Comments By Joshua C.

My apologies I'm doing this from my phone and misspelled some words and left some out

I should clarify what I meant by my earlier response on this thread. Im sure I could do the psd/tnt ordeal again but definitely not sure if I'd want to and God willing, I wouldn't need to. 3 months on the same truck with the same person 7 days a week is definitely an ordeal. Prime is awesome, but I know other companies have shorter training periods. I'm sure I could and would do it again, but I sure hope I don't ever have to.

And by the way, I shower and workout daily on the road. Always prepare my own meals. I wrestled and lifted weights for years and years and that was biggest obstacle preventing me from going through this one year period of paying your dues and it's what I miss the most, sparring and the gym. I have weights with me on the truck, have a jump rope, and I have my riding bike with me. Jog all the time to. This is in reference to what brett was saying about how other Truck drivers conduct and carry themselves. I find a way I don't find an excuse. I'm actually a fan of the uniforms that some other Truck companies. I like it looks more professional. This really is a very professional job.

Is it really that hard in this industry to say "hey bud, I see you're just starting out... Glad to have you along. We gotta get this trailer load of stuff from point A to point B as quickly and safely as possible. I'm here to share my experience with you and perhaps build some confidence. Lets try and have a good time despite the limited space and see if we can't learn something. If you see something you're uncomfortable with or have a question about, please speak up and ask. Again, I'm here to help get you off on the right foot, now fasten your seat belt and lets hit the road. Wanna Gatorade?.”

That's how it should be. Unfortunately, Males can be little drama queens too and from what I see, most these lease/trainers aren't training because they want to, but because they need to. It might sound like a good idea initially to have someone share your truck with you. But grown Men need their space and you have practically none during tnt. I'd never do it again nor would I ever train anyone in that type dynamic

Even though tnt sucks it's not bad enough to make me quit. All it does is motivate me more to get in my own truck. I've spoken to other who came in the same class as I did who say the same things. No showers, non Stop, filthy truck with trash everywhere. We've already agreed to not be that way when we get our own trucks lol. I know I'm not alone with my situation so that makes it easier to deal with. I get a weeks worth of home time this Tuesday so I can suffer a few more days of filth. I also know that I'm getting back on this truck more prepared after my home time. 1 of my biggest gripes is the fact that he refuses to stop by a Walmart so I can get groceries. Instead it's eating out everyday. I swear I burn through 150$ a week just in overpriced fast food. I've already told him I'm getting back on with groceries and a crock pot. I only have 4 to 5 weeks left on this truck, God willing, then I'm in my own. So I can suffer through that to get where I need to be. The funny part is that he keeps pitching me to stay on the truck. At first he offered a whole 16 cents per mile but after his friend offered me 900 a week minimum he said he'd give me half to stay. Funny thing about half is he doesn't know what that actually means. He said he'd give me half of his net take home. I argued that net isn't half. I understand that you can't count the truck payment into income but fml he pays 900$ a month in child support and spousal support and doesn't think that counts into earned income. Same with breakdown expenses, they shouldn't go against me when I'm not getting half of the lease completion bonus. Side note, the way it was explained to me is that unless you are overweight, over 6 foot, or running teams you Do NOT get a condo in reefer. You are stuck with a lw

That's just wrong him not willing to stop at walmart. And I'm five foot ten and I promise you I have a condo. Not only that, but the first truck I was assigned to had over 400000 miles. Drove it for almost five months. Never broke down. I've never been late for a delivery and zero citation s. So about a month I was told I had to go the yard cuz I'd been assigned to a different truck. Beautiful condo with only 150000 miles on it. I love this truck. So I've got 2 condos in 6 months. You do prime right they will for sure take care of you. I'll get a load assignment for 1300 miles let's say. I won't hear one word from my fleet manager for 3 days. He doesn't care when or how I run as long as I'm safe and on time. I'm on a 2000 mile run from denver to ft lauderdale as we speak

Oh and I hope not all trainers at prime act like that cause right now Prime is my #1 choice.

also does prime MAKE new drivers use the light weight trucks? I thought it was a choice, I can deal with the 5 cents less per mile to get a full size truck. Not that big of deal.

No they don't. I have a condo. I couldn't do it man. They tried to persuade me but I wouldn't budge. Just be adamant about getting a condo

And to call my trainer an actual trainer is a joke

Sam, I agree completely.

I'm pretty sure this system is messing with alot of people's lives in a negative way

HudsonHawk, I agree completely with you also.

This is how training has always been in the industry. It's a little worse at Prime because most of their trainers are lease drivers and most of those guys are only taking students on for the cheap labor. Let's tell it like it is, right? And the reason Prime is having those lease drivers train students, knowing many of them are terrible trainers, is because it's the best way for the corporation to make money. Again, let's tell it like it is.

Honest to God the person that comes up with a way to recruit enough genuinely good trainers to keep the students rolling while paying the students enough to survive on should get a tickertape parade in Manhattan. And a billion dollars. But I don't know how you go about doing that and obviously nobody else in this industry has figured it out either.

There are companies that only dispatch student trucks as solo operations and require the trainer to stay in the passenger seat, not the bunk, and only the student does the driving unless the trainer feels he/she should take over for the sake of safety. That's the proper way to train people. The problem is that it's extremely expensive to do that. Not only is that truck not making the company any money, but having a trainer sitting there doing nothing is costing them a fortune. So those companies pay the students next to nothing and have a heck of a time recruiting anyone.

Now you might be able to justify doing that if you knew the trainee would stick with the company for a year or two and the company could recoup that investment. But how many drivers do we have right here in this forum that continue to encourage new drivers to get their training and move on against my advice? A lot of em! And they know who they are.

This is what's creating a situation where the companies have their back against the wall. They know no matter what they do a lot of students are either going to fail to pick up the necessary skills to become efficient drivers, they're going to quit the company quickly and move on to someone who pays an extra penny a mile, or they're going to drop out of trucking altogether. Why? Because drivers who are new to the industry don't understand the big picture or don't have what it takes to make it out there. They don't understand how expensive it is to train them or what it takes for a company to survive economically. They don't understand how stressful and difficult it is to live on the road and do this job day in and day out. So they do whatever they want to do for themselves and say screw everyone else. Well what that does is screw all of the students that come after them.

Prime has even taken the initiative to pay their student drivers the highest salary of any students in the industry. Part of that is because they want them to stick around. But part of it is also because they know they're going to keep you out for two or three months when you first go out on the road, which is shameful in my book, and they're going to let a lease driver run your *ss into the ground which is dangerous and stressful. They also know once you complete your training you're going to be stuck in a lightweight truck with far less room than most drivers in the industry get. So they're hoping the great pay will make up for it.

Other companies pay their students next to nothing but give them much nicer circumstances to train under as I had mentioned earlier. But many of those students bolt after two months for a better paying job elsewhere.

The bottom line is that nobody has ever found a true winning formula. There is always some degree of risk and suffering. Either the company pays dearly for trying to make things safer and more enjoyable for the student or the student pays dearly because the company wants to protect their profit margins. And regardless of how you do it, nobody seems to be able to recruit enough good trainers.

Makes complete sense. All I can say is is that it is worth it once you get your own truck. At least it was for me and I know lots of prime drivers that are definitely happy. I hate to laugh but these stories bring me back to when I was psd. I never backed on the road and spent hour after hour learning formulas with zero real world value so I could pass the test. And thank god I trained during the winter because we could go days without showering too. I drove almost 10 hours every night till 4 in the morning but got real used to it and enjoyed the peace. I promise you once those 2 months are over it'll seem like it flew by. I just kept my eye on the prize. Job security and I very much enjoy the job.

Hey Brett do you think you'll ever drive again?

No, I don't expect to. If I did I would have to go through schooling again, just like anyone who hasn't driven in a while. And that would be a ton of fun! I think going through school again would be more fun than driving would, just to see all the fresh faces getting into the industry and watch them try to learn the trade. That would be cool.

In fact, I'd much rather teach truck driving than be a driver again. But I do love to travel so I'd also love to get a big 5th wheel camper and Chevy Dually and head out on the highway to live on the road. That would be awesome! All the perks of travelling without the DOT in the way. That's the way to do it.

If I did drive again I think I'd get a regional route where I'm home on weekends. That way you're able to run about a 1,000 mile radius out from home so you still see a lot of new stuff all the time, you turn great miles so you're making about as much as OTR, but you're home weekends for some time off. That would be my preference at this point.

I see ads on craigslist in regard to teaching/training via roadmaster. The trainer that teaches backing at prime east training pad definitely seems to enjoy his job. I think that'd be a cool gig too down the line.

When I was training at Prime, I always made time for showers, bathroom breaks, etc. There isn't a load out there that did not have enough time built in to be able to do all those things (tight schedule yes, but always found time). And by the way, I was a lease driver on the reefer side while I was a trainer. So what you need to do is call your trainers fleet manager first, if that doesn't get things changed then call Stan (the training program manager). I am sure Daniel or any of the other current trainers on TT can get you the number if you don't already have Stan's number.

And use this current experience as a reminder that when you are on a high value load, use the restroom before you head out to ease the need to use the restroom during that first 200 miles.

Ernie

I'm pretty sure that he said he was in new York and 5 or so hours had went by. There are lots of days and times I need to go twice in 5 hours

Just feeling the need to vent. Team driving sucks ass. I've only been doing it for 2 weeks now, prime tnt, but this is horrible. First off I hate being stuck on night shift when I was on days the day before. It's hard enough to sleep when you are constantly being bounced around let alone when you slept the night before. Secondly, I'm tired of high vals. I've had to pee for the last 2 hours and can't my trainer can't stop yet because we still aren't 200 miles away yet. We've been driving for 5 hours but because of wonderful NYC traffic we've only gone 169 miles. Fml! Also what happened to me actually getting a break from this? All I do now is drive and try to sleep. There is absolutely no down time to just relax. I can't wait to be off this truck and to have my own.

Tnt sucks. Especially in the beginning. I drove nights too and from the day till tnt was over I'd wake up 8 times during my sleep. I got into a routine and looking back it went kind of fast. Having your own truck is night and day and you get way way more sleep. I rarely begin my clock as soon as my 10 hour break is over and I've yet to be late on a delivery. Tnt sucks man . It does get thousand times better if you hang on and get it over wi th.

I hope you don't think I got on here to discourage anyone from becoming a truck driver. I used to really love it,

No, not at all. In fact, I've never considered it my job to encourage everyone to become truck drivers. I encourage the people I feel might be right for the job to give it a shot, and I've told many people over the years that there are careers that would suit them better than truck driving would. It's all about finding what's right for you.

I loved my years on the road but I retired from it because I'm the type that always looks forward to the next adventure. I want to try everything that sounds interesting, challenging, and exciting. And believe me, there's a long list of things I haven't even tried yet. So I just felt like I had done everything there was to do in trucking so it was time to move on to new adventures.

Hey Brett do you think you'll ever drive again? I've read on your threads your opinions about dedicated routes where your home daily and my impression was that wasn't a good fit for you. I actually prefer the dedicated routes but I like a sprinkle of OTR mixed in with them too at this point. If I had to pick just one which I'm going to have to soon, I'd pick the home every night dedicated route. I'm still visiting cities that I've never been to before and it's still a new adventure everyday. I just know where I'm going to be sleeping every night and the pay is better too.