My CDL Training Diary With Prime Inc
Topic 19116 | Page 5
Here we go. My first tnt trainer was an (insert appropriate expletive here). He seems to be a good driver but I would consider him to be a "terminal rat" as described in brets post from earlier.
He hates prime Our dm Trucking in general People in general Other truckers 4 wheelers His crack addicted brother ruined his life. Said brother is relaxing on a golf course in Florida and he's on the road.
I'm with a new trainer who is terrific. He a bit of a wierdo, but so am I although he's on a grander scale than I am. But it's fine.
I'm still finding it difficult to sleep in a moving truck. I need to be dead tired to fall asleep but I'm surviving.
I'm finally feeling good about my shifting, I'm by no means perfect, but my comfort level is fine and getting better. My trainer says I'm fine and will do well when I'm upgraded. WHEW!!!
It's nice to hear. He has trained about 45 people, and trained the guy who trained me to pass my skills test.
I'm going to try to sleep now. We're on our way to Washington with a load of candy. Just rolling the miles. 1500 miles on 90 west.
Bye for now -Eric the ack actor
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
Dm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.TNT:
Trainer-N-Trainee
Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.
The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.
The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.
It's great to read that things are much better for you Paul F.!
Keep the posts comin' and I will keep reading, this is good stuff!
I took a week off to vacation with my family. Glorious weather, I'm glad to be back and rolling again. I took a couple of tight turns getting back into the groove of dragging 53 feet behind me, but no problems, and I'm back in the mindset of a trailer, so no harm no foul.
Goodbye for now.
Hey Paul F., man I'm enjoying your story. Keep it up! I have my application in with Prime and am 90 percent sure I'm going to take the plunge, so stories like yours help me edge closer to that 100 percent mark. I am encouraged by the amount of home time you have been receiving while in training. I have three young kids and a wife and we are a close-knit family. We have steeled ourselves for the 60-90 days I'll supposedly be away while training at Prime, a hard sacrifice but worth it to build a solid foundation in this business. But it appears that you've been capable of taking a couple of weeks home time during the TNT stage. Is this normal, or were there special circumstances? I live about 4 hours by car from Springfield, so even a couple of days off would likely be feasible within that TNT phase.
TNT:
Trainer-N-Trainee
Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.
The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.
The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.
Hey Paul F., man I'm enjoying your story. Keep it up! I have my application in with Prime and am 90 percent sure I'm going to take the plunge, so stories like yours help me edge closer to that 100 percent mark. I am encouraged by the amount of home time you have been receiving while in training. I have three young kids and a wife and we are a close-knit family. We have steeled ourselves for the 60-90 days I'll supposedly be away while training at Prime, a hard sacrifice but worth it to build a solid foundation in this business. But it appears that you've been capable of taking a couple of weeks home time during the TNT stage. Is this normal, or were there special circumstances? I live about 4 hours by car from Springfield, so even a couple of days off would likely be feasible within that TNT phase.
Search for kori's diary. Hers helped me quite a bit.
Going in I spoke to my recruiter and when I met her, my fm. I told them that I really wanted to see my son graduate from high school. And I also asked if it was possible to take my already planned and paid for family vacation.
The graduation timed out perfectly. As I trifectaed, and rented a car and drove to New York that day. Then met my TNT trainer (different from my psd trainer) in New Jersey after attending. Then my new tnt trainer also needed some time so the vacation worked out as well. I believe it is not the norm. And I made it understood that although I would be disappointed, I knew I was not promised either of those times and had I not been able to take the time, there would be no hard feeling from me.
when I hear people complain about prime, I think, "what are they doing to get treated so poorly"?
I've heard stories about recruiters saying anything to get you in. My recruiter told me about the graduation that it would be likely, but she could not promise me it. I liked the honesty.
I feel happy with my decision to go with prime so far. They've treated me well, and respectfully, my only complaints would be minor. So I'll keep them to myself, to avoid looking petty. (Besides one of the moderators would probably delete them😂)
SAP:
Substance Abuse Professional
The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.
Fm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
TNT:
Trainer-N-Trainee
Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.
The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.
The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.
Stuck in Illinois for 21 hours now. We got here last night for a morning unload, and are waiting to be loaded. I'm bored to hell, and my data took a beating today, so did my snacks. But we've got till Monday to get to California, 1700 mikes or so, will take a 10% chunk of the miles I have remaining.
My trainer and I, as you can imagine, do quite a bit of talking. He told me the miles aside, he feels I'd be ok to go solo now. I'm not as confiddnt of my backing as he is. He said you can do it, it would just take you a while.
I'll add more later. I think they're ready to load us. Finally.
Search for kori's diary. Hers helped me quite a bit.
Going in I spoke to my recruiter and when I met her, my fm. I told them that I really wanted to see my son graduate from high school. And I also asked if it was possible to take my already planned and paid for family vacation.
The graduation timed out perfectly. As I trifectaed, and rented a car and drove to New York that day. Then met my TNT trainer (different from my psd trainer) in New Jersey after attending. Then my new tnt trainer also needed some time so the vacation worked out as well. I believe it is not the norm. And I made it understood that although I would be disappointed, I knew I was not promised either of those times and had I not been able to take the time, there would be no hard feeling from me.
when I hear people complain about prime, I think, "what are they doing to get treated so poorly"?
I've heard stories about recruiters saying anything to get you in. My recruiter told me about the graduation that it would be likely, but she could not promise me it. I liked the honesty.
I feel happy with my decision to go with prime so far. They've treated me well, and respectfully, my only complaints would be minor. So I'll keep them to myself, to avoid looking petty. (Besides one of the moderators would probably delete them😂)
Awesome, yes I've read Kori's diary, and a whole lot of others. Been extremely helpful. My family and I are preparing for me to be gone ninety days at least. I leave on the 27th of August for Prime. Looks like I'll still be doing my TNT for my daughter's 8th birthday in the first week of November, so that's the big issue--though I am aware that part of the trucker life is missing birthdays occasionally. I'm still going to try to get home for that if at all possible.
In my experience treating people with love and kindness always smooths the path in front of you. Doesn't mean you'll always get what you want or need, but it's far better than the alternative.
Anyhow, good to see the update. I'm enjoying your journey. 
SAP:
Substance Abuse Professional
The Substance Abuse Professional (SAP) is a person who evaluates employees who have violated a DOT drug and alcohol program regulation and makes recommendations concerning education, treatment, follow-up testing, and aftercare.
Fm:
Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager
The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
TNT:
Trainer-N-Trainee
Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.
The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.
The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.
Thanks Paul...I have just began the tnt phase sitting up here in Salt Lake City at the terminal our load drops not far from here...orientation was a breeze I made it through the initiation phase lol but it wasn't too bad..got held up for the sleep study but actually am enjoying tnt right now just ready to learn the ropes and get my own truck on the road..but it has been good traveling the country during psd and tnt so far..it amazes me how you can travel through so many states in just a few days...be safe out there and hopefully one day might run up on you at a truck stop..safe travels
Terminal:
A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.
PSD:
Prime Student Driver
Prime Inc has a CDL training program and the first phase is referred to as PSD. You'll get your permit and then 10,000 miles of on the road instruction.
The following is from Prime's website:
Prime’s PSD begins with you obtaining your CDL permit. Then you’ll go on the road with a certified CDL instructor for no less than 75 hours of one-on-one behind the wheel training. After training, you’ll return to Prime’s corporate headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, for final CDL state testing and your CDL license.
Obtain CDL Permit / 4 Days
- Enter program, study and test for Missouri CDL permit.
- Start driving/training at Prime Training Center in Springfield, Missouri.
- Work toward 40,000 training dispatched miles (minimum) with food allowance while without CDL (Food allowance is paid back with future earnings).
On-the-Road Instruction / 10,000 Miles
- Train with experienced certified CDL instructor for 3-4 weeks in a real world environment.
- Get 75 hours of behind-the-wheel time with one-on-one student/instructor ratio.
- Earn 10,000 miles toward total 40,000 miles needed.
TNT:
Trainer-N-Trainee
Prime Inc has their own CDL training program and it's divided into two phases - PSD and TNT.
The PSD (Prime Student Driver) phase is where you'll get your permit and then go on the road for 10,000 miles with a trainer. When you come back you'll get your CDL license and enter the TNT phase.
The TNT phase is the second phase of training where you'll go on the road with an experienced driver for 30,000 miles of team driving. You'll receive 14¢ per mile ($700 per week guaranteed) during this phase. Once you're finished with TNT training you will be assigned a truck to run solo.
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We are in Kansas for about 18 hours now waiting on a load of beef. There was a storm and some damage and talking to another driver he had been here for over 2 days. I hope we get rolling again soon.