Does Roehl Have APU's? What is Their Idle Policy?

roehl has a 4 percent idle policy on trks with a apu. no apu on a trk and you can idle to sleep, each month of the year has a percentage rate that they would like you to
stay within. like july might be 35%, also the miles you have driven are reset on the quallcom each week. the more miles you drive the slower the quallcom unit adds up
your idle time.

It was a fair deal a couple of years ago when the miles you drove would add up over a 30 day period and you could idle more, but in order to cut costs and idle time roehl started reseting the miles at midnight saturday. as far as I know its still this way
for trks with no apu.

 

Many trucks have an apu, you would likely have one.

IF you do not, they have a threshold that varies per month, compared to driving time. it's around 15%.

If you have too many months over your idle threshold, they will withhold your quarterly bonus check. (which I've never gotten, so I don't know what that is. I've also never had an apu.)

Many people use an incorrect vocabulary regarding idle time, "The company won't let me idle when it's 90 degrees in texas.." et cetera, and that's not true. you'll be admonished by your FM at the end of the month, if you're too high, and you may lose out on that bonus check *IF* that was the only condition that you failed.

For example, as I mentioned, I've never gotten the quarterly bonus, this is because I've never had the dispatched miles to qualify for the bonus, which is not an indictment of the company, it's mainly my preferred style of lazy-trucking. But, regardless, I don't get the miles. So, I really never cared about my idle time. I generally tank it in February. But, I've always viewed MPGs and Idle time, as a game.

 

You will also lose out on any pay increase unless you meet the idle goal nine out of twelve months. I don't have a lazy style of trucking and still can't get the miles, but that has always been Roehl's reputation.

 

I too would be interested in hearing the answer to this one.

 

Yes I am making a living, but not near what I could. One of the biggest issues on a continuing basis is too much downtime. It is quite common to have a load of around 500-550 miles with a day and a half on it. Then you don't pickup the next load till the next day. Instead of a single day average of 500+ miles you end up with two days and a daily average of 250. This is great for a new driver learning the ropes or someone who doesn't want to work fourteen hour days. An owner operator needs a minimum of 450 miles a day to get ahead.

Yes broken trucks, too many drivers, too little freight all play a role as well. It gets really frustrating to pick up a preload and find a flat tire, missing mudflap, leaking wheel seal or some other issue that needs immediate attention. Instead of rolling you end up at the first TA you can find.

You also have to understand that trucking companies have different goals than drivers. Drivers want to drive, get paid, go home. Trucking companies want to strategically place their trucks to pick up loads as they become available. That is why drivers get so frustrated with the constant downtime. It's nothing personal, just the company making sure they have a truck nearby for an anticipated load. By the way, everyone does it so leaving Roehl to go somewhere else won't solve the problem.

 

I thought the trucks shut off after 5 mins.?

 

trucks with a apu shut down within that time , trks with no apu will also shut down unless you bump up the idle, then they will stay running.