Orientation for experienced drivers

I have enjoyed following the experiences provided by Majestyk and Hindsy this past year, their forum entries from a students perspective have been entertaining and a great insight into the Roehl way of life. I will be joining Roehl next week as well, but I'll be coming in as an experienced driver. Have I missed the experienced driver forum entries or have there been none?
Is the three and a half day orientation shared by both student and experienced drivers (?) the only difference being, we are assigned a truck at the end of orientation whereas the students head off with the trainers?
Any direction to other areas of this Roehl forum where I might find such a description, or your input to this ones would be appreciated. Otherwise I will join Majestyk and Hindsy and give a view from an experienced drivers perspective coming to Roehl.
Looking forward to hopefully meeting all you posting here in the coming year.

 

Ok folks, I'll be posting on a regular basis for the next couple of weeks detailing how Roehl handles us experienced drivers.

To start, once I chose my start date the recruiter sent me my travel documents which included my rental car reservations (because I am less than 200 miles from Marshfield) otherwise I believe they fly you in. They set you up at the hotel and include meal tickets (lunch and dinner). They want you checked in at the hotel and ready to convoy the rental car back to the airport by 7:00 pm on the day you arrive (Sunday evening). On the way to return the rental they make a fuel stop to fill up the car. Once orientation starts they provide the transportation to and from the terminal.
As far as packing goes; I'm bringing everything I can think of though they suggest you don't. They try to route you through your home city so you can pick up everything else you might need, but that is not guaranteed and I didn't want to take the chance. At the end of orientation they pay you $250.00 and reimburse you for any travel expenses.
I'll be settled in tomorrow evening and will report each day's activities as time allows. Hope this is beneficial to those experienced drivers out there who might be interested in Roehl.

 

Well there you are; good information to know. I'll confirm that in a couple of weeks.
Thanks for the feedback.

 

I can confirm that, as I finished my first day of orientation. I arrived in Marshfield last night, unloaded my rental car and joined the other 15 cars in a convoy back to the airport. What was a surprise was that the airport is 35 miles away. Didn't get back to the motel until 8:30 pm.
The shuttle vans arrived Monday morning at 7:00 am for the 15 minute trip to the terminal. Both graduated students and experienced drivers together. After some initial paperwork it was off to do the physical stress test; crouching under a trailer, climbing up inside the trailer, squats, lifts, pulling and pushing all while keeping your heart rate below a number based on your age multiplied by something I can't recall at the moment. I'm 48 and my number was 155. Maximum heart rate I achieved was 88, so no problem here but unfortunately one fellow exceeded his limit and was sent home.
After that it was the driving test; now I had talked to several drivers about this and I was told there was no pre-trip test, you just showed you could drive. Well they do have you do a pre-trip and I missed a few things but not enough to raise any concerns with them. Those thinking of coming this way, here are a few tips: double clutch all shifts, start turns in low range and do not shift while turning. Before doing the backing between two trailers, make sure you get out and walk around the truck! I lined it up perfectly and backed it in, but got dinged because I didn't get out and verify that I was clear to back up. Got a little sloppy I guess. Otherwise I received a positive assessment for my driving skills. The rest of the day was spent doing a worksheet before heading to the clinic for our drug test and physical. Even if you just had one, Roehl requires one administered by them.
Lunch was provided as was a dinner voucher worth $7.00 at a local mom and pop restaurant. Dinner cost me .75 cents.
I too have heard from other experienced drivers that have left Roehl that they didn't like all the hand holding. As for me, we will see. I tend to be more of a independent kind of guy. I do like the fact that they don't mess with the DOT regulations and have a above standard safety rating.
All in all, it was a good day. I will report back on the remainder of my orientation as time permits.