Comments By ACO476

I believe what Brett says to be true, but I never saw any of it unfortunately. It all comes down to your dispatcher and planners I think. I do have to clarify that I did not work for Prime, but did pull reefer and sat side by side with plenty of Prime reefer drivers stuck on docks for countless hours. I only got one 2,100 mile run in 6 months pulling reefer. I averaged 300 to 500 mile runs day after day during my reefer time. I also have to admit that I loved pulling reefer and I actually miss it terribly, but you do need to be aware that, speaking to the core of your question, there will be absolutely horrible wait times in reefer work. The few times I had to pull dry van, I always joked with my dispatcher about "I don't know how these dry van drivers do it." She always told me that the dry van drivers all say the same thing about reefer drivers! Try it out, you'll probably enjoy it.

You'll be waiting *A LOT* pulling reefer. I've had 14 hour waits at Walmart, 18 hour waits at Americold (all over the country), and these are wait times sitting on the dock door with a red light. This was also the norm, not something that happened occasionally. If I could do it all over again, I never would have pulled reefer.

Wait until you wander across a hot steamy bag of human excrement.

So I shut down for a 2 hour nap...

Wait a second, you couldn't push it a maximum of 2 more hours to make the delivery on time? I was somewhat on your side in the beginning, but that's just crazy! I begged and pleaded with anyone and everyone that would listen to me to get more loads and more miles. I never would have wasted an opportunity over 2 hours. Dig a little deeper. Find something that will get you through those 2 hours. Sunflower seeds work to keep me awake and alert. Some people chew ice. Do something!

I got my 8 hours...

I wish I could get 8 hours a night...

Quick question, does it matter which home terminal you get to go reefer? That was my plan but I don't see many working reefers here in Columbus

No, it doesn't matter. My home terminal was Lancaster, TX but I was dispatched out of Jurupa Valley, CA. You'll either be dispatched out of Jurupa Valley, CA or West Valley City, Utah and your home terminal can be anywhere you want it to be.

Oh yeah, Heidi is super nice. She'll answer the phone singing sometimes. My terminal was JV as well. Good bunch of folks working there.

Hey Jeremy. I know Swift flatbed will take you on right out of school, but if you want to transfer in from dry van or reefer, you'll need to stay in your original division for 6 months. If you do want to go that route (to FB straight out of school), make sure you get it in writing from your recruiter and take that with you to orientation. I unfortunately never worked flatbed, so I can only really speak to what I was told when I tried to transfer into it.

Best of luck to you on your flatbed career path.

Who is your DM? Best of luck with reefer. I only got home on time once. I was out 4 to 5 weeks and was always getting home 4 or more days late, even with constant communication with my DM and reminders about home time. And expect those trailer issues to be a constant part of your life. They don't get taken care of very well unfortunately.

Congratulations on your accomplishment! Is Felix still teaching there? He was my favorite when I went through the Corsicana academy.