My one year with Roehl - the good, the bad and the ugly.

WOW I guess things changed after I went through their school. Glad I'm not there now. I guess Roehl has changed in more ways than one. Sorry for the misinformation. I didn't have to pay anything for my room while there.

 

So say you live close to Marshfield(within a hour) could you save the 450 and just go home everynight? Or do you have to stay in the hotel? Also, if you can't come up with the money, do they have other options as to helping you so you can do this?

 

You don't have to stay at the hotel if you live close.

 

I think I have made the right choice. My application has been accepted everything seems to be in order. Im working on getting my CDL permit. they told me I could start training in Marshfield around the end of October. The people at Roehl that I have dealt with so far are top notch. Laura in administration has been great in helping me get all my paperwork together. After all the posts I have read Roehl seems to be the best choice for a new driver. I'm really looking forward to this.

 

Your thread has some very useful information and I appreciate that you took the time to write it. Will you help us all out by running a grammar check on your posts? Thanks

 

What were your class sizes for those of you who have trained at RDTC?

Thank you...

 

I agree with Judas, not on all that hillbilly part. That's nonsense and i won't go there. But it seems people want to work to support their families and would step to new lows to do exactly that. On the reverse side, company owners are profitting tremendously. I don't take any for granted away from truckers who made a living with driving trucks. Butm imagine making $50,000K per year or over $21.000 an hour plus benefits. What kind of job would you call that? These OTR's know of the high urnover rates and take advantage of that. They even go further and put you into debt. To hell with you.. They don't care about your family or you. You are replaceable. People! We need to wake up. .34 cpm sounds good especially the miles. But what if you get hurt on the road or sick? If your not rolling your not making any money. Sooner or later your going to get sick need some type of medical attention. We are not immune to getting sick. Look at another thing... Unhealthy lifestyle. Smoking, drinking, eating, the list goes on and on and on... How much further do you think you can live living a lifestyle such as this?

I was going to try driving trucks.. I always thought it was glamorous to see the country and oter cities. But know after reading hundreds of posts and seeing what others have gone through have changed my mind. If I can get in as a free agent ith no strings attached I would. Otherwise, I'm not doing badly to put myself into an even worse situation.

 

Yes, excellent choice in choosing not to go to the OTR hell. Companies like roehl or any other large company, especially with a training school, look at turnover as something to be managed, not reduced or eliminated. Its very profitable to keep cpm's low. But drivers still flock to it all. They stand around with their bellys hanging over their belts saying, " I dun unda stand wah twuckin' componies du dis ". An old salty former driver said it best recently, He said anyone getting into driving OTR these days is either borderline retarded, out of options, or hates their wife/home life. As anyone noticed that the quality of drivers has kept getting poorer?

 

Nate, I agree. I was considering an OTR career after I left my current job. I wanted to broaden my horizons, see the country, Travel to other cities, hit the open road, etc... Now I really don't want to work for an OTR. Thanks to all of you giving me insider information. This is not the job for me. Unless, If I can go into this job with no strings attached. Otherwise it's not for me. Maybe someone can shed some light about going through this hellish nightmare a better way than going through a mill school... Am I wrong? Correct me guys..

 

Keep your eyes and ears open... Please do read the post online. Don't let your enthusiasm blind you to some these unsavory practices some of these OTR's do to newcomers. Think, Think, and think. Don't sign on the dotted lines unless you really understand what you're going to go through. It's a COMMITTMENT... This isn't your typical job...