Profile For Nick W.

Monday- 1245 CST Woke up to a 545 wake up call, everyone gets a call at 545 based on an automated system, some days your classes wont be til 730 am so you can get some grub or shower whatever you need to do for that day. Monday my first class started at 630 but i showed up at 6, to prime early is on time and on time is late, how can they expect you to haul a load and be on time if you cant even show up to a class? Anyway first class they hand out more paperwork including meal cards and DOT cards to be filled out by the on staff physician. After the 2 hour or so meeting they set you loose with a check list and a class schedule, there are 4 tasks you must complete before the end of the day. My first stop was the APEX physical the apex physical is usually dependent on the division you plan on driving for being tanker reefer or flat bed, there is no option for dry van. I chose tanker for the record, you must reside on the east coast to haul tankers. The apex physical is started by being asked to put your head up and down left and right hand behind your back touch your toes etc, the next step was lifting a 20, 40 and 80 lb crate, shouldnt be too hard then you move a weighted tarp from a high area and set it back up i believe it was roughly 50 lbs, step up on a ladder 3 times and VIOLA youre done... with part 1. Part two for me was the drug test it was incredibly congested so i sat in line for about two hours for this no phone just talk to the people around you get to know your future co workers, i will admit ive met some pretty cool people and a lot of veterans. After the drug test, you will be sent to the physical and vitals check they check your BMI if youre overweight, put you on a scale weigh you, blood pressure and eye test. Now a little back to my room mate, he was selected for sleep apnea test because he had excessive BMI however, i was not selected for the test. After your physical you go to final interview which will go over your work history dates etc not so much an interview more like they just make sure you did your paperwork. Now you may have some down time you can use to study, eat, shower depending on what training simulator they assign you to, i was in the last class so i went from 830 to 11. Simulators are really realistic up to actually feeling the truck lug, the A/c works the horn the clutch everything. I finished about 1/4 of the simulator training because it came pretty easy to me. At 11 they told us to be up for class in the morning etc so, this is the end of this post and i will continue to post as i learn more thanks for reading and drive safe!

Hey guys I wanted to let people know about the training program at prime, I also wanna lay some rumors to rest while I talk so here's my diary.

Day 1 (Sunday) Just getting off the grey dog bus I had to wait for the shuttle bus, greyhound usually calls them for you. If they don't make sure you check your emails from your recruiter it will provide you with the number.When you get on the shuttle there is no tolerance for profanity she can and will make you walk. After a 26 hour bus ride I was exhausted and just downright raunchy just as a lot of other people were so lets check in to my hotel room and shower yeah? Nope, drop your stuff in the hall and go to the computer lab and complete your DOT Medical form.... Balls! Let me start by saying the instructor told me to finish forms he didn't say which ones so i logged into the computer and watched about 4 hours worth of videos as well as DOT paperwork. You are not required to watch the videos until Wednesday but it is a good idea to do so early so you have a little extra time on Monday. They have box lunches at the counter when you arrive but it didn't appeal to me too much so after I watched my videos and did my DOT paperwork I checked in my room to find a 50 year old driver in my room granted im only 21. Showered shaved etc all those nice creature comforts and walked up to Steak N Shake up the road, There are a lot of restaurants within walking distance so i took advantage of it! To add to my room mate pretty cool guy finished the inital 10,000 miles and got hung up because he got selected for a sleep apnea test, more on this later. After eating I went back to the room and prepared for a 545 wake up call, remember to be up for class early and be on time they will judge you based on this! Also remember you are here for training act professional and courteous to all staff and class mates and last but more importantly during orientation... NO ALCOHOL. So far i enjoy the program and hope to grow more and more with this company well, its monday night and i got simulator class so i will post the next blog at 11pm ish? Have a good one and drive safe!

Will be there on sunday morning to start my orientation on Monday coming from Charlotte NC so its a 24 hour grey dog ride! Your posts are incredibly informative, but i must ask how much practice do you get before you take that simulator test? The fact that i never drove a truck befor emakes me nervous as it seems you have one practice run and then test! Keep the updates coming as well very informative, I will probably share my experience as well!