JL Rothrock - Greensboro / Charlotte, NC

Hey there.

OK, I started with JL Rothrock in Greensboro, NC. Although it is not a huge company, it has not only a great "feeling" and a family environment. Unlike previous employers, I have the ability to talk directly to a PERSON... not voicemail. And I can promise you, when I call, there is a reason. Leaving a message on voicemail, or sending a message on the QUALCOMM, and getting a reply on NEITHER, can be a big problem for a driver. And although I know it has been addressed (not only by me, but by EVERY OTHER drivers across the country.... at every trucking company in this country), working for a company that is incapable of communicating is just not acceptable for this driver.

Rothrock has a simple strategy for getting things done. In two words, "DO IT". There are not 5 different people making decisions about one thing. It's just trucking... Get the Load Info to the driver, make sure the driver has good equipment, and trust that the job will get done. Set up a system to relay the information between the truck and dispatch and let the driver do his job. And make sure that the driver knows what his next load is going to be AHEAD OF TIME so they have an opportunity to plan accordingly so they can get the most advantage out of their Log Hours.

There... I just described how Rothrock operates.

People in dispatch are friendly and helpful, people in safety are friendly and personable, and everyone that I have met in operations is just down to earth, "put their pants on one leg at a time" kinda folks. Yeah.... that's what I was looking for.

They put me in a 2013 Volvo 670, but they have 5 trucks being built right now, and I got the impression from the owner (who, by the way is as approachable as it gets) that when the new trucks come in, there stands a good chance I am going to be getting one of them. Not going to count my chickens, but I will definitely be thankful if it comes to fruition.

So.... late model truck, home every weekend, some home time during the week, 5 cents more per mile than I was making, full benefits package, no NYC (just an added thing), no illegal expectations, actual truck to dispatch radio communications (kinda like Nextel), and a bunch more.

Heading out tomorrow night with a load that delivers Monday morning near Harrisburg, PA. Then grab a backhaul back to Greensboro, sleep in my own bed, head back out the next morning... and do it again. Yeah, I could get used to that. Trucks are set at 73, so this should be easy.... oh yeah.... paper logs until they get a chance to put the E-Logs in the truck. And YEAH, I am ok with e-logs. One can make a bunch of miles on e-logs. Do the math.... 68 mph x 11 hours = 748 miles per day. If you can do that for 5 days, you just ran 3740 miles. In FIVE DAYS!!!! Heck, even if you run 62 mph for that same set of hours, you still are going to run 3410 miles. It's all about the numbers and keeping that left door shut. Either that, or run 8.5 hours of driving each day and you will never run out of hours. Bottom line is E-Logs are not bad if you know how to use them to your advantage.

I'll let you know more as it happens (sorry for the e-log tirade!)

 

Oh yeah... definitely sure. I've done it many times. The trick is to be in places where the speed limit is 70+ mph. The other part is not stopping every couple hours for food and coffee.

But yeah... I'm sure

 

Just starting with them, so I can't say for sure, but I was told I would be subject to both. I'll let you know.

 

No... we leave the trucks at the yard. From what I understand, I will mostly be running the eastern corridors