Beginning Company Sponsored Training With Roehl

Well I got that load all taken care of on time. Yay!!!! Joe had seen I came out early and sent me a message thanking me for taking care of it. I told him he actually owes my girlfriend big time for sharing her time with him. He laughed and said he will remember that. He asked that I pass on his thanks to her.

I looked at the calendar early and already gave him my dates for getting home next. He told me he would take care of it, and he thanked me for telling him early on. I told him I don't like unnecessary suprises and I don't expect others too either. He said "I think we will work great together".

I got another load quickly. But again this one has issues. There was no way to get it there on time again. Joe and I went through what has turned out to be normal messages and he told me he was working on getting the delivery extended to the next day at the same time. I was amazed, this would work well. I would have some down time but not bad.

Then I get a new preplan outta the blue. It showed me picking up while I'm still on this load. Needless to say I was very confussed. I called Joe and he said to sit tight, he was going to relay this one off me, and get me on a relay from a yard with 2 stops on Monday. He said he has my next one for over the new years to just trust him. I said ok. So tomorrow I'll relay this one in the morning and pickup the other and chill till Monday morning. He sent me to new England, and no offense to anyone, but I'm ready to return to the warm flat land. It's cold and mountains up here.

Well my relay went without a hitch, and I got some great rest. Drove down and hooked to my relay for tomorrow. Just as I finished it started raining. I got a short run for the first stop, so I'm getting some more things done. It's been raining for hours, but the forecast is for it to quit shortly. I looked at my route plan for the second stop and its going through NY about noon time. I can't imagine the George Washington bridge is going to be fun at that hour. We'll see.

Hey PJ,

How have things been going out there now?! Still hammering down I bet.

I just joined the forum. Thank you for this thread. It gives me great insight into the world of a truck driver. I have considered Roehl. Do they pay rookies as well as Prime? t seems like they get you in a truck on your own a lot faster. For me, I am not sure that is a good thing. Good luck out there and be safe!

This is such a great read for a local ga guy like me. Ive read this from start to finish and ill admit im a bit upset at no more updates lol. Thanks for sharing im still at a crossroads at which school to pick but you have given great insight on rohel. Stay safe and keep posting!!

I am at that crossroads too. I am leaning towards Roehl because of the thread. It is such a big decision.

Roehl is a great choice, and if you are interested in seeing more of PJ's updates I think you may find him in the General discussions section. He's running solo in his own truck now, and He's staying real busy so that he doesn't have a lot of time to post lengthy messages on here very often.

Hey ya'll, sorry haven't been on in awhile. But Old School hit the nail on the head in a big way. I've been very busy with both the job and life in general. 3 days off at home every 2 weeks sure doesn't lend itself to getting much done. I have gained a lot of experience very fast. The pace sure picks up quick when your solo. My FM has been great though. He has taken very good care of me. As far as the pay scale, I'm not sure what other companies are doing. I signed on at 32 CPM for the first 3 solo months, then a 2 cent raise each quarter for the first year.

At the end of the last days on was when that big storm hit the Midwest and NE. I was in some of it but missed the worst part thank god. I drove in some near blizzard conditions that sure made me do some quick thinking. Being from the areas of the country that never sees snow it was a challenge. But I got through it and learned a lot from it.

The end of my last run they didn't have a load and I delivered 63 miles from home. I had certain days I had requested for a very specific reason. They called me and said they were just sending me home a day early. Boy was that messing me up. I explained to my FM my problem. He gave me an extra day off without blinking an eye. He said I have done a great job, and been easy to work with and he was more than willing to work with me on it. I was very happy. I had come out early off Christmas to make a load happen, that wasn't going to happen otherwise, and was already 2 days behind schedule I later found out. He was very happy I did that.

My FTM discussed things with me last week and then told me she was recommending me to be cut loose from my phase 3 training early. I was a bit surprised, but she said I'm doing well and too just keep it up. She was going to talk to my FM to make sure he agreed, and it was a done deal. I'm officially no longer a student driver. Just hit 9000 miles on my own truck.

I don't remember if I mentioned this before or not, so if I did forgive me. I researched the daylights out of all the companies I could before making my decision who to go with. The 2 biggest factors for me was the 7/7 program and the reputation of Roehl's CDL school. Since I am retired and have a decent income the money was not a big factor. I still want paid for what I do, but it was secondary to me personally. I also like the fact the company is family owned. The Roehl family knows this business from end to end. Sure they are in the business to make money, but they understand what goes on out on the road.

I was planning on moving to the 7/7 fleet after training. It takes about 2 weeks to move from one fleet to another with all the pieces involved. I did some other research and found a dedicated fleet I checked into. I personally like a little structure in my life. Old habits die hard I guess. National fleet has no structure at all. It's always that not knowing till it happens. That drives me nuts to be honest. I have talked it over with my FM and the dedicated I'm interested in he ran before becoming a FM. He provided a lot of first hand information and I decided after talking to my girlfriend we would give it a shot. It's still out 11-14 days, the cpm is 2 cents less, but the miles are more consistent and they pay out certain bonus's other fleet's don't have. He said for him it equaled out for the most part. He also told me the loads are all planned farther in advance and most times they will send me home with a load so I will know when and where I'm going after my days off. I like that idea. I'll be running up and down the east coast from the south, pretty much what I have been doing anyway. I also like the idea of knowing the routes and establishing a list of places I can stop, or want to stop.

I talked to my girlfriend about it, because it effects her also. We live together and have a wonderful relationship. WE decided to sign up and try it. We'll see how it goes. My FTM and FM both highly recommended me for the position. I thought that was very nice of them to do that no longer than I have been working here. It should start next week, or maybe after my next days off.

This will be my last post in this forum since I'm no longer a student and this was designed to help people understand the training period for Roehl first hand. I will move to the general forum from now on. Those of you that have followed along I am honored and glad to hear you got something out of it to help you in your decision making process. That's the whole purpose of this site is to help each other out.

Wow, PJ, that is awesome. I wish you the best with your new run!!

I have thoroughly enjoyed this series of posts from the very beginning, what a ride man!

I am in a quandary myself, company sponsored (Roehl/Prime) or private here in CT. The money for private is a bit of a hurdle for my wife and I right now, but I have to make it soon to get in the next class. After reading your story of training with Roehl I'm thinking I like this idea. Does anyone know if they take candidates from CT? At least one says they can't.

Thanks for the insight, information and overall great read PJ!! Be safe...

It sounds as if you are enjoying yourself I do wish you would have continued your writing, I'm starting class next week and do enjoy knowing what to expect