Prime Inc hopper division

Saw one in Indiana yesterday.

https://www.youtube.com/live/DRzSoEu_AbU?si=e8j3l6QBCYOfeP2G

It will be interesting to watch when summer comes and those sticky commodities won't flow. Get the popcorn ready 😀

I'm not worried. It will take them 2 days to do a 500 mile run because they will be on social media telling everyone how great it is to work for Prime. Prime drivers relay heavily on recruitment bonuses to afford to eat. They don't make money actually driving the truck. Who wants to do a dirty job, like hopper, for free when you can do reefer or dry van for free?

I don't know what Prime plans to haul for product, but if they haul much grain the lease guys don't stand a chance.

I filed my LLC Cow Chow Express in 2017. So I guess we're both doing ok.

400 on order what i heard

I have seen a few of them further South.

I seen a Prime hopper being pulled by a lease operator for the first time a couple weeks ago around Danville, IL. The trailers are specced out well, but look kinda dumb with the Prime Inc logo on the side..... I believe that's also the same day I unloaded DDG in Joliet next to a hopper jockey wearing pajamas.... It's definitely not the usual ag crowd running hoppers these days.

They are in Indiana at Bunge Morristown plant .... I'm sure they will drive the rates even lower than they are now ...It's Terrible!!!

Maybe I should put a reefer unit on my walking floor...

You want them to stop filming? But that is 90% of how they make money. Filiming and telling eveyrone how great Prime is so they can get a recruitment bonus. No joke, but I think it is requirement of Prime that every driver get on TikTok and Youtube and make videos of how great it is to work at Prime. If you don't allow them to film, they won't be able to eat.

At the time I bought my cascadia it had 400,000 miles on it. I've since put 250,000 miles on it hauling livestock and commodities without much trouble. No machine is trouble free. Changing air filters frequently and using an air hose to blow out the engine compartment and radiator is cheap and easy maintenance.

Also, some of the best paying bulk loads gross less than 80,000 pounds. 😎

I completey understand what you are saying. This is very competitive business, and even more so since the covid influx and saturation of opportunists. But I wasn't being sarcastic about Prime drivers. I think they need that recruitment money to suppliment them. By they time they are done paying Prime to drive one of their trucks, recruitment bonuses are all they have.

I do not think they are on YT or Tiktok for monetization. I think they are there to get recruitment referrals. I have no idea how much money they make, but when your second job is recruiting for your employer, it can't be much.

I do not see your average Prime driver liking the dirty, gritty world of hopper bottom. Even when I did Bullrack and Flatbed, I did not get as dirty as in hopper.

I've run cattle as far west as Colorado with my plastic truck... I'm from Michigan where our legal gross weight is 164,000 pounds if you have the axles... I run interstate at 80,000 pounds because there's more work available. I used to own a truck with a CAT engine. It was nice until it needed parts.

The 164,000 max gross in Michigan is probably a thing for a few reasons. A) Michigan's auto industry, steel and car parts are heavy. B) Close proximity to Canada where they commonly run heavier than the U.S. C) A lot of our state is very rural north of about Grand Rapids. I live 2 miles from the Indiana border so there's no reason to run a bunch of axles because Indiana, Ohio, and Illinois are 80,000 pound states unless you get a permit. All that being said, our roads are some of the worst in the country.

My personal feelings on weight is if you have to run overloaded to make a living you are doing it wrong. I do believe the U.S should and eventually will go to 90,000 max gross with a tridem or triple trailer set up. I think it's in the DOT study phase at the moment.

I run 3 Macks and 3 Peterbilt 579 models. They hold up great. I do not see any connection to "plastic" style trucks vs classic body styles have any impact on intake air filtration, nor do I see how it would impact DPFs or emissions components. If dust is making it through the entire intake, combustion and exhaust cycles, you have a major air intake leak and have bigger problems than a DPF. Oil sampling is the best way to ensure there is no such problem. Dust should be getting caught at the intake filter, end of story, and dirty filters only lead to air restriction, not dust getting through. Dirty filters actually provide better filtration than clean filters. It's just lack of air getting through that becomes the problem for the engine. Lowered air flow could in theory impact emissions by causing less complete combustion, leading to increased soot in the engine and then the DPF, but even in old engines that will cause carbon packing and other issues, so keeping filters clean matters regardless. Emissions won't be impacted if air restriction is prevented.

I would believe the Macks are capable of handling it. I rebuild Cats and trucks for a living, pretty sure i got the air cleaner part of the equation figured. As you explain that dirty conditions do actually effect the emmisions systems more than a non emmisions engine (in theory) i appreciate your reply, are you running cummins or a paccar in the new Petes? assume the Macks run the MP 8 engine? I dont think the body style has anything to with it, i refer to new emmisions trucks as "plastic" ive never owned a good one that wasnt down 4 months a year with emmisons systems issues. Even when under warranty, you get to argue with the warranty dept and your loosing revenue being down and not delivering if you have direct customers that rely on your timely deliveries, you gotta hire out the loads on a load board! Just been my experience that Cats are still king in the bulk lane. I have driven a 2020 mack and really liked it. would you say Mack is perhaps the best new emmisions truck built??? I see alot Mack day cabs delivering bulk loads in my area

Thanks

Understood on your "plastic truck" comment. Many people refer to trucks with sloped hoods as plastic trucks and belive a 389 is tougher just because it looks tougher. The Macks actually have the 11 liter MP7 for weight savings. We are also local, so they perform very well in that evironment as they are extremely responsive. The 579s also have the 11 liter Paccar MX-11 engines. 85% of my business is direct customer and I can honestly say that in 4.5 years, we have never missed a load due to emissions. It isn't that they have been perfect, but any issue that has come up such as a sensor or rubbed wire has been fixed within a couple hours. I owe that to my local Mack dealer that I have a great relationship with. They are fantastic. They're troubleshooting is extremely impressive and their parts inventory is second to none. I NEVER wait on parts for Mack. As for warranties, I know your experiences are commonly expressed, but I can say I've ever had issues with warranty coverage or it causing delays. The dealer gets everything approved ASAP and they have enough experience to know what will and won't get approved if there is any question. They can also perform the work before getting approval and submit for warranty after the fact. If there is an uncertainty, I let them know I will pay it warranty does not. Mack gives their dealership shops great liberty and it makes all the difference in the world. The same cannot be said for Peterbilt. Brining the trucks in there is cringeworthy, and it is not my dealerhips's fault, as they get the truck right in every time. I don't think Paccar let's them turn one bolt without first telling them to do so. It isn't getting the work approved, as that has never been an issue. It's the dealer having to strictly follow Paccar procedures on every diagnosis and repair, and it's not just published procedures they have to follow. Lots of time is lost waiting to hear from Paccar for specific insutructions. The other big struggle with Peterbilt is that they don't stock anything. I legit waited 2 days recently for them to get Diesel Kleen in stock as part of a recall injector flush and reprogramming. I didn't realize is was Diesel Kleen until after the fact. I was livid but not surprised. They have to order everything, nothing is ever in stock. It has been very frustrating and will likely lead me away from Paccar in the future. That said, I haven't any emissions issues with those trucks, granted they are still very new.

What years did you have with emissions? Recent years they have really got it figured out pretty well, but earlier years were a disaster for sure.

The most popular truck sold in recent years (Casscadia). You must have gotten a bad one.

I spent a couple years running 161,000 of raw milk, in an 8 axle truck. In my opinion, on winter roads the are rather dangerous. If you lose traction the trailer will run through you and take you for a ride. To manage I'd keep 1,2 and 8 up, so that you might recover. Don't worry about the weight.

To clarify this comment. Werner had a Dedicated account that ran hopper trailers. They did not have a hopper division. They did lose the account, and sold the trailers.