Starting with Roehl in 2 weeks. Have some questions...

Hi, I just applied and recruiter told me I would starting out at .39 cents a mile. I have almost 2 years experience. Does that sound real? I mean that sounds pretty good. Home time is important to me, so I pick the 7/4, 7/3 option.

 

That's true. They start you higher if you have experience.

 

started in Sept of '12

was national van for first year and a half, pay started out gangbusters probably averaged 2400 miles/bout $800 take home weekly. it tapered down to 1800ish after about a year, not sure why.

I did the "tax advantage" pay.....DONT do this, the only advantage is to the company and it is a serious PITA to get off it.

my 1st was a '12 Cascadia condo with 135k ish on it, drove the hell out of that extremely reliable truck to 300k, then a trailer light issue landed me at Gary terminal which is hell on earth busy so they gave me a loaner....long story short loaner was my next truck. another 12 Cascadia, about the same starting miles, two weeks of ice in the breaks resulting in two tows to repair shops....finally the last shop asked me what was expected since maint hadn't told them what they wanted done. I asked them to please check and change air drier element. done! maint. will always try to cheap out till ya get to a terminal....they need to go right to the cause, that was a bit of BS right there. next was a prostar "12, POS, though much more comfy than Cascadia, shifting action stinks, EGR cooler issues are prevalent and that's how I got my KW. shes nice, but not real fancy interior. drivers seat is quite awesome tho!

trailers are mostly good, 61 series s l o w l y disappearing and more new ones in the mix lately. maint does a good job in general.

Northeast regional has plenty to keep ya hopping, any week I get 2000+ miles is a bomber paycheck, the stop pay and such makes a big difference.

I would suggest starting national for a few months, new England is very tight, crowded with idiots, and frustrating. not many places to park generally. im glad I didn't start there. as I told 1st FM, "I don't want to see the northeast unless im coming out or going home"

yeah Roehl can be a pain with the micromanaging, but overall I thought I made a great choice to start out. I still recommend them.

 

In my opinion, ROEHL is still by far the best starter company out there. Saying that ROEHL raised starting pay by 2cents to compensate for low miles is not true. ROEHL revamped their pay program a couple years ago, to incorporate performance based pay raises and not just pay raises for longevity. Now a new driver can be up to top pay much quicker than the old system. When ROEHL restructured the pay system, it instantly gave pay raise to over 70% of the drivers.
Company average mile for national drivers is between 2300-2600 per week over the course of a year. Winter months will be less, but it peaks out during the spring thru fall months.
There are better companies out there for sure, but they require experience. For a starter company that hires drivers with zero experience, I cannot see any other company (Swift,Werner,Covenant,US EXPRESS,BOYD,MAVERICK,TMC ETC...) that can compare to ROEHL to start ones driving career. After 6-12 months, then yes, there are companies that may very well be better for someones needs (pay,home every night,dedicate runs etc...)

 

Are they still working on the performance pay package idea?

 

I do have to say that Roehl is by far the best starting company so far. Went with Millis for a bit but I did not like how that company trained you at all. 3 weeks of class driving around the yard and through the country and then you spend about 2 months with a trainer over the road. I don't think I felt comfortable once with them. I quit before I got my CDL (you test out after a month driving). The next spring I started with Roehl. Felt comfortable from day 1 and went to Dairyland fleet. Ran that for 2 months. Was told I was one of the top runners and was asked to start up a brand new account being the yard guy out of Beaver Dam, WI. Pay was good on Dairyland, averaged 2000 a week miles and brought home roughly 600 a week, home every weekend. Now I get paid per day and make a quite a bit more and home every night. Can't beat how they have treated me and the things they have offered me.

 

The My Choice Pay plan (performance based) has been in place for a while (at least 18 months). I never heard the .02 cent raise for low miles. I did hear they raised the CPM across the board a few months ago because of industry wide pay increase. There is a great lakes fltb fleet that is .50. I heard that is to compensate for low miles.