After having been a lurker for quite some time and after reading a lot of the threads front to back concerning Roehl and other companies, I followed up with a phone call to Marshfield Wisconsin. After speaking with Kim I have applied to Roehl and have my conditional offer. Although I do have my CDL it is considered "stale" and as such I will be attending RDTC in early December. I used to moonlight with a local company some time ago running trailers into and out of NYC. No OTR experience just local. I am a retired Police Detective from NJ and former Military and as you can well imagine working in a structured environment is not an issue for me. Really the only question that I have concerns which fleet to pursue. Initially I indicated to the recruiter that I would like the reefer side of Roehl. I chose that due to the potential for miles which =$. I would really enjoy the workout that flatbeds would provide, but I am not sure if the miles compare with reefer. Would living in central New Jersey be considered close enough to a good freight lane for flats or should I stay moving towards the reefer side. I plan on going in the national fleet, not a hometime fleet as I feel I need to gain the experience that comes with being dispatched anywhere and everywhere. I appreciate all the information you guys have posted regarding Roehl and I look forward to getting started and eventually meeting you out on the road somewhere. Thanks in advance for whatever information/advice you can provide!
P399, I am also in the process of signing on with Roehl. I have heard nothing but great things about Roehl from these posts over the years. Yes, I too have been a reading these things on and off for several years. And I am finally in a place to make the move to go OTR. I am waiting to hear back from Kim about my start date. Good luck and I am looking forward to reading posts about your adventure!
Northtown, I hope the drivers that post on this forum (particularly Roehl) know how helpful their posts are to people like us who are trying to make the move to this company. The knowledge and insight they provide from actually being "hands on" is great. I hope you get your start date answer soon so you can begin your own journey.
If you can send a private message to GoBlue. He is also a retired police. He has many postings on this blog.
P399, Northtown, As a former Roehl driver I can offer only advice and things to look forward / out for. Roehl is a great company to start with, there are many bonuses to working for a larger carrier as a starter and that is mostly the training provided. However, "Hands" on training is a loose term since most of what you will learn is NOT and can NOT be trained since different situations are unpredictable. Being military, or ex police, or heck even both you will fully understand what I mean when I say it's a learn as you go deal. Roehl can prepare you for things, but there are hundreds and hundreds of things that will happen that can't be explained. Patience... You will need alot of it. There will be loads where you are dispatched on a friday for 300 miles at 8am load time and it doesn't deliver until monday at 12PM. There is almost 4 days you are sitting in that truck doing nothing. Doing nothing means (depending where you are at) that you most likely will be spending money that you aren't making. Just something to think about. Alot of drivers say prepare by getting a cooler, yada yada yada, listen. There is only so much you can eat out of a truck. Setup a budget that will allow you to know you can spend 100$ on food, drinks, or whatever tickles your fancy and not go broke. This lifestyle can either make you or break you. Not everything is the way you want it. You are a company driver, you have no say so in where the truck goes or how much is loaded. You will have to do as told (for the most part) but also know you are not a slave. Work related stuff is what it is, but a dispatcher can not act like they own you. Some of the dispatchers I've worked with have huge egos that need deflating. So just prepare yourself just incase you get a jack off as a dispatcher. Most are good people though!
For what it's worth, the hometime fleets do get dispatched "anywhere and everywhere," particularly if you stay out longer than 7 days (e.g. 14/7). But even within a 7-day period I've been dispatched from Minnesota to the U.P. of Michigan then down to southern Georgia and back up through Illinois, Wisconsin and then Minnesota. Another time went from MN out to Delaware and Washington D.C and back. It's the "regional" fleets that stay within a particular region, not necessarily the hometime fleets.
NYC local driving and cdl experience will be a big help. Most of the stuff that can't be taught will be learned in the NE. OTR vs local driving difference is being home less and more driving behind the wheel less bumping docks. Flatbed, reefer, and then van in that order as far as potential in making money. Flatbed primarily less drive time but the other things like securing a load on top of the mileage is where the making more aspect would be. The kicker would be physical activity in all weather situations. Reefer and van in my opinion after the first year to make decent money the kicker of those would be not always long unload/load wait times. They all have a experience to be had in different situations you've never been before. Being high stress jobs previously would be great as to not panicking if you get yourself into a pickle. I'm national and did 14/7 for 9 months and went everywhere east of I-35 and as far north as Maine, UP, MN and South Dakota. Downside would be not planning for holidays or special events. They fall on your rotation out you go. So that's why I went national. Just have to grin and bear it in the bad times instead of wanting to curse and throw the Qualcomm out the window. It's a good program throughout being brief as it is and once solo need just common sense then its gravy. Hope this helps
Lantern, All very good points to consider, I do appreciate your taking the time to respond with the good, the bad and the ugly. I am going into this 2nd career with my eyes open and am fully prepared to deal with what may get thrown my way regardless of who or what that may be. By the way, Jacksonville is my 2nd favorite city in Florida after Palm Coast ( most of my family moved down there many years ago).
Coopnp, Yes, the info you posted does help. It appears that national fleet VS hometime fleet only varies in the amount of time off and not in the experience of being sent to any location regardless of where that may be. That's good to know. Since I am a glutton for punishment, and I think I already know this answer but I'll ask anyway... What's the weather like in Marshfield in December? Should I bring sun screen and shorts to lay by the pool?
