Comments By Buck_weat

Congratulations Turtle!! I'm very happy for you, and glad you are doing well.

Maybe I could go out with a flatbed driver for PSD

If you do, definitely hit me up. I'll hook you up with my flatbed trainer. He's awesome, and has won trainer of the year a few times.

Wait, that won't work because he & I will probably be out otr. But I can have him suggest another trainer. There are some losers out there that are only in it for the money. He'll get you a good one that actually teaches you.

That would be great! I will let you know for sure when the time comes. Thank you, I really appreciate it.

And thanks Buck_Wheat. Good luck to you as well. Hard to say if I'll be around then, but by all means hit me up when you get here.

Please take my advice and study for the permit before you get here. You'll have enough to do without having to worry about that too. After that it's easy peezy

You're very welcome. I already have my CDL, so at least that part is taken care of already. :-) I just haven't driven a truck in a decade, so I have to through the training as a student. The Yes, I will probably get to see a lot of the Northeast. They also have a dedicated account out of Indiana & Ohio that I am looking into. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there. Maybe I could go out with a flatbed driver for PSD, that way I could see how what that is like. Who knows, I might like it better if I tried that route.

Hi Turtle,

I am reading your posts with great interest, as I am scheduled to start there on Jan 9th. Thank you for the info! It sounds like you are doing great. Is anyone in your class going to the tanker division? I hope not to have to wait too long to get a tanker trainer, but if that is the case so be it.

Good luck with your continuing journey! Maybe I'll see you there.

Ignore the post just before this one. For some reason it mixed in with yours and difficult to figure out.

PI&I Motor Express in Masury,OH is flatbed and Teamsters and hires new grads. Nick Strimbu Inc. has the better reputation though. If it were me, would go with Nick Strimbu Inc. reefer division, but that's me; you will decide what's best for you and your family.

Thanks, Seadragon. I will check them out. Merry Christmas!

The time it takes for 30k teaming depends on how hard the trainer runs. One trainer could have you running 6k mikes per week son in five weeks you are done. My trainer ran less miles as a team than I did solo. Serious in two weeks her friend and i did 12k miles. It took me and her a month for that!

Keep in mind that even with all that training....I still was nervous going out on my own. I can't imagine only three weeks of training.

Well I found out real fast that it shows in WY even on Easter and 4th of July lol.

The bad thing about primes training is that lease and owner ops get to decide where they want to drive. Which means even if in training and you WANT to drive in the snow for experience....you might not. That is something to ask your trainer. I came in winter for winter training and my oo trainer only really drove us through two snow storms. That wasn't enough time for me.

The GOOD thing about teaming in training..because the person is asleep...I drove better. Having someone watch your every move 24/7 drove me nuts and messed me up more. When I didn't feel.watched I could relax.

Whatever you decide, I wish you luck. As long as you stick with a major carrier you can't go wrong for your training and experience. After that year if you have doubts about the company than shoo around. I planned on only staying my year then going local...but I got it so good with my FM I was like "WHY"? Lol. I'm saving so.much money by living on the truck I would be just as miserable driving local as I was with a non driving job.

Thanks, Rainy..that gives me a lot to think about. I am leaning hard toward Prime, and chances are that's where I'll go. Have a safe and Merry Christmas! I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions as I progress through training and such, but I'll try no to pester you too much!

Thanks for all of the replies/advice. It gives me a lot to think about. I have decided against Schneider mostly because they do not allow cell phone usage at all while driving - even Bluetooth. So now it is between Prime and Maverick. I like that prime has tanker, but I can switch to reefer if I don't like tanker. I like that Maverick has a $1,000 per week guarantee for reefer, and their training is dispatched as a solo - not team. Both seem to be great companies, and I'm sure I could be happy at either one.

Rainy, could the average be close to $1,000/week at Prime if I went reefer? It looks like Dan E. probably got close to that in the tanker division.

I know my earnings will depend on my performance and attitude, and I am eager to get started. I just want to make an informed decision, and everyone here is helping me tremendously, not only here in this post but everywhere I read on this awesome site.

Not for the first few months solo. It took me probably three months of about $800 gross/$600 clear...this week was a slow week due to truck repairs but with detention and bonuses I ran 1726 miles. Grossed $907, take home $775.

Last week I did like 2700+ miles and got $1300 gross, $1120 clear...something like that. It does differ week to week. Since I paid off the money I owed prime for my food advance, cat fee, locks and chains...I don't think I've cleared less than $500 even during home time.

You said "training is solo not teams" what do you mean?

At prime with your permit the dispatches are solo runs so the student drives the instructor sits next to you. You take a 10hr break like you would solo. After you get the CDL you run team for 30k miles. Its not fun...but the rewards are great.

Prime does have a northeast dedicated route for reefer that is guaranteed $1250 per week, but you have to drive a lightweight unless you are a trainer. And you need to deal with traffic and lack of oarking , small tight customer docks. I told them no way. Lol

If you are like me and can live in your truck the money can roll in quickly. The $1700 per month in rent and utilities now goes in my pocket. Lol

Yeah, I know it will be less when I start out. I was just wondering what I could expect the average would be once I settled in and got used to how things work. I don't think I would want the Northeast dedicated either. It sounds like good money, but I'm sure there are a lot of headaches that go along with it. I live in southern Ohio, so I probably wouldn't qualify anyway.

I am married, so I will need the family insurance. My wife is checking to see when can get on her insurance, though. That might be cheaper in the long run.

About the solo thing, it seems to be run like the PSD is for Prime - I would do most of the driving and the instructor would be in the jump seat. No one sleeps when the truck is moving - even though I have my CDL already. I think they said I would be out a minimum of three weeks (up to eight, if needed) like this. It is dispatched as a solo driver truck. I think one reason I like this is because it might be shorter time-wise than the 40,000 miles with Prime. But Prime does pay $700/week while training, and Maverick pays $550. Also, with winter here, I'm sure I would be more comfortable with someone more experienced in the truck with me when the snow flies, so Prime would be good for that for at least this winter.

Thanks for all of the replies/advice. It gives me a lot to think about. I have decided against Schneider mostly because they do not allow cell phone usage at all while driving - even Bluetooth. So now it is between Prime and Maverick. I like that prime has tanker, but I can switch to reefer if I don't like tanker. I like that Maverick has a $1,000 per week guarantee for reefer, and their training is dispatched as a solo - not team. Both seem to be great companies, and I'm sure I could be happy at either one.

Rainy, could the average be close to $1,000/week at Prime if I went reefer? It looks like Dan E. probably got close to that in the tanker division.

I know my earnings will depend on my performance and attitude, and I am eager to get started. I just want to make an informed decision, and everyone here is helping me tremendously, not only here in this post but everywhere I read on this awesome site.

Sorry for late reply. I don't believe we have a guarantee. I'm regional and average 2000 or more for now. It's slower now of course. I make 1k a week usually, I don't usually net that much since I am regional and have family insurance and all that.

Hi C.T. Thanks for responding. I just looked and I saw that the guarantee is on the TCD job site, but not on the Flatbed. It kind of seems to me if they have to offer that as an incentive, then the miles probably are not there to consistently make that much per week. I will have the same insurance and things also.

I completely struggled for months over which company to go with. Ultimately I went with Prime flatbed, and I begin Monday.

I can't say one way or another what may me choose them. Just a gut feeling I guess. That and I got such good vibes from my recruiter during our talks. Also, Rainy was instrumental in my choice, as her threads and comments were just so positive, it made the decision much easier for me.

All are good choices, as noted. You kind of answered your own question. You do have to decide what's best for YOU.

Good luck in whatever you decide.

Thanks, Turtle. Good luck with your training! I am leading toward Prime also, and a lot of it is because of what Rainy has written here in the forums.