Starting With Prime Dec. 1st
Topic 6304 | Page 1
Well, I've passed my Colorado State CDL permit test and added a few endorsements. I've been accepted on at Prime and start my schooling/training Dec. 1st. The process to get through all the background checks etc. wasn't too tedious and the recruiter I've been working with was helpful, thorough and professional.
Hopefully I'll get a good trainer and our personalities mesh. I'll keep an update date going thru the smart phone.
Wish me luck!
Excellent man! Dec. 1st is right around the corner and you should be good to go. Keep positive and keep working hard! The only easy day was yesterday ;-)
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.
Thanks Matt. I will. One thing I've finally learned in life is "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right."
I don't look forward to a 20 hour bus ride to Springfield, but I'm looking forward to a new career.
:)
Thanks Matt. I will. One thing I've finally learned in life is "If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right."
I don't look forward to a 20 hour bus ride to Springfield, but I'm looking forward to a new career.
:)
Yeah, the grey dawg ain't no fun nohow! But, like you said, it's a beginning to a new chapter! :-)
I must say I've been quite impressed with this company. Most of the other company oriented trainings had trainees putting out money for lodging, food or both. Prime Inc covers both for while going thru orientation and training. The Campus Inn is literally that. It's owned and utilized by prime for training, processing, interviewing and housing new hires, rehires and trainers. In addition they have a shuttle service e that takes the trainees to local stops like the bank, DMV or Walmart. They also covered the cost of the bus ride. Although that was such a dreadful experience I can't count it as a plus. The first day was a bit long and boring but it went well. We started out the day with a good breakfast (paid for by the company, lunch and dinner as well). Our initial orientation was followed by drug testing, physicals and interviews. Time ran out on quite a few of us before we were able to interview or get on the simulators, but they kept the computer center open until midnight so we could get thru the required computer training modules, which I managed to finish completely. Now I'll be able to focus on the interview and getting thru the simulator training. Well that's it for day one. Gotta be up at 5am to get it all started again. Good night all.
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.
That is cool...I am looking to try and get out there on Jan 5th. Look forward to seeing more of your journey
I wish the best to you brother. I have a writen exam on dec 19th to see if I can get 3500 towards going to school. Hopen so that way iam not under contract to anyone.
Well the first week of orientation has come to an end. I finally cleared all the verification hurdles (employment, drug screen, and medical) on Friday and received my official company badge. I managed to have one interview with a trainer (5 of us interviewed) but didn't get chosen by this particular trainer. The remainder of the afternoon was spent with my fellow student drivers getting to know the actual trucks a bit better. We practiced straight line backing, driving around a bobtail and going over the pre-trip inspection routine. This will continue on a daily basis until we are assigned or picked up by a trainer for our initial 75 hours of drive time and training.
Pre-trip Inspection:
A pre-trip inspection is a thorough inspection of the truck completed before driving for the first time each day.
Federal and state laws require that drivers inspect their vehicles. Federal and state inspectors also may inspect your vehicles. If they judge a vehicle to be unsafe, they will put it “out of service” until it is repaired.
Bobtail:
"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.
HOS:
Hours Of Service
HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.
First Saturday of orientation week starts early. Any PSD (Prime Student Driver) that hasn't found a trainer to pair with starts out the day with a 7:30 am roll call and spends the first half of the day on the training pad going thru various phases of the Pre-Trip inspection. I managed to meet up with one of the trainers in the practice pad, but he was a smoker and I wasn't about to spend weeks or months with a smoker. We ran pre inspections until lunch then went over to Prime's main Terminal , the Millenium Building. Shortly afterwards I received a call from another trainer. We seemed to hit it off fairly well, both being former Marines. Then I was asked to drive his Peterbuilt truck so he could get a feel how I could drive. I spent the the next hour driving bobtail thru an industrial park and pulling a trailer around a practice pad. I must have been decent because after we were done the trainer asked if I was willing to hit the road with him to carry a load to Larado Texas. I said I was definitely ready to start driving. So tomorrow we'll be heading out at 6am from Springfield. Hopefully I'll be covering a few miles tomorrow. Wish me luck and safe driving.
Pre-trip Inspection:
A pre-trip inspection is a thorough inspection of the truck completed before driving for the first time each day.
Federal and state laws require that drivers inspect their vehicles. Federal and state inspectors also may inspect your vehicles. If they judge a vehicle to be unsafe, they will put it “out of service” until it is repaired.
Bobtail:
"Bobtailing" means you are driving a tractor without a trailer attached.
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.
I was curious what the turnaround time is for getting into the Prime, Inc. school? How long did it take after applying to be contacted by a recruiter? How long after that to actually get accepted and end up at the school?
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Well, I've passed my Colorado State CDL permit test and added a few endorsements. I've been accepted on at Prime and start my schooling/training Dec. 1st. The process to get through all the background checks etc. wasn't too tedious and the recruiter I've been working with was helpful, thorough and professional.
Hopefully I'll get a good trainer and our personalities mesh. I'll keep an update date going thru the smart phone.
Wish me luck!
CDL:
Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles: