Roehl Transport, Inc. - Marshfield, Wi.

Just spent the better part of a week in TX.Although the truck has a bunk heater ,it will not keep you cool in the warm weather.I let the truck idle at night with the AC on.No one has said anything about it.It will probably affect my bonus,but I am gonna be comfortable at night.

 

I don't know how well this will work but a DM told my husband to get a fan that works off a cig lighter. Have the fan blowing over ice in the sleeper with the curtains closed while driving. When you are ready to stop for your break it should be nice and cool in the sleeper area. It saves on fuel. If you try it let me know if it works.

 

Whispers,in all fairness that idea would keep you cool for about 5 min.I have to have the temp.at a comfortable level to get any sleep.When its cold outside the bunk heater does just fine,but when its hot I let the truck idle.Also in the winter when its really cold ,say about 10 degrees I let the truck idle so it will start in the morning.I have been told by Roehl that your fuel allocation is adjusted by the way the weather conditions are where you are at.I have not had any comments from Roehl about my idle time,if it affects my bonus ,so be it.By the way how is your hubby coming along with his training career?

 

Road Dog, I just raised that suggestion by the DM to see if it would fly. LOL I guess not. I admit I don't know all that is involved with how much the idle time affects the bonuses. I do know that there have been times that hubby has been over the goal and he did still receive a bonus. On a lighter side....hubby is to go to Marshfield for April 9th for trainer orientation. I'm assuming he will be ready to have trainees on the 16th. I'll let you know how things work out when he gets his first trainee. Stay cool this summer!

 

I'm not Dave but....For each quarter (3 months), each monthly goal you miss, you lose a penny off of the quarterly bonus. The idle goals also affect your yearly raise...you have to hit 9 out of 12 (along with the other stuff) to get your raise.

As far as suggestions go....Most of the trucks they have now have the ICON system or a bunk heater, so winter isn't a problem unless the temp drops below 10 or so. For summer, get a 12V fan and when you park, either make sure the front of the truck is not facing the sun, or close the curtains as soon as you park. You'd be suprised at how much it helps.

The bottom line is to do what makes you comfortable. If you can't sleep because it's too cold or hot, it's better to run the truck so you get the rest you need.

 

Cheryl,

I appreciate what you are saying, but if you think that a fan will make do when it is 85 degrees with 90% humidity at midnight, I don't think you have been to the deep South in July and August. In those conditions, all a fan will do is spread the STINK around the cab that you will make from sweating so much!!

Seriously, in the middle of summer with the heat and humidity in the South, a fan just won't cut it. I think I'll stick with the advice in your last line!

 

I actually have "been there, done that" and threw out the t-shirt. It was a miserable 4 days, and we ran the truck almost all of the time. I wasn't trying to say that using a fan was the answer to the idle question, you had asked for suggestions and I gave one. A fan will help, depending on what the weather is and how much you can tolerate heat. No idle goal is worth your health and well-being, and with a little planning you can manage to run your truck quite a bit and still make the goal.

 

I looked in the products section of one of my old trucker magazines, and apparently Webasto has an opposite version of their bunk heater called Blue Cool. Supposedly it keeps the truck at 70 degrees for 10 hours. I might check into that.

 

Like everyone else with a CDL license, I too have been looking at Roehl. Previous replies to this thread seem to indicate that Roehl requires you to drop your truck at their yard or terminal when taking your day off. As I live 300 miles from the nearest Roehl yard, clearly this is going to be an issue for me.

 

Can someone in the know clarify this?