want to talk to drivers about roehl

Hey! everyone
I have been offered a job with Roehl, they gave me two options, Flatbed national or Dryvan national. I think i'm going to go with flatbed. I have a few questions for Dr. Venture, you said you have pulled vans, curtainsides, and reefers? so if they need you to pull one of those they will dispatch you for that? and I agree with you about making yourself available, I have got every endorsement that I could (HAZMAT, Tankers, Doubles/Triples) so I can be available to run. I don't know anything about TWIC? can you give me some more info on it and how do you go about getting it. Also I know you said things are slow but can you tell me how things are going with flatbeds, how was the securement training, how many miles do you average, where do you run? and any other info you think would be helpful.

 

When I started with Roehl they rented a car for me, I only had to get to the rental agency. Once I was in Marshfield they have loaner cars you can use on a first come first served basis. They also have bicycles available in warm weather. I joined as an experienced driver so I was only there for three days.

I have run into some flatbedders that took van loads either because they needed to get home and a van load was the only thing available or flat loads were unavailable but vans were running.

 

Chev,
I am just a bit up the slab from you in Albany and am looking at Roehl too. Would like to make contacts with you if we can somehow get around the greenhorn PM and no-email addrs restrictions.
(Maybe a kind Moderator can intervene here please?)
Thanks much.

 

Hey everyone

I tried to PM this to Etch (first Roehl affiliated driver I found today, didn’t know there was a Roehl sub-section), and was told I couldn’t because I don’t have enough posts. Dang! So I edited it some (grammatical issues) and posted it here for all.

I’ve been trying to find my way into to trucking for a while now, as I need to find one with enough home time for my wife to accept (wasn’t planning on being a truck driver when we met and were married). I found that Roehl has a 7 on 7 off, which I’m told is acceptable. I wasn’t able to find anymore information about this on the website though. Is this something that new drivers can get, or is it only for those with seniority?

Also, according to the Roehl website, most of their drivers average 2300 to 2600 miles a week. Can you Roehl drivers attest to this? Are they about right, or is it more or is it less (on average).

The only problem I have with the 7/7 thing, is that I would basically be taking a 50% pay cut. If I were to get 2300 miles a week, at the 0/0 pay scale (no experience or seniority), I would gross $5/week less then what I gross per week with my desk job. But with working 7 on 7 off, I’d only be getting one week’s pay every two weeks. I can’t be the only person who would find this to be problematic. Do you drivers know how other Roehl drivers address this issue?

What kind of home time can the National drivers expect with Roehl? Is it possible for new drivers with no experience to pull refrigerated or flatbed, or is that only for the experienced?

Overall, what’s your take on Roehl? Their website makes them sound like the best thing since sliced bread; but what are they REALLY like?

I know I could get the answers to most of these questions from a recruiter, but I’d rather get real answers from someone who has nothing to gain by me joining the company. This is all assuming that I was even hired of course.

Thanks for your time people!

 

Kooter, the main thing on the hometime fleet is you must live a certain distance to a terminal or drop yard. Now the 7/7 is a pretty good deal but you will make the least because you drive the least. I ran national for a year and my wife hated me being gone so much. I run the 7/4-7/3 and love it. Basically out 20 days a month and home 10. The more you drive the more you make. If money is a real issue for you the 7/7 may be tough. Most guys that do it are older and tend to be financially secure prior to driving. The miles are not always there, frieght is funny right now during these times. Hometime fleets supposedly have a advantage to national and regional as far as miles go. I definetly get more since I left national. Good luck with your choice.

 

What do you average for per week miles? I know there are a lot of variables in how many miles each driver gets, but what's average for you?



Or is that a taboo question?

 

I get upwards of 2600-3000 a week. A big factor is because I run out of Garland TX. Not as many drivers here and most runs that leave the house are around 700-900 miles. That means the same coming back and whatever I get in between. They do normally get less miles running out of Gary IN or Ellenwood GA.

 

What about those running out of WI? I live a stone's throw away from Newport (trailer drop yard), and the closest terminals are in WI. They get decent miles?

 

Alot of our drivers run out of WI. I would expect the miles to be more of a strugle to come by.

 

LOL...I have the same story, except I'm the wife. My advice here is, before you go any further trying to get into trucking, sit down with your wife and make sure that she will be ok with it. There are alot of things to consider and she has to be a strong woman to be able to handle anything that comes up while you are gone. There also has to be a huge, and I mean huge, amount of trust between you for it to work well.

We thought about the 7/7 fleet, but didn't go that route for a few reasons. The biggest one being if it's a holiday (or a family birthday, or anything of that nature), and it's your week to be out, you'll be spending that time on the road somewhere. Granted you'll have 7 days off in a row, but if something comes up at home that you need/want to be there for and it is during the week you are scheduled to be out, you won't be there.

I'm not sure about refrigerated, but you can do flats right from the start. You have to take an extra class for load securement.