Comments By Gary E.

You can also use the cruise to bump the idle up and it will not shut down.

Disabled, I tried that one. I could do it on the Freightliner but now I got 2015 international. Company spotted that one and took it away from us.

I'm right in the middle of it!!!!! Got my new truck on Friday and dispatch said " go to Chicago and shuttle trailers from the rail yard , 11 miles to maintenance then do it again, in fact do 9 of them. I got 5 done in 10 hrs. What a day. Now I'm sitting on a Walmart parking lot in 9 inches of snow, blizzard, wind gusts 30 mph,with no APU and no engine idle allowance. What a great first weekend out I'm having. 😀 Any drivers having a worse weekend?

How does a company NOT let you idle in a blizzard and freezing conditions?

If you tried to do that to a DOG - you would get arrested...

Rick

Idle shuts down after 5 minutes, programmed that way. Company just assumes that drivers will use APU, but when isn't working you are kinda screwed. I found a sneaky way around though. I'm on flat ground with snow packed around me so I just release the parking break, truck thinks I'm in traffic and doesn't shut the idle down. Took me 2 hrs to find that but hey, I'm warm again. 😊

I'm right in the middle of it!!!!! Got my new truck on Friday and dispatch said " go to Chicago and shuttle trailers from the rail yard , 11 miles to maintenance then do it again, in fact do 9 of them. I got 5 done in 10 hrs. What a day. Now I'm sitting on a Walmart parking lot in 9 inches of snow, blizzard, wind gusts 30 mph,with no APU and no engine idle allowance. What a great first weekend out I'm having. 😀 Any drivers having a worse weekend?

Not that I can add anything more than Daniel, but I can confirm some things.

I just got off the phone with my Prime recruiter (waiting on job history verification) and she told me that average weekly miles is around 2000 - 2200 and that the first phase of training is $600 per week and the second half is $700. Both phases combine to equal about 12 weeks. She stated .43 com (but did not mention LW trucks, I just knew that from Daniel's threads).

Im in the last few days of the TNT phase (second phase as you called it). My first phase (PSD) lasted 2 weeks 4 days, then we went back to Springfield to test out. Tested out fine. Got picked up 3 days later for TNT phase. By the time I finish this phase in a couple of days I will have been out 7 weeks on TNT phase in which time we will have completed the 30000 miles required to upgrade to you're own truck. Between orientation week (End of October) PSD and TNT I did not get to go home until Xmas (I did get 11 days off though so can't complain). So expect to be out 8 weeks before your first home time from orientation. Then you will get as already mentioned 1 day home time for every 7 out. There is no $600 figure anymore. As mentioned, orientation week pays nothing, PSD period is $200/week loan. TNT period is $700/week minimum. Some weeks if you're running hard you will make more if you run over 5000 miles as a team. My best take home in the last 7 weeks was $660.

Hope this helps

Gary E

You don't need a DOT physical before you arrive at Prime, MO for orientation. It would just be a waste of money if you believe you are in good health anyway. Prime will give you a full physical on day 1 of orientation. However if you have any doubts about your health it may not be a bad idea to get one at your own expense, that way if you find any issues you have a chance of dealing with them before you get here and saving the risk of being sent home for High BP as an example. I'm in the latter stages of my TNT phase with Prime, 9000 miles to freedom. Holly is great by the way, she was my recruiter from last year.

Good Luck Gary

I'm heading there tomorrow. It sounds like a far cry from the Fontana, CA drop yard where I was 2 days ago. Really nothing to see or do at the drop yard.

"PORT OF ENTRY". First time I saw this I pulled off the road to find my passport 😊. Merry Christmas all.

Thanks for all the responses guys n gals. We had a long wait in San Franciso downtown earlier and it gave me a chance to have the conversation as to my concerns over the issue. He has agreed to be more vigilant on weights and run inside the law even if it means returning to the shipper for adjustments. Thanks to all once again.

Gary E.

Hey guys, I am in my 3rd week of TNT with Prime and I have a concern. I hate to complain about things but this issue seems to be a little much in my opinion through the eyes of a Rookie so I thought I would seek the experience on the board. My trainer does a number of things I look at through doubtful eyes but they harm no-one and cost nothing (so far) . However 2 days ago (for the second time) he picked up an overweight load whilst I was in the sleeper, (we drive team 12hr shifts from day 1). He could do nothing about the weight with tandem shifts etc and ran with it. Well the first time he did this I put it down to bad judgement on his part but he seemed to think that we would be ok in Virginia with it, (I was driving, not him). Now this time, same scenario, picked up whilst I was in sleeper and ran with it. This load is too heavy for California in the 6th hole by 800lb but yesterday I worked out we had 2 weigh stations to pass into Sacremento from Reno and by coincidence it turned out that I was driving again. I feel like a nervous nelly as I approach these weigh stations and he disappears into the sleeper as we approach them.

What are the consequences of this load?

Am I being taken advantage of in these situations?

Do the experienced drivers run overweight this often?

Thanks in advance for any responses.

And I'm nervous as hell! 4 hours of SIM time just doesn't prepare you for driving one of these things. How did you guys feel or do when you got to this point?

At that point, I still had a thousand questions buzzing around in my head, excitement, doubts, "what if I don't get picked by a trainer?, how long will I be here?, how long will it take to get through the PSD phase? And many, many more but it all comes to pass SO quickly. Just try to enjoy it whilst you're on Campus. Once you're in the truck that's when the nerves grip you and the real fear sets in!!!. Just kidding, enjoy the ride and good luck on PSD. I was out 2 weeks then back to Trifecta. You get $250 if you trifecta BTW. Don't tell the missus.