Schneider And Roehl

Thanks Brett.

Knight and Swift have terminals close to me in Columbus, which is appealing, but I don't really want to run all over the country. Roehl services the entire country, but from what I've researched most of their freight is Midwest to East coast.

If you run "dedicated" for SWIFT, they will likely run you regionally.

When you add up the upfront costs and the first year of pay, I'd be over $8000 better off spending my first year with Roehl than I would starting at Schugel.... so it's not just a "few hundred bucks" as you put it

When I said "a few hundred bucks" I was referring to the difference in what you would make during training, not during the whole year.

When you add up the upfront costs and the first year of pay, I'd be over $8000 better off spending my first year with Roehl than I would starting at Schugel.... so it's not just a "few hundred bucks" as you put it

When I said "a few hundred bucks" I was referring to the difference in what you would make during training, not during the whole year.

Well, what Roehl is doing isn't just providing free CDL school and paying during trainer phase (like all companies do). Roehl is also paying the student $2000 to attend their CDL school (four weeks at $500 per week). I don't know of any other company that is also paying the student during CDL school. They all start paying after the school when the student gets in the truck with a trainer. I could be wrong though.

Half of the $8000 hole I'd be in with Schugle after a year is from the CDL costs (Schugle only reimburses $3600 of the $5500 tuition I'd spend up front and Roehl pays $2000 during school.... that's a $3900 difference). The other half comes from Schugle only paying $0.27 per mile for 6 months. So yeah, the difference made during training can results in thousands.

Unless you're one of the few, you're probably gonna switch from your first company. Better pay, better lanes, better home time, better equipment - everybody has their reasons ... Old School had his. What the TT "think tank" wants to make clear is that any trucking company can be your final destination if you have a good work ethic and are happy with your compensation. This goes along with keeping in mind the "grass is greener" pitfall that a lot of drivers fall into. More cents per mile doesn't mean a higher paycheck if the miles aren't there. Lots of drivers are problem drivers that carry along a bad work ethic to that new job with more cents per mile, and the paychecks are the same or worse. Moral of the story is that as long as you're a good driver, you can succeed anywhere.

However, let's not be coy. Considering you're a productive driver and not a knucklehead, would you pass up an extra .15 cpm to pull the same kind of trailer and freight with a different company? Based on a VERY modest average of 1500 miles a week, that would be a difference of $900 per month.

Here's another morsel to chew on. A lot of the higher paying trucking jobs, or companies that offer the better home time, aren't accepting prospective drivers with the same background and qualifications (or lack thereof) that the lower-paying company is. Experience also makes a difference with some companies. It's one of the main reasons folks here encourage new drivers to stick it out for a year. That 1 year OTR experience will open doors to ... wait for it ... companies other than the ones you can "start your career with."

It's obvious that some companies offer lower pay, and not as strict hiring standards, to keep drivers going in and out of that revolving door - that's probably part of their business model. Think of CR England as an example. Then, you have some companies with a more strict standard, that want more qualifications, and choose to offer a higher pay package than CR England. The company with the more strict standard and higher pay package will probably retain more long-term drivers. Call that last statement an educated guess.

So, I wouldn't go as far to say that the concept of a "starter company" is just an idea propagated by silly truck drivers. There is some truth to the matter. If company A has a better pay package and more strict hiring qualifications than company B, then company B might be considered a "starter company," comparatively speaking. If company A also requires a certain amount of experience compared to company B, then obviously you couldn't start your career with company A. Some gross simplifications, but taken in context with the rest of my post, I think you know what I'm trying to say.

Roehl seems like a fine company, but I didn't care for their slip seating they do in my area,