Roehl lease program?

As for refusing loads, keep in mind you aren't just a driver anymore. You now own a small business and the needs of the business take first place. Before you start turning away business you need to think long and hard about why. As for the company they want to move as many loads as cheaply as possible. The easier you are to do business with, the more business that will be offered to you. I have already turned down loads and ended up with better loads for my business as a result. I have also let my fm know what types of loads I am looking for. In my case it isn't location as much as type of load.

By the way Etch, I did end up with Theresa. There are companies that coerce o/o into taking whatever load they are given and those companies quickly got checked off my list of possibles. I stayed with Roehl because of the truck, type of lease and where I live the availability of freight. I also didn't want to change companies at this point. If I were in Etch's position I would have looked at Schneider or US Express. Both are larger companies with more freight spread over a larger portion of the country.

I wish Roehl would offer their CABS course before you sign the contract, not after. I have met too many o/os who don't understand business and are just a step away from failure. I understand business and jumped at the CABS course, it's free and knowledge is priceless. Bottom line, you have a business and you need to maximize the loads that make you profitable. Owning your own business comes with enough stress, the last thing you want to do is treat yourself like a company driver accepting every lousy load you are given.

 

Preacher Man I have to say, what you say rings true. As for my needs, Roehl so far is a perfect fit. I think of my job as paid community college. I wouldn't dare think I know all there is to know after just just 5 months and a bit of driving.

I'm looking forward to the winter course lol. BUT! I am planning on learning what I can about being an O/O and want to got that route. Will I sink or swim? Most business owners think they will swim but the majority sink. Being an O/O is the same.

But what us new guys need are more of you. Keeping us informed of what to lookout for and what decisions not to make.

I wish Roehl had a mentor program. Someone I could talk to prior to making the leap.

So Etch and Preacher, thanks for posting.

 

I would tell anyone who is thinking about becoming an owner operator should do the following. Learn everything you can about starting and running a small business. Learn everything you can about the business side of trucking, dispatching, how shippers and carriers work together, and especially the financial end of this business. I would also become a big fan of both Kevin Rutherford on the Road Dog channel and Dave Ramsey. Ask lots of questions. Finally track all of your numbers and treat your company truck like you owned it. If it looks like you can make money doing what you do now, call Dan Bennet at Roehl. Sit down with him and lay out your business plan. Then go the direction you are convinced is right for you. Take your time and make sure you are ready, remember "Haste makes waste." If you jump in before you and your family are ready you have started down the path of failure. Many will tell you that if you aren't a mechanic you can never afford to be an o/o. You should be able to do simple things, but the biggest thing is to know enough about your truck to know if the mechanic you choose knows what he is doing. Just ask etch about the shop at Gary.

 

Gotta live by Dave Ramseys advice and Kevin Rutherford has helped me really gain a understanding of mpg's. I really liked Theresa and I made it very clear that she was in no way the reason I was leaving. She took good care of me and always seemed to be a step ahead. You are dead on when you talk about business knowledge. If you got it you can do very well as a O/O if you don't then your boat will sink. The more you spend on a truck and fuel the less that you get to keep...period....

 

Overall it's a good program. If you happen to be a flatbedder, there are a few things you should know that aren't in the brochure for the percentage program.
It's a new program for Roehl, so it has some bugs. My FM has been good about following up on the pay estimates with CS and sales, but the base software has IT racking its' brains trying to get the bugs worked out...I've pulled some loads that paid me less than what I was quoted, and the company won't correct the mistake. I was paid according to the invoice to the customer as per the contract, but was given wrong info up front, and they won't make good on it. Like I said, my FM has gotten wise to the errors and now double checks them-not very often a driver speaks highly of his dispatcher, but I'm one of them.
It also requires you to be a numbers guy. The planners don't account for your deadhead in the load, so what they figure you earn per mile compared to what it will cost you to run the load can be way off and you get some screwball load suggestions. Again, my FM has been a champ at working with me on this. It's a new program, and we both want to see it work in the long term. If I refuse a load because of financial issues-the only reason I will refuse a load since I have no reservations about working for my money; I actually wish they would send me to NYC MORE on this program- I don't feel like I get punished for refusing. He just says OK, and goes back to finding a more suitable load. I'm not saying I refuse every backhaul, that's not realistic. Sometimes tho, I have to scratch my head.
My take on it is that I'm averaging more per mile with my number crunching, but spend less time turning miles because of the time spent number crunching-the difference is a calculator doesn't cost me 3bucks a gallon.
A note to Preacher-they don't REQUIRE you to have a governor on your truck for Canada, but it can be tweaked in the truck's computer so you can be available, costs about 30 bucks (I had it done at outside shop on my downtime) if you have it done after you're already into your lease, but I think the shop would include it in the lease set up-I had a tweak done to my jake brake, they did it at no charge. I have done that myself, but so far no Canada runs. Like NYC, I really want to try those on this percentage program. I imagine the cross border runs come with a good price tag to the customer.

 

One thing that helps is that I was a company driver for two years before making the jump to o/o. I hate going to Canada so I'm not going out of my way to make it possible. As a company driver I learned where most of Roehl's freight is, as much as possible I try to stay in these freight lanes. This cuts down the deadhead miles and the downtime. The mistake I made on my last time out was going to Miami with a multi-stop load. It was a nice long trip, but with four extra stops it took an entire day to get the truck empty. I made $140 in extra stop pay, but could have made a lot more driving. It also took over two hundred deadhead miles to get me out of there, plus no parking in Miami so I had to go a bit over on my hours just to get to someplace to park.

As for getting home, they gave me a load going from Georgia to Crossett AR. This might seem strange when I live in Central Illinois, but I knew we bring a lot of loads out of GP that get relayed through East St. Louis. That puts me within a couple of hours from the house. I try to follow a 10/4 schedule, it seldom works out exactly, but since I decide my hometime it doesn't need to. The beauty of being an o/o is that you can set up your business to fit your needs instead of the one-size-fits-all company way of doing business.

 

What are the basic requirements with Roehl for the lease program, like time with the company, mileage needed, the basic stuff i guess is what I'm looking for, before i go to Dan and start the process talking to him.

 

I called and asked. It is 6 months with the company for a new driver. Also the age of the trucks can be older than the brochure, as long as the truck is in good shape it is acceptable is what I was told.

 

i emailed dan, he sent back a two page printout of all the miles i have done in my truck the last two months, it showed all the expenses i would have had and the actual money i would have made. ill probably wait until i think about this again next spring or so and ask for that again.

 

i was wondering also. what else do they require from u to lease? i seen on the website something about needing atleast a 600 credit score yet havent heard anything on here about credit ratings or anything... also. can someone PM me dans email address i cant find it anywhere. thanks!