Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) (My Journey)

Ha ha. I was just telling my mom today about the age of the trucks... Kickin' it old school for sure. I'm glad to hear you are doing well and still safe out on the road. Your thread was very useful to me in making my decision. I'm not too sure now that my Mr. J. is the one you are referring to but the fact remains the same... I'm really getting what I need here.
Been trying to work my part time job and after 3 weeks without a day off and the stress of passing these tests (I'm hoping to get my name on the wall for at least 100% for pre trip) and now, working on logs and trip planning, I felt like I have too much on my plate... Had to put in notice to work today. Wasn't making a whole lot anyway... What was your choice for starter company again? I'm 112lb. Female so flat bed is right out for me of course.

 

Don't worry too much they do a great job of getting you ready to pass. I went with Roehl also on the van division it wasn't to bad and they paid the best at the time. They also have a drop yard in Jax so you have a place to park your truck when home. You are going to have fun coming out in the winter, lol. Roehl has good support for new drivers and you stay east of the rockies the mountains break a lot of new drivers. And traffic in the north east is a mother. Logs are easy, roehl is all electronic, trip planning is the most important remember to pick at least 3 stops on your route because truck stops fill up fast when the sun starts to set. A good thing to keep in mind is drive 10 hours and use your 11th hour for finding somewhere to park. But you'll do just fine it's a little overwhelming at first but it gets easier.

 

Does Roehl also do OTR? I'm looking to see some sights my first year and I'd like to take the lumps right up front. How are their trucks? I heard HO Wolding starts rookies with crappy equipment. I'm considering Schneider, Trans-Am, Stevens... Although I was a little freaked out at first, I might like to work towards car hauling eventually.

 

@AngelaW here's some companies to consider; nice equipment and see the country.
Submit several applications right now; don't wait until graduation.

Abilene Motor Express
Freymiller
Pride Transport
James H. Clark & Son
Navajo Express
Earl Henderson Trucking
National Carriers
Southern Refrigerated Transport

Probably won't hear about any of these in CDL school. Many Florida drivers work at Abilene, but all those on this list are good to get the career started. They all hire new CDL grads. Some websites may have "experience required" which means the website isn't up to date.

 

@AngelaW - here's some info on Pride Transport. Don't know if the sign-on bonus would apply to new CDL grad though. Everything else probably does. Hair follicle and urine drug test.
1.Plane Ticket to Salt Lake City, UT
2.$3,000 sign on Bonus
3.Tuition reimbursement up to $6,000
4.1500 watt inverter
5.Built in Fridge and Freezer
6.Direct TV w/ 24" TV and DVR
7.Daily pay when trips are completed
8.Detention @ every customer after 2 hours. $15 / hour. Except for produce loads. Produce pay $30 per Dock Bump & $100 if not loaded within HOS.
9.Brand New Freightliner/Peterbuilt
10.Automatic transmission
11.Sirius XM
12.2700+ miles per week
13..35 cpm w/ my experience
14.Brand new Driver Lounge w/ Free Laundry and Detergent / Dryer Sheets Provided
15.6 Paid Holiday's a Year - $100 per Holiday / $200 if you work Christmas if you work + Mileage.
16.24/7 Mechanic's - Preventive Maintenance done on the trucks twice a month!
17.$180 / Week Cash Advances - No Fee Charged
18.Park My Truck @ Home for Home time
19.Driver Mini-Van @ Terminal can check-out and run errands
20.Rider & Pet Policy

 

"Abilene Motor Express....A New Place To Call Home "

^^^^^^

Read this thread on "Discuss Your Favorite Trucking Company"

@AngelaW

 

Yes Roehl does OTR, there trucks are good almost all of them are newer prostar or Cascadia some KW also. Also there trucks have some kind of apu or epu to help with comfort. Trailers are decent and they do take care of the equipment. Best thing I liked about roehl was the 11 days out 3 days home or 18 and 4 and so on. They also a 14/7 and 7/7. Most companies are 1 day for every week out with a limit to how many days you can take at home. If you are looking at refer be aware long wait times always heavy and lots of late pm early am deliveries. Biggest thing is look what they pay and hometime. Oh and detention pay ha throw that out the window it's hard to get and most of the time companies don't collect it or pay you. They sure say they do but nope, you'll notice that.

 

I hear pretty good things about Roehl and they have a lot of different options as far as OTR or regional stuff. I work at Wolding and up until a few months ago they were putting their new drivers in the older trucks, but they all been retired out of the fleet now. I was talking to the guy in charge of trucks and he said with all the new trucks they got this last year (and with the 40 more coming in December) they've got the average age of the trucks down to less than 3 years old, so even the newbies are starting out in pretty decent equipment. New trailers have been coming in too.

 

That's good to know because I've been seriously considering Wolding... I want otr for at least a year but I don't want to furnish EVERYTHING I need. I'll give them a call.. Thank you.

 

I really liked Wolding except the reviews about their trucks. What can you tell me about them and their comparison to say Schneider or Werner for a recent grad?