Profile For Truckin Along With Kearsey

One thing to be aware of....if you come with a CDL, you get paid LESS and do MORE miles in training.

$600, $700, then $800 per week...instead of $700 then $800

You also do 60k miles instead of 50k

And tuition reimbursement is. $1500 only.

And no you get no deduction in your pay. Just stay the year

9 months if you are a veteran

Yes prime will allow a company driver 1 passenger AND 1 pet under 30 pounds

You are way way overthinking this. I wear sneakers, sweats and yoga pants most of the time. Yes I have a pair or cardhart work boots for winter snow and ice. Most of my clothes and jackets now have prime logos so it looks more like a uniform. Maureen has non slip shoes that are slip ons and comfortable. She has a pair of boots too... Doesnt need to have steel toes

No profanity. No cut offs. No flip flops. No tank top mid drift stuff.

And have a variety. On Thursday we left Springfield it was -20 wind chill. Saturday it was 48 in NM. Today is Monday and it was 78 in AZ. So in less than a week we spanned 100 degrees.

Yesterday Saturday February 20th,2021. I'm at the Salt Lake City terminal having maintenance done on my truck (APU)

I'm in the brand new amenities building, in the driver lounge it's 5am. At about 6am Aaron came in and sat down. His Peterbuilt is having a wiring harness issue. He's hoping that they can get it fixed today because they are closed on Sundays.

So he's there and we start talking. He's a solo lease driver based out of Springfield, Mo. Has been with Prime 2 years. He lives near Kansas City, he is into restoring classic cars with his uncle, we spend hours talking about our backgrounds and experiences. I'm hoping the NorthStar grill will open so I can grab something to eat. Of course 7am comes and its closed.

I attempt to use the vending machines the food machine has a credit card reader and I'm able to get a snack. Then I move to the drink machine and its credit card reader is not working. I only have a 5 dollar bill and no change, Aaron offers me the 1.50 so I'm able to get a drink, I let him know when the company store opens I will get change and pay him back. Which I do.

Then at 1pm pizzas arrive from Papa Johns and he offers everyone in the driver lounge pizza which includes the shuttle driver. Aaron gets a call around 2pm his truck is ready, Aaron quickly packs up his laptop and he and the shuttle driver head out. We say goodbye.

About 30 minutes later, it occurs to me that Aaron and I have spoken for 7 to 8 straight hours. And I'm saddened that I did not make an effort to give him my facebook name or my phone number to speak in the future. I've always been shy around new people so it's no surprise.

My hope is that I run into him at a Terminal sometime in the future. He was fun to talk to. Yesterday was a perfect example of learning to seize the moment.

Keep looking on the Facebook prime groups. And customers. You will be surprised how often you run into people. A guy helped me when I was new and 3 months later I saw him at the terminal and bought him lunch as a thank you.

Heard and understood sir. I’m actually going to team up with another driver as soon as my training is done. Having someone else out here to help me out if I’m ever in a position we’re I’m stuck or can’t figure it out would be invaluable. Plus the money couldn’t hurt.

First.. You realize other people are looking at you thinking you are one of those u desirables that you frowned upon, right???

As a second chance company you will find people who dont meet the standards of other companies....including you. So dont put people down.

Secondly, teaming so someone else can help you is wrong and selfish. That person is not your trainer. Many team mates just go into the bunk and close the curtains. You are getting paid equally so why would they waste their break helping you with your screw ups?

Yes you could get someone willing to help. But you could be with someone with less experience than you! What if you are the one being asked to explain?

Good luck

Hey, Kearsey, The last part you mentioned about being expected to run for 2 weeks after TNT, have all your students been required to do this? My students have been able to go straight home after TNT (with a load to get them there) and I was routed back home from Springfield after my training period with Prime when I transferred. I guess it's at the discretion of your FM whether or not he/she will actually require a recent upgrade to run for 2 weeks prior to going home? So as a student, they should plan for the worst (i.e., running 2 weeks before getting home)?

Plan for the worst is right. My FM always did 2 weeks, even with me. so I always took my TNT home before upgrading. Others coming from lease FMs to company FMs...i have been told by the FM that they like running them to gauge their abilities and get to known them a bit before they go home.

It may also.be about location. Some areas may be easier to get people home.than others

Car rental is now set up with a car rental company, I believe Enterprise, for Prime direct pay. The confusion comes from different people's access to said company. If someone uses Hertz for example, they get reimbursed on their first pay as a TNT. As well.as fuel.

During PSD if no instructor is available to go OTR, you will stay at a hotel near the terminal which prime pays for. Prime also ADVANCES $200 per week for food (this has been true for years and on the website) which is paid back at $25 per week once hired. During this time you may be paired up with a local CDL instructor. This person may have several other students but you will still.get one on one training. He just spreads the students pad time at different parts of the day. However some believe watching the mistakes of others is beneficial, so it may be up to the trainer/student. I don't know of anyone going home during PSD.

After the exam, you do need to go home to actually get a physical copy of your CDL from your home state. Trainers usually take you from the terminal to a truck stop near home. This is also true for home time. I dropped Maureen off a few miles from her home. My previous one lived 10 miles to closest truck stop. One person on this forum I dropped at a bus station in NJ and he took the bus to NYC then drove his personal vehicle to FL to drop with family. I picked him up in Florida. My student from MS I dropped off literally at his front door.

My last student did PSD at the terminal.and was given the choice: get yourself home on your dime and dont get paid while home....or stay at the terminal getting paid. She chose to go home. I picker her up from a local truck stop for TNT.

Honestly I wouldn't bother taking your own car. You will only be there 1 to 3 weeks before going TNT which you wont be back for a long time. And then when you go solo you really want be back. Most people who have cars there live within a couple hours driving. Not 800 miles. Many northeast regional people park at Pittston cause they get every weekend or every other weekend off.

Going home for TNT is another location issue. Some people don't want to wait even two days for a trainer and want to go home. Some live nearby, others a thousand miles away. During TNT, yes you get a free hotel and $700 per week gross to sit there and wait. If one goes home you don't get paid.

Once you have your miles completed...you are still on the truck not at home. So this really confused me. You are then run into the terminal to upgrade. Covid caused a shortage of trucks for.awhile so people were on a list for a week while still driving with the trainer. Then brought to the terminal. If the trainer does not bring you into the terminal, he doesn't get the $500 upgrade bonus.

You are expected to.run 2 weeks after upgrade. Plan accordingly. Maureen and I went home before she upgraded. We ran a week.then got her back to the terminal. We got.rolling after she was done.

BAD BAD BAD idea.

Why not give tax incentives for truck stops to build. No way could they claim they wouldn't make money due to more competition. Take a ride along any interstate at 11pm and you will see lines parked on ramps...parked illegally and even on shoulders of the road. If you build it they will come.

Do you realize you will be putting an even larger burden on owner ops? That ever regulation causes carriers and one man operations to lose money or close down? Are you aware there is a proposal to increase insurance for truckers by 20%? How much money do you think we all make? Not to mention that companies will only reduce trucker pay to make up for it. We all know it will never be $100 per year. It will be much more. So much for the American dream of owning your own business cause these types of policies will destroy it.

If you think truckers or companies aren't already paying $100 per year to park you are crazy. Why not require all industrial parks to allow street parking? Many do not. Why not require any consignee over a certain size to allow drivers to park before/after deliveries. Many do not. Why not require all sanctuary cities and states to provide sanctuary for trucker parking? Don't ticket or tow us as long as we are reasonably parked, nit blocking intersections, fire hydrants etc.

When building new industrial parks zone them to have parking.

We went through this before with another driver trying to find a company that would allow a dog during training and even the company he found would allow the dog in the hotel during their schooling, but not OTR during training. I jist found out GPTransco will allow more than one pet, but not sure if they sponsor schooling. I will find out

I drive roosevelt Blvd all the time. Upper Darby, aramingo blvd. It sucks but gotta get done.

Jim Palmer/Will Trans will allow 2 pets. prime only allows one under 30 pounds as a company driver, but 2 as a lease Op with no size limit. We do not recommend leasing for new drivers due to the devastating possibilities.

Yes both pets will be forbidden from training

Good luck

You noticed i said USUALLY.

Fact: My local CDL school cost $9,000 which my good friend attended. I went to Prime

Fact: He paid $500 for a retest and $1000 for extra practice. And yes I saw the bills

Fact: I paid nothing for Prime school Fact: I failed backing once and driving twice and paid nothing.

Argue all you want. But time and time again we see people here who go to local schools and then cant find jobs because something in their record or medical history prevents it. The school doesn't tell them and after trying for months to get hired, they are told they need re schooling because the CDL is stale.

One of my trainees worked 10 hour days then attended CDL school at night and was exhausted and did poorly. The other went though covid with the school opening and closing constantly so she struggled due to inconsistency. Both state they wish they went my route due to not being able to focus 100% on the schooling while attending a local.

People need to know the possibilities. Neither choice is rainbows and unicorns. Schooling and training is hard and it takes a tough person to do the job. Not everyone is going to.pass. not everyone is going to make it to upgrade. Regardless of where they attended school. A local doesn't guarantee you pass company training either. It doesn't guarantee you will find a job.

Just a thought....if a company eliminated you before you have a CDL, they would still eliminate you after.

If you go to a company expecting tuition reimbursement, understand it comes in partial payments...some companies drag it out for 6 months to a year. So either way you may be staying at that company anyway.

If you have the money for school but go paid training, you could always pay off the contract and walk away.

Company paid usually helps more than local schools who could charge you additional fees to retest after failing or for extra practice.

If you have a medical issue that eliminates you from getting hired, a local school wont tell you. You could end up with no job and a loan.

Hahah! Well.thank you!!!

I appreciate it

FYI... I am writing the articles not editing and proofreading.

😂

I want to thank all of you for your support. Recently I did a guest spot on Marketplace of National Public Radio. That led to an offer to write for Road Pro's emagazines. They are going to.give me products I can give away.

Also... Today I filmed an "Essential Women's Roundtable and the Effects of Covid" appearance on NBC's The Today Show. That is right.....your moderator is going on national television! And it all started here 5.5 years ago.

It won't air until the first week of March, but I am bursting with joy and had to tell you all.

Thank you for your continued support.

Surprise! Road Pro & NBC Today Show

I just did an interview with a random driver at a truck stop. He got trained at CFI over a decade ago, bought a truck and is still.there.

CFI Driver: Not Just a Starter Company

Whoa!! All I can say is hugs an kisses!

So glad to see to you. Congrats on the apartment

I did a similar comparison on here for others years ago. At the time it came out to be almost the same amount of money....

However...now at 30k team miles, prime offers the chance to go company team for 120 days. Yes you would be teaming but with an equal not a trainer. You would also be getting the team pay....which is a 55cpm split...with a progressive bonus structure going up to 85cpm PLUS the other bonuses such as on time delivery, safety, wellness, fuel and more. In the end, some individuals are averaging 40 to 44cpm for ALL miles. I believe them cause I was at 42cpm when I had my boyfriend on the truck.

I have team company driver friends in their first year who are making $1800 to $2000 gross per week. Teams have been being placed in brand new Pete's with EPUs.

This is an option to consider. But also consider Roehl may have more flexible home time for you. Of course, if you complete the contract at one, you could always try the other later. I have found many people chose a company and are satisfied because they don't know what they don't know. It is only when they talk to others who promise the moon and chest thump that they wish to change.

I would have to ask about that number. I dont believe it to be 4000 per year. During COVID. They pulled back a lot....down to only 30 a week at one point. So that number seems off.

At last I checked, our turn over rate was very low.....35%. They claimed it was due to the longer training, so solo drivers were less stressed and frustrated after upgrading