Roehl Transport – Bad News for Veterans…

I hear Roehl now has a reefer division.Is that true?

 

They bought out Blume, which is now Roehl Refrigerated. Apparently something like 40/110 drivers didn't meet Roehl's employment requirements, so they were searching for new drivers.

Anyways, I'm pretty sure there's another poster on the forum who is more-than-satisfied with his experience. He says he probably gets driven more than those that aren't on salary, but I'm pretty sure the salary isn't that awful.

 

Not wanting to hijack the Honor Program thread, but yes, Roehl bought Blume Farms, Land and Cattle Company (yup, all that was on the door on some of the trucks!) out of Dorchester, WI.
I run in the reefer division and have for about 3 months now. I have noticed that as long as you are in the upper midwest, the freight is great, but the further you go from Wisconsin, the more you are calling brokers to get back to WI.
Roehl is building up the accounts on the reefer side. It takes time and it is getting better, but I am considering going back to van because it is difficult to get home and get out again with a reefer load. The closest they have been able to get me is about 130 miles from my house.
As for the honor program, I have heard drivers mostly for it, but some don't like it. They tried to get me into it when I started with them, but I don't qualify because they didn't have a GI bill when I went into the Army in '84. It was after the Vietnam GI bill expired, and before the Montgomery GI bill started.

 

It was a combination of some not passing the background check, safety requirements, not wanting to run a governed truck, etc. Only about 10 of the original guys stayed. We did get some really cool trucks from them though. If you see a Roehl large car that isn't an O/O, then it is an old Blume truck and I am pretty sure the driver hasn't been to Marshfield in awhile because they are doing their level best to park all of them.
There is a FL Classic in the back row at M'field I would love to get into!

 

There's also several hundred new trucks! I see they have a new Pete sitting there, perhaps they're giving Peterbilt a chance. I wouldn't know what the Classic looked like, but our training is with the oldest trucks in their fleet, and even they don't look or run that bad.

 

Roehl isn't being deceptive with their Honors Program. Anyone with a basic knowledge of the GI Bill knows the money comes from the govt...not the employer. Nowhere does Roehl claim they're paying you extra out of their pockets. They say you can opt to use your GI Bill benefits to supplement your driver pay. Where's the mystery?

As for using GI Bill monies to supplement driver pay, I won't do it. My personal feeling is I'd rather use that money for something else and just drive on a mileage basis rather than salary. You can make more by the mile.

One thing Roehl offers that I haven't seen with any other carrier is free training for vets who've been out less than a year. No contract, no commitment. You can walk away the day you get your CDL. They're hoping you'll stick around and drive for them. The risk is all on them. That's not a marketing ploy.

Nothing in your post shows Roehl doing anything deceptive. Their website explains how the Honors Program works. Even I can understand it.

 

Got a phone call today from one of my trainers when I was with Roehl. He told me that after 11 years and over 1 million miles he is quitting to find another job. He said, " I am not getting nearly enough miles and the atmoshphere has turned awful regarding driver support." Now, some posts in this forum claim that Roehl is a great place to work. It appears that this is not the case. After my experience with them I have to agree that it is not a great place to work. Do you think this man is "getting out before he gets acclamated to the environment of over the road driving", or maybe he hasn't given it a fair shake? The majority of supporters of Roehl appear to be trainers, and if they can sell Roehl to you then they can cash in on your learning. The lemmings just keep jumping off of the Roehl cliff and it appears that the only thing they are interested in is training drivers, not retaining them.
I have many posts in this forum regarding my experience with Roehl. If you are looking at Roehl as a career I urge you to read some of them. I too was looking for a place to call home and finished my 14 month tour, waiting for things to get better. They never did. Be careful, new drivers, because all that glitters is not gold, or Red in this case.

 

Sounds like I need to reevaluate those companies I push here. Maybe one needs to be erased from my list.