Looking for some Info!!

I hear that on missing things. I wouldn't be out here if I didn't have to be. That's why I don't stay out weeks on end. I have young kids at home. Lots of them.

 

my boy drives for a very large feedlot in the midwest he starts around 3am and finishes up about 10 pm for straight hourly pay no overtime. He says they are paying him to learn something he can use the rest of his life not doing this for money he is doing it because he wants to.He has a paid for tractor and trailer waiting on him when he comes home was going to come home in april and run it but they offered him a nice raise and he decieded to stay,but says he is coming home in August to run his own and haul steel. My point is if you do this for the money it will not be very much fun and you will not achive much..do it because you want to and only be limited by yourself.

 

I have wee ones too...all under the age of 5...I have missed so much of their lives so far...I moved from Roehl to be home more just so I can see them........Roehl is a great place to start out and it pays the most by far of any of the starter companies which is where everyone starts at sometime....but this isn't "Ice Road Truckers" this is the #### you don't see on TV things like waiting...waiting...being alone...never asleep at the same time everyday.....there is a lot of stress that goes into this lifestyle.....and your going to miss out on everything because of it.....I just want you to make sure you are all for this decision...cause its a lifestyle change..

 

Just my two cents, enjoy your child while he is young. I have been out here for 11 years beating up and down the highways of this country, and you will miss alot. I spent the last 7 years working OTR and now I have a local gig with a small company. I too have a college degree, the problem with trucking is once you start it, you are stuck with it. No one wants to hire you for another job, at least that is the way it seems. If you really want to be a truck driver goto a private school, pay the tution yourself, then find a small company to start with. There are small fleets out there that will hire a new driver out of school, you just have to look a bit harder. You will make more money with a small company, and if it is local you will see home alot more. Don't get me wrong, Roehl is a decent company to work with, but you would be moving from one dead end job to another...

 

OK, I just finished my first year with Roehl, I drove before but it did not count as recent experience. I grossed about 35 this past year on the 11/3 National flat fleet. I was out an average of three weeks whether I wanted to or not. I never complained to the company about any loads, was never late, no accidents, no tickets, no complaints and no freight claims. I am now at a decent CPM, and they have cut my miles to less than 2000 a week for the past 7 weeks, and I am now also pulling van and curtian so I am not getting flat CPM all the time. That is my experience with Roehl.

 

If you were going to go into driving, I'd suggest Roehl is a great place to start and learn. But, I'll echo the opinions that matter, Don't do it. The price isn't worth the cost.

 

Consistently less than 2000 a week for the past 7 weeks? Something is seriously wrong with your FM or Planners. I only have a week less than 2000 miles once every 2 months or so. I'm Van National, live in Denver, CO, and go home every 12 - 15 days. I usually get between 2300 and 2800 miles weekly. Depending on if I go home that week or not.

 

You're looking at around 25 to 30 k your first yr.Does'nt sound like your recruiter was feeding you a line on the pay and miles just to reel you in.But she is not including the pay with your hometime.Also you have to take the economy and stricter laws into consideration.Nonone including the veteran drivers are'nt making what they should..I understand trucking has been a passion of yours for yrs but if you're only looken at the money side to it,I would highly suggest staying where you're at now.With the cost of living on ythe road and providing for your family,you may have a tough time making ends meet.

 

I thought so much about letting you in on what I have found over the last year so much, I became a member just to post for you. haha. I have been with Roehl about 8 months now. It has been a trip. I currently do their national flatbed. Started out with an '07 Freightliner (and they ARE called freightshakers for a reason) they upgraded me into a 2013 International Prostar at about 5 months, which has been ALOT nicer, though it does have its downers...too much technology if you ask me. A little background of myself, I'm 26, grew up on a fruit farm, worked on dairy farms and in emergency services my whole life, and have 2 associates degrees. At any rate. I'm certainly glad I went with Roehl to start with, though I didn't take my CDL through them, I did it at home. But they have a high safety record, usually pretty decent equipment, and with the exception of one mechanic that answered the phone pissed off one night, have given me nothing be respect. You do have to punch in your pin number before you can talk to anyone, but that is so they know who is calling and to whom your call needs to be directed (Ie. Your FM, your payroll rep). On a very frequent basis, the fuel and routing guys, maintenance, and payroll will answer the phone and say "how can I help you _____" and use YOUR name. So there is a reason for that. If you land a good fleet manager, and get along with em, you're golden. They have never forced me to break a law, no cheating logs, no overweights or anything. One time I was pissed because my miles had only been 1800 or so for 3 or 4 weeks, and my FM's boss called me and talked to me personally about what was going on, why I was unhappy about it, and how they were going to fix it. They did BTW fix it my miles have been 2300-2500+ ever since. Being that you live in the Appleton area, there is a REALLY GOOD CHANCE you could get a day driver position. At least in flatbed there is ALWAYS freight moving from U.P. Michigan all thru Milwaukee and Chicago area, and I know they have the paper mill in Combined Locks, as well as a Sara Lee account up there (I wanna say New London?). They also have Certainteed out of L'anse, MI. You wouldn't be able to get into one straight off, but there are dedicated and day driver positions open in that area usually a couple times a year. For pay your first year, expect probably $35000ish. It really depends on how hard you work. Let me tell you, trucking is NO easy job. And quite frankly, the industry is gonna have to figure out real fast that if they want to keep quality drivers, they're gonna have to start paying more. Roehl is in line with almost any other "starter" company out there. I'm not gonna lie, they have their drawbacks, but what plagues Roehl, plagues every other company like them. You WILL work 70+ hours a week. Sure, I bring home on average $800 a week (that includes weeks that I am home as well and never drove), but I'm also working an absolute CRAP ton of hours. Trucking is not a 40hr a week and making $40000 a year kinda job. You will end up getting shafted at shippers and receivers all the time...they're paid hourly, what do they care if you sit? You will have weird ### hours that you work too. Especially with van and reefer, the appointments will often be at 2am. (Though I am a Flatbedder, Ive hauled van and reefer before, with those kinds of times, I prefer reefer over van myself, though I don't know what the miles are like). As a flatbed driver, I'm usually up between 3am and 4am, and work usually around 12 to 14hrs a day, most of our loads deliver in the daytime though (also another major reason to start that early...you can actually FIND parking at a truck stop). You will also get loads that you'll be thinking "are they on crack? That's almost impossible!! Ive had a few loads that even my FM thought wasn't possible, but usually you can manage them if you work it just right, and have it be done legally too. But as long as your work hard for them, they work hard for you. Ive had a few weeks gross over $1500. Benefits are decent, not full coverage or anything, I have the silver plan though, which covers less. You dont start really getting into good benefits and pay until 1 year. Thats at just about any company. Also, I go out for about a month at a time, and get 6 days off, being you're from Appleton, finding you a load home should be an easy one, and I wouldn't be surprised if you were able to pull off 34 resets at home every now and then, and not have it count as hometime, you're in a good location there, not that I'm tryin to get your hopes up. Once you are out on the road, you'll hear a lot of stuff about companies. You can certainly do worse than Roehl, and I am thankful I got in with them. For me they do a little too much hand holding, such as telling you where to fill up and how much, the directions you MUST take, even if they don't make any sense to go that way (you can get away with it a little bit if you know how), first and foremost to Roehl, ESPECIALLY their overnight/weekend guys is, the computer is NEVER wrong. Even when it clearly is. haha. DO NOT be late for a load, but that is usually an easy fix if you get along with your FM, they can usually change your times. Despite what they say, you don't need a TWIC card. I spent the money to get one 7 months ago, and have yet to use it, and I've met alot of drivers that don't have it. Though being Canada eligible can get you some nice extra cash, even if the paperwork is a pain (then again, I'm from central NY, so they shoot me through there all the time). Once you are out with a trainer, you'll probably be gone 2 weeks or so, maybe more depending on how well you drive and how fast you pick up on things. Just be sure you are ok with being away from your family ALOT. I didn't think it was so bad at first...but is starts to wear on you...and your family and friends after a little while. What other people have wrote on here is right...be ready, this isn't a career. Its a way of life...