The Good, The Bad, The Honest Truth of a New Roehl Lease Operator

I wasn't really forced out, I just couldn't handle the way things changed after Dan passed away then they put me on an elog and it went downhill from there. I learned a lot from my lease at Roehl and it has helped me a lot in my career. I left and drove a company truck for about 8 months and bought a couple of 379's. I'm home every weekend and rarely get more than 300mi from home. Sorry I'm not active on here anymore but business demands I spend my time driving, wrenching, and doing paperwork I will say I enjoyed my time at Roehl for the most part and as far as a starter company they are still and always will be my #1 recommendation. Good luck to all of you

 

After Jeff made his mark things have pretty well settled down. March the 12th will be my last lease payment on the truck. After that I will sign a promissory note for the $12,000 minus the $2,000 that has been held as a deposit since I signed the lease. Long story short I should have the title on the truck somewhere around September. In 2011 and 2012 I spent $10,000 each year in repairs and maintenance, 2013 is going to be close to that. Within the first 6 weeks of having the truck I spent $800 to replace the starter on the a.p.u., then another $2500 to replace the truck radiator that was one month out of warranty. Six months later I was having to have that radiator replaced.

During the Polar Vortex just after the new year my fuel gelled while driving and fouled the filter. I spent a day and a half waiting for the warmer temps to thaw the truck. A month later I spent 8 hours on the side of the road because -26 with wind chills in excess of -50 was more than the air system could handle and I ended up having to have the air dryer bypassed as well as the governor replaced on the side of the road. Last trip I got to the top of Monteagle and suddenly the truck started idling weird and then died while I was at the rest area. Turns out that all the fuses were corroded and had to be replaced.

This isn't unusual. When I sat on the side of the road, the delay was because of another breakdown. When I froze up and sat at a truck stop for 2 days we couldn't get a wrecker to tow me across the street because they were all tied up with other breakdowns and accidents. The a.p.u. has been a royal pain, but nothing on the truck has been that out of the ordinary. In short it is very easy to spend $24,000 in lease payments and then another $10,000 in repairs. Yes I'm still around and beginning to look forward to the next step in my business, but frankly I'm tired of reading other drivers who think their way is the only way to success.

 

Clearly only my way is the way to success.

 

So in summary, you would or would not recommend the lease program to interested drivers?

 

If you like Roehl and don't want to leave then yes leasing is a lot better than driving a company truck for them. I highly suggest saving your money and buying a good used truck for $20k or less somewhere else but I know a lot of you can't do that. In some cases a lease can be used as a stepping stone for your career, like use the extra money you make leasing to get your finances in order then when the time comes buy a truck elsewhere.

 

Roehl has a fair lease purchase program. If you know what you are doing and want to do a lease program for whatever reason then Roehl would be one of about 4 that I would check out. I didn't like DART's rates so I didn't pursue them. Schneider seems to have several good programs and I may end up there in time anyway. I've talked with drivers at KLLM that seemed pretty happy. I wouldn't just leave Roehl and jump into another companies o/o program, that is a lot of change all at once. You are changing companies and starting a business all at the same time and those are two big changes at the same time.

My earlier post is pointing out what you can expect if you are looking at becoming an o/o. Years before I thought about getting my own truck and owner operator told me, "When you own your own truck you will see more money than you have ever seen in your life and you will spend more money than you have ever spent in your life." Everyone tells you how you will make $140,000 a year. That is the gross revenue to the truck. Out of that comes insurance, truck payments, repairs, fuel and every other expense. When it is all said and done and you figure your per diem, your taxable income will be about $20,000.

 

Great info guys, thanks. I've tossed it around. Need more time to gather info and think about it.

 

Think very carefully why you want to be an O/O. I am an O/O with Roehl with a lease outside of Roehl. Did not want to be tied to the company and had the ability to secure backing elsewhere. Like Preacher Man said money is not always there when you want it or need it. My first truck was a serious money pit. First 3 months in 2011, shelled out $10,000. When they said I need a clutch at the tune of $2500 that was the final nail in the coffin and almost put me out of business. The next shock was what a new truck was going to cost. I decided that what I had been putting out on repairs and down time I could finance a new truck. It has been a struggle and the final "take home" pay is often less than what you can make as a company driver. Each of us have reasons why to be an O/O and it isn't because we are making money. Some years are good and some not so good. Yes, there are O/O that are making good money but they have put in the time learning how to make it and have moved into a good spot. Good luck and take time to talk to the lease O/O you see at Gary and at the other terminals. Find out their stories about the lease program.

 

It's been interesting catching up on this thread since I started my lease in 2011. Preacher, it sounds like you have a Blume Crapcadia with an MBE and an APU mounted on the passenger side like me? We have been fighting many of the same maint. battles, anyway.

If you are looking to be an O/O, Roehl's lease purchase deal isn't bad. This truck would have been mine in next Jan, but, I now have the ultimate nightmare situation. Truck is down. Needs a new engine. $30,000 + what I've already spent on the tow ($750) and diagnosis (several thousand more). I have 2k in escrow. If you are thinking about becoming an O/O, just keep in mind it could happen to you, too. Sorry to be a buzzkill on my first post. lol

 

Excellent advice, and I definitely plan on doing that. Already have talked to a handful, and mostly positive reports so far. Most say what you say, be smart about it and you can make it work.