I run national out of Ellenwood. I stay out 11 and am home 3. One thing I have learned is it is alot easier to get hometime if your out of a high freight city. I get about 3000 miles in a 7 day period. I used to take my truck home without a trailer but I find it more convienent to leave my truck at the Ellenwood yard. I do have a 400w inverter in my truck and it works fine for my laptop and 13' TV. I also have the coleman 12V cooler which works well. I spent 11 days in EVO I and II each. I had about a week home in between the two. I spent 4 weeks in EVOIII. Then I have been on the 11/3 national ever since. The first month on your own is tough because everything is new and must be learned. Now everything is fine.

All the that is great to hear and I'm looking forward to it. I start orientation on the 12th of March. I, too, am on the national 11/3. Your 400w inverter operate laptop and tv at the same time? I'll be based out of Ellenwood too. What did you have to learn on your own that the trainers did not teach you during evo1 and 2 that made your first month tough?

Things I had to learn on my own were paying lumpers using Comdata, dealing with mechanical breakdowns and bad weather. I learned you have to maintain a even temper because some of what we encounter can really tweek your attitude. Once I learned that all was good. Just keep your laptop plugged in while you are driving and it will charge the laptops battery. Then you can watch TV using the converter and use the laptop off its own battery.

New Driver,
When I was driving for Roehl, I had two inverters in the truck. Unless the rules have changed since I left in September, the restriction on an inverter is dependant if you can plug it into a 12v power point. My International had 4 power points not counting the one on the dash. I had an 400W inverter in the TV compartment that I ran my TV and Laptop on. I could do them at the same time. I also had a 300W one plugged in on the floor of my bunk. The only real thing I used it for was my Crock Pot. I had a crate bungee corded to the closet under the TV. When I stopped for lunch (usually a sandwich or hotdog or something quick), I would load up my crock pot and plug it in. It would cook until I stopped for the night. I cooked all kinds of stuff in that crock pot. I would line the crock pot with aluminum foil and then when it was done, I would pull that foil out and use it as a bowl. That kept me from having to clean the crock pot. I cooked everything from chicken breasts and beans to stew. I would just dump it in and let it cook. The 12v power point in my bunk was used to charge my phone. I also had a Coleman 12v cooler that I plugged in to the refrigerator power point. I didn’t put the cooler in the hole that was made for a refrigerator. It would not fit, so I just had the cooler out in the open behind the driver’s seat. I used it like a coffee table. I used the spot for the refrigerator as a pantry. I ate out of my truck the entire time out. I would take fresh stuff in my cooler and that would usually last for the first week out. Then I would eat canned stew or stuff like that until I got home. I learned really quick while in EVO I and II that it can cost a lot to eat out every day. I didn’t have a choice while in my trainer’s truck, but my wife and I decided that I was driving to make money, not spend it all on the road. I purchased one of those little 12v skillets at one of the truck stops. I actually used my points to pay for most of it. I would cook hot dogs, burritos and stuff like that in the skillet. I also lined it with foil so I didn’t have to clean it.

Now my second trainer in EVO I had an inverter installed and also had a microwave. If my memory serves me, you are only allowed a 1000W inverter and you have to pay Roehl to install it. You are not allowed to do it yourself. If I had stayed with the company, I would probably have done that.

__________________
Husband,
Father,
Retired Navy Chief

May I ask why you left and did you have a positive experience with Roehl?

I started with Roehl last August...Attended the CDL school in Marshfield and stayed at the Old Dutch Apts. as well.

I am a flatbedder running National. When I finished my EVO III, I was going out for 5.5 days and home 1.5 days (usually the weekends). I just recently went to 11/3 and like that much better. I always get the full 3 days off since I started the 11/3 program.

I take both tractor/trailer home and park them at a friend's construction yard, which is secure. When I was home weekly, I averaged about 9,100 miles per month. Now it's a little closer to 10,000 per month since I can go out on longer hauls.

I also have a 400 watt inverter which runs my TV/DVD player. I am seriously considering adding a 1000 watt inverter, but the Marshfield terminal is the only place you can get it installed, and they charge you $150 to put it in. When (if) you change trucks, they will charge you $95 to transfer it from truck to truck. I'll admit that $150 is really expensive, but inverters can destroy a wiring system if not installed properly, so I guess it's a bargain in the long run.

I did my Evo I and Evo II without taking a break in between. It made sense to me to just get it all done at once, and I'm glad that I did. After Evo II, I stayed in the Gary, IN terminal to attend my 3 day Cargo Securement Training. After Securement training, I took my tractor/trailer home with my first load, and had 3 days off before it was scheduled to be delivered.

Good luck in Marshfield. It's a cool town and it is very welcoming to the students. All those Roehl Training trucks running around the city streets are just part of the landscape, and residents don't even notice them anymore.

More unintentional propaganda

MGVenne: You are creating false programs. I checked my DRG and cross checked on Roehls website. There is no 11/3 program. You are a national driver who has the choice of staying out 11 days for 3 days off or you may choose to stay out as much as 36 days for 7 days off.

You have chosen to tell the cost of the services for marshfield to install and remove a high powered inverter (which are correct) but what you and others have failed to mention is the paper you signed stateing that you are also now responsible for the alternator.

Last I really wonder about that last statement. Maybe you could explain how Marshfield is welcoming to the students there. Did they give you a key to the city, did they feed you, did they stay as far away from you as possible when they saw the right hand blinker go on? I don't understand your statement so please clarify.

Sure you can,

I retired from the Navy last April. I interviewed for a few jobs doing what I did in the Navy, but no one called. Before I retired I used my Tuition Assistance to go to school to get my CDL. I told my wife that driving was a good back up plan. Well it ended up being the plan. I started with Roehl the first week of June. I was on my way to Marshfield to take my close quarters test when the company I presently work for called me and offered me the job that I presently have. I interviewed for this job the day after I retired in April and they didn’t call me until September, while I was going around Indianapolis. They told me that it had taken a long time to get the contract thru the government contracts. No kidding, 5 months. We talked salary and they told me they would call me back. I am contracted to the government as a coordinator of the contractors the government brings into the Shipyard to do work. This is the exact same job I did for my last tour on active duty. Well anyway, about 20 miles outside of Gary Indiana, they called me back and offered me the correct amount of salary. It was over what I was getting at Roehl and that is including the apprentice money. I was on the Honor Program and in the apprentice program also. I always wanted to drive a truck and totally enjoyed my time in Big Red (Name my kids gave my truck). I called my DSR as soon as I hung up with my new company and told her that I had to turn in my two weeks. She said that it was up to me, either keep driving for the two weeks or leave the truck in Gary and she would get the load relayed that I was taking to Marshfield. I had planned on doing the two weeks, but she told me that she was not sure if she would be able to get me back to Gary or to Ellenwood. She told me that if I left the Truck in a drop yard like Richmond, they would charge me a recovery fee. Richmond is only 70 miles from me, but I didn’t want to get charged that fee, so I pulled into Gary and turned in my locks and keys. I even grabbed a well deserved shower before I turned in my card. I packed up my truck. I was only on day 3 of my 11, so my truck was well stocked. I walked up to some drivers smoking at the table out side the building and asked if any of them wanted the food I had and all the stuff I could not fit in my bags. They took everything including my crock pot. While I was cleaning out my truck and turning everything in, my wife was looking for me a way home. I do not remember the guys name, but there is a mechanic in Gary that has long hair and lots of tattoos, well he heard me talking to my wife and told me that if I was going to take a bus home, he would get me a ride to the bus station, but couldn’t get me all the way to the airport. There was a bus leaving for home in a few hours and I would have had to wait until morning to fly, so they took me to the bus station and I jumped on for the longest ride of my life. I will never ride 22 hours on a bus again in my life. I will sleep in the airport first.

The only problem I ever had with the company was my first paychecks. On the honor program, you get a salary, not paid by the day during training. Well, I figured that the faster I got through training, the faster my normal paychecks would start coming. I did EVO I and II back to back. Got my truck and then got to go home on my first solo load. I was away from home for 27 days. That was not the problem, it sucked, but no one told me that you had to get three training checks while on the honor program. In the honor program, you get paid every two weeks, so I was driving my own truck in 25 days, but kept getting training checks for a total of 6 weeks. Basically I was driving on my own, making the company money for almost 3 weeks on training pay. Other than that, my time with Roehl was great. I didn’t have any of those night mare stories that you read about. I am not saying that every load went smooth. I had plenty of learning going on after I got my own truck, but nothing that was the companies fault. Maybe it was my 20 years in the Navy that did it to me, but I figure they pay me with cash and I pay them with work. No need to complain every load, because if I don’t take it, someone else is going to get stuck with it. I took every load they told me to and got it there on time. There were a few times that they sent me loads that I told them there was no way I could get it there when it was originally scheduled and my dsr would ask me when I could get it there. I told her and that became my new time. They really must have a lot of time to play with.

I really enjoyed driving. I always wanted to do it and now I have. I just could not pass up the money, not to mention I sleep with my wife every night. Roehl was a great company to work for in my opinion and I would go back there if something happened with what I am doing now.

This is really getting long and I am sorry for that. If you want, PM me and I can fill your ear some more.

__________________
Husband,
Father,
Retired Navy Chief

I just really want to thank you for your explanation. It is great to hear somebody who has the same idea as me, you pay and I work. I learned to handle a lot of BS and politics in the Navy and this doesn't seem a whole lot different in that manner. Some people like to complain, others just accept it and do their job.

Your welcome,

I didn’t do it very long, but I had fun while I did. Being on the honor program, I believe kept me rolling. The longest I ever sat waiting on my new load was a few hours. I figured that would happen when I took a salary position. When you are on a salary, the company is loosing money big time when you are sitting. I never hit 3000 miles a week, but averaged like 2600 a week while I was driving. I was driving in the summer though. I understand that the winter months slow down.

Hopefully you will get to go to Canada while you are with your trainer. I didn’t and when I made my first trip to Canada, it was a real learning experience. It was not as big of a deal as I thought it would be, but it would have been nicer doing it with someone who has done it before. Big Island, Virginia is a fun place to go for the first time too. I took recycled cardboard there a few times. That is one place that you do not want to follow the directions on the qual com. I actually lucked out and a local driver saw me getting ready to go the wrong way and called me on the CB and told me to follow him. Man did he save my ###.

While you are with your trainers, ask as many questions as you can. Do as much trip planning as you can and try to get as much backing as you can. Remember to get out and look when backing. Don’t worry about the super truckers in the truck stop laughing at you. Turn down your CB so you don’t have to listen to the junk and take your time. It you have too, get out every few feet to look. You do not want to hit anything. As I read on there before, most accidents happen going backwards, don’t let it happen to you. Milk your trainers for as much knowledge as you can. Go with them when they go into the shipper/receiver, set up a lumper, and so on. All three of my trainers did things a bit differently and I learned something from all three of them. Keep your ears open and ask questions and you will do ok.

Have Fun

__________________
Husband,
Father,
Retired Navy Chief