Truck shortage

last thing he wants to do is jump ship for a company that has a yard full of trucks waiting for him...there is a reason they have MT trucks... hang in there

 

I can't speak for this new Jeff E. in charge of the o/o program, but the program Dan built up doesn't try to push new drivers into a lease, in fact Dan worked with drivers to make sure they were ready to make the step into running their own business. As far as getting a truck, take a walk through any of the shop floors and you will find out that the mechanics can't keep up with the work. They are hard pressed to due the quarterly inspections on the o/o trucks. Like many companies in Roehl the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing. My guess would be the above posters are right. Roehl is in the process of turning over the entire fleet, both trucks and trailers and it takes a few days for the shop to get a truck ready for a driver. Add to that you need to have the truck and driver meet up and you have a logistics nightmare on your hand.

 

jeff operates under the same philosophy, wont look at most until they have 6 months exp and understand trucking... not that any of us understand it anymore

 

Also keep in mind that they have only two guys in Marshfield that process the new trucks into service. One does the electronics and the other does the decals. This means it takes time! Then they have to move a seasoned driver into the new truck, at least this is what they should be doing. I've been hearing that brand new drivers have gotten some new trucks. In my opinion, that is a bad idea. One out of three new drivers will have some kind of accident, even if its just a fender bender in their first six months.

 

They couldn't get my old truck fast enough, it was detailed and gone before I was set up in the new one, I looked for it before I left but I was told a driver was on his way for it, must have gotten there and left already. I am sure he will get his truck before to long, they have a few new ones in Marshfield ready to go.

 

I just got mine a month ago when I got done with Evo 2 and it is a POS. Busted up on the top corner and many other places, filthy, old, literally looks as if it hadn't been washed since they first assigned it. Inside or out. Pushing 600,000 miles to. If it weren't for the APU I would truly hate it! Not too sure I wanna be stuck in a new one without an APU though. But this truck does not represent the kind of image I would want of my company if I had one. I am trying my best to make it look better but ####, only so much you can do with a pile of poo.

 

I kinda see a yard with no empty trucks as a good sign. That means people aren't quitting left and right meaning the company has to be doing something right. Going to a company with a yard full of empty trucks with anywhere from 100 to 200,000 miles on them raises all kinds of red flags. FFE was one of those companies and now I know why.

 

A truck with only 600,000 miles on it should have at least two to three years before it needs any major work. Engines should be good to at least 800,000 to 1,000,000 miles. As far as damage and cleanliness you can thank the previous driver for that. Get lots of cleaning supplies including a magic sponge and go to town. The last company I was with I had the same problem, a really nice truck that hadn't been taken care of by the previous driver. SpongeBob was a nice Western Star once it was cleaned. Before that I had Widow Maker, a Freightshaker classic with twin stacks and a million miles on it. She wasn't the prettiest girl at the ball, but could run laps around some of the prettier trucks and could out pull them as well. Take care of your truck and she'll take care of you. If it's got good guts, you can take care of the rest, just remember beauty is only skin deep.

 

hell my first truck had 737k on it then boom 2 weeks later I dropped it off in marshfield and had to go to Jersey to pick up this current one...yeah she isn't brand new but only 480k on her, and she hasn't had any major issues...But I do need to run her through a washbay again...shes kinda dirty to to the road grime and rain I have been running into... I need to take a vacuum to her, but the wife won't let me use the house one...so I will have to find time to hit a wash with a good vac...
I encountered a new problem today though...it seems as though US69 in OK kinda took a little toll on my girl...well the seat anyway...the metal holding the lumbar cushions gave out and busted (I discovered that this morning no wonder the seats been so uncomfortable the last couple days).. so I will have to run her through a terminal to get that fixed (if they fix it)...plus I still need all my flippin permits before the end of the month... BTW where do I get those?? Appleton?? or any terminal?

 

The permits are truck specific so you have to get them from the terminal you're dispatched out of.