"Anyway Around The System?...Help Me Out!"...

Not unless you find a room to rent in pocono... look on the internet for local papers and rent a room for $125-200 a month.. get your mail there... Roel may want you to have your license changed over there as well.. Maybe a little rough... or you could just stay out on the road for your first 6 months like I did... one way or another you need to get a physical address in that town to show that you live there.. they don't take a PO

 

Just a few things worth mentioning...

If you're going straight to flatbed because you think it'll be more money, I'd strongly reconsider that. Flatbedding can easily be more money, but when you're starting out you WILL use a lot more time securing and tarping your loads.

Roehl lets you take your home time wherever you want--freight permitting. If you want to spend the weekend in Vegas and you have the miles to be eligible to run west, you just might get a free weekend in Vegas.

You may be able to convince them to put you through the load securement class and put you on a van. They might consider giving you a flatbed truck hauling the vans so you can switch over easily. I'm kind of surprised they're being so picky about it when they're trying to expand their flatbed fleet, even though my miles just haven't been there lately.

 

one good thing about running a reefer: nobody cares if you snore

 

Just drive a van for Roehl to start, then when you move ask to switch if you still want to. Doesn't seem like a big deal to me, they just want to see and service their trucks in that place. Roehl is supposed to be a pretty good company.

 

A lot of the lumper decisions depend entirely on what account you're hauling for. I have never run reefer (yet), so I can only tell you the van side of things. I have gone to grocery warehouses before.

With Proctor & Gamble: They usually don't have an account with the lumpers, so you have the option.

With Kimberly Clark: They usually DO have an account, so you almost never have to unload one of their loads yourself.

Personally, I would unload it myself, it will get you a good workout, and put some extra cash in your pocket for sitting.

You can't be very picky when first starting out, just take the van job and switch when you move, because if you have a pre-hire with Roehl, then you have it made. Not very many people complain about Roehl, so stick with them.

 

Never heard of PI&I... So I can't assume they'll offer you more than Roehl. They might, but that would be uncharacteristic of a small company.

Here's a comparison of perspectives...
A large company can offer you all of the following and more:

• National network of terminals, reducing downtime for repairs and increasing the possiblity for relays to keep moving.
• Often-times newer equipment.
• A much larger freight pool.
• More leniancy if you need to take a day off due to illness or fatigue (you can get fatigued in more ways than just sleepyness.)

Smaller companies can offer these benefits:

• More home-time.
• Much more personal atmosphere.
• Help when you are in trouble.
• Faster trucks.
• More freedom when it comes to the management of your truck.

What you need will determine where you'll want to go.

One tidbit of advice though: Reefer Haulers are always the most stable, because people need to eat, no matter how bad the economy is.