Comments By Flathead

Personally I'd check out the class and see if there were a fellow student with whom to partner up and share a room and expenses with at least for a portion of the period to avoid any possible performance consequences secondary to the added time required by the drive. I would imagine being as well rested as possible is important. I suppose it goes on to be a cost/ benefit analysis, looking at how much you will spend in fuel versus a portion of a modest hotel room. I, as I'm sure all here do, wish you the best of luck.

Thanks Slim. I think I need the hotel room if for nothing else- to study hard.

It will be next to impossible to study at home with my daughter trying to play for me.

Plus the cost of gas. The hotel is where I need to be.

thanks

Hey guys,

I just received my Roadmaster starter pack via e-mail and printed it out. It notes that DL, endorsements, physical, permit, drug test are out of pocket expenses and then it says that lodging is also an out of pocket expense. 26 nights in a hotel for a sizable sum.

So, is this usually not included in the financed part or "paid by the company you drive for" part?

Would you drive two hours each way to avoid the extra cost?

I'd be leaving at 4:30 am and returning home about 9:00 pm. Not too bad.

Anyway, let me know.

Mike, In the scheme of your life and the lives of your family, I'd say every second you have with your baby is a treasure. Your personal conflict is between the call of the trucker's open road, and your desire to hang out with the fam as much as you can. Been there, Done that.

I have no idea how Roehl's traffic lanes go, but within your company, I know of two areas you may want to look into: dedicated and shuttle. (I've done both, and then again, I've only been driving for about 6 months now). Many dedicated accounts will get you home on the weekend because that's how the contracting company wants if. Shuttle is driving the same road every day or whatever the schedule is. I drive a shuttle route right now. I'm home every day, and use a day cab, so any over nights are rare.

(PS: I can think of better places to wake up than Gary, Indiana!)

Shuttle or dedicated sound like exactly what I want.

I've never seen any advertising for them though. The local stuff all requires one to two years of experience.

How did you go about finding dedicated and shuttle runs?

Thanks for the info.

Yep I might just go and get my passport when I take home time in August.

What scares me about the process is you have to send in your birth certificate also. They may not seem like a big deal to most but I was born on an American Military base in Bermenhaven Germany or what used to be called West Germany.

If the state department looses my birth certificate I would have to go through hell to get another one if I could even get another one. It's a pretty scary thought.

Bremerhaven.

Try this: FS-240

Farfugnugen

FTWY

Yep I might just go and get my passport when I take home time in August.

What scares me about the process is you have to send in your birth certificate also. They may not seem like a big deal to most but I was born on an American Military base in Bermenhaven Germany or what used to be called West Germany.

If the state department looses my birth certificate I would have to go through hell to get another one if I could even get another one. It's a pretty scary thought.

I was born on a military base near Stuttgart, Germany.

I got my passport in 2006 and it was a LOT of work on my end. Trust me; you don't just need a birth cert., you need year book photos, drivers license copies, and written affidavits from friends and family, if you want it to go fast and smooth.

Ask me anything. I am up for a bit.

I was reading some posts and someone mentioned Roehl has a flexible home schedule: 7 days on 3-4 days off. Is this a realistic scenario for a new driver? I start school on Monday and the school has been getting me pre-hired with companies with hellacious reviews.

I checked out Roehl and Roehl has like 90% great reviews and 10% bad reviews. It's the opposite of what my pre-hires show.

I have a 5 year old and a wife and I want to be around the next year to see my daughter grow up. I'd also like to stay with my first company for more than 6-12 months. I hope I can stick with the first company for over a year and then look for a dedicated or local gig. Anyway, is this a realistic "out of school" goal? Money, while important, isn't everything for me. I can wait a year or two to start making $40-60k/year.

Thanks

From what I understand, it's possible but not probable. I don't know anything about Roehl but if they can guarantee that, it sounds awesome.

Something you probably don't want to think about but is worth considering: your daughter is 5. In a year she'll be 6. In the grand scheme of things, missing some time with her at this age will suck for you, but it won't be that big a deal. In fact, when she gets older she'll most likely barely remember it. But the opportunities you will open up for her in the future start here, at the beginning of your career. Making the right investment now will pay off big time down the line. So ask yourself if the reason you want to be around as much as possible for the next year is more for her sake, or for yours?

Hey, thanks for the insight.

You pretty much tipped on what I've been playing in my head over and over.

My pop was in Vietnam (3 tours) and my mom took the family to Germany to be closer to him. I was born over there and came to the states when I was 4. I remember some of it, but not enough to matter. I appreciate your insight and I needed to hear that from someone other than myself. Thanks a ton.

I put in an application with Roehl and had a candid talk with the recruiter. She said that the only thing available in my state with them was 14 days on and 3 days off. That will 100% work. I feel better after talking to her because the jobs the school is setting up look like 2-3 months away jobs. Those jobs are probably great for some single guys but with a family, 3 weeks out is probably the most my wife can handle. Not to mention that she just immigrated here and has zero friends. Her support is my family. I know it will suck for her and we've talked about it. I lived in her country for 9 long years without family. She says she can do it here and tough out the away time.

Anyway, I don't dare mention it to my wife, but I'm excited about this chapter of my life. I like to drive. I love work. I understand that sometimes **** has to get done. And, I've seen the world, but now I want to see the U.S.A. I can't wait to wake up in Gary, Indiana, take pictures and send them to my wife and wake up the next day in NYC and do the same.

Anyway, thanks for the pep talk.

I'm off to a program on Monday. It's just far enough away that commuting everyday will probably suck. So, I'll pay for the hotel and hope for the best (a sane room mate).

Besides the clothes, notebooks and stuff, I'll probably bring a cooler of food and water, a computer, and a frisbee.

Anything that you wish you would've lugged to the school?

I was reading some posts and someone mentioned Roehl has a flexible home schedule: 7 days on 3-4 days off. Is this a realistic scenario for a new driver? I start school on Monday and the school has been getting me pre-hired with companies with hellacious reviews.

I checked out Roehl and Roehl has like 90% great reviews and 10% bad reviews. It's the opposite of what my pre-hires show.

I have a 5 year old and a wife and I want to be around the next year to see my daughter grow up. I'd also like to stay with my first company for more than 6-12 months. I hope I can stick with the first company for over a year and then look for a dedicated or local gig. Anyway, is this a realistic "out of school" goal? Money, while important, isn't everything for me. I can wait a year or two to start making $40-60k/year.

Thanks