The Good, The Bad, The Honest Truth of a New Roehl Lease Operator

Discussion in 'Roehl' started by MayhemTrucking, Dec 28, 2010.

  1. ETCH5858

    ETCH5858 Medium Load Member

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    If trying to help someone and putting out truthful information is something you consider hijacking, then you have a very closed mind. When I went O/O with Roehl they were all I knew and I wasn't really interested in any other company. Then I began to learn the in and outs and realized I was leaving alot of mopney on the table. So please forgive me for enlightening some people who do care and want a informed answer. Good luck on your endeavor and I am sure you will do really well. FYI on SNI's choice board more thah 50% of the loads pay above that $1.24. I just hauled a 6000lb load from Ennis Texas to Grantsville Utah and it paid $1.41 a mile. No matter how hard you try and no matter how much butt you kiss that rate is impossible at Roehl. So am I really a jerk for trying to point that fact out to some of the Roehl O/O's?
     
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  3. ETCH5858

    ETCH5858 Medium Load Member

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    It is done by weeks not months, so in some months you have 5 payments. Most are around 172-180 weeks and then have a balloon payment of several thousand dollars.
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2010
  4. GypsyWillowDusk72

    GypsyWillowDusk72 Medium Load Member

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    everywhere
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    No you are not. As it has been in the past any time anyone who tries to show another point of view or experience which is not a glowing praise of this company you are label as sour grapes. We were thinking of leasing with Roehl until we were told as a team a business plan of averaging 5000 a week at Roehl was unrealistic. We stayed company and then left all together. I appreciated your advise and experiences at both Roehl and Schneider comparing the two as far as I/Cs are concerned. We are in the process of becoming I/Cs and are waiting for our DBL to release us. Good luck to all no matter what company you are with and Happy New Year.
     
    mycorky Thanks this.
  5. Preacher Man

    Preacher Man Road Train Member

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    May 31, 2008
    Mason City, IL
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    The reason I'm still at Roehl and getting my truck through Roehl is that it the deal is fair and when I do leave my resume will show over five years with one company and over three years as an owner operator. Since starting in trucking my resume will show two years with one company, five and a half with another and eight months combined between two mistakes.

    I consider Etch among those with the experience necessary to listen to. If you don't believe what Etch is telling you, next time you are sitting at a dock and see a Landstar driver talk to him. I did and found out we were carrying the same product, going to the same destination. I was getting $1.21 a mile including fuel surcharge, he was getting $1.83. You do the math.

    There are some advantages to leasing from Roehl, especially for someone new. You can walk away, although I wouldn't count on getting any of my security deposit or insurance deductible back. You have the length of the lease to build up the money to buy out the truck. All of your payments are deductible and at the end you can depreciate the truck by whatever the buyout amount is. I have looked at other options from other companies and none of them offered enough of a better deal to make it worth leaving until I can take the truck with me. To go to SNI I would have to go with their mileage based program and they make no bones about it being forced dispatch, which isn't legal. I'm sure they have a way to get around it, but just like Roehl you can be legal, but unethical.
     
    thelastrebel and Rotten Thank this.
  6. micheal

    micheal Bobtail Member

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    May 15, 2010
    Nichols,Wi
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    I wish you luck Last Rebel and you also Preacherman, I have just fiished my first year at Roehl as an L/O and I can tell you from my experience, respect your truck-cause every once and awhile it will show you who's still the boss!! I try to do as much as I can for maintinance and the best I hope for is I get thru the day still the boss.
     
    thelastrebel Thanks this.
  7. Preacher Man

    Preacher Man Road Train Member

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    Here are some real numbers from the last three months.

    October
    Total Miles7490
    Weekly Avg1872.5
    Income$9,151.50
    Fixed Exp$2,378.68
    Variable Exp$3,544.57
    Addl Exp.$5.00
    Escrow$581.77
    Balance$2,641.48
    Profit per mile$0.35
    Fuel per mile$0.47
    Revenue per m$1.22
    Fixed per m$0.32

    November
    Total Miles8683
    Weekly Avg.2170.75
    Income$10,503.36
    Fixed Exp$2,529.18
    Variable Exp$4,240.58
    Addl Exp.$761.70
    Escrow$1,119.40
    Balance$1,852.50
    Revenue per mile$1.21
    Fixed per mile$0.29
    Fuel per mile$0.49
    Addl Exp. per mi$0.09
    Pay per mile$0.21

    December
    Total Miles9471
    Weekly Avg.1894.2
    Income$11,711.40
    Fixed Exp$3,077.40
    Variable Exp$5,072.38
    Addl Exp.$1,076.68
    Escrow$1,043.26
    Balance$1,441.68
    Revenue per mile$1.24
    Fixed per mile$0.32
    Fuel per mile$0.54
    Addl Exp. per mi$0.11
    Escrow per mile$0.11
     
    Pay per mile$0.15


    As you can see the additional expense per mile is a killer as well as the low weekly average on miles. The additional expense is mostly the Promissory Note for the radiator repair on the truck. Fuel has risen from $.47 to $.54 a mile, but per mile revenue has gone up enough to offset most of that. The two things that stand out to me are the low weekly average on miles and the additional expense per mile.
    Looking at the settlements of another driver doesn’t tell you anything more than the cash he’s receiving. The other question is how hard is he working. Roehl has a lot of loads that look good on the surface, but on closer examination are money losers. I just had one such load. It was 71 empty and 543 loaded. Unfortunately I had to wait half a day for the pickup appointment and then another half day for the delivery window to open. In the end, with more efficient dispatching I could have driven another 400+ miles. This is probably the most common problem I’ve found at Roehl.
     
    jeepnut_nh, Rotten and Western flyer Thank this.
  8. MayhemTrucking

    MayhemTrucking Heavy Load Member

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    Mar 23, 2010
    Denham Springs, La.
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    Preacher I agree with u totally. And for etch I know it is working best for him on how he is setup. He is not setup the same as other roehl l/o,s and I would have to do the same as uat sni. Which isn't a better deal. That's all the point I was trying to there. Its different and the comparable plan with snni is worse than roehls. Yes having money put back of my own for expences is what I have been doing the whole year I been here. For that reason. Hopefully I can just cronical my exp and other l/o for roehl so ppl have the good bad and ugly of it all.
     
  9. Preacher Man

    Preacher Man Road Train Member

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    Mason City, IL
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    I'll pass on something I have found in talking to other owner operators. This is like any other business, it is a long term commitment with the payoff coming years after the business has been started. The most successful o/os I have talked to, keep their trucks long after they have been paid off, they simply rebuild engines, trannys and replace what breaks. You can do an awful lot of repairs for what payments run. As low as Roehl's rates are, if you own the truck and no payments you are making that much more every week, in my case that will be $480 a week.

    When someone gives me advice I always look to see if they stand to profit from their advice. People who sell trucks want you to trade in your truck every four to five years, that's how they make money. It is true you can no longer depreciate the equipment, but as someone pointed out years ago, every tax deduction is money you gave someone else instead of keeping yourself.
     
  10. MayhemTrucking

    MayhemTrucking Heavy Load Member

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    I agree there. This ain't my first rodeo lol. My step dad was o/o for over 25 yrs I consult him on everything out here. I have ran 2 sucessful businesses b4 this and know all to well how much one must spend to make. Hell if I bring home just 100 + more a week than now then the other benifits out weigh the cons for me. I have my way of living set to what I make now and what the wife makes so everything extra is gravy lol
     
  11. majestyk

    majestyk Road Train Member

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    Jun 28, 2009
    las vegas, nv
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    Do they still keep the same policy on the age of riders or can you do as you please in that regard?
     
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