Looking for some Info!!

I agree do your training in the winter months. I'm from FL, went to Roehl b4 the snow, the when I went solo I faced it on my own. Never driven in it in a car much less a truck with a load. If its snow and your out with a trainer then that would be good to have, all the rest of the seasons are easier. So I'd say which ever you go Roehl or not train in the winter months.

 

Funny thing, as a trainer, if the weather conditions got cruddy, I would probably take over. Not trusting a new driver with my life in crappy driving conditions.

 

I agree with the other drivers, you make good money and you are home everyday. I understand being in a job
That sucks, If you can maintain your sanity at your current job and keep your options open.
Believe me when I tell you, being gone for weeks at a time and on holidays ,birthdays, anniverserys is a family KILLER !!!
I'm currently on roehls hometime fleet 7/4 7/3 and average about 30k gross and get the time at home that I need. You could get on one off roehls dedicated fleets and make more but only be home for a 34 hr reset. You and your wife need to be very realistic about trucking. The best made plans made in advance can be thrown out the window in an instant. Good luck to you and your family !

 

I 2nd this over and over. When I hear someone with a family and a stable job talk about going into this, it makes me get that not great feeling in the pit of my stomach. I have 5 kids at home and I am out here because I have to be.

 

I still do it because once you get into this it's very hard to get hired for a non-trucking job. I've worked in an office for far longer than I've trucked, but those type of jobs won't look at me anymore.

 

I spent 12 years at Roehl. I made anywhere from 20k to 70k a year depending on home time options, experience and being a trainer. I made the low 20's as a 7/7 driver at the bottom of the pay scale. The 70k was as a full time flat bed trainer at the top of the pay scale. The happy medium for me was being a 7/7 flatbed trainer making around 48k a year. It was decent money and I had plenty of home time to have a life. 35k is possible for a first year driver but you would have a better shot at it doing flatbed. I would plan on 30k and anything more than that is a bonus. The good thing is you live in a great area for freight and home time options. Personally I would do the 14/7 if I was starting out. You are out long enough to get good miles and home long enough to enjoy it and get things done. The 11/3 is draining especially with a family at home. I wouldn't quit a decent, m-f, home every day job to go do it. Your story reminds me of a guy I went through RDTC with. He worked at Steel King in New London and worked in the shipping area. He backed the trailers into the loading area and loaded the trailers. He saw where these loads were going and conjured up these romantic 1970s trucking movie ideas of what it was going to be like out there. He was a big NASCAR fan and he saw loads going to Talledaga and other race tracks. He thought he would be able to get paid to go these races around the country. He gave up a good job and went to Roehl. He was the best driver in our class and could back up better than any of our instructors because of his experience with the yard dog at Steel King. He breezed through training and got his own truck. He then lasted one whole week on his own until the reality of the lifestyle slapped him in the face. He went back to Steel King but they had filled his position. Think long and hard about giving up a good job before getting into trucking. There is money to be made but with the living expenses on the road, insurance going up, government regulations, and Roehl micromanaging the fun was taken out of it.

 

I'm sure you would make a little more on the 11/3 than the 14/7. But you would give up a little home time and a set schedule. You would also have to split seat on the 14/7. I would go with Roehl over Millis in your area. You have all kinds of options with fleets and home time at Roehl. They also have a brand new facility right there to keep the truck and the mechanics are top notch. It is nice to leave a truck with the shop on your days off and come back to a fixed truck. I'm not sure about the flatbed training anymore. They used to do it in Gary but that was almost two years ago when I left.