Going with Roehl

In an offhanded way I meant the worse the weather the more stubborn the tandems "seem." The buggers seem to take forever when it's snowin, blowin, or pourin

I think the persuaders are standard issue at Schneider. I never saw one until I ran into some schneider driver using it at a PPG facility. Even with his persuader, he needed my hammer and help.

I also tried to help the kid back into the dock. But he had his own ideas. 45 minutes or so later he got it in, a bit crooked - but good enuff.

 

Hey Hev ED, I am also at ellsworth and i am going with Roehl when i retire. I still have a little ways to go. If you could keep me updated on the Honor Program. That is what i am going to do. My brother in law already is an OTR driver for ATS Specialized. I am going with the Flatbed division to get the experience and then probably buy my own truck and go O/O. But good luck and keep in touch.

 

funny, that's exactly how it happened with me, only I called my sister to pick me up.

 

The lady I talked to on the phone told me they would try to put me with a female trainer first but if one wasn't available at the time I could be put with a male trainer. I too told her I did not prefer one or the other, just wanted a trainer so I can get my new career started. I got the impression by talking with her on the phone that Roehl is more prepared for women in training. That's all I'm asking for, a trainer and a company that doesn't seem to make it a big deal that I am a woman. I wanted to be thought of as just another driver and treated like so.

 

All the guys here are very supportive of me. That was one of my concerns starting out. I was fearful they would think "oh no bet she will be a pain trying to get the hang of it." That's not the case. My trainer keeps telling me not to be so hard on myself that I'm doing very well. Today in the yard we had the opportunity to practice. There were about 7 of us and we each had our own truck. We did it from soup to nuts starting out doing a pre trip so we get that down pat and out of the way. They give you a check list so you can refer to it giving you the areas that you need to concer yourself with. You however can not have little cheat notes on it. Such as all the parts of the steering, gearbox, pitman arm, drag link, upper and lower steer arms, tie rod. But it helps you not to forget everything. Going over and over it helps get it in your mind. Key words, securely mounted bolts in place, no damage, belts in good conditions no visible wear or cuts 3/4 to 1" play. No leaks (if appropriate). The first day of school you think man how am I going to be prepared for the cdl road test in 3 weeks but after my first week I am confident. These guys know how to instruct and they really do everything to help you.
Tip: the instructor talked about sliding tandems in class and the mechanics of it but we haven't done the practical in the yard yet. Good point through. On Monday I will ask the instructor if we can do that.

 

So, I'll have to do a pretrip inspection and a road test during my orientation. I'm wondering how different the pretrip will be compared to the pretrip for the state of SC. I know the pretip for NC was different from SC. I would imagine the pretip for Ga would be different too. For SC we had to touch everything we talked about where as NC only had to point. NC had a few extra things added too, such as the mud flaps. We didn't have to point out the pitman arm or drag link and such for SC. We just touched all and said they were properly mounted and secured, not missing any nuts, bolts or cotter pins, not cracked, bent or broken. Will the pretrip and road trip be on a flatbed? I'm also worried about the gear down speeds. I trained on the road in a Peterbilt with a 10 speed. I got use to the gear down speeds and then took my cdl test on an international 10 speed and the gear down speeds were different. Took me awhile during my test to get the hang of it. I can do a left turn, much prefer the left turns to the right turns anyday. I've never backed between two trailers but I can alley dock all day long. Hopefully if you can do one you can do the other. I've already trained myself to check out clearence heights when going under bridges and underpasses.

Will they give us a chance to practice on their equipment before we are actually tested?

 

whispers65233 : What do they have you reading up on? are you talking about the pre trip inspection?


Also has anyone used these Tandem Stoppers before? they also have a video on youtube of a trucker using them. Any thoughts, looks like they will help you to set the tandems faster than guessing.

21 more days and I'll be in Roehl Trucking School YEAAAAAAAA!!!!!!


Chris

 

14 for me...guess I will maybe see ya there!!

 

Hey HEV E D, I am also stationed at Ellsworth and am going to go with Roehl when i retire. Would like it if you kept up to date on the Honor Program they have. Maybe i could meet you before you leave so when i start with Roehl at least i will know someone haha.

Nero

 

Does anyone know if Roehl has a passenger/rider program where a driver can take their spouse along?