Any Questions about Roehl??

should be, but to log it legally he has to be lying down back there under the net. looking at the student with a hand mirror, i suppose.

the sleeper berth definition is a stinker. legally, you have to go sit or lay down back there to log it, even if you're just reading the paper for an hour while they set up the crane. the sleeper has a legally defined passage between it and the driver's seat, and it's only sleeper if you're back of that.

 

1) Truck washes are available free to company drivers at a couple (2 or 3) terminals. Fueling is in the trip plan...it's either at a terminal using Comdata card the company supplies, or out "in the wild" usually using the company supplied TCH card....
2) I'm on the 11-14 out/3 days home schedule (national van fleet)...I went out on the 13th, and got home today. I am SUPPOSED to be home thru Tuesday. So far, right on track with what I signed on for. I did a 34 hour reset a few days ago because I ran out of hours. Not a real issue, I still logged around 5k while out.
3) I started out with van...my theory is that van is supposed to be the simplest trailer to haul. No tarping, strapping, temp control, etc. Less to break means an easier haul, in theory. I can run daylight hours instead of delivering at 2am, too. I'll stick with what works, so far, van works for me.
4) if you live more than 50 miles from the terminal, you can take it home. I'm around 75 miles out, so mine stays home when I'm here. You are required, though, to find a safe and legal spot to park the truck and trailer. Sometimes hometime will be with a loaded trailer. I would think hours will vary, because it all depends on where/when the load has to be delivered.
5) I don't see why hometime would change, that's based on what fleet he joins. Different fleets are available in different areas, though...so it depends which is available where you live. Marshfield is a main terminal, along with Gary...Lots of loads go through the area, so it might be easier to get a load out/back than, say, if you lived in Miami.

I know that didn't answer ALL your questions...but that's the extent of my brain. Ask the recruiter, as well...I found that Kim gave me some solid answers that didn't fall apart when I asked the same of others. And if she didn't know, she'd just say so.

 

Wow T-Lady ... thank you so much for all the info! My husband got his info packet in the mail today, and it's got him on the 7/4-7/3 schedule in flatbeds ... I think he's going to call on Tuesday and get it switched to vans. Still trying to decide on the schedule thing --- 11-14/3 is less home time, so we probably won't go with that ...

We'll also need to call about the possibility of bringing the truck home. We looked around Marshfield, but also looked at a house about 45 minutes north of where we are now, which would put us outside of the 50 mile radius of South St Paul. The only reason I was hesitating on that one was the drive to/from the truck yard ... but if he could bring the truck home, that would definitely change things on that end.

I'll keep reading ... if anyone else has any other input, I'm all ears! This is new, exciting and a little bit scary ... and I'm one of those who want to be over-prepared for what we might encounter ...

 

If your going to the hometime fleet (7/4 /7/3 14/7) you can't take the truck home because its a slip seat and someone else needs to take that truck...now if you go on the regional or national fleet where your out 11 or 14 days home 2 or 3 days then you can take the truck home....even though you live within 50 miles of a Drop Yard you don't have to park the truck there....I used to live 10 miles from a drop yard and I just took my truck home...but then found it easier to just park it at the yard anyway.....

Its pretty easy to switch fleets...I went to the Reefer division from Vans...it was just me asking to change fleets basically.....

the only expenses I would budget for outside the personal ones would be a couple tolls (oklahoma, florida, bridges to canada and back) which are not too terrible, scales (9.50 for a cat scale)...the occasional fax.... thats about it....they do reemburse you for those expenses though as long as you have the reciept and scan them in with each trip...

Marshfield is the Main terminal...but don't expect to see it alot...its kind of out of the way of the major freight lanes especially in the van division.....but EVERYONE sees Gary...mostly because its right of the main freightlane east and west for the United States I80....Ellenwood in Atlanta isn't too terrible but unless you run Georgia a lot don't expect to see it...but it is a place to hole up when going through Atlanta...I haven't been to the phoenix or Fontana terminals...(mostly cause I spend my days running between new england and wisconsin)...

FYI the reefer fleet we don't have 2am appointments.....they try and schedual them during normal human hours...but some places are unavoidable for recieving hours that are early am...personally I don't care when the delivery hours are...if I get an early OK..I try to be early so I can get in and out before everyone else and their brother shows up for unloading...LOL

 

Thanks, Mic ... that makes more sense, and it sounds like we have a decision to make. More home time or the opportunity to bring the truck home (if that fleet's available)? We've been looking at a house farther away from the South St Paul yard because we'd like to have property where we may be able to keep a horse for my 6 year old who rides. Problem is that the place up there is about $175 more in rent than the place we have now --- and while it's worth it and doable if my new trucker husband is able to bring the truck home AND get the average weekly 2500 miles, I've been a little worried reading about the adventures of Hindy (saw you on that thread as well). It's definitely not going to be doable if my husband has break-downs and low mileage weeks, coupled with gas for the drive from Zimmerman to South St Paul.

Wonder how typical the mechanical issues that Hindy faced are? He got in a couple of years ago, so hopefully Roehl has upgraded their fleet now, and it actually sounds like Hindy didn't have much luck as far as mechanical issues in his local route job either.

Anyone out there got any horse property in Minnesota or Wisconsin that they want to rent to a new trucking family?

 

The National fleet is usually available to anyone...if your living in Minnesota you can be in the national fleet....

Most of the fleet has been replaced by now....I see more new trucks than I see old ones anymore...but the new trucks have issues too and they have to be taken to the dealers to be fixed...I like my cascadia...but I really miss my columbia for other reasons.....

if its miles your wanting I would stick to the Van fleet...you will get more miles there than any of the others...and there is a lot of drop and hooks in the van and its all around the easiest....the reefer fleet we have miles but those loads don't always end at the right time.....the flatbed fleet has the most labor intensive work as far as securment...they have decent miles and go to some interesting places that the other fleets don't go to...but there is quite a bit of work involved....its up to your husband..but if I had to suggest I would suggest the Van fleet to start out and get experience...then decide if another fleet is right for him...

 

I'm thinking it might be best to wait on a relo until you see how everything works out. A few months out to do it and also give you a better idea of how your finances will work out. Don't put the cart before the horse.

 

Then when he decides he wants to be an awesome respected tarp slinging ######, he can switch over to flats. Booya.

 

I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

 

I need to be careful about terminology. Tax Advantage is, at it's core, "we pay you 11 cents a mile less, but we give you a 10 cent *reimbursement*, that way we can tell the government that we only pay you the low number, therefore you pay less in taxes, and we pay less to Social Security, and unemployment." in exchange for that, you give up the ability to deduct $50+ dollars a day for every day he's out overnight. Per Diem is *not* an daily expense account, as it is in other industries.
He pays for truck washes that aren't at a terminal. Most folks end up at terminals often enough, that they go through those as they can.
Roehl will issue him a few fueling cards and tell him where to use them. he will not be fronting the money to the company to fill up their truck.

Hometime fleets are 14/7, 7/4-7/3, the truck is shared with two other drivers, he'll alternate between two trucks. both trucks are pretty much always out, and one of the three drivers, is always home. the 11/3 is the national fleet, just taking the minimum time out to get 3 days off. Home every other weekend, it's your assigned truck. Since there are, in theory, drivers waiting on the truck in the hometime fleet, they are much more serious about getting you back home. in either fleet, crap happens, and can be delayed.

any answer is subjective, so all I can offer is advice. He should start with where he'd like to end up. As much as Van and Flat drivers like to poke fun at each other, they are different animals. Each has different skill-sets, and are best served by different personality traits. The main thing we do agree on, is that Reefers suck.

If you were national (11/3), and lived within 50 miles of the yard, you'd have to park the truck there, when you go home. Hometime fleets have to go back to the yard, because someone else wants the truck.

as far as it being reasonable for you to pick him up and drop him off, again, it's very subjective, so back to the advice aspect: I don't think that's a reasonable burden to be on you. if he gets back at midnight, drive there for him to unload the truck? Or, he has to start at 4am for something? Certainly, people do it. But I think that's because they don't have the option. Doesn't save on gas. But, my experience is living an hour from the terminal, if you live 10 minutes away, completely different dynamic.

As far as start times go, they *generally* assume that you'll be starting your day at 7am, He'll talk to his Dispatcher the day before, like, around 3pm or so, and find out what he's doing in the morning, then he can start planning, and figure out when he has to start. if they've got nothing, then it's show up at 7am, and wait with the rest of us.

No real hometime change, I would think, that if he were 11/3 national, that would be much more reliable, due to home-field advantage, but that would imply that there's a problem with the St. Paul yard, and I don't know that would be the case.