Any Questions about Roehl??

I got my CDL training at a local technical college and if you go that route there is no one year obligation and Roehl offers tuition reimbursement. My tuition was paid by a state veterans program, so I wasn't be holding to anyone. The biggest downside is probably the wait and length of training. Local colleges have waiting lists (if they're any good) and are usually 10+ weeks long if they are accredited.

I doubt very much that they would deliberately try to make anyone fail. They want as many qualified drivers as they can get.

 

Thanks for the info, I'm hoping someone who's gone thru the n00b training will pipe up here, I'd like to know before I make a decision.

 

They don't arbitrarily cut any of the class. Any attrition ratios you might have seen mentioned here were just averages based on what people have seen. In my class (January 28, 2013) all six of us made it through the class and five were hired by Roehl. The sixth had some medical documentation issues that were not able to get straightened out by the time the class ended, and as a result he did not get a hire offer from Roehl.

If you leave class for whatever reason before completing the course, they offer a pro-rated refund based on the number of days you were there.

For attending RDTC (now Wisconsin CDL School) you have two options on paying the tuition:

a) You can pay the entire amount up front (was $2800 when I attended) and have no further obligation whatsoever.

b) You can apply for a no-interest loan of the tuition. You don't have to make any payments on this loan as long as you drive for Roehl. They forgive a portion of the loan principal as you reach various paid mile numbers; when I joined, they forgave 1/3 of the total at 60,000 paid miles and then 1/9 of it each 10,000 miles thereafter up to 120,000 miles, when it is totally forgiven. If you quit driving for Roehl before the loan is totally forgiven, you just have to pay the remaining balance within 30 days without interest charges, or if you choose, you can stretch it out farther than that and pay an interest charge (was 18% per year) on the remaining balance, just as you would with a credit card. Note that you must fill out a credit app and be approved in order to qualify for the loan.

If you don't qualify for the loan, you can still get reimbursed for the tuition by paying the amount up front, then getting reimbursement as you drive for Roehl, similar if you'd gone to some other CDL school before joining the company.

All this is spelled out quite clearly in the application materials they send you as part of signing up for the school.

The school can't really guarantee 100% that you'll get a job with Roehl because there are too many complications that can arise. For example, some people complete the school and then decide trucking isn't what they wanted after all. Others go out with a trainer and decide it isn't for them at that point, or it becomes apparent that they're not going to make it on their own out on the road. Still others complete the time with their trainer, but then have trouble with the re-test that the company has you pass before issuing you your own truck. (That test is essentially a repeat of the behind-the-wheel skills test needed to get your license in the first place, only done with a Roehl trainer instead of a DOT examiner.)

So while there are no 100% guarantees, I'd say it's easily the majority of people who are accepted to the school ultimately end up getting hired.

If you have any more questions, please ask! If we can't answer them here, the person who handles RDTC/WCS enrollment at Roehl is very good to work with and can cover other details that might arise.

 

That's actually a pretty good deal. I think the tuition at a tech college is more than that. Also, I know some other places that pay some sort of wage while attending their school have a payback of something more like $5-$6K if you don't finish the first year. These things change all the time, so I won't say exactly which companies are the higher ones.

 

I thought it was a very good deal.

 

HOLY FVKKING AZZCRACKERS!!!! Dude, this is the answer I was needing!! It REALLY explains it well, and in excellent depth. I can almost bet that my wife would go for this, especially given that in about 3 weeks (or less), we'll be laid off the Xmas break, and if I can start during that time, I can get most of the school done before the bus gig started back up, meaning we'd be out ALOT less than if I did it during the school year, or waited until later in the year.



You, sir, are THE MAN!!

 

I have a question. I have been reading alot here, and it seems that Roehl trucks cannot idle at all. So, how good are the epu's or bunk heaters and inverters? Do they last a whole 10 hours or longer?

How long are the trips? Do they give trips over 1000 miles to solos?

Thanks

 

All depends on freight. I recently went 1500 miles to Calgary, AB, followed by 800 miles to Portland, OR and then 2100 miles to somewhere in IL. However, that is not the norm. 300-800 is probably more like it.

My bunk heater did not perform very well the last cold night in which I needed it for more than 10 hours. I had the shop look at it and they gave me some pointers on how to better utilize it, like set the dash heater & fan to high, so when the auto idle starts it will continue to heat the cab. The mechanic also suggested things like turning on the headlights to get the auto idle to kick in sooner. Last night I had over 12 hours in the bunk with no trouble.

 

I can also attest that I've gotten a few 1000+ mile trips in my 8.5 months since first soloing. Not real often but it does happen; a 400-800 mile trip is more common.

The direct-wired inverters will run 2 hours max before having to shut down for 10 hours. (Trucks don't come with inverters by default but you can have the company put one in for $350; you then own that inverter and can take it with you should you leave the company.)

If your truck has auto-start, you are good to go no matter what, even if the EPU batteries don't last your full 10-hour break or 34-hour reset, as the truck will start itself and run at 1000 RPM for about an hour to charge up the EPU batteries. If your truck doesn't have auto-start -- which is rare but I have seen two such units in my time with the company, one on a loaner truck that they give to drivers who are having extended repairs done -- then life is a fair amount harder; you essentially have to live with whatever the battery pack can give you. Why the company has trucks like that, I cannot answer. Fortunately they seem to be pretty rare.

 

No auto start with my KW and it sucks. When it's really cold out my low batt will start beeping in the middle of the night. Have to get up and fire up the truck, wait for light to come on in 5 mins, then override idle shutdown and go back to bed.