Profile For Rainy D.

I’m afraid of my driver manager.

hahha doesnt work for me. i scare them. Wait until you read my article about personal safety OTR You will fear me too hahahha

I have no get up.and go tonight. I didnt sleep well and have to leave in one hour but really dont want to.

How do you motivate yourself to get out of that bed and get moving? Especially when that bed is warm and the air is cold!

Wow thanks guys!!! Im glad Turtle posted a pic cause those covers are OLD i dont know wth amazon did!

thanks so.much Turtle, now Im self conscious. Zodiac Lives truly is the best written, the earlier ones are good stories but leave the mechanics of good writing a little wanting.

Brian, yes they are on Kindle and audiobook as well.

Amazon books

I told youz guyz i didnt do it. i was nowhere near the northwest!

stick around joanne

Rainy, Clark Griswold?? LOL I’m not a major screwup

thats not what i meant...but if you had seen me on the road my first couple months solo, you would swear i was his twin sister!!!!

I think you are a perfectionist and too hard on yourself. Yes, the parking issues get easier, and the time management. The only stress i have is what i put on myself. some people hate change.. ME! me me! part of your frustration was the unknown. One very important thing you said to me, "in the office its the same kind of stress everyday. You know and understand it". ie, you hate change.

I dont know of any regional or dedicated that we have that could get you home more. And most likely Prime would.put you in a lightweight to do it. You said your FM was really understanding. Why not call him and explain. Ask him if there is a route i dont kmow about. He might be able to keep you in the midwest area and get you home a little more often. You never know unless you try.

They would still let you work off the PSD Im sure probably just amend the contract or something.

But honestly, I dont know if you should try coming back until you know you are ready. If you dont like that office then find another one. Don't try to come out here and flip flop. it will.play mental havoc with your mind.

The other possibility.... see if you can find a Prime lease/owner op on a FB group who would allow you to get hone every couple weeks or so. You would remain a Prime company driver with benefits, it would count as time toward your contract, but the truck belongs to the lease op, therefore you can negotiate pay and home time.

there are quite a few out there with more than one truck, or who want to get off the road and need someone to drive their truck for whatever reason. you would still be solo. Worst case scenario, it doesnt work out after a few.months and you go back to a company driver.

if you do that, be sure to get to know the lease op. My best friend who wants another truck and keeps offering me $1500 a week and 3 weeks out, 1 week home. And i would still be Prime with benefits. sounds tempting. But possibily losing my friend over business, and definitely losing my FM (although i would wind up with my former night dispatcher as an FM, so not that much change lol or stress) has kept me from it.

If you think you can hang in there for awhile, since you are such an awesome person, becoming a PSD trainer later down the line might help. They often pick up a student run a bit, get a weekend home them run back to test and get another student. i have a friend that is home every other weekend doing it. He loves teaching and the companionship on the truck, but in PSD sleeping isn't an issue cause you are parked. Of course you need to kaster your own skills and actually want to help people before considering it. but the option is there.

well... good luck. im glad it isn't my decision. Just remember, the grass isnt always greener. Dont mong for one just because you are unhappy in another. maybe you just need to change positions in an office and rent an SUV once a year and be Clark Griswold.

I have even thrown an old yellow safety shirt or vest onto the ground. That way it didnt matter if i backed over it and unlike flashlights it wont move in the wind or on slopes.

Well, sorry to hear you go, and dont be a stranger.

OTR is not for.everyone and handling it like a professional is the way to do it. If things ever change, or perhaps you can bring your significant other on the road, then the door is open.

Good luck to you and I wish you all the best.

For future folks reading...notice he didn't blame anyone over failing the test before finally succeeding? Notice how he relayed his need to be home in a professional manner without blame or insult? And most of all, he accepts the responsibility of the contract he signed with every intention of paying it off. He is a stand up guy.

Way to go Britton!!!

Sorry i should have clarified.. yes experienced drivers have a preference between auto and manual, but i meant new drivers coming into trucking get hung up on things and want a manual or a pete etc just because that is what they have heard they should want.

One thing i liked better about the FL was the foot steps to get to the top bunk. Now they have ladders but the older models had foot rests at different heights to get you on the top bunk. The Pete and International had one and that was it. So if you are short well...i felt like an olympic gymnast swinging my leg over a high bar to get on that Petes bunk lol

If they told you to get the permit at home the your CDL will be at home.

CPL does not transfer from state to state. So get it at home, test and the scores are sent to thw home state. Your CDL.is from your home state.

15 mph.... the only truck in existence that a Prime truck can beat!

Every company does it differently so you should have asked before you went. Otherwise you may have wasted time and money.

Most companies seem to have you get it at home, test in their state and take the scores back home to get the CDL. They transfer the scores via computers.

At Prime MO, you get a DL and CPL in MO as a resident, test there and get the CDL there, then transfer it home.

In Prime SLC and PA, you get the permit at home, test at Prime, and have the scores transfered back home to get the CDL at home.

It depends on how CRST does it

Also, when it comes to insulation, the International is sooooo much better. In the FL I used to shove blankets down around the bunk and press my jacket against the driver door while driving through winter areas. In my first FL, snow flurries were falling on my head in WY. Air would come up through the window and lock controls, and the APU a/c and bunk heater could never keep up in extreme temps. Another thing is the FL leaks. badly. The marker lights would crack or leak and need replacing and the windshields leak a lot. Didnt have any of that with the Internationals.

Many things affect average MPG including the driver’s experience with auto-shift technology, weight, terrain, and wind.

With all due respect Raptor, you haven’t been using it that long, I average 7.0 and always run heavy at or above 40k in very hilly terrain, in urban NE Regional traffic.

And you think that number is good? That number is horrible, even for my manuals. And both of these Internationals get worse fuel mileage than my manuals.

Both my manual Cascadias averaged 9.2 to 9.5 mpg loaded. I could get up to 13mpg empty. On my heaviest loads (yes i do 46k beer loads, and meat loads, potatoes and more all through the mountains cities, and Northeast as well) my heaviest loads, my manual Cascadias never went below 8.3 i got used to a very good fuel bonus (up to $250 per week). With that said, I already stated earlier that my Cascadias were much lighter, so that may be why the best I have had with the autos is 8.3 Still, the autos best is equivolent with my manuals worst. That is not exactly a ringing endorsement for fuel economy.

As for a "driver's experience with auto shift technology".... according to the promotional videos, that is unneccesary. The newer trucks (i dont know your year) are equipped with topographical mapping. The truck is supposed to already know the terrain and be prepared to handle it. Therefore, driver manipulation is minimal. My truck even knows the weight of my drives and makes adjustments for speed and grades based on that.

Anyone reading this for the first time, please consider that part of our job as a professional driver is to master the tools we are given by our employers including the transmissions installed in our trucks.

True, but we are still entitled to our own opinions. I prefer a manual as well. No one is going to brow beat me into preferring it, or believing the mpg is better. Raptor is entitled to his opinion.

Fedex told my friend they prefer O/Os in autos simply for being able to fill the seats easier. Prospective drivers, especially younger ones, are intimidated by manuals because the only ones we still have are in sports cars. Most drivers below 35 have never driven one. I'm 44, I never drove a manual before the CDL and yes, it was intimidating, but I did it.

The veteran drivers grumbled and had me terrified of not being able to control the auto going downhill. I drive a lot of mountains, especially in winter. What I found out is that these drivers werent thinking. Its about the rpms holding the jakes and downshifting to the proper gear. Or downshifting lower if not using the brakes. They just never took the time to learn their trucks.

And yeah, now I am going to sound sexist, so sue me. I think a big part of the auto vs manual debate is the male ego/ testosterone. I want a truck that drives safely and I can make money in. For.right now, I made more money in the manuals due to better fuel mileage which gave me better bonuses.

Of course...with all that said, Prime is the slowest fleet on earth, so perhaps that is why our mpgs are better. Prime is always telling us 56 to 58 mpg gives the best results although most of us never do that.

CPap Cleaner Comparison

They both seem to clean well. I personally prefer the So Clean which has a bottle of pre wash you can use on the mask. You can leave it connected to the tube and mask and just drop it in the well and hit a button. it takes up a lot of room though. So Clean has a filter you need to replace every 6 mos or so.

The other one is really small and takes up almost no room but you need to run it twice, once on the Cpap and once on the mask/hose. however, this machine cleans the hose twice cause of the setup.

The congestion is something I complained about a lot when infirst got the machine. Everyone thought i was nuts and just needed to change masks or use the humidifier. Nope, my lungs and nostrils just hate the machine. The only thing that really helps is taking a Zyrtec when i habe extended down time.

Both leave an oxidized smell and some people leave it air out before bedtime.

I think the driver shortage just increased.

Brett makes a great point on parts.

Most of Prime is FL and they have a wide selection of parts in stock. Petes,Volvo, and International need to go to the dealers more often because of it. Lease op friends all want a Volvo but say the parts costs more.

It also comes down to fuel economy. FL are lighter than Petes Volvo and International, so Prime puts most company drivers of full size in FL and the lease ops get the others. they figure the lease ops can pay more for fuel rather than the company. I have friends who leased several FL in the past and now have a Pete. He says he spends 10% more on fuel with the Pete and he is going back to the FL.

However, drivers want what they want when living OTR. I see men in the parking lots arguing over 1 brand new Pete when there are 40 other trucks there. They never drove a Pete and have no idea if they will like it, but almost all the new male drivers i meet want a Pete. Therefore companies wont order trucks that are uncomfortable or difficult to drive. I was told a year ago, Prime was getting away from the Internationals. But then the trans and engine changed, so now Prime is amping up the ordering with another 800 coming in the next couple of.months.

My friend owns a Volvo and she says it drives like a cloud. She never mastered a manual so when her hubby suggested the auto she jumped for it. She swears she will never drive anything but a Volvo again. But, it is heavier therefore she spends more in fuel. I took it out for a quick spin and it feels a lot like my International. However she does pay a lot more in fuel than my boyfriend does for his auto FL.

Weight is another issue. The FL are lighter, even the full size are lighter than the others. that means more freight weight in the trailer and possibly more money for the load. This is also why they get better fuel economy. It is another reason why they are "freight shakers" and so bouncey and rocked by wind. Some shippers get charged a flat rate for a load, whether 1000 pounds or 44k, so using heavier trucks for lightee loads may not cost that much.

So parts, fuel economy, weight, driver favorites, and dealership deals.

I have driven 2012, 2015, 2016 FLs, a 2015 Pete, and a 2017, 2020 International.

Because I dont have to pay for fuel etc, My favorite by far is the 2020 International. The FL seems so flimsy and weak in comparison. Ten mph wind will rock you and they creaked a lot when turning or in wind. The Pete and Internationals felt a lot more solid but can be dangerous in the wond because you dont feel it until its in the 30mph range.

I drove a Pete for a few weeks in training and it was difficult for me. The hood mirrors were so low I couldnt see them and I would pull myself up by the steering wheel to get a peak. The seats were higher too, and even on the lowest setting, i could hardly reach the pedals. Every time I hit a bump, the seat went up and down and my foot went on and off the pedals creating a stop go, stop go effect. The manual shifter was more boxy than the FL which made shifting for a newbie easier. It did have a "blindside" warning sensor which i liked if someone was on your right and you turned your blinker on.

At first when i saw the international i thought it had less cabinets and wasted open space. My under the bunk space is completely taken up by the ThermoKing APU. I am guessing that is a Rigmaster vs TK issue not a truck issue. It has features like power locks that activate when you put it in drive. There seems to be better lighting, and even the mattresses are better for the students. However, after driving it for a few months, I didnt want to turn in my 2017, despite the issue it had. So now i have a new one and Yay! luxury, power, and it actually drives!!! lol

i hope this helps

Hellllllloooo Rick!

The ad for leasing was his 2017 W-2 from Prime. Gross pay $328,000. He readily admitted he only took home half....but still! He's been a trucker for only 2.5 years total...all with Prime.

No the issue is Prime acknowledging they screwed up when they refilled his tire fund, and then refused to refill his emergency fund which is substantially less than what he actually lost. (I didn't say he didn't have one). If anyone else had been at fault....host of support folks at Prime would've has his back, but now he's getting cold shoulder.

And you don't make an official request on Qualcomm to talk to the CEO unless you are damn sure of the facts/situation. He's still got 6 mos left on his 3 year lease.

All i am going to say is good luck Jason.

Great ad for leasing huh?

heres a tidbit for you.. Lease ops do have a breakdown pay in their contract and a loaner truck clause. So IF he wanted to run, he could.

BUT.. he should have money in an E fund. That is all on him and frankly, its none of your business. he shouldnt be dumping it on you.

jist get through this and get your own COMPANY truck. as far as the "Prime really screwed him and did it wrong" well...that might not be true. i know lease people who claim crap like this and either they tried to save money on a part not under warranty or they didnt want to wait for an appt and took it elsewhere.

just hang in there.