Considering Trucking, need insider views.

I drove for Roehl for almost 2 years.
If you can't get on with OD at the moment then I would go with Roehl without a second thought. The only complaint I ever had with Roehl was they Micro-Manage alot when it comes to fuel stops and safety and such. But they are much better than Werner,Trans am etc. I was treated fairly good at Roehl and thats hard to find in todays trucking industry. I would say your on the right path.

Roehl also has they're own school.
I normally would never recommend going to a company school but I wouldn't worry about it with Roehl. If your strapped for cash then I would contact them and see about getting in to they're school and drive for them a year.

 

One downside of attending a college based course is timing. They start new classes once a quarter and some only twice a year. The "mills" at least start every week and can get you rolling. Of course then you have a contract to keep or else you will end up owing FAR more than the school is worth.

I was in your situation and I'm going with Stevens because they run nothing but reefers and while they may slow down, they never stop.

I also would point out that you can't expect to make a decent wage for at least 4-6 months, but if you do count yourself lucky.

I read 60-70 hours worth of posts on this forum and learned that every single STARTER company has plenty of complaints but if you read enough you start noticing the difference between whiners, company shills, and those that tell it like it REALLY is.

Best of luck to you.

 

I'll bet you won't be with Stevens a year.
Probably not even 6 months. I won't argue with you about it but all I can say is you have my sympathy.

 

I know what you are saying, I've heard and read it many times. I'll do fine because of my demeanor and I won't have any unrealistic expectations. What you say about Stevens I've also read about every other startup company, as well as many companies that require experience.

Thanks for your sympathy tho.

 

I am not a driver. Just one who is going for her license now. I have learned a bunch from the drivers I have dealt with over the last twenty odd years, that I have applied to my training. One thing I have on other newbies, is an absolute knowledge of how the inside works. Trust me, they are twisted.

Regardless of where you get your training,(and I recommend a certified school) you are not going to be able to hop in a truck and go it on your own. If you can, great. I am in a highly certified school and they are great. Trust me. One on One training. However, even though this highly certified school can pump me up and make me ready for the road, is untrue. They give you what you need to pass State / Province (in my case) test. That is fine. However, in my opinion, you would have to question a company that hired you, to send you out on your own with no experience. There are alot of BS companies out there. Canada and the USA. You are going to hear BS about every company. Mind you, some are known for it. Take a look into the best training programs after your license. A good six to eight weeks with another driver (one with more than five years experience) would be great, ten years, even better.

I am trying to be helpful so I hope it helped a bit.

Annie

 

Annie , tell me something about Canadian training . Do they teach anything about what a safe interval between trucks should be ? Here in the States they teach you should have a minimum of 4 to 6 seconds between you and the vehicle in front of you depending on the weight of the truck and road conditions . Most Canadian drivers I see don't even keep a 2 second interval . I even saw an OPP escorting an oversize load down the 401 right at the speed limit and the oversize was less than 2 seconds behind the OPP .
Do they teach what placards mean ? One of those days one of those Canadian tailgaters might not stop in time to not rearend my hazmat tanker . I haul stannic chloride . Look it up . It was used in chemical warfare in WWI .

 

I know people will talk #### about any company out there. I've heard it many times through the years. Unfortunately this has the effect of blending the really bad ones with the not so bad ones and newbies can't distinguish between the two. Steven's is ABSOLUTELY one of the top 5 worst companies in the business with C.R. England right there along side them. My uncle and one of my long time friends both drove for them. They are the ONLY company I've seen that got thrown out of a training school because of all the student complaints. And that Say's alot considering how bad some of these companies are.

 

What do you mean the company got thrown out of a training school???? I'm not sure what you mean.

 

Schools allow recruiters from different companies to come in and try to convince students to come work for their company when they finish. 2 schools here and even one college has kicked Steven's recruiters out and will not allow them to come and speak to the students anymore. I spoke with one of the trainers from the college about this and he said they had to many students complaining about how they treated them once they went to work.

I can tell you now if you go there you better be prepared to spend lots of hours setting at a food warehouse. They left my uncle setting there for 3 days without a load and wouldn't allow him to leave. That was only on one occasion. There were many more. If I were you I would at least have a look at Roehl who also pull reefers and is a much better company. There is no perfect company out there. But you can do so so much better than Steven's. But if you decide to go there then I wish you the best of luck.

 

Thanks for the explanation. I honestly do expect to be treated like a rookie and I also believe you about sitting not making anything. I did quite a bit of research prior to signing up for school and I saw a lot of complaints regarding Stevens. One thing I noticed was, even people who complained said they had some of the best training available and newer, safer equipment. Although I drove Class B Hazmat for Airgas for several years, I have no true big rig experience, and I felt that the combination of a thorough 8-10 week additional training program along with newer and safer equipment would be a big plus.

I've read all the complaints and I believe I can live with it. I can put up with just about anything for a year. I DID work in a law firm ya know.

I do appreciate the advice and I hope I come off that way. They paid for my school so I am "indentured" for at least a year. I am a generally happy guy with a positive attitude, I'll be ok. And like I said, I'm not expecting much to start. I'll be looking at Roehl and others as my time progresses, but the grass isn't always greener (something I've learned when switching companies for more money in the past).

Thanks and hope you are doing well.