Comments By Garrett J.

I am coming up on the end of one year solo in the Prime flatbed division. I did 50,000 miles of TNT before I went solo.

As to your first question, is 3-4 weeks of training sufficient? As others have said, you will not really feel prepared whether you go through 2 weeks of training or three months of TNT. That being said, I felt that I was ready to go solo after about 3-4 weeks of training. IMO, doing it yourself is where you really learn. As far as driving and backing, I began to feel more confident after 6 months. As far as securement, I am still learning things.

Prime TNT. It is brutal and, IMO, too long. But, I would not let that be the determining factor. Put your head down and, once you are out on your own for 6 months, it will seem like a distant memory.

Prime flatbed. You will run all over the lower 48, although, I rarely make it to the east coast. You have the option right out of TNT to do regional or OTR. They have a "Texas regional" that is very popular with the lease operators. There are some dedicated accounts as well. I ran boat loads right after going solo, which was pretty easy. You pick up tracker boats from Lebanon, Missouri. The loads are prestrapped. So, all you need to do is deliver nthem, unstrap, and return the empty trailer to Lebanon.

After that, I had the general run of the mill flatbed loads. PVC pipe, building materials, shingles, SAPA Hydro, Bobcats, CAT generators, HVAC units, cable channels, insulation, onions, etc. For me, the most aggravating part of flatbed is tarping. First, it takes more time. Second, it takes time to learn how to put the tarps on without catching air, of damaging your tarps. Many times, it seems no matter what you do, the tarp catches too much air. And it requires more scrutiny as to your loads checks. If the tarp comes loose you really need to fix it right away.

As far as running, I run pretty hard, but my schedule is reasonable. I generally start with a fresh 70-hour clock Monday and deliver a load that I picked up Friday morning. I get 2 to 4 loads that week before I get my next "weekend load." After I deliver Friday morning, I'll get a load of about 1,000 to 1,500 miles. I get as far as I can Friday and Saturday, then take a 34-hour reset Saturday night through Monday morning. Deliver that "weekend load" Monday. Rinse, repeat.

Good luck with your decision and keep us updated on your progress.

Wow! Thanks for all that chief!

I'm totally making it the determining factor, but you're right, it really shouldn't be. ...But 40K+ miles is still intimidating as hell. I have noticed it takes me a while to get a hang of things I'm completely new to, so maybe all that training is for the best. I've been a chef for the past 8 years so this is going to be very, very alien to me.

You're current schedule sounds pretty sweet man. How much experience did it take to get a nice schedule like that? Just out of curiosity

Just went and talked to them in person. Their drivers are actually 1099 independent contractors.... no benefits or retirement plan I asked if drivers have a way to easily verify they've been paid for all their miles, like access to their PC miler or whatever and she gave me a really confusing, roundabout answer. Asked if there were any drivers who would be willing to talk to me over the phone about their experience with the company and she basically says I would have to wait till I actually have a trainer to ask them about it and there wouldn't really be a point asking them before since "they're all on different contacts and have different experiences" or something along those lines...

Is this all stuff that's typically expected from smaller, privately owned companies?

Is a hair follicle test part of their pre-employment screening?

Based off what I've been able to gather off the web they most likely don't, but everything I've found is at least a year old.

The "Hair Follicle vs. Urinalysis Drug Testing: Breakdown By Company" article on this site hasn't been updated since 11/22/19.

Anybody know?

Pass would be my advice.

If you don't read it on here, but are reading "information and opinions" elsewhere on the internet, don't believe it to be 100% factual.

Thanks for your input. Did you check out the data though?

Here's all I can find for reviews: Indeed.com page

If you google ltl pros you should be able to find their 11 google reviews

I'm considering driving for this local company. they are affiliated with the cdl school I went to and I took the cdl test at their facility.

Over the phone they aren't very helpful. They seem annoyed by my asking questions and almost reluctant to answer and instead just kept baiting me with stuff like "Let us know right away if you're interested, we have people waiting on a waitlist...loads going out this week...trainers ready...etc." They don't have benefits but they pay pretty well and apparently have a very well-maintained fleet and very good mechanics. I've been to their yard and I can confirm that everything seems pretty maintained, clean and orderly. The office staff is nice in person, but over the phone different story.

Any experienced drivers care to take a look at the data in these links and let me know what is says about the company? I'd really appreciate it! Been seeing lots of stuff on the web about how mega carriers aren't the best route and small or medium-sized carriers are the way to go if one will take you so, I decided to take this company into consideration.

quick transport solutions page

You can go to go to https://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov and go to "company snapshot" and search USDOT #: 1830061 to find their FMCSA page (URL link wouldn't work)

Their website: https://www.ltlpros.com/ (URL link also didn't work)

Are you wanting flatbed or refrigerated ?!?

Haven't decided. I need more info on the overall difference between the two, pros and cons of each...etc

Flatbed for each gets a few extra cpm... and WE gets a $25 bonus for flatbed deliveries. I'm pretty sure only flatbed does OTR with WE. Their dry vans are regional only.. but dont quote me on it. Could you confirm, Old School?

By the way, I trained four weeks at Western Express. My experience was almost bizarre, but I still managed to become a very successful truck driver.

Mind elaborating a bit on how it was almost bizarre?

Okay, now for a direct answer to your question. Yes three to four weeks is sufficient, but there is no way they can cover everything. Forty thousand miles at Prime is a lengthy training time and you may very well get sick of being in training, but it still can't cover everything. I wrote an article about what to expect during your time with a trainer. I'm providing you a link to it. I think you will find it helpful. By the way, I trained four weeks at Western Express. My experience was almost bizarre, but I still managed to become a very successful truck driver. You'll learn a lot about yourself during your time with a trainer. The important thing is that you make it work. It is up to you more so than it is up to the trainer.

Wow, thanks for all the input and for the sneak peak. Very helpful stuff. I'm an avid reader and will definitely read the book when its finished!

Kudos for writing a book about entering this industry. I feel like one would be very appreciated by many.

Also, any company wants trainees off the training truck and out rolling revenue miles as soon as safely possible.

If that's the case, that means that Prime definitely values their driver's safety and preparedness to go solo more than making revenue. So that's good. A few point for Prime right there.

Its come down to Western Express or Prime for the company I start my career with. I'm leaning towards Prime for a few reasons, but their only turn-off for me is the length of the TNT phase. I understand there's nothing wrong with getting a hefty amount of training, but 40K miles just seems more than sufficient for the average person to get the hang of it and prepared enough to go solo.

So my question to any WE drivers out there is: did you feel 3-4 weeks with a trainer was enough? Did you feel confident and ready when you got your own truck? In contrast, is 3-4 months be too much/unnecessary?