Central Refer / Prime
 

I have read and searched all through these forums and read everything I could find about the companies that I am looking at. I am trying to decide between two training companies, and I know that neither one will be perfect but this is the hand that I am being dealt without having a CDL from a private school.

So Central Refrigerated seems to have a good program for a newbie. The school is short at 17 days, then 4 weeks with a trainer on the road. Is this enough time to turn a green horn into someone who can drive on their own?

I am also looking at Prime Inc just because if you stay for a year the schooling is free. The classroom is only 4 days, but then you spend 6 months with a trainer and it takes about 4 months before you even have your CDL. This seems like a very long time, and I am afraid the trainer is just doing it to reap the extra pay from a rookie for 6 months. How much time will that trainer actually spend "training"?

I really would like some response from people that know one of the two companies, but I would also like to know what is said of these carriers at the truck stop......

I just thought that maybe someone knows of a TRAINING company that is better that I am missing. Please let me know if there is!

I have never worked for either but neither have a great reputation at the T/S's. I do know guys who have done good with both companies but none of them went through their training program.

As far as training it all depends on the trainer. Yes, you will find trainers who will use you to make more money but then again you may have a trainer that will work with you and make sure you are learning correct ways to do things.


With the length of the training program it all depends on you, if you are a fast learner then maybe a month with a trainer is enough. You will never learn everything with a trainer. It dosent matter if you spend a week or a year or 10 years you will never learn everything. There will always be something that make you step back and go hmmm.... So it really depends on what you think you will need. A month with someone who will actually go through everything with you and make sure your competent*(sp) enough to run that rig will deffinately outweigh 6+ months with a trainer who just gets in the bunk and lets you drive and never teaches you anything.

Thats my 2 cents and thats all its worth i'm afraid.

Central Refer....
 

Well, I have done a lot of research and from what I have found Central Refrigerated is where I will be going. I already have a tentative date to start school next month. I can't believe that there are not a lot of people with an opinion on these two companies!

Please, if you drive for Central Refrigerated or Prime Inc, give me some feedback here or you can send me a private message if you don't want everyone else to know what you think.

I did find a few cool links on You Tube, and I really enjoyed watching some of the videos on there. I just wish I had someone who would give me an honest opinion from the experience that they had.

I will try to be very active in this forum and will let you know what I experience from the school and the company!

I kind of expected that! It is a training company so I am sure they go through a lot of drivers!

All I can do is hope for a good trainer!

I will be well prepared for school. I already have a CDL book from the department of licensing, so I will read through that over the next few weeks!


Thank you for your response. It is always helpful to talk with someone that knows more than I do, which is NOTHING!

Then there is going to be stuff and makes you jump back and say WTF!!!

Just to clarify on the Prime training. You have a week in class where you get your permit. After you get your permit you are put 1 on 1 with an Instructor until you have 100 hours driving. This 100 hours is done with the truck as a solo. After 100 hours you go back to Springfield to test out, and then go out with a trainer for 50,000 miles (they say 60,000, but they give you credit for 10,000 from your instructing. After you reach 60,000 miles you can go back to Springfield, take another test and get a company truck. Once you reach 80,000 miles (the last 20,000 can be done solo company, or with your trainer) you can get a lease truck.

As far as pay goes, while you have your permit Prime will loan you $240 a week for food and supplies while on the road, this is paid back at $25 a week once you get your license and become an employee. In the training phase you are paid $0.12 a mile with a guarantee of $600 a week as long as you are available for dispatch. At 60,000 you can go company solo at $.30 a mile or stay with the trainer @$.12 with the guarantee. At 80,000 miles you'd get a raise to $.34 company or could lease a truck.

I work for Central. It's not too bad of a company. Been with them for several months. Freight has been a little etchy here and there. I run team and for the past month we have been getting more solo loads than team loads. Told it will pick up pretty quickly.

The training is very short. It's a hard, quick two weeks in class. You have one week to get your CDL learner (a few people didn't make it) and then you have a week backing and driving around. After that, you go on the road with a trainer for a month. As it was stated some trainers are good and some are bad. I (and my girlfriend) went through 3 trainers before we found a good one. The first one was a complainer and couldn't deliver loads on time and would rather sit around then drive. The second had a couple of cats in his truck and it was just plain nasty. The third though showed us how to run as a team and run hard.

I always keep in good contact with my dispatch and use the qualcomm regularly, so that makes them happy when you keep them updated.

With Central, you'll be using the electronic logs and their not that hard once you get used to it.

Central trains over 25 students a week at there West Valley City terminal in Utah and then a dozen at Fontana, CA and Connelly, GA. It is scary some of the people that they are willing to train and release out on the road. The training does feel short and it took me and the girlfriend a week or two on our own to get the actual hang of it after finishing training. But like I said, we had a good trainer and were really prepared. It was just not having the trainer there to make the decisions and tough choices when you were used to having them around that made it tough.

I figure I'll work here for a year and then move on to a better company that pays better. After a year working here, I'll only be able to make 36 cpm and there are companies that will pay over 40 cpm. You only have to pay something like $1275 after a year with the company and the training original costs $3000.

Good company to get your foot in the door and then move on to better oppurtunities.

I agree with the esteemed poster Jumbo above.

Nary, in the past 5 years of perusing this board have I seen such consistent STOP SIGNS to the newbie driver as is offered when the poster queries regarding PRIME, or Central Refrigerated.

Of course, you probably already have your mind made up. Best wishes and good luck with the experience.

Prime (a coolie carrier) will put you in your own truck immediately and let you make all of your own Disability insurance payments etc. Heh heh......does it take you that long to figure all of this out? Sure, it is certainly to their advantage to lease that POS to you and pay no benefits/retirement/insurance/ blah blah blah blah.

Reminds of of the classic movie "Goodfellas" and the method of organized crime taking control of a business.

1. Business slow? **** you. Pay up!
2. Truck broken? **** you. Pay up!
3. Family illness? **** you. Pay up!

Oh and by the way. Central Refrigeraged is basically coolie carrier extension of CR England (i'm not sure, they may be outright owned by CREngland coolie carrier.)

Get out now if you can! Don' stick around for the burn!!!!:thumbsup:

You can lease your own truck after only 80,000 miles? Cool.

I am not so sure that leasing a truck after so little experience is a good idea. I guess this is why these companies are so easy to get into a lease program. They just keep recycling that truck from one rookie to another when they fail.

Just my $.02