Going with Roehl

Haha, wow, I know EXACTLY which set of curves you're talking about...I take them the exact same way your trainer told you to take them...I drive for Schneider, and the Gary Operating Center is on the right just before the railroad tracks...yeah, that's definitely a tricky set of curves the first time you see them...

I have been with Schneider for about 3 months so far and am getting nervous about the end of the guarantied pay coming up in 3 months and have been thinking about making the switch to a different company. My question is, how do the regional fleets work? I live in Wisconsin, so I've been looking at the MidWest regional fleet. How is it for miles and hometime? Thanks!

Mike

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by HOUDINI
With in the next 2 weeks i will be applying for schooling and training to get my cdl. I have been doing alot of research and reading forums on all companies that offer schooling. Now I am down to 3 companies I am considering ( Schneider & Roehl for van ) or ( Prime Inc. for tank ). I have gotton alot of good advice and info. from this site, now I have just a few more questions. 1) Do you have any feed back on these companies before I make my decission ? 2) All things considered ( slosh, wind, ice , snow, etc. ) if a driver is safety minded and tries to be careful and hauling food products.....is one safer to handle on the road then another ( van or tank )? 3) Where would I get the most miles ? ( pay per mile seems to be the same at each ) 4) also I have heard that tanker customers are alot friendlier and easier to deal with then van customers , this true ? Any advice you people can give me would be helpful. I read on here one time that figuring out which company to go with...was more frusting and stressful then doing taxes. I got to admit....this is the most stressful decission I have ever made and if I don't hurry up and make a decission, my wife is going to kill me ..cause Im driving her nuts. Oh great now I'm stressed out about her killing me.......HELP

Also with a tank wouldn't you have the same tank trailer most of the time instead of drop & hooks and wouldn't that be a benifit ?

 

Mike,
Living in Wisconsin should make it easy for you as far a Roehl is concerned. The main terminal is in Marshfield. I am not in a regional fleet, so I can not speak for them, but there are a few different hometime deals. 7/7 and 7/3 7/4 and a new 14/7. They have been very good so far getting me home. I have only been with them since June, but they have only gotten me home late once and that was my last time out. I ended up getting home on Saturday vice Friday. From different drivers I have talked to, the home time for the national fleet is better than many compainies out there. 7 days gets you 2 off, 11 gets 3, 18 gets 4 and so on. I do the 11/3 myself. I am thinking of switching to the 7/3 7/4, but havent decided. That is getting one week off for each two worked. Right now I am getting 3 days off for two weeks worked. I would say look it up on the website and then call one of the recruiters.

I drive by your yard each time I go to Gary. The yard is just past the railroad trax on the left.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm right now looking at being home at least 3 days late on this current tour, and I'm none too pleased about it...I'm down in Texas and about 1200 miles from home...with the hours I have left, that should be about 3 days worth of driving to get me home, which would work perfectly for me, since I'm supposed to be home sometime on Friday, but they instead have me on a load headed straight east, to Alabama...

That's good to know about the hometime for the national fleet too, that's better than what I'm getting right now w/Schneider...

Yeah, I've seen your yard as I've been turning into our yard...I always see a bunch of your trucks when I'm headed that way too...

Thanks again!

Mike

 

Roehl has been really good about getting me home. I tell my dispatcher when i want to be home when I leave out and they have gotten me home that day everytime except once and that was my last time out. I was one day late. I am still getting my home time though. I am just leaving out one day later. I head out tomorrow morning. Go to the web site and put your zip code in and it will tell you what fleets you are capable of joining. No company is perfect, but I have been impressed with thier equipment and how they respond if there are issues with them. If I pick up a trailer and there is issues with it, they will get it fixed for me right away. They do not run the trailers into the ground like some of the other ones I have seen on the road.
how do you get online on the road? do you have a broadband or do you use wifi hotspots?

 

Yeah, the Roehl trucks/trailers I see do look like they're in pretty good shape, which is a good thing to know, considering I'm looking at them as a potential future employer...Thanks for the tip about their website, I've looked at that and am wanting to get into flatbedding, so I'm looking at the Midwest regional flatbed fleet...

I use the wifi hotspots, it's cheaper than the wireless broadband typically...

 

I ran flats for Roehl for about 2 1/2yrs. Not a bad company, I never had major problems with them.

 

I am scheduled to take the company physical tomorrow. What do I have to look forward to? I am particularly worried about another check of my blood pressure. Will that be done? If so, do they want it to be incomprehensibly low like the DOT physical?

 

Fred I cant offer you much help here since Im not even a trucker nor have I taken the DOT physical. However, everybody and their dog has blood pressure issues. I think that as long as you have medication and are seeing a doc on a regular basis, that should be fine.

 

Hey Fred,
Yes, you do have your BP taken, and it's the same standard as the DOT. If it's controllable, then nothing to worry about - try some slow, deep breathing before they put the cuff on and if your BP is too high - maybe wait a bit and have them do it again if you were feeling nervous or jittery. Good Luck!!!!