I recently received my CDL-A and endorsements for tankers, doubles & triples, and HAZMAT from one of the community colleges here in Texas. Apart from school, I do not have any OTR experience. I am seriously considering working for Roehl and would like to hear if this is a good fit. A little background: I am a former IT professional who got fed up with the industry after being in it for the last 35 years. My kids have grown and gone and now I want to do something different for the next seven to ten years. Finally, I am in my early 60's and in reasonably good health. What can I expect from Roehl if I start with them? Any insights, thoughts and/or general impressions will be greatly appreciated.
I think Roehl is the best company for new drivers. You may need to go through the school for the training, I did and also had my CDLs with all endorsements when I started. You will have good days and bad days. Things won't always go your way. Take the good with the bad and you'll be fine. Getting a good fleet manager and tractor can make life easier out here. I've been blessed with the best of both for the last 6 months. Another note, the tail don't wag the dog here. The right attitude will help any new driver. Good luck
I will add hometime fleet truck will have to be parked at a term or drop yard. National then park where ever u want.
This is my second time with Roehl, for whatever that's worth. Roehl has many options, flatbed, refrigerated, van, home time plans, etc. They are also a safe company that hires and trains a lot of new drivers. Because of that there are a lot of really petty rules that I sometimes find annoying, like only being allowed to fuel at a specific place on your route instead of having a few options to be more flexible. I left Roehl because I wanted a condo with an air ride passenger seat for my wife. I came back for the home time plus plan. My advice for a new driver your age would be to get in the van division and just learn the world of trucking. The recruiters will do everything they can to get you in the refrigerated division, but I would advise against it. Especially based on what you said about what you were fed up with in IT. If you want to know more I have stories that I can share that caused me to leave refrigerated far behind.
I've been looking at roehl also. I was drawn in by the home time plus, do they get u home on time for the 7on 7off or whatever else they offer?
I just started in the 7/7 plan and don't have a partner yet, so I'm staying out a little longer by my choice. But I have talked with other home time drivers and it sounds like they are pretty tight with the home time schedules as there is another driver waiting for that truck to get back.
