Roehl is My Choice

I'm an information junkie so when I began the serious consideration of moving into trucking I started reading. I found this and other forums and read through them for hours. Using my Kindle I read almost every book I could find written by drivers and that had been recently published (last 5 years or so). Then I started researching companies which I might fit into and that would give me the opportunity to develop as a new driver.

The question for me became what type of trucking? Pulling a van is probably the most common and the bottom line of trucking. Then there's refrigerated (reefer) units where the pay per mile is sometimes a tad higher than van. The downside of reefer seems to be dealing with grocery warehouses and the wait. Flatbed is no doubt the most labor intensive. It usually pays a few pennies more per mile. FBers have written on this forum they like it because it's not just driving. Gets them out of the cab and into the fresh air chaining, tarping and tyeing down those loads. There's a skill set required here. I thought of pulling FB in North Dakota in mid-January and a tarp blows off in the strong arctic winds that blow down off Canadian plains.

Flatbed held my attention for a few weeks as I began CDL training at a school here in MN. I researched companies and two popped to the top: TMC out of Des Moines and Maverick in Little Rock. TMC attracts many drivers by putting forward their shiny black and chrome Peterbilts not to mention their pitch of putting family high in priority. Maverick drivers on this forum rarely say anything negative about the company. Maverick became my favorite early on (and remains there as a FB hauler).

Reefers only briefly attracted my attention with the added pennies per mile but the stories on long delivery delays at grocery warehouses over powered the financial attraction. This may or may not be true but in my research I just couldn't get around that issue. So much of it written here on this and other forums.

Then there's Vans. To me, van pulling seemed to be the bread and butter of trucking. I don't know the accurate numbers but watching trucks on the roads (when you're a student you really start watching) they seemed to outnumber others by about 50 to 1.

My decision came down to this: I'm a rookie and need to focus on developing skills as a driver. Just having a CDL is meaningless. It takes months if not years to become a truck driver. The only way to do it is to do it. I don't want to be distracted at this early stage by anything other than driving. Vans seem to have the edge here. Vans it is.

Now, another big decision. Whereto go to work? I have pre-hires from U.S. Express, Werner, Schneider and Roehl.


U.S. express is focusing on team driving. Who would be my team mate? Would it be some big hairy lug? Wait, that's me! So would it be some girly man who gets manicures and talks with a lisp? You get my drift. I don't want a social life along with my work life. Think I'll skip U.S.E. although if I were part of a husband/wife, girlfriend/boyfriend, best life long buddies duo I think I'd take a real hard look here.

Werner was first to respond to my pre-hire applications. They seem to be very aggressive in recruiting. I received mailings from them several times telling me I had a job with them. But the forums seem to be really negative on Werner. "Bottom feeder", "horrible", "no driver respect here" are the types of criticisms I would regularly see. Now I know they also employ happy drivers but those drivers seem to be outnumbered on the net.

Schneider was very close to the top of my lists. Over and over again I would see experienced truckers here write about what a good starter company it was. They support drivers. They are helpful with those who need a CPAP for treatment of sleep apnea (which I have). Their equipment is good. Read of the company response to the recent tornado hitting their yard in Dallas. In many driver's opinions they really stepped up to the plate to take care of their own. I listened to a recruiter pitch on the company. He didn't say anything that hadn't been said by current or former drivers on the forums. Like many other companies they would reimburse the cash I paid for my CDL school. Schneider is very, very appealing. But there was one other company that kept coming to the top of my lists.

After months of study I realized it was time to pull the trigger. A decision needed to be made. I wanted to join a company with experience in solid training and support of new drivers (I would really say people with new CDLs. I don't think I'll be a driver until I've logged tens of thousands of solo miles. Even then I'll just be a rookie). Benefits were important as is home time. However, I'm not a young family man with little kids. I want to get out on the road and see how much money I can make. If that requires weeks and weeks behind the wheel that's what I'll do. My wife, my two teenage step-daughters are all on board. They know the financial needs we have. I don't want to give the impression we're penniless. We're not. My wife has a killer VA mortgage business serving Veterans in MN and N.D. Veteran groups and organizations through out the state refer to her because of the way she treats those who've served us. She's been the main bread winner for several years now. I just need to step up to the plate.

I chose Roehl because it appears they test employees a little more than some of the other companies. They look for a solid job history. They will make you get a physical even though I've had two in the last 4 months (one to qualify to drive a school bus with a class B license and the other to get my Dot health card). They'll hook prospects up to a heart rate monitor and run you through some simple exercises to see if you're somewhat fit. I'm 63 years old and not afraid of any of this stuff. I'm in as good of shape, maybe better than many truckers in their 40's.Roehl also does the required drug testing but they take it further than many. They do the hair follicle test which can disclose use of banned substances weeks prior. Look, I've not had a Illicit drug or drink in decades and I'd prefer to work in an environment where that is the norm, not the exception. I also hear they may have an unwritten dress code. Don't show up looking shabby. I want to associate with a company that has enough pride to put people out on the road that don't look like they've just crawled out from under a bridge or finished a weekend at Billy Bob's raising cane. I don't think any of the companies I considered would do that. It just appeared to me that Roehl may be a little more strict about it. Again, just my opinion. They also have a drop yard less than 30 minutes from my home.

I have spoken to a recruiter just once and that was for about 1 minute. I've never gotten a pitch other than some printed material they mailed me saying they've accepted my pre-hire application. Wednesday I sent the recruiter an email saying I was choosing Roehl. She responded asking me to fax over my Schedule C tax forms for my real estate brokerage for the last 3 years and my current part time employer contact information to verify my few months as a school bus driver. Within 24 hours I had completed that. Friday she called to make sure it was OK for the company to contact the school district for an employment check. She said all my back ground check was successfully completed and my self employment documentation was in order. Once they checked with the school district they would be able to issue an offer of employment. She said that would come Monday.

I have advised Roehl that I will not be available to start orientation until a) the school year is over the first week in June because I want to finish my commitment to drive a bus for the district and b) my step-daughter is having her high school graduation event June 9th. Any time after those two things I am good to go. The recruiter said "no problem".

I wanted to walk through this sometimes tedious decision making process knowing there are others who are coming to this forum looking for answers. I would bet that at least half the users here are either wannabes, students or drivers with less than a year of experience. Information is good so perhaps my story may be helpful to others considering the profession and searching for a company where their talents can be tested and utilized. For me, for now, Roehl is that company.

There's a final consideration. After gaining some experience what if I want to pull a reefer or turn to the challenge of flatbed? Roehl offers it all. I could stay at one company and do it all. I would prefer not to be a job hopper. I think my real value as an employee is serving the needs of the company. Instead of seeing this as a place to do a few months or a year and then moving on, what if I stayed put and did some serious time? Seems like that would be of some value to the company and perhaps their investment in me would return in some good pay down the road.

To be continued...