Comments By Yep

You could try mbi energy. Their the only one I know of.

Cant say I disagree with you. Its unpleasant to go into a industry you have no interest in.even worse when you know for a fact you can do better( reference to you not me).. But as the saying goes "life sucks then you die." Trust me, ide much rather be in more souly mental stress focused work. Obviously, that did not work out. ($40k in debt for nothing. Just llike the rest of my generation. Lol). On the bright side though, trucking is important, requires self sufficiency and has the potential for lots of money. Also, if your like me, you have little to no human contact.

As for another comment you made, I too plan on heading to the oilfields (Texas) once my first year is up. Love the heat and would like to be in a single location.

Learned anything about their oilfield jobs? May look into that after my year with prime so long as its in Texas.

WRCBTV

Great. I can floor it a whole 7 mph more!

Ok thanks..upgrade takes about a week right?

Yep. Hopefully they will have a rig for you at Springfield. If not they may have to pack you off to the Pennsylvania terminal to get one.

Okay well another question... How long are you out before you get home time? like when you go to school for them, when's the first time you'll see your family again? Once you get on a truck with a trainer?

Unless its an emergency you likely won't go home till after you get your MO cdl. So about 2-4weeks. once your with the trainer its between you, them and their fleet manager. And even at that point they will likely keep you out 2 more weeks at least. The reasions are to minimize the chance of you forgetting what you learned during psd and it can take time for the fleet manager to plan your trip home. So count on 6+ weeks. After your first time home I would not count on regular home visits until you get your own rig. At that point you can get home every 4 weeks.

Ok, Is there another test before that? I notice you said "If you make it that far". Im done TnT headed to prime on monday

Only skills & cbt tests. What I meant was that if you get to the point that the trainer says your good to upgrade, then you should have no problem passing. If they don't think your ready, then you should not be going back yet. They get extra pay, as i under stand it, when you pass. So it's in their best interest to insure you can pass before moving you on. Just do what you were taught, watch your surroundings, GOAL and plan what you will do.

Thanks so much, that was really insightful. I do feel a lot better but I am taking a DOT physical today outside of company just so I know if I should thet go to orantiation or I'd be stopped by it. Does anyone know if they still do a physical if you already have your card?

They will not take outside dot physicals. if you have the money and are concerned, i would say its a good idea to have a test run. Remember, you fail, they dont pay for the ticket home.

10-4..hey how was the skills test? Also did you go lease?

I thought the skills test was not particularly difficult. If you get that far, you should pass. Unless those who taught you screwed up.

As for lease vs company, I went company. I want a real estate business not a trucking business.

Hello,

I was thinking about getting my CDL is via Prime and I just have a few questions about the medical exam and how the DOT physicals generally take place. You mentioned, briefly, in an earlier post about the process. I was wondering if you could go into detail about that. I am "heavy-set" myself and am really worried about not passing. I read somewhere that you blood sugar just can't be over 200, and blood pressure can't be over 160/100. But you also mentioned a sleep study? How does that apply? and also nude exam? How does that work? I'm female worries me a little, the way you were describing it was that most of it was a group process.

Thanks a lot. :)

Also side questions

Is there a list of things we should bring to orientation. Some other companies seem to have a checklist of what to bring and I can't find one for Prime.

Depending on how heavy you are, they may force you to take a sleep study. this is intended to see if you have sleep apnea. The idea is that with sleepapnea that is untreated, you may be too tired to safely drive. I think they do have portable sleep pap machines. You end up paying for this but you need to talk to the recruiter about the payment aspect.

Medical requirements should be in the state cdl manual. Including blood sugar and pressure. These are not things I paid attention to. However, before me my trainer had a trainee who was near 500lbs & under 6 foot.

My medical exam was in 3 parts due to so many people. I did the urine test first. Basic go in restroom fill cup and give to nurse. Second was nurse physical where I had my weight, vision, and hearing checked. Just get on the scale, read the letters on the chart and listen to the nurse whisper. Finally was the doc physical. Ie a hernia check and questions about aches, pains & substance use. The group aspect is just waiting in line. Each examination is done privately, with I assume the addition of a female nurse when needed for thr women.

I never got a list. Just took what I thought I needed. Suggest over a week's worth of clothes. Beyond socks, underwear& bras, you can wear most articles more than 1day. Suggest women look into GoGirl or another product that allows women to urinate standing up. Take meds if needed. Entertainment is also important. I took note books , my laptop, audio and ebooks. Food towels and hygiene products can be bought in Springfield. No jewelry or anything else you would not like to lose. The less you can live on the better. All my stuff fit in 2 duffle bags of roughly 2x1x1ft in size. consider a sleeping bag or blanket as well.