In Private Trucking School
Topic 28434 | Page 1
Third time's the charm! You can do it!
You can do it! Just pretend it's just another day of practice and you'll do great.
Maureen,
For the time being, just focus on passing the test. And good luck.
However, below is a link of what to expect from Prime. The "seat classifications" are a little confusing, but they break down as follows:
CDL Holders coming to Prime are "E" seat drivers. If you pass the skills evaluation, you have 60,000 miles to complete with a trainer. If you don't pass the skills evaluation, you will enter the "D" seat program: essentially as if you don't have your CDL.
Non-CDL holders are "D" seat drivers.
To be clear, I am not trying to be a wet blanket. Prime is a great company and I've been very satisfied with them so far. However, I am simply pointing out that anyone who wants to drive for Prime should just go there as a non-CDL holder. If for no other reason than you have fewer TNT miles to complete as a non-CDL holder.
When I was in orientation, I was with two CDL holders who were preparing for the skills evaluation. While the skills evaluation is less involved than a full CDL test, Prime seems to have pretty high standards for their drivers. I was with two CDL holder in orientation, both of whom had driven for several years, had to raise their backing skills to those acceptable to Prime. One picked up quickly (the woman). The other one, balked at my suggestion to combine and offset left/right to reposition the truck for the next parallel parking practice. He just wanted to do it the simple way of backing up and then pulling through.
Also, when I was practicing parallel parking with my PSD trainer, he kept moving the cones closer. The test is 69 feet. He had moved them to 65 feet. The day before my CDL test, I was parallel parking into 61 feet. (Flatbed has 48' trailers for the test.)
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.
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.
Thank you very much for your reply. I have been thinking about my options and I am seriously considering attending Prime with my permit. My third CDL exam is two weeks away. If I am going to improve on my skills between now and then, I would have to practice. I don’t have any means of practicing between now and my next exam.
Yes, I will succeed at receiving my CDL, it might just have to be going through another school (at Prime). This is a setback for me, but if I know anything about the trucking industry, you must be flexible.
I truly believe everyone learns in different ways as is in my case with this opportunity.
Thanks, Maureen
Maureen,
For the time being, just focus on passing the test. And good luck.
However, below is a link of what to expect from Prime. The "seat classifications" are a little confusing, but they break down as follows:
CDL Holders coming to Prime are "E" seat drivers. If you pass the skills evaluation, you have 60,000 miles to complete with a trainer. If you don't pass the skills evaluation, you will enter the "D" seat program: essentially as if you don't have your CDL.
Non-CDL holders are "D" seat drivers.
To be clear, I am not trying to be a wet blanket. Prime is a great company and I've been very satisfied with them so far. However, I am simply pointing out that anyone who wants to drive for Prime should just go there as a non-CDL holder. If for no other reason than you have fewer TNT miles to complete as a non-CDL holder.
When I was in orientation, I was with two CDL holders who were preparing for the skills evaluation. While the skills evaluation is less involved than a full CDL test, Prime seems to have pretty high standards for their drivers. I was with two CDL holder in orientation, both of whom had driven for several years, had to raise their backing skills to those acceptable to Prime. One picked up quickly (the woman). The other one, balked at my suggestion to combine and offset left/right to reposition the truck for the next parallel parking practice. He just wanted to do it the simple way of backing up and then pulling through.
Also, when I was practicing parallel parking with my PSD trainer, he kept moving the cones closer. The test is 69 feet. He had moved them to 65 feet. The day before my CDL test, I was parallel parking into 61 feet. (Flatbed has 48' trailers for the test.)
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.
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.
Thank you.
Third time's the charm! You can do it!
Did you ever. See my testing history????? It will make you feel great!
Kearsey,
Yes, I remember you actually spoke about your testing history on your YouTube channel (which I am subscribed to). Your YouTube channel has definitely helped me out.
Today, I practiced my backing maneuvers. My school is allowing me to practice with some of the other students who have also failed a test. That was actually a very positive experience today. One of the other students actually “coached” me through my rough spots. I had three turns today. My first turn was definitely what I call a warm up round (lol). I nailed all three maneuvers (straight line backing, off set and Parallel) for my other two rounds. The student who helped me was a pretty good “coach”. After today, I feel less anxious about my third CDL exam coming up next week. I know I will nail it.
Did you ever. See my testing history????? It will make you feel great!
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
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OK, so I failed at my second attempt to pass the CDL exam. The first time a failed my air brake test (I was very nervous) and today I failed skills. It is very discouraging, however I will try again in two weeks. I am definitely wishing I would have taken the “paid CDL school” route at this point. But I am were I am and I will keep pushing through. Everyone learns differently. My plan is to go with Prime,Inc once I receive my CDL.
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: