My Time At PRIME.

Hello Lisa, I have some insight for you. I just started with prime 2 weeks ago and am on the road doing my 40k miles right now. I already had my CDL and had just renewed my physical in May and prime still gave me their own physical even though mine was only a month old.

Terry, may I ask what Prime's company physical consisted of? I am interested in know how much weight you had to be able to lift etc.

Hello Lisa, I have some insight for you. I just started with prime 2 weeks ago and am on the road doing my 40k miles right now. I already had my CDL and had just renewed my physical in May and prime still gave me their own physical even though mine was only a month old.

Terry, may I ask what Prime's company physical consisted of? I am interested in know how much weight you had to be able to lift etc.

Hi Jolie. It was a very basic physical. No weight lifting was involved. Unless you're going to go flatbed they never even asked me about that. I'm in the refer division. There are so many ppl going thru there that the exam goes very quick. The only ppl I noticed that got an in depth interview with the nurse was with pre existing condition. They seemed to be more concerned with sleep apnea and blood pressure.

Terry, may I ask what Prime's company physical consisted of? I am interested in know how much weight you had to be able to lift etc.

Hi Jolie. It was a very basic physical. No weight lifting was involved. Unless you're going to go flatbed they never even asked me about that. I'm in the refer division. There are so many ppl going thru there that the exam goes very quick. The only ppl I noticed that got an in depth interview with the nurse was with pre existing condition. They seemed to be more concerned with sleep apnea and blood pressure.

Interesting....I talked to a recruiter at Prime and she told me I would have to be able to lift 70 lbs over my head for their company physical. Due to a broken elbow a few years ago, I cannot lift that much weight above my head. I wasn't even looking to go through their CDL school. I know they are inundated with people wanted to get in with them but was a little disappointed. However, there seem to be many companies that won't be an issue for. Hope your training continues to go well!

Hello! I dont know whom Im asking this to, but, I have LOTS of questions!! I am somewhat experienced...sort of...I had my CDL's at one time, but, it was back in the 90's...then I dropped it down a bit, Just down on Class, because I DIDNT get the chance to use the CDLs at all...Had problems getting hired. so Now I hold a Class "C" CDL....I paid $3600 back then!! THEN...I decided now after all this time, after putting MY Dream and MY LIFE on Hold for various reasons...decided after 10 years or so...To TRY this again!! sooo I went thru another recruiting deal...and ended up going to Peoria school....WELL...I just BARELYYY Didnt make it...The dang 45 degree backing got me!! THEN...I went to another company sponsored school and they did alright in training us...BUT!!! They had the SHADIEST Examiners in the or by the IL//Indiana border...of course I was on the IL side, well....I DIDNT get to even TEST THERE....I Got sooo UPSET and so aggravated....decided to come back home and TRY to get them here...well, then you run in to the problem of getting a truck to try to get them...sooo Needless to SAYYY!! Do you have any advice or anything you can tell me or help me with??!! Could I STILL be accepted into a program...or can another school or company HELP Me, also??!! I think I got the Shaft end of the deal...with that OTHER Place...not going to mention the name, as of yet. Please...I will wait for Reply.

Hi Valerie.

I DIDNT get the chance to use the CDLs at all...Had problems getting hired

I went thru another recruiting deal...and ended up going to Peoria school....WELL...I just BARELYYY Didnt make it...The dang 45 degree backing got me!!

I went to another company sponsored school and they did alright in training us...BUT!!! They had the SHADIEST Examiners in the or by the IL//Indiana border...of course I was on the IL side, well....I DIDNT get to even TEST THERE

I can tell by statements like those that there's a whole lot more to your story than we know at this point. Unfortunately you've already made three attempts to get started in trucking and none of them have panned out. I think the biggest concern is that you actually obtained your CDL back in the 90's but then failed out of school when you tried to get it back again? Then you never even got to test on the third try?

That's not good.

Here's the harsh reality of this situation. I don't know enough about you to give any specifics, but I do know enough to say that you are your own worst enemy. I don't know what it is that's keeping you from getting started in trucking but it isn't trucking. It's you. And you have to figure out what it is before you decide to take another shot at it. Maybe it's your attitude or approach to learning. Maybe it's a communication issue. Maybe you're just not cut out for driving on a professional level. I really don't know. But you have to do some brutally honest soul searching and figure it out. There's no sense in just giving it another shot without making any changes. You're not rolling dice where you can do the same thing over and over and get different results. You have to know why you haven't succeeded to this point and what you have to do about it. And I can tell you it has nothing to do with anyone outside of yourself because there are truck drivers out there right now that took the exact same paths you took and they were successful. They had the same instructors, classrooms, trucks, and examiners you had and they made it. So you can't blame the schools, the instructors, the trucks, or the CDL examiners. You have to take that responsibility on yourself and decide what changes it will take in order to be successful.

If you can identify what has kept you from being successful and you think you can make the changes required to overcome it then go for it again with a new approach. But if you can't identify significant changes you need to make to get different results then keep thinking about it until you can. Otherwise the same approach is going to lead to the same results.

Hey, thanks indeed for the update! You can write more anytime. Each post is limited to 5,500 characters but you can always start another post. The more information people can get about Prime's program, the better.

It's a bummer you weren't able to find us sooner and have that permit finished and the meds looked at. Those are two things we could have gotten you squared away on before you ever left. We knew about the advantage of having your permit before you arrive and we know that medications need approval. But like you said, no harm done. This will give you a chance to get your meds switched and get more study time in on the High Road Training Program.

A bummer you have to wait to return there, but no big deal.

Hello Brett, I have a question on meds that I'm a little worried about. I should be starting the CDL Prime training sometime in the next few weeks and I've been reading and trying to get as much info as possible. I read somewhere (I believe it was on this site) that someone was sent home on orientation day because he was taking Zoloft, which is a med for depression. Do you think this is something I need to worry about? Like I said I've been reading everything I can get my hands on and this was the 1st and only time I read this about zoloft. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

Hello Brett, I have a question on meds that I'm a little worried about. I should be starting the CDL Prime training sometime in the next few weeks and I've been reading and trying to get as much info as possible. I read somewhere (I believe it was on this site) that someone was sent home on orientation day because he was taking Zoloft, which is a med for depression. Do you think this is something I need to worry about? Like I said I've been reading everything I can get my hands on and this was the 1st and only time I read this about zoloft. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

The biggest thing you need to do before you head to any training program (be it Prime or someone else), is check with your DR and have a note from them about the medication. I know from experience (I did my training through Prime) that if a medication change is being done, they usually want you to be on the medication for at least 1 month before you go through their school. The medication also had to meet DOT requirements and not be on the list of meds not allowed for commercial drivers. Your DR should know for sure if the medication is or is not allowed.

Hope this helps.

Ernie

Hello Brett, I have a question on meds that I'm a little worried about. I should be starting the CDL Prime training sometime in the next few weeks and I've been reading and trying to get as much info as possible. I read somewhere (I believe it was on this site) that someone was sent home on orientation day because he was taking Zoloft, which is a med for depression. Do you think this is something I need to worry about? Like I said I've been reading everything I can get my hands on and this was the 1st and only time I read this about zoloft. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

The biggest thing you need to do before you head to any training program (be it Prime or someone else), is check with your DR and have a note from them about the medication. I know from experience (I did my training through Prime) that if a medication change is being done, they usually want you to be on the medication for at least 1 month before you go through their school. The medication also had to meet DOT requirements and not be on the list of meds not allowed for commercial drivers. Your DR should know for sure if the medication is or is not allowed.

Hope this helps.

Ernie

Yes, it does help. Thanks for your response.

My Prime Orientation started 4/20/15.

I've finished my Prime Student Driving phase and will start the team driving phase once I actually make it to the DMV and get everything settled (it's a holiday weekend so I have to wait until at least next Tuesday.)

I wanted to post a journal and what not but I found that on the road I can only view this forum on my iphone. Couldn't reply or post to any threads.

Next time I'm in my hometown I will be switching to an iphone5 but, I can't figure out why I can't post on this website when I'm on the road. When I log in and try, the page basically just refreshes when I click on new topic or reply. Can anyone shed some insight?

And yes, I've been enjoying my training at Prime so far! There has been a lot of hurry up and wait due to a variety of reasons but I'm not complaining. I managed to line myself up with a good instructor as well.