Question for current Roehl drivers

Miles are down. Roehl like others keep hiring newbies while there are many drivers sitting around waiting on a load. Many times they can be 50-100 loads short. With new drivers coming out of school getting around .28-.30 a mile I would think you would want to get around 3000 miles a week which isn't going to happen. Think twice. Good luck

 

Hmm. I'm struggling to fit all my miles within the 70hr rule.

Anyways, I thought about answering earlier, but it's so variable based on where you are, what you pull, how well you do at this, how much it really costs to support your family. So I'll you a very clear "I don't know."

 

That makes 2 of us...I'm not a Roehl driver, but this applies to ANY company.

You hear these stories of guys sitting and not getting any miles, but thats not the whole story and they are not sitting because their isn't any freight (unless they are in FL)...most of them are there by their own doing whether they realize it or not. Others are getting plenty of miles but saying they aren't just so they "fit in" and don't cause any problems...its a dog eat dog world out there.

Run legal, use those hours wisely (especially the 14), and Roehl will likely enable you to pay your bills provided the bills are within reason.

All these companies are leaning the way of running legal...lots of fleet managers/disaptchers and logistics planners are having a hard time getting used to this. Its different for all parties involved...but when a dispatcher that is making an honest effort at doing things legal notices you are not doing your part...guess what happens...yep, you guessed it. Your sitting somehwhere wondering why and what you did wrong.

Some may disagree...but I have seen it too many times.

 

You said you don't work for Roehl so you don't know what it's like there. First of all freight is short. Roehl knows how to run legal, one thing I liked about the company and the DSR's are on top of the drivers to make sure they are. Roehl doesn't care if you can pay your bills, like any other company. If you stay around 9 1/4 hours on lines 3 and 4 you can stay within your 70 hours. Trip planning is the key. Many drivers get in trouble by not calculating correctly and making sure they have plenty of time for the run. It's up to the driver to make sure they have the hours.

 

You misunderstood me...I may know more than you think. I am well aware that Roehl as a company knows how to run legal. Not all drivers and dispatchers work together on it though...thats true no matter what company you work for. You're right about trip planning and time management though...

Another means of staying within your 70...run like mad for 5 days and get a restart every weekend. And I haven't found the freight shortage...yet anyway.

 

Tell me then if freight isn't short.....why I would sit and when I was teaming with hubby (he was on medical leave for a while) I would be told "we have nothing yet" and sit. Even though I had plenty of time. I have been told over and over again freight is slow by my DSR. So is Roehl lying?

Roehl was a good company to start off with. They demand you run legal which I had no problem with. I went through their Driving School. Loved it. But for whatever reason things have changed. I wish the drivers still there the best of luck.

 

Why were you sitting...thats an easy one.

A team operation minus one driver will usually sit...I've even seen drivers fired after their team partner quit (not at Roehl...that was at Danny Herman Trucking).

Freight is a bit slow in places, or even all over...but freight is out there and the time managers (drivers that do it) get the loads most of the time. Things have changed everywhere, companies that can't keep up are are struggling.

 

He didn't quit he was on medical leave. Roehl doesn't know how to run teams anyway. Plus we sat as a team as well. This is what I am trying to say. Freight is either slow as Roehl had claimed or they don't have the customer base. When we were only getting around 3000 miles as a team or 1100 as a solo something is wrong. We and I have never been late on a load. As a team we got loads delievered on time even when the load was so tight that our own DSR didn't think we would be able to make it. We ran hard and did favors for them left and right. But we were not given any special consideration over any other driver. I know freight is slow in certain areas. I stated that not to pat myself on the back but just to let you know we and I are not slackers.

 

When did you give up on Roehl? Last winter was pretty slow around here. It's picked up since then.