truckers: they're certainly characters