What To Expect... My First 2 Weeks At Prime
Topic 7335 | Page 3
If your biggest problem is missing a gear when getting off of a light at the stage you're at right now, you're doing great. I still suck at shifting and I'm about 3 months ahead of you. 90% of my problems now though are forgetting to flip the flipper. I stalled out pulling into a Flying J the other morning, some people saw me, and I just wanted to die right there.
For some reason, the shifting is coming along quickly(ish). I've done well enough that Satan has taught me how to float and will let me do it when we are empty.
He still threatens to buy a shock collar for those times that I let the rpm's go over 1300 before shifting, or when I forget to go back to 10th after downshifting to 9th...
I do still stall occasionally because I forget to go to low and try to take off from a light in 8th gear. Yeah, that sucks.
Remember kids, the selector is your friend. Don't forget to use it.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
Let's not act like it all sucks. I'm sitting on the beach in Marina, CA on a 34 right now. Some of the allure we picture does exist, from time to time.
Couldn't agree more! I love this stuff!
But... there are days... and nights, that I would sometimes like to forget at times.
The Dude, I like your approach. I used to do the same thing. Whenever I would get dispatched down near a beach in Florida, or maybe some place interesting like New Orleans, I would somehow magically run out of hours and need to put in a 34 hour break! You just have to capitalize on your location sometimes. It's a great life, and I enjoy it immensely!
He still threatens to buy a shock collar for those times that I let the rpm's go over 1300 before shifting, or when I forget to go back to 10th after downshifting to 9th...
Haha! Now that's funny! I'm definitely going to steal that shock collar threat!
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
I can definitely see myself running out of hours if I make it to Orlando where my daughter and new grandson live.
And Daniel, I'm sure you can put that to good use. I just missed you in SLC last week. Would have liked to have said hello as your descriptions of prime were one of the reasons I looked into them.
Let's not act like it all sucks. I'm sitting on the beach in Marina, CA on a 34 right now. Some of the allure we picture does exist, from time to time.
Couldn't agree more! I love this stuff!
But... there are days... and nights, that I would sometimes like to forget at times.
The Dude, I like your approach. I used to do the same thing. Whenever I would get dispatched down near a beach in Florida, or maybe some place interesting like New Orleans, I would somehow magically run out of hours and need to put in a 34 hour break! You just have to capitalize on your location sometimes. It's a great life, and I enjoy it immensely!
Haha, I can see how it could be the damndest thing where you wind up needing a 34! Unfortunately Im not smart enough to manipulate those things on my own yet. This was my dispatchers doing.
He sent me on a 4 day, 2500 mile run from KY to Oakland with those coils. I think to test me, me being a new solo driver. Then he sent me on a short hop from Oakland to paradise here to do a 34, I think to reward me.
Dispatcher:
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.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
For some reason, the shifting is coming along quickly(ish). I've done well enough that Satan has taught me how to float and will let me do it when we are empty.
He still threatens to buy a shock collar for those times that I let the rpm's go over 1300 before shifting, or when I forget to go back to 10th after downshifting to 9th...
I do still stall occasionally because I forget to go to low and try to take off from a light in 8th gear. Yeah, that sucks.
Remember kids, the selector is your friend. Don't forget to use it.
Wow you're lucky to be getting trained on how you will actually shift when you're solo at this point in your training. On my PSD , I double clutched the whole time and shifted at 1400-1500. The goal was to pass the CDL exam.
Then I got on my TNT truck, and I started floating but again, shifting at 1400-1500.
My PSD and TNT trainers were both incredible, bit somehow neither held much of a premium on fuel efficiency.
So right now I've been trying to teach myself how to get the best fuel mileage, reading how to do so and whatnot. I've been trying to get used to shifting at 1250 and how to properly apply the PSI on the turbo.
What does your trainer teach you when going from 9th to 10th? I've been making the shift at about 48 mph which is around 1400 rpm because it seems to be too doggy at less than that. And how do he teach you to apply the turbo? 15 or less psi?
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.
Double Clutch:
To engage and then disengage the clutch twice for every gear change.
When double clutching you will push in the clutch, take the gearshift out of gear, release the clutch, press the clutch in again, shift the gearshift into the next gear, then release the clutch.
This is done on standard transmissions which do not have synchronizers in them, like those found in almost all Class A trucks.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.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.
What does your trainer teach you when going from 9th to 10th? I've been making the shift at about 48 mph which is around 1400 rpm because it seems to be too doggy at less than that. And how do he teach you to apply the turbo? 15 or less psi?
Still 12-1300 to go into 10th. It took (is still taking) me a bit to get comfortable with it as was always at least 1500 in school. When it happens correctly, it is "smooth like buttah." My trainer is just preaching that I need to be patient, don't rush into my shifts, it isn't a race car.
To be honest, he hasn't said a single thing about the turbo. We have never discussed it. Hmmm... curious.
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Lol dude! I'm only 2 weeks in, let me wallow in the misery... just kidding, it isn't miserable, it is simply more challenging and demanding then maybe most people think, even after reading all the veterans telling us how demanding it us.
I look forward to doing the occasional reset in a part of the country that I never would have visited otherwise. I've already met some genuinely good people that I never would have if I stayed in my old comfort zone. Soon, I hope to be able to reconnect with friends that are scattered around the country and make new lifelong friends all because I was willing to take a chance and push through the parts that were harder than I had originally imagined.
It is a rewarding choice and I hope to become really good at it some day (once I quit cussing every time I miss a shift at an intersection).