Starting My New Career With Prime Inc.

Hello again :) Thanks for all the info Anne, and for the update Victor! So glad to hear you're still doing great... seems like having the right trainer can really make or break you from what I've been reading lately.

I have seen some of Kearseys videos, and actually hope I get her for a trainer 😂 She seems like a lot of fun, and could learn a lot from her. I fully decided to make a career in trucking over a year ago, was scheduled to take the DOT exam when I realized I needed good vision in both eyes. After so many years I guess I forgot about my blind eye. So I pushed myself to get the transplant done (Something Ive been scared to death to do!) So I've already made the 1st huge scary step towards this career. So I'm learning as much as I can with all the downtime, this site seems to be great!🥰 I'll start my own diary when the time comes in a few weeks :) Thanks again!

Hello again :) Thanks for all the info Anne, and for the update Victor! So glad to hear you're still doing great... seems like having the right trainer can really make or break you from what I've been reading lately.

I have seen some of Kearseys videos, and actually hope I get her for a trainer 😂 She seems like a lot of fun, and could learn a lot from her. I fully decided to make a career in trucking over a year ago, was scheduled to take the DOT exam when I realized I needed good vision in both eyes. After so many years I guess I forgot about my blind eye. So I pushed myself to get the transplant done (Something Ive been scared to death to do!) So I've already made the 1st huge scary step towards this career. So I'm learning as much as I can with all the downtime, this site seems to be great!🥰 I'll start my own diary when the time comes in a few weeks :) Thanks again!

Anytime, Melissa!! Reach OUT to Kearsey; her contact info is EASY to find; just a comment on a YT video will yield you a reach out, also!

Re: the eye surgery; better now than later; I'm SO glad it worked out for you, m'lady!!! You should read some of Old School's posts; he had about 3 or 4 eye surgeries in the past year, something to do with his retina. It'll help give you hope!

Glad you are 'up in here!' Kudos on getting that surgery done; sure seems like you have the moxie it takes for this profession/lifestyle!

Yes indeed, Victor .... keep on keeping on, man! I'm the 'site' cheerleader until I get out there when the last one graduates , and you are ON MY TEAM! (Both of y'all!)

~ Anne ~

Whelp, looks like I failed to update daily as I intended, there was much more action then I initially expected this week.

On Thursday I was in flatbed securement class "flatbed bootcamp" all day, and also was there friday until about 1230, then I had a class going over all the automatic transmission features and benefits that evening.

On saturday I had to drive some simulator scenarios, and then take a skills test to prove I could operate the truck and pass their safety class to upgrade. After that I had to do the almost the exact same CBT's that I've now done 3 times since I got here to start PSD 3.5 months ago.

After all that was done, I sent off an email that evening to let them know I was ready to upgrade, and Sunday morning I received a confirmation that I was on the list waiting for a truck.

Monday(today) morning rolled around and I got a call at about 9am telling me they assigned me a truck and to head on over to the Z building to get my inspection paperwork and go look over the truck to make sure its in good shape and note any damages done by the previous driver(s).

Took a while to do a good inspection of everything on the truck, it is a 2019 model with 397,000 miles on it, but it is in great shape still. Minor scratches here and there and only a couple things for the shop to address before I get on the road.

The shop is fixing a TMPS sensor, replacing the broken oil cap on the APU , and fixing the passenger side door handle that wont open from the inside.

I should have to truck back tomorrow morning, I'll be taking it over to detail to get the passenger seat taken out(I have a dog that will be riding with me and need a good spot to put her kennel), and then I'll be heading over to get all of my flatbed equipment(straps, chains, tarps, ect.)

These past few days have flown by, and I'm both nervous and excited to get on the road solo. I also got the good news that I'll be going directly to the dedicated route I was hoping for, so that means most weekends will be at home! very happy about that, but also oddly enough not sure if I'll enjoy it more than the OTR life I've lived for the last 2 months, only time will tell. The way I see it, if I don't really end up enjoying the dedicated route then I can always go back OTR to travel the country again.

Thanks everybody for following along this very unorganized training diary, I'm not sure how often I'll check back in and give updates as I start me journey solo, or if I even should as it technically will no longer be offically "training" although I'm positive I'll still be learning new things everyday for years to come in this industry.

Dedicated Route:

A driver or carrier who transports cargo between regular, prescribed routes. Normally it means a driver will be dedicated to working for one particular customer like Walmart or Home Depot and they will only haul freight for that customer. You'll often hear drivers say something like, "I'm on the Walmart dedicated account."

OTR:

Over The Road

OTR driving normally means you'll be hauling freight to various customers throughout your company's hauling region. It often entails being gone from home for two to three weeks at a time.

OWI:

Operating While Intoxicated

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.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

You're fine, Victor~!! Thanks for the update, coming along great!

Just bounce in, on occasion; as time permits. These diaries are invaluable to future readers/drivers and are SO MUCH appreciated!

Carry on, good sir & thanks!

~ Anne ~

Yes, invaluable for sure! I'm still in the "Yes I want to do this, yes I'm going to do this, but have so much studying and research to do phase" I didn't think dedicated routes were available for newer drivers. Home every weekend? That sounds pretty great if the money is still pretty good. But flatbed pays more anyways, so I'm sure it equals out? Not sure I'm up for flatbed, seems like it's much more physically demanding, not in my 20s anymore 😅

Thanks a ton for the update Victor, it really helps with the motivation for me to get going on this.

Stay safe out there!

You're fine, Victor~!! Thanks for the update, coming along great!

Just bounce in, on occasion; as time permits. These diaries are invaluable to future readers/drivers and are SO MUCH appreciated!

Carry on, good sir & thanks!

~ Anne ~

Hello everybody, been solo for alittle over a month now and it's going great. I really lucked out with this dedicated opportunity as I've come to find out it's usually quite a wait to get on out here.

I was worried that home on the weekends was going to hurt income significantly, but compared to others I went through training with that ate OTR currently are making about the same as I am. So nothing lost there. Obviously mileage will vary(pun intended.

What dedicated account are you running?