Prime Question

For those at Prime, maybe you will know the real deal. I am attending CDL School at home, 180 hour course, and if all goes well, I will have my CDL when I graduate. If I am accepted at Prime and start training, it will be TNT , but the Recruiter said it may only be 30k instead of 40k. They said when I get there I will be given a behind the wheel skills test. Depending on the outcome, I may have 10k shaved off my training if Prime feels I have the skills. I looked all over the website and I can't find anything where it says there is a skills test and and evaluation of 40k versus 30k, and what the criteria is. Does the recruiter know something the website does not? I have a tendency to tale everything a recruiter says with a grain of salt, they are there to market the company they work for, and some embellish at times.

I forgot to add, what if they are right, someone tests, and instead of the 30k they want you to do, you feel like you need the 40k, or at 30k you feel you need more miles, can you ask for more?

I'm not at prime but I believe that is correct. They will always do a road test and depending how you do, then it'll base the miles you'll do with a trainer. 30k miles actually goes pretty quickly so even if it's 40k, that's experience behind the wheel with someone who can help you when you need it.

When they told me I was surprised, and when I asked, what if I don't feel I am ready at 30 and want a few more miles, the Recruiter said it was up to my mentor, not me. I would hope we would both discuss it. Does Wil-Trans/Jim Palmer do the same? I want to make sure if I make the cut I choose a place where I get what I need to be successful. I don't think anyone wants to jump to solo without all the tools needed.

OOS:

When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

Yeah, JP and wil-trans base their training off of primes. But from my understanding if you wanted more training they would help you out in any way possible just to make sure you're ready and safe out on the road.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

Yeah, JP and wil-trans base their training off of primes. But from my understanding if you wanted more training they would help you out in any way possible just to make sure you're ready and safe out on the road.

Thank you, very helpful. I am not sure either will accept me, I am one of many applicants, and if they don't, there are others on my list.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

Primes basics are 30k if you went through their training with the permit and 40k if you come with a CDL. Its true that once out on the road your skills could determine the length of miles. Some trainers would rather keep you 50k cause they are making more money teaming and paying the trainee less than an experienced driver (lease ops pay the student salary to prime and prime pays the student).

Technically you can stay in training for six.months and know a couple of people who did it but believe me by then you will be screaming to get off that truck lol.

Keep in mind no one feels truly ready to go solo....and prime has one of the longer training periods. Think about it, it takes six months to get the backing to click... But you are in training a couple months...uh..yeah OK. Lol

Just talk to the FM and tell him how you feel about going solo. Worst case scenario you could wither team with the trainer for a bit longer or team with a friend before eventually going solo. There are always options ;)

Good luck

While at the terminal a cpl weeks ago for truck maintenance I wondered over to the training pad one night. I actually talked to a new driver in your exact situation, I was under impression when I came thru a year ago that those arriving with a CDL would do 40,000 TNT , however, he was set to only need 30,000 after passing said testing. As far as extending this if you don't feel ready even though trainer believes you are, you may ask your dispatcher to set you up to team with another driver for a short period. During the winter months, my dispatcher sent a message asking if any drivers were interested in teaming with a new driver who was in for upgrade but didn't feel comfortable to go on their own yet. Most dispatchers like having teams so this could be a win-win if you find yourself in said position.

Thank you all for the replies. Recruiters being Recruiters seemed to be really interested in selling me on a shorter training period. When I would ask about the what if I need a bit more time, they would tel me it was a great program and no one does. I am glad to hear you can ask for more, I would hope my trainer/mentor and I would discuss anything I needed to work on and address it earlier than later, but it is always nice knowing the option is there if needed.

Thank you all for the replies. Recruiters being Recruiters seemed to be really interested in selling me on a shorter training period. When I would ask about the what if I need a bit more time, they would tel me it was a great program and no one does. I am glad to hear you can ask for more, I would hope my trainer/mentor and I would discuss anything I needed to work on and address it earlier than later, but it is always nice knowing the option is there if needed.

Here's a story for you...a woman told me when she upgraded she was terrified. Her trainer seemed to make sure she drove a lot of flat areas....KS OK etc. It helped boost his fuel mileage but didn't help her. When she went solo, she got 60 miles from Sprimo and called my FM crying. She told him she wasn't ready and needed more time. Not only did he send a team to go get her and the truck but he gave her to the best trainer on his fleet. Two weeks later she went solo. Two years later she is running hard and one of his top drivers.

Her exact words "I was too afraid to tell anyone I wasn't ready. I was stupid and that was dangerous".

As for the recruiters, keep in mind many people balk at the long training and think they won't get home time in all that time. Recruiters try to appease everyone.

Heck, I met drivers who took me to truck stops to back during my upgrade week. They didn't have to but were waiting for repairs appts and figured they would kill time and help me out. Primates are very helpful to each other lol