List Of Things To Pack If You Are Going To Prime

Howdy everyone,

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. I think I am finally ready for my new adventure. Have my learners permit in hand with necessary endorsements and my final call from my recruiter at Prime. He said everything looks great for me on my end but I won't be able to meet him during orientation since he will be on Vacation (one day would like to shake his hand). He made everything easy on me, never had one issue come up on his end. So I will have another recruiter helping me once I get there if I have any issues.

I have my Greyhound ticket for Jan 3. I have to say I am not looking forward to the 34 hour bus ride. I am hoping that there will be some people I met here going on the same bus. My bus arrives in Springfield at 10:25 pm on Sunday with stops in Tampa, Orlando, Tifton, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville, Elkhart, Mount Vernon, and St. Louis. Anyone? I plan on reading Bretts book and studying on the way there.

One question I have is how much clothing to pack. Prime asks you to bring enough clothing for 2 weeks. I don't want to overpack since I will be a guest in someone elses truck and it seems to me I have too much. My 30" duffle bag is stuffed. Should I bring less? Thanks again for everyones help Brian

Howdy everyone,

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. I think I am finally ready for my new adventure. Have my learners permit in hand with necessary endorsements and my final call from my recruiter at Prime. He said everything looks great for me on my end but I won't be able to meet him during orientation since he will be on Vacation (one day would like to shake his hand). He made everything easy on me, never had one issue come up on his end. So I will have another recruiter helping me once I get there if I have any issues.

I have my Greyhound ticket for Jan 3. I have to say I am not looking forward to the 34 hour bus ride.

I know it's a little late for this but if you're finances can support it, just an FYI, all the company sponsored schools will reimburse you if you choose to drive or fly to the school. A bus ride is grueling so if you are able to on the short notice, rent a car, save your receipts, and they will cover the cost up to the amount of the bus ticket.....about 225 or so.

Good luck at Prime

Howdy everyone,

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. I think I am finally ready for my new adventure. Have my learners permit in hand with necessary endorsements and my final call from my recruiter at Prime. He said everything looks great for me on my end but I won't be able to meet him during orientation since he will be on Vacation (one day would like to shake his hand). He made everything easy on me, never had one issue come up on his end. So I will have another recruiter helping me once I get there if I have any issues.

I have my Greyhound ticket for Jan 3. I have to say I am not looking forward to the 34 hour bus ride.

I know it's a little late for this but if you're finances can support it, just an FYI, all the company sponsored schools will reimburse you if you choose to drive or fly to the school. A bus ride is grueling so if you are able to on the short notice, rent a car, save your receipts, and they will cover the cost up to the amount of the bus ticket.....about 225 or so.

Good luck at Prime

Yep, I went to prime for orientation, chose to pay for a train ticket ($120) and saved myself 14hrs vs the bus. Bus ticket as $101 so Prime reimbursed me $101 which made my train ride $19.. worth it. Bummers I got sent home though, they paid for that bus ticket too.

Items To Pack, should give you an idea as to what to take with you. You wont need a lot during training. Bare necessities.. Clothing, toiletries, spare cash, phone and charger, 12v charger if you got one for your phone, a good book for your bus ride/down time.. if you want to take your laptop (if you have one) I'd set it aside and make sure you got what you absolutely need, and then if there's room, pack it. You'll find small amounts of time through orientation like at your room or on the bus ride, occasionally while on your trainers truck.. Don't think you'll get a ton of time with it though, you'll be pushing really hard and want to just eat sleep and drive.

I took enough clothes for 1 week since that's all I had lol and to save money just washed them in the tub... I took body wash,shampoo,toothpaste,toothbrush,pens,pencils,paper,3 ring binder,cell phone and charger.... Now if you have money to spend get canned food like soups and veggies to hold you over till u get paid and buy a trucker atlas and truck stop book and a note book and bread and peanut butter and jelly... You can buy food when you get there but why if you can bring it with you and don't over do it with the food unless you like to eat a lot (not saying you do) lol o yeah boots and gloves a flash light.... That's about all I can think of for now

Howdy everyone,

Hope everyone had a great Christmas. I think I am finally ready for my new adventure. Have my learners permit in hand with necessary endorsements and my final call from my recruiter at Prime. He said everything looks great for me on my end but I won't be able to meet him during orientation since he will be on Vacation (one day would like to shake his hand). He made everything easy on me, never had one issue come up on his end. So I will have another recruiter helping me once I get there if I have any issues.

I have my Greyhound ticket for Jan 3. I have to say I am not looking forward to the 34 hour bus ride. I am hoping that there will be some people I met here going on the same bus. My bus arrives in Springfield at 10:25 pm on Sunday with stops in Tampa, Orlando, Tifton, Atlanta, Chattanooga, Nashville, Elkhart, Mount Vernon, and St. Louis. Anyone? I plan on reading Bretts book and studying on the way there.

One question I have is how much clothing to pack. Prime asks you to bring enough clothing for 2 weeks. I don't want to overpack since I will be a guest in someone elses truck and it seems to me I have too much. My 30" duffle bag is stuffed. Should I bring less? Thanks again for everyones help Brian

Brian I will be there the morning of the 4th. Like you i am taking the bus as well. My ride is 30 hours. I thought about the train but I will grit my teeth and bear the ride. Like you I have my permit. I packed for 10 days and plan on doing laundry just before i go on the road with the trainer. I cant imagine the trainer going for much longer than that before they do their laundry as well. If I have to stretch it I will.(Good thing there are two sides to socks, t-shirts and underwear) Definitely don't forget your documents and cash. See you there and Happy New Year.

Scott I'm broke as a joke right now and will probably only have a weeks worth of clothes that are worthwhile to bring. I'm washing my clothes in a tub already! Not kidding.

What's the dress code like? I have nice clothes from my last office job but I'd rather not be the only guy in kackis and polos. I want to be warm and comfortable. Do most people show up in jeans and hoodies? Since from the time you step off the bus the whole process is an interview are people who aren't dressed to impress looked down on?

And did you really need to bring the pens, pencils, paper and binder? Or did Prime give you that stuff anyway.

Sorry Brian, not trying to hijack your thread. I was glad you asked what to bring.

I'm just a single dude and don't need all the frills. The link David gave was great (thanks David btw) but I only want to bring bare essentials.

Scott I'm broke as a joke right now and will probably only have a weeks worth of clothes that are worthwhile to bring. I'm washing my clothes in a tub already! Not kidding.

What's the dress code like? I have nice clothes from my last office job but I'd rather not be the only guy in kackis and polos. I want to be warm and comfortable. Do most people show up in jeans and hoodies? Since from the time you step off the bus the whole process is an interview are people who aren't dressed to impress looked down on?

And did you really need to bring the pens, pencils, paper and binder? Or did Prime give you that stuff anyway.

Sorry Brian, not trying to hijack your thread. I was glad you asked what to bring.

I'm just a single dude and don't need all the frills. The link David gave was great (thanks David btw) but I only want to bring bare essentials.

I am bringing jeans and some collared shirts for the orientation. Once in the truck long sleeve t's and polo's. I would recommending bringing your own paper and pens and highlighters. If you show up and don't have it I will share some of what i have with you if need be. WE are all in this together and i believe in helping other people out. Let me know.

Thanks for the offer Greg, you're awesome! Unfortunately I do not have a date yet, so I will not be there on the 15th. But I hope you all keep me posted while you're there because I would like to know both of your thoughts on what its like. I'm really close to pulling the trigger on this deal. My recruiter from Prime wanted there by Dec 1st but I hadn't even started reading the High Road Training Program at that point so I'm buying some time to give myself more time to study before I commit. I've almost finished the High Road course twice now and i read Daniel B's thread Pre-Trip Inspection - My Way! A must see! a couple times as well. But I still feel like I want to study more before I get there. I just realized I might want to be a trucker 2 months ago so I'm pumping the brakes a bit. I don't want to wash out once I get there! LOL

I will he there on 02/09/15 so I will be a month behind you. Keep strong and focused. Just try to look your best. As long as your clothes don't have holes and stains your in the clear. Oh and don't let your pants hang down to your knees.lol. shave and have a great attitude.

I didn't go to prime I went to swift/central but they all are pretty much the same and no they don't supply them and didnt really need them till I got on the truck but nice to have and like you I too wuz broke as a joke and made it 16 days with about a hundred bucks then got on the truck with my trainer and was allowed to borrow a hundred bucks a week from swift lol that helped out a lot till my first paycheck.... O yeah get a key chain clip that clips to a belt loop on your pants that's a good investment so you don't lose or lock your keys in the truck and if that broke noodles and peanut butter and bread can go a long way