OK So What's The Deal With Prime Lease?

I fail to see how it can be possible for there to be a 90 mile difference even if they are basing it off zip code to zip code. You show me any place in the usa that has a 45 mile area in a single zip code and I'll eat my socks after a long sweaty day of welding. Even san antonio which isn't 45 miles from 1 end of our outer loop to the other has at least 8 zip codes in that range, your average distance across a zip code is probably 10-15 miles top, so at 15 miles to assume you went from the very edge of 1 zip code to the furthest edge of the other you should only lose 30 miles... not 90.

Things like this are lessening my desire to work for prime tbh. I don't want to lease and there are plenty of other good companies I can go to where I will get paid for the miles I drive. The way I see it, if you don't want to pay me for every mile that turns on that odometer while doing something for the company, then you shouldn't pay me CPM and instead should pay me an hourly wage.

Sounds like what a lot of companies do; they pay you by HHG miles (Household Movers Guide), which in my opinion is crap, but it's pretty standard in trucking. There are companies that pay practical miles, but not as many as there should be. And of course, my favorite is hub miles, but good luck finding a company that pays that. It's almost like trying to find a unicorn with a golden horn.

Anyway, I know it sucks, but if you are going to be in this industry then you really have to just accept that this is a standard practice of paying HHG miles and move on. It also sucks sitting around at a customer, especially when you had an appointment time that you showed up on time for and still have to wait for hours. It's just another one of those things that you/we have to accept if we're going to stay in trucking.

I promise you that if you start job hopping trying to find the perfect company that you will end up always chasing greener pastures. My best advice to newer drivers is just stay where you are at for a few years and REALLY do your research while you are getting good experience and then make your move to a good company. Walmart for example; their average driver makes approx $82,000 per year, but they are looking for top notch drivers with little to no job hopping. If you start hopping from job to job trying to find the perfect job the only thing you are going to accomplish is getting writers cramp when you fill out the job application and have to list all the info for every company you've worked for for the past 10 years. Trust me, I know.

I promise you that if you start job hopping trying to find the perfect company that you will end up always chasing greener pastures. My best advice to newer drivers is just stay where you are at for a few years and REALLY do your research while you are getting good experience and then make your move to a good company. Walmart for example; their average driver makes approx $82,000 per year, but they are looking for top notch drivers with little to no job hopping. If you start hopping from job to job trying to find the perfect job the only thing you are going to accomplish is getting writers cramp when you fill out the job application and have to list all the info for every company you've worked for for the past 10 years. Trust me, I know.

I agree wholeheartedly with this.

If you cant pay cash..... you cant afford it .....

That's not necessarily true when you're starting a business. There is a common fallacy people have that borrowing money is a bad thing. But it's far more important to keep in mind if you're out of cash you're out of business. If you spend all of your cash buying things and then find you don't have enough cash left over to fund operations, you're sunk.

A sizeable percentage of small businesses that go out of business were actually profitable when they closed their doors. It wasn't that they couldn't turn a profit. The problem is that they didn't have enough cash to fund ongoing operations. Maybe that pizzeria you have is growing so fast you need larger ovens, more employees, and an upgraded exhaust system. Maybe your trucking business was rolling along fine until "Friday The 13th" hit and two drivers wrecked their trucks, an engine blew, and you lost one of your major contracts all in a three day period.

Businesses need cash to survive. If you take the approach of spending all of your cash in the beginning to stay out of debt you may find yourself "asset rich and cash poor" leaving you in a very tenuous situation.

I fail to see how it can be possible for there to be a 90 mile difference even if they are basing it off zip code to zip code

They also do shortest routing. Practical routing might keep you on the Interstates where the shortest route may cut through the backcountry on two lane roads. They use the shortest route from zip code to zip code.

I fail to see how it can be possible for there to be a 90 mile difference even if they are basing it off zip code to zip code

They also do shortest routing. Practical routing might keep you on the Interstates where the shortest route may cut through the backcountry on two lane roads. They use the shortest route from zip code to zip code.

Yeah I figured as much... but I still could not figure out where they got 90 miles shorter than actual driving.

I know it's something I'll learn to just deal with but it doesn't change my opinion on the matter.

I know it's something I'll learn to just deal with but it doesn't change my opinion on the matter.

There are companies that pay practical miles or a few that pay hub miles but most of the time you'll give up something else in return like the quality of your benefits or home time or something. The miles they pay you should be within about 10% of the actual driving miles. If it's more than that, say something to the company.

It must have been who was teaching your particular upgrade class, I know in mine they asked who was going lease but that's because those people take different classes then company drivers. Only people I've heard pushing lease is lease drivers trying to say how great it is. As stated your friends say I'm making 3 grand, now subtract 950 truck payment, 1500 fuel, tire fund, and all the various things they pay and they might be left with a grand, now they need to set aside their taxes and provide their own health insurance. Personally I'll keep driving company and not having to worry about a truck payment, a blow out, etc. Prime does have one of the better lease programs in the industry, but the best way to do it is save money and get a loan to get your own truck. I'll agree it sucks not being paid all miles and I feel companies leave a lot on the table be not billing loads for actual driven miles. Michigan does suck with their road network.

I'm in it to wait and get the experience so I can land a local job. JNTIL Then I CONSIDER Myself A Rookie And AM NLESSED I'm Making .44 CPM And Higher Pay Than My Business ANALYSIS Job I Had Of Three Years That Paid Half Of This And 3% raises.

Sad I'm never around friends or family but it's a sacrifice I have to mame. Or a sacrifice I chose to make when this started. Don't see the point in backing out now. But I have no bills but my phone and beer when I'm home.

Seriously man they start company drivers at .43 CPM or 43.5cpm I think. It's much higher than most starting companies.