Comments By Fuddruckers

That's great info Matthew. I take it you are a Prime employee? Maybe you can help me with something else also...

Is the office slammed busy?? I am having a lot of difficulty getting anybody on the phone. I have left numerous messages for my recruiter that doesn't return, won't return emails, and when I call the main office to request another recruiter, I get nothing there either.

What's the best way to get ahold of a human at Prime?? LOL

I had an awful time trying to get ahold of my recruiter,  they dont work on weekends,  and are on central time zone, and usually dont get in till 8am at the earliest,  and usually are gone by 5, the fastest way of getting a response is by email,  but a trick I used is to send a new email instead of replying to one, they seem to put replys low on the priority list for some reason, also our clases every week are usually 70 to 100 people ,so they go through 100s of apps a day, and are focused on getting the people who they have not communicated with to fill slots, so be patient,  and persistent,  thats basically what trucking is about.

also light weight

full sized

I believe Prime is a very good company. I applied for them and they did not contact me, but I had placed them in the lower echelon of companies I wanted to work for anyway, mainly for this reason. The pay is really good if you are willing to drive the lightweight, but I am a big guy, and a full sized tractor is small enough. Also, 57 mph is awfully slow especially considering HOS regs. At 62 to 65 mph, you are quite a bit further down the road after a full ten of driving under HOS than at 57. In seven days, that mileage adds up. I emailed some of their drivers, and asked about the lightweight trucks. I was told that Prime wanted to get away from removing the passenger seat that a lot of their drivers do to accommodate a small fridge. I am not sure that they will follow through on that though.

Yea, that thought occurred to me also, governed @ 57 vs say 62. It's only 5 mph, but like you say, after 70 hrs , thats 350 miles difference. Of course, with the better pay rate, it might even out ... I'll have to do the math

re: lightweights being used for regional only .... does anybody else have any experience or insight into this factor?

we do have a walmart dedicated which light weight trucks are required, as well as the NE regional trucks are required LW as well, from what I was told we really don't do any other regions , just otr.

from what ive seen in our light weights they aren't made from anything different than a newer cascadia, just that the cab is tiny, theres 2 seats, which yes you can have them remove it, for much more space ,it has no storage other than what is under the bunk , and the back of the seat touches the bunk if move tue seat fully back, their on a ful sized frame so they dont handle any different, their governed at 62mph with cruise on, and 58 if your using the peddle, they can carry more because they are lighter, as well as our "eco 49" trailers are lighter, which you cant always get a hold of.

the handling isint something that you should be worried about, its still 80k gmvw, and chosing the proper gear and speed will keep you out of most issues.

prime is one of the only companies that stands by apus being the future, so your truck wont leave the yard without one.

also you can elect to take a full size, as our truck prosses is handled by success leasing, is the company that the owner owns, and is where all of our trucks are from, during the week that you are upgrading you go into that office and tell them your going company and that you want a full size, simple as That.

I went in as a PSD, got my cdl, did my TNT phase, upgraded to an A seat, got a full sized company truck, and am now teaming with my wife. solo I was doing 2200ish to 2600 ish miles a week, no touch refer freight.

my trainers were the ones that mentioned leasing, not any of my fleet managers, and they didn't preach about it in any of the classes I was in while getting my cdl.

To me, a laptop is worth the weight and space, I find that that there is alot more that you can do with it vs a tablet be it apple or other, they are correct in that truck stop wifi is awful, and it costs alot more than its worth, if you like silly apps, then go with a tablet, if your more technically inclined I would get a laptop and invest in a ALFA adapter http://www.data-alliance.net/servlet/-strse-158/Alfa-AWUS036NH-2000mW-1000mW/Detail. youll be surprised what you can pickup at some shippers anf receivers, and most McDonald's have free wifi well as alot of chain restaurants, that you could easily get signal from your truck in the parking lot of a walmart. but thats just me.

Prime inc has apu's in every truck in their fleet, and good starting pay if you are just starting out.