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Prime Inc.....Lease any Information
- Thread starter FlatBroke
- Start date
Mike
Well-Known Member
Not sure why, but I just noticed this for the first time.
If you want to be an owner operator, buy a truck. If you can't buy a truck right now, save up until you can.
If you are going to go the lease route, don't do this one. The cost of this lease it outrageous. Can you make money if you stay out run hard? yes. But you can do the same thing as a company driver for a good company.
If you want to be an owner operator, buy a truck. If you can't buy a truck right now, save up until you can.
If you are going to go the lease route, don't do this one. The cost of this lease it outrageous. Can you make money if you stay out run hard? yes. But you can do the same thing as a company driver for a good company.
its like any other lease/purchase plan. they will run you hard for a while. make one mistake and you're at the bottom of the list, thi i know from 2 former Prime o/o's...
next, unless you ask up front, the fuel tanks on those trucks are small, meaning more (frequent fill-ups). at the time of taking a truck, you can PAY them for larger tanks.
Prime has been in a lot of trouble in the past for thier lease/purchase plan(s).
and they have been sued, by none other than OOIDA.................
frankly, like the "moose" said, buy your truck outright, but you had better have a solid business plan first, as NO BANK will float you the loan easily these days, of "reccession", and high fuel prices.................
otherwise, expect to pay more than the past o/o's have paid through Prime...
FlatBroke
Well-Known Member
semipenguin
Member
IMHO, if you go to Prime, take your own truck. Don't lease one. I've been with Prime twice. Once in 2001, and then Oct 2007 to this past Aug.
The first time I was there was ok. I made good money, but I didn't like not having much time off.
The second time, I got rid of my old 1999 Century and went back to Prime, hoping my girlfriend could get her CDL and we could team. Well after about two months back at Prime, I found out my girlfriend couldn't get her CDL because she take seizure medication. I was not going to stay at Prime if I couldn't team.
They're not a bad company, but if you go there with a truck, then they can't boss you around and take loads you don't want to take. When you lease, you are at the mercy of your dispatcher to find you a load and if you refuse, you wind up sitting.
The first time I was there was ok. I made good money, but I didn't like not having much time off.
The second time, I got rid of my old 1999 Century and went back to Prime, hoping my girlfriend could get her CDL and we could team. Well after about two months back at Prime, I found out my girlfriend couldn't get her CDL because she take seizure medication. I was not going to stay at Prime if I couldn't team.
They're not a bad company, but if you go there with a truck, then they can't boss you around and take loads you don't want to take. When you lease, you are at the mercy of your dispatcher to find you a load and if you refuse, you wind up sitting.
patriciajnsn
Steering Wheel Holder
Sounds like Prime has'nt changed since over 4 yrs ago when I got trained by them.Back then I heard from Prime drivers,don't lease from Prime they'll cut your miles to nothing once you're trk is almost paid for.All the bad things I hear about leaseing whether it's Prime or any trucking company.I won't take somebody elses headache and have it in the shop every other week.If I can't afford a trk right off the show room floor then i'll stay a company driver.
patriciajnsn
Steering Wheel Holder
All these companies that have a lease/purchase program are trying to sucker the driver into a used trk and those trks were leased from other drivers are they not? T hat tells me that those other drivers could'nt afford the payments ect so is what the companies are doing is giving another unsuspected driver the chance to get screwed.SAD
Tn. Truckers Wife
Well-Known Member
It also means that you can sit your a** at home for a few days for punishment...That really ticks me off..
Mike
Well-Known Member
I leased on with Prime in the mid 90's, and made great money. Never turned down a load because I had trust in my dispatcher to be making sure he was getting me the best loads possible. We had great communication.
I went back there after being off the road for a while in 2002, and went into their lease purchase program. All I can say is that it was no longer the same company, and I got out of that least as fast as I could. I would pick up a load that was running coast to coast, have time to make the run, and would have to swap the load with a team. This was happening regularly, causing me to sit on loads so they could keep their teams running. I started refusing to swap and ran the loads on my own, and immediately started getting horrible short runs with too much time sitting.... constantly.
Teams can make money with Prime in their lease program, but really not any more money than you could make running teams in a company truck. And as soon as you take a few days off, you find yourself behind in the lease payments if your not careful.
I went back there after being off the road for a while in 2002, and went into their lease purchase program. All I can say is that it was no longer the same company, and I got out of that least as fast as I could. I would pick up a load that was running coast to coast, have time to make the run, and would have to swap the load with a team. This was happening regularly, causing me to sit on loads so they could keep their teams running. I started refusing to swap and ran the loads on my own, and immediately started getting horrible short runs with too much time sitting.... constantly.
Teams can make money with Prime in their lease program, but really not any more money than you could make running teams in a company truck. And as soon as you take a few days off, you find yourself behind in the lease payments if your not careful.
patriciajnsn
Steering Wheel Holder
bull u mentioned your dispatcher and I tell you what,having a great dispatcher is most the battle whether u like the company or not.The company alone isn't the problem with drivers but it's the people u work directly with that can make it unbareable.I had some awesome dispatchers and loved some of my companies but when u lose your dispatcher and get someone u can't communicate with then forget it u won't stay at that company very long.I'm driving for a small reefer company.Even though the miles are'nt there right now i'm sticking with the company because they don't bother me they give me the ld info and that's it and i'm hoping it'll get better soon.If not well as long as I have enough for bills i'm doing alright.
truckerstrike08
Navigational Assistant
I have heard good things and bad things. I have a message from a driver and he liked it. He gave me permission to post but that was a few weeks ago. Will take some digging to find the information but I will.
The good things you heard were probably from the Prime pimps. Prime drivers trying to get referrals, cdl trainee's, and otr trainee's. That's how they work. They get good money to bring in a sucker who Prime expects they will lease to. L/O pay $850.00 a wk just for the truck. A truck you should be paying $400.00 a week for.
I talk with one recruiter who was an almost complete a hole. His tone sucked, attitude sucked, and his enthusiasm was so boring I could hardly stand it. As a rep for the company he's terrible. Why the guy was never fired I'll never know. He must be blow'n the boss. But I stuck with him for 3 conversations over 3 mos.. When I told him I got my AZ permit, and hazmat I thought he be happy that I would succed there, he boringly said, OOh no I wiiissh yooou didn't do that. I decided I had enough of this p .
The next time I called I spoke to another recruiter and told her I would rather go with as a recruiter. She said ok. The next time I called she was fired and I went back to talk'n to the P . I could go on.
Any way this company has a hole's recruiting, and there CS.
I would never recommend them. Just think $850.00 a week for a lease, unbelievable.
Oh, and you CANNOT trust what the drivers say. They are paid a referral and it pays good, first when you go through training, and the longer you stay the more money they make. Soooo, they are always saying "hang in there". And another good one they like to say is, "you need to go to Acer 1 class to get training to help you". THE LONGER YOU STAY THE MORE THE REFERRAL GUY WILL MAKE. So all the drivers say good stuff to keep you going. It's a shame.
The next time I called I spoke to another recruiter and told her I would rather go with as a recruiter. She said ok. The next time I called she was fired and I went back to talk'n to the P . I could go on.
Any way this company has a hole's recruiting, and there CS.
I would never recommend them. Just think $850.00 a week for a lease, unbelievable.
Oh, and you CANNOT trust what the drivers say. They are paid a referral and it pays good, first when you go through training, and the longer you stay the more money they make. Soooo, they are always saying "hang in there". And another good one they like to say is, "you need to go to Acer 1 class to get training to help you". THE LONGER YOU STAY THE MORE THE REFERRAL GUY WILL MAKE. So all the drivers say good stuff to keep you going. It's a shame.
PRIME
GOOD MOURNING: information on prime well i can tell you about prime alright but you may or may not like it .
first when you get to prime they pretty much roll out the red carpet for you you and your wife will not want for anything they do treat you good , now your orentation use to be payed for by prime your motel your food and so on that may have changed not sur been awhil since i fooled with them .
after orentation they send you out on the lot to pick out your truck and they are several to choose from then you go back into the office tell them the truck number and they give you the keys to it BUT your not done yet.
now you get to sign the lease here you learn that you dont lease the truck from prime you lease it from succes leasing and your contract looks like a book. now that also may have changed sinch they were sued a three way lease is illegal they lost the suit so it may have changed but that should not affect you.
now once you have signed the lease you go get your truck and take it to the shop which is right there on the lot , now the shop will go over the truck to make sure all is in order, now i give prime credit for there shop if they find anything wrong they take care of it and they do it right they have a great shop and they do a good job.
now here is where you have to be carefull,once you get your truck you now have an account with prime an open account you can charge anything you want , fancy tool boxes, tarps chains , binders,, go in the store and buy clothes trinkets what ever you want as much as you want but remembe it all comes at a price.hell they even make you feel important.now all this takes pretty much all day it takes time to spend money.now when you get thrue spending all that money you go to dispatch.
here you need to proceed with caution there dispatch is different then you have been use to. you need to decide wheather or not you want short runs or long runs ,they like to give you short runs i dont do short runs period i like to get my miles all at one time not with five or six loads.
also i dont no what you want to pull so you have to decide that also im in the flat bed busines they have reefers and tanks you need to decide what you want to pull before you go to dispatch and you do have a choice.
another good thing about prime is when you get your truck for all intents and purposees it is your truck , nobody else has excess to it just you IT IN FACT IS NOT YOUR TRUCK it still belongs to prime but you can do what ever you want to it , paint your name on it , take it home with you the only thing you cant do is have work done on the engine that has to be aproved by prime . you can also put fancy graffics on it and they have a place there that will do it for you and there good at it BUT it also cost you BUT you can charge it to your account you just have to remember it all comes out of your settelment when you get payed.
now as far as the trucks well as long as you like freightliner they all are top shelf and they dont have a slow truck in the fleet they will run and pull.
another good point if you like to run you can run they dont have a lot of sitting waiting for a load they usally have you another load by the time your empty, you need time off not a problem, just remember your payment keep on they dont take time off , you need money not a problem all you have t do is ask all they will do is ask how much. and you got it no problem.
now they use to pay for everything during owentation encluding motel and food but you might need to call and ask some things have changed sinch i was there it been awhile.
if your wife is going with you thats not a problem if you have no kids at home that makes it even better because in order to make money with prime you have to turn and burn you cant sit around you got to go.
now will you ever get the truck paid for ? i doubt it but you can if you stay there long enough but that will be tough.
after your there awhile and you decide you want a new truck just ask you got it they will bring you in and you go pick it out . sound good so fat? its not really in order for you to make it with prime you got to run hard , if you can do that then you can make a little money , not a lot but you can ake it .and there is somthing to be said for driving a new truck that part is nice.
all in all there not a bad company just dont go in expecting to get rich but with your wife with you , and if you keep your overhead down you can mae some money. the mistake some drivers make is they use that charge account to much , and you can buy everything and i mean everything no restriction at all just remeber it is not free you have to pay it back.
o and when i was there they didnt have a forced dispatch if you dont like a load you dont have to take it .
if you can watch your money and your budget you can do pretty good with prime, i stayed long enough to buy another truck of my own and i payed cash for it so you can make a little money with them.
if you have any questions dont hesitate to call them they dont have a problem answering any and all questions
i wish you luck my friend its tuff to make it with prime BUT if you dont mind hard work you can make it and you will ride in style ,
J.R. HORTON
TRAVELING HELLS HIGHWAY
GOOD MOURNING: information on prime well i can tell you about prime alright but you may or may not like it .
first when you get to prime they pretty much roll out the red carpet for you you and your wife will not want for anything they do treat you good , now your orentation use to be payed for by prime your motel your food and so on that may have changed not sur been awhil since i fooled with them .
after orentation they send you out on the lot to pick out your truck and they are several to choose from then you go back into the office tell them the truck number and they give you the keys to it BUT your not done yet.
now you get to sign the lease here you learn that you dont lease the truck from prime you lease it from succes leasing and your contract looks like a book. now that also may have changed sinch they were sued a three way lease is illegal they lost the suit so it may have changed but that should not affect you.
now once you have signed the lease you go get your truck and take it to the shop which is right there on the lot , now the shop will go over the truck to make sure all is in order, now i give prime credit for there shop if they find anything wrong they take care of it and they do it right they have a great shop and they do a good job.
now here is where you have to be carefull,once you get your truck you now have an account with prime an open account you can charge anything you want , fancy tool boxes, tarps chains , binders,, go in the store and buy clothes trinkets what ever you want as much as you want but remembe it all comes at a price.hell they even make you feel important.now all this takes pretty much all day it takes time to spend money.now when you get thrue spending all that money you go to dispatch.
here you need to proceed with caution there dispatch is different then you have been use to. you need to decide wheather or not you want short runs or long runs ,they like to give you short runs i dont do short runs period i like to get my miles all at one time not with five or six loads.
also i dont no what you want to pull so you have to decide that also im in the flat bed busines they have reefers and tanks you need to decide what you want to pull before you go to dispatch and you do have a choice.
another good thing about prime is when you get your truck for all intents and purposees it is your truck , nobody else has excess to it just you IT IN FACT IS NOT YOUR TRUCK it still belongs to prime but you can do what ever you want to it , paint your name on it , take it home with you the only thing you cant do is have work done on the engine that has to be aproved by prime . you can also put fancy graffics on it and they have a place there that will do it for you and there good at it BUT it also cost you BUT you can charge it to your account you just have to remember it all comes out of your settelment when you get payed.
now as far as the trucks well as long as you like freightliner they all are top shelf and they dont have a slow truck in the fleet they will run and pull.
another good point if you like to run you can run they dont have a lot of sitting waiting for a load they usally have you another load by the time your empty, you need time off not a problem, just remember your payment keep on they dont take time off , you need money not a problem all you have t do is ask all they will do is ask how much. and you got it no problem.
now they use to pay for everything during owentation encluding motel and food but you might need to call and ask some things have changed sinch i was there it been awhile.
if your wife is going with you thats not a problem if you have no kids at home that makes it even better because in order to make money with prime you have to turn and burn you cant sit around you got to go.
now will you ever get the truck paid for ? i doubt it but you can if you stay there long enough but that will be tough.
after your there awhile and you decide you want a new truck just ask you got it they will bring you in and you go pick it out . sound good so fat? its not really in order for you to make it with prime you got to run hard , if you can do that then you can make a little money , not a lot but you can ake it .and there is somthing to be said for driving a new truck that part is nice.
all in all there not a bad company just dont go in expecting to get rich but with your wife with you , and if you keep your overhead down you can mae some money. the mistake some drivers make is they use that charge account to much , and you can buy everything and i mean everything no restriction at all just remeber it is not free you have to pay it back.
o and when i was there they didnt have a forced dispatch if you dont like a load you dont have to take it .
if you can watch your money and your budget you can do pretty good with prime, i stayed long enough to buy another truck of my own and i payed cash for it so you can make a little money with them.
if you have any questions dont hesitate to call them they dont have a problem answering any and all questions
i wish you luck my friend its tuff to make it with prime BUT if you dont mind hard work you can make it and you will ride in style ,
J.R. HORTON
TRAVELING HELLS HIGHWAY
mustang970
New Member
Thanks for the Post, I as well am looking a Prime. Considering going the Flatbed route. Myself, am looking for specifics, such as equipment, miles, customer base, O/R's etc. Opinions are great, but hopefully they are from first hand accounts.
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