Prime CDL Training
Topic 22982 | Page 1
Thank you ChillR. I’m excited!
Hi Kim
Tonight is my last night on the road with my trainer during my PSD training.
Tomorrow we pick up a load and head back to Springfield for training on backing, and prepping for testing out for my CDL license next week.
I ABSOLUTELY encourage you to use the High Road Training Program but don't get lost in the immensity of it For your basic Missouri CDP (PERMIT), you'll only need to INITIALLY cover Basic Knoweldge, Driving Safely, Air Brakes and Tankers.
If you elect to get your endorsements you would need to include those sections.
For now? I'd just keep it simple and basic. Or K.I.S.S. As we say in the military, Keep IT Simple Stupid.
Although you only need to score 80% on each section of the test? You can score 100%
The test is administered on a computer terminal with a touch screen. Answer ONLY the ones your 100% sure of. The ones your unsure of? You can hit the skip button, they'll come back around when you completed as much as you can. However, once you've reached 80%, it moves to the next module.
On the day you go down to Missouri DMV , be on the 8:00 shuttle. Should be the Green shuttle. You want to be there Johnny on the spit, because only so many terminals cam be used by Prime students at one time. The rest are for local citizens renewing their license.
Once you've got your paperwork, go directly to the 2nd floor and get hour temporary Missouri drivers license and CDP (Permit) As tempting as it be to go and have them framed, fold them up and put them in your wallet along with your DOT medical card.
Next, before even leaving I would go to the Pre Trip Guide and start grilling it into your brain. This going to be one of the three sections your going to have to pass for your license.
Once you've got your Permit, also go over the part about your driving part of the CDL exam.
Stay away from the 90 day wonders, who just got there license and are now Super Truckers. The Encyclopedia Sam's
As soon as you can get your thirty us Carl's (computer aided learning ) modules do and out of the way. Along with your Personality Assessment (To help match you with a trainer)
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
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.
DOT:
Department Of Transportation
A department of the federal executive branch responsible for the national highways and for railroad and airline safety. It also manages Amtrak, the national railroad system, and the Coast Guard.
State and Federal DOT Officers are responsible for commercial vehicle enforcement. "The truck police" you could call them.
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.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
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.
Rather than hurdles, look upon phase as being a rung on a ladder.
Trip here
Check in
Room assignments
Orientation x day 1
Agility Test
Physical
Drug Screen
Back Ground screen
SIM Lab
Good luck coming to Prime! I came to Prime over a year ago and have had a very positive experience with the company with the exception of one bad trainer. Knowing your stuff before you arrive in Sprimo will help jumpstart you in the direction. The permit test if you use high road will be a non-issue, people pass it every week who start studying on Sunday when they get to campus 🙄. .. know your pre-trip 100% before you arrive and you’ll be well on your way to your CDL.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
Hi Dan, thank you for the great advice! In this thing called life it’s nice sometimes to know how things will work, especially when it’s something brand new and your future depends on it.
I have the pre-trip written down on flash cards and take them everywhere I go, studying them every chance I get. I’ve done well on the High Road CDL training and I keep going back through it. I will keep in mind what you said and concentrate only only on what I need for now. The rest will happen.
David, thank you very much! I’ve been reading everything I can, sometimes to the point I am in information overload and just have to walk away from it a bit. I’m really looking forward to getting on the bus and getting started.
You guys have a great day and be safe!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
Dan, good luck on your CDL test and the TnT part of your training!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:
- Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
- Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
- Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.
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.
Don’t look forward to the bus 😂 it’s the worst part of the entire experience.
As for the pre-trip the only real “secret” is memorizing the terms
Properly secured not cracked bent or broken.. for just about everything no abrasions bulges or cuts and not leaking.. etc
Once you have those terms it’s about going over one part of the truck at a time and being about to point and identify the parts - get one section burned into your mind at a time and eventually the entire truck will flow. Go over it every day.
The only big piece of advice I can give you is if you have a laptop - take it and use it at campus to do your CBT’s on, you can relax and kick up your feet in your room while mostly everyone else is stuffed into the no food or drinks computer lab. The cbts often come up early as well.. check the portal on your way in, check Sunday, I had all my CBTs done before the end of the day Monday Best thing you can do Tuesday is get on the 1st shuttle to the dmv .. even better if you have the finances to do so Uber there and back. Being ahead of the line is critical, everyone will take the elevator.. take the stairs. I was back 90 minutes earlier than anyone else from the DMV first because I Uber’s with a permit all CBTs done at 10:30am Tuesday, allowing me to just focus on simmlab and pretrip for the rest of the week.
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.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.OWI:
Operating While Intoxicated
Well I’m not really looking forward to the bus but it’s part of it so...
I’m starting to hear ‘properly secured not cracked bent or broken’ in my sleep. 😜
I will keep in mind your advice about the CBTs and the DMV. Any advance information is always appreciated.
Thanks!
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.DMV:
Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Motor Vehicles
The state agency that handles everything related to your driver's licences, including testing, issuance, transfers, and revocation.
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Well, I finally took the leap, put in the application for Prime’s CDL training, got a call from a recruiter (Derek) and am tentatively scheduled to start orientation on August 20 in Springfield.
I am going through the High Road training course and practice tests for a second time, and will probably go through them a few more times. I have learned quite a bit from them, this site, and the people here.
Yes, when I ask a silly question I get told about it, and that’s fine. I’m still learning and absorbing.
My daughter and I were talking yesterday about her moving away and starting college next month. She said, if I wait until I’m ready then I may never go. So, here I go.
Thank you all and please, fingers crossed for me!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: