Roehl Transport, No Complaints?

I recently go my pre hire letter and then advanced from there. I just got my DOT physical done, which ROEHL paid for. I don't have to pay that back. I have been doing a lot of research and think this is a great company for a beginner I have heard a lot of bad things about swift and stevens.

 

How tuff is pre work evaluation they do? What are the measurements that would disqualify you?

 

I am a roehl drivers wife, roehl is ok at first but after five years with them I can say he just started looking into finding a differant company to work for, last year the pay started to go down and has sence , he has had the same truck for 4 1/2 out of the five years it was starting to go into the shop alot so he asked for a new truck there responce last year was that he is up for a new one and would get him 1 soon 1 year later still no new truck until last week they put him in 1 that was 1 year younger very dirty and smelly form the other driver and had the right side of the hood holding on with bunggy cord, A/C went out on him when he took it in the hood fell off gave him a loner truck in even worse cond. We are only makeing 2 cents more than what he started at 5 years ago. He has had NO accidents in those 5 years and all loads have been delivered/picked up on time. It seems to me that Roehl dont appretiate the good drivers they have , our check very from 350-700 a week. In trucking there is NO reason why a driver should ever mbe payed less than 500 MIN. a week. After looking around and checking out other companys we will be notifying Roehl and telling them why he is planning to switch.

 

I've been here for 15 years.It's not the same company as when I started. The computer logs are a pain,no flexibility what so ever. Trying to meet the mileage standards keep me at 55mph all day long. 30 trucks recently had cameras installed in them,facing out the windshield and inside the cab. It's only a matter of time before all the trucks have their privacy invaded. Heard there are people now hired to video tape the trucks going down the road.
Roehls need for safety has almost made it impossible to just use good old fashioned common sense. I feel like a robot holding a steering wheel.
This is probably the way the entire industry is going.

 

I have to agree with the statement made about the guy with all the bad to say! This is how the game of trucking works for the guys just starting. First of all, when you are a new hire, that's all you are. Your bosses and dispatch know nothing about you and probably aren't gonna take much initiative. The relationship you have with your dispatch is SUPER CRITICAL. He is the guy that decides where you go and what you do based on the needs of the company. Be kind, courteous and respectful and you will see a higher influx of good loads. It would behoove you to be diplomatic and tactful when problems do occur. Trucking is a great job and once it gets in you... That's all you're going to want to do. Keep in mind that while you as a driver have needs, the company also has needs. Sometimes you just have to accept the needs of the company supercede your personal needs on some infrequent occasions.

 

just left them after 2 weeks of training super nice people, the only downfall for a student i saw is they are they are extremely short handed on trainers. I sat around for a week waiting on another trainer, called daily still had nothing finally decided to go elsewhere but maybe depending on how the company im going to is a fue years down the road if they would rehire me i would go back sucks being a semi broke student.

 

Doing my DoT physical with them today. (Didn't check out how long ago the recent post was).

From all the research I've done on this company, (read these forums and others). Roehl seems to be the best for starting out drivers. They have, by far, the best pay starting, and the training pay is excellent (90 dollars aday while you're with your trainer (OTR)).

As far as the cameras in the truck. I believe this is not the industry "norm". I work for a distrubution company, and asked our Safety Director if we had any plans on doing this. His response was "Only if the driver shows he is a danger to persons or property". I would imagen it takes a lot money to not only buy/install the cameras, but also someone to monitor them.

A little off-topic, but I'll share with you some of my findings of different companys.

--- Werner -- Horrible, you have felonies, failed drug tests, traffic accidents, then this is the place for you.
--- U.S. Xpress --- Want to run teams? Go for it, you'll be doing tons of FED-EX runs (timed runs). Other than that it is a decent company with "decent pay"
-- Stevens Transport -- They're pretty much a good starting point if you can't get into Roehl.
--Covenant -- Stay away (Yes, U.S. Xpress is their "brother" company but operatered by different people).

That's all I can think of at the top of my head, and those opinions are exactly that. Opinions, do you own research and send out )()(* tons of applications. Someone on these forms had a very nice signature, that Ill paraphrase. "Get as many pre-hires as you can, even from companys you don't want, crap happens."

Best advice in the entire world.

 

I worked for them for 2 years till I got a local driving job and am at home every night. If I had to go back out on the road I would go to Roehl immediately and never look elsewhere. They are a straight up company and you would be fortunate to get in there!!!!!!!!!!!

 

This is all very useful advice for someone who's never opened the driver's door. I am a Midwest boy at heart and would like to stay based in the Northland.

One thing I notice is they do a non-DOT hair test for drugs. This might be a dealbreaker for some people.

 

Probably will be, but those are probably the kinds of people they don't want to hire.