want to talk to drivers about roehl

I'm on the 7/4-7/3 and just got back from seven days out. The way it works is simple. You leave on Wednesday and return on Tuesday. The next trip you leave Saturday and return on Friday. There are times that you don't get back on time, when this happens my dsr still makes sure I get my hometime. The idea is to get you home just as you run out of your seventy hours. One thing I have found helps is a lot of communication with my dsr. The driver has to remember he has a lot to do with how well the system works, you have to keep a close eye on your hours so you don't run out to early. It also helps to bust your butt to get your deliveries made on time and early if possible. The upshot is that it is great to know I won't have to get into a truck until Saturday. I have three full days off. I already know I am scheduled to be home for Christmas. It is nice for the family to have a predicable schedule to plan family events. The dispatch dept. knows they have to do everything possible to get drivers home on time or the entire system breaks down.

Miles were a bit low in the beginning but now I am running between 2500 and 3000 per seven day trip. You do a lot of relay loads so they can get you home. I am sure they keep the miles low until you prove you can handle more. This system gives you as much hometime per month as driving regional, but with seven days out you can run more miles.

 

Preacher Man,
Can you give me an example of how the pay was during your really wet behind the ears time with em? I've gotta make a decision to go work at a Casino or get behind the wheel at a trainer comp, and havin a hell of a time decidin.

 

The first two months with Roehl I was getting about 2000-2300 miles for seven days. Lately I have been getting 2700-3000 each seven days. It seems that with any company your miles will be low at first, once you show them that you can handle the work then you'll get the miles. With anyone figure it will take between two and three months to prove yourself.

Handling finances with the 7/4 takes a little work. The pay period ends each Friday at noon and it is your responsibility to get your reports scanned in by that time. Whatever is scanned by then is paid the next week (I use direct deposit and my pay is posted on Thursday morning.) If you miss the deadline you will get paid the week after. They use Transflo which is available at any Love's, Pilot or TA and it is free.

It is possible to not get a paycheck even though you get good miles and that is where budgeting is necessary. Here is how it happened to me. I was to leave on Wednesday and go from E. St. Louis to Salt Lake City and then to another town. Since the run wouldn't be completed until Saturday there was no way to get paid until two weeks later. I had already scanned everything in for the previous week. In the end when I got finished I had 3200 miles but I had to wait two weeks to get paid and I was out ten days instead of seven. Lately I have been doing runs of 400 to 600 miles and I like it much better. With a series of these shorter runs during my seven days out I get home on time, get better miles and more consistent pay.

The key is communication with your dsr. My dsr told me that she has a variety of drivers some are ready to go back out as soon as they get a reset and then there are people like me with families at home. The hometime for me is critical. It wasn't long after I told her how I felt that things got a lot better. Now I am getting good miles and home on time.

 

Something to consider about a job choice. I choose truck driving because no matter what is happening in the economy toilet paper still is in demand and trucks deliver it from the manufacturer to the distribution center to the store. In other words the trucks always roll and need drivers to drive them. I just heard that Casinos are noticing a drop in business.

 

I thank ya for the advice there Preacher Man, it's greatly appreciated. I'd be sittin in the "eye in the sky" position once again near Chicago. Those Chicago peoples always gotta waste their money lookin ignorant (Michigander biase!) but I am really considering the casino until Spring so I'm not out there learning the "roads and ropes" in the snow first off. Thanks again PM!

 

Preacher man
did you get your cdl with roehl, and if so how long was it before you had money rolling in... Any money

 

I went to C1 in St. Louis. I started with Star out of Morton IL (BIG MISTAKE.) Usually you don't get paid during school and at C1 that was three weeks. It wasn't until I finally got in a truck with a trainer that I started earning anything. From my first day of school to my first paycheck was about eight to nine weeks. I should have started with Roehl from the start.

 

Just decided the last couple of days to chose Roehl.Have read all blogs and articles I could find,they seem to be as fair,(????).I am a Newbie to trucking.Have been out of work since August 15,2008,"I NEED A JOB,WORK...PLEASE.Nothing around jobwise in this area,live in upsate New
York,a town called Poughkeepsie,about 65 miles south of albany.I guess I am Writing this for get a much information from anyone out there that actually may be newbee,either just going in Roehl school,or have just completed the three evolutions.By the bye,am getting my cdl permit eighter november or december,2008,to attend class in the beginning of FebruARY,2009.....

 

Chev, I went through Roehl's school, did all three EVOs, pulled vans, flats, curtains, and reefers (not by choice), left and came back. So I have a pretty good bit of experience with Roehl in a short time.

This is a fair company. If you are a worker they will treat you well. Sure you'll run into a DSR here or a maintenance guy there that are less than savory to deal with, but overall I am very happy here.

We run legal, almost to a fault. It can be frustrating sometimes, but it's nice to know you won't be asked to violate laws. We run safe. I sat around all day last week waiting for a load, then was given a dispatch that required me to run through the night. I felt fine launching, but about 350 in, it was either park it in a truck stop, or park it in a ditch. I told them I was sorry, I brought it as far as I could safely given the scheduling and that it would have to be late. The Qualcomm reply, "Fair enough. Do the best you can safe and legal." Nothing else was said about it.

The miles are tough right now. Just part of the cycle. But the best way to overcome that: make yourself as available as possible. As a flatbedder I can and have pulled just about everything Roehl has. I don't always like to, but it keeps my wheels turning. I'd rather pull a van for .02 less than sit in a terminal for two days waiting for a flatbed load. Getting your HazMat and TWIC make you that much more flexible. Same with being available to run Canada.

The school here is great, and a lot cheaper than you'll likely pay elsewhere. The trainers are awesome as well. Just be patient, listen, and watch. I'd recommend Roehl's school anytime.

I'm sure there are other great companies out there, but I won't be an OTR company driver for anybody else. If you have any specifics, let me know. I occasionally make it up to Ithaca to visit family, never have trouble getting out so there is freight up that way.

 

Preacher, good to see Roehl is a fair company. I start with them Jan 12th in the flat bed didision. Do you have to live in a certin area for the 7/3??