Roehl Transport makes it into the BAD company forum

I think what you might be looking for is the perfect carrier, and no, there isn't a perfect carrier.
Roehl is much better than some of the others out there, but they all have their warts. Put in the year, get the experience and find something better. Don't expect to have everything you desire right out of the gate. Isn't going to happen at any company.

 

Wolf's right. You'll encounter some rather odd treatment, and even BAD treatment, when you first start out at any outfit, only the treatment is worse at some than others. At least it'll seem bad in your mind, as you won't be used to it. After you get some time in, some of the things that will piss you off today won't bother you so much. Trucking will give you thick skin that way.

Rest assured that Roehl and Crete are about as good as you're gonna get as a green driver. If one of these hires you on, count your blessings. Burn some sage, incense, or cedar, and then thank Buddha, God, Allah, Warren Buffet, whomever for your fortune, because you have something to be thankful for.

I know M.S. Carriers used to be a great company for newbies, although they offered cabovers-only for rookies and even some of their experienced drivers. SwiftQuit bought them out in 2000, I believe, and around 600 drivers quit M.S. the day the deal became final. Lots of guys knew which was the good one and which one was the rotten one. I knew, too, and if I would have been driving for M.S. that day, it would have been 601 who quit.

 

Cabbie, you will do well with Roehl. They are a good training outfit. But after you finish EVOIII you have to do whatever possible to not be dispatched from Gary, IN! Get on a 7-7 fleet or 7/4-7/3 so you get the good loads, those fleets are higher on the load assignment pecking order than National or Regional boards.

Then, once you get close to 100,000 miles, you can possibly land a good local job.

 

Man! Any decent over the road carriers?

As a trainee I would say you could do worse then Roel and not much better most likely. Your main concern should be seeing if OTR life suits you and that you can safely drive a truck. The training companies are pretty much all meat grinders to one degree or another, so it just depends on if you can quickly learn how to deal with them to your advantage.

Heck, you only have to make it 6 months to a year where ever you go and then you can pretty much do what you want. If you keep the wheels turning 6 months to 1 year will fly by. Good luck

 

I am a "wannabe" trucker possibly looking into Roehl. (I'd be looking to do something like 11/3.) Once I start Evo 3 (earning cents-per-mile), how many miles per 11-day period should I expect to average for the first year?

 

Bucksands I gotta apologize. I reread my post and the personnal swipes were uncalled for. I find the turnover/job jumpers to be distressing and as you put it...profitable. The ones That really get to me are the guys you just know aren't gonna make it. Can't help but to feel like we are wasting our time sometimes. The most annoying however is the guys that are good and you know will be sucessful only to have the company annoy them to the point of quitting. These are the ones that you meet down the road driving for other carriers quite sucessfully. I agree it is nice seeing the occasional retention bonus on a check.(I don't look real close at pay stubs or recaps Roehl has never missed anything so I stopped looking, Didn't need that stress anyway). I don't get the in and out times thing it started with a few places now it seems like every load wants them. If a company requirs them then how come nobody does it? It has become just one more thing I quit doing and nobody has said boo about it, just like writing down fuel info on trip sheets. I haven't done that since we started fueling at Flying hooks. Again sorry for the personal attacks it was uncalled for.

 

I read the post. Roehl is one of the top 5 on my list. What's the deal with being dispatched out of Gary, IN ???????

 

Hey newbie everyone has an opinion about everything. I've had a dispatcher in marsh, atlanta, and gary. The one I wouldn't want again would be atlanta. That being said it was just one bad disp. in atlanta and she's not there anymore. Where your dispatcher sits has nothing to do with their ability. It's like asking us where the best wrenches are at. We will all swear we know where the best and worst are at.

 

Well I don't know what to think anymore.

I'll be graduating in a few weeks and got a pre-hire from Roehl.

Are you guys saying that you get low miles on the fleets that get 2-3 days off for 7-17 days on, but if you do 7/7 or 7/4-7/3 you'll probably get better miles? If it is then I'll try to get the 7/4-7/3 or look somewhere else....

Seems like all companies that hire new grads are bad, but Swift is the worse, which is what I expect, but I know that with a year or two experience I'll be able to get a good job.

For me though starting at 30 cents a mile, and even if I only got 2000 a week that would still be $600 gross, which is pretty good for me compared to what I made in my last job.

I just don't want to be in a terminal for extended periods of time not making any money. If I had my dog and my boyfriend with me it would be ok, but Roehl doesn't allow either of them. That's why I'm thinking about Werner.

 

What is this 7/7, 7/4, 7/3. I assume it is some kind of a work/rest split, but I just don't fully get it. AND is it like this with other OTR companies.

I ask because I am going to make the jump in early '08 and I am trying to acquaint myself with as much information as possible.

Did the guys early on in this thread demand more hometime, refuse to haul long distances, or maybe put other conditions on their loads? If so, they did not have their eyes wide open. Not knocking them or anything.

I will not be hindered by the any of the "gotta be home allot" or not driving longer distances. Hell I want to drive the longer distances. I was thinking that would help even as a beginner.