Is It A Mistake To Get My CDL Right Now?

Roehl pays you while getting your CDL and on phase 2 as a student driver. The pay is like 500 a week while in training CDL school lasts about 3 to 4 weeks than 4-5 days of cargo securement than 21 to 26 days out with a trainer. After that you will go to phase 3 in your own truck that will last min of 4 weeks the pay is .53 a mile for flatbeds. Roehl has some of the best training out there.

I got mine late last year and started with schneider early this year. I have not run into a situation where I have had to wait for a load. They are running my wheels off.

Thank you all for sharing your experience/ knowledge with me. I am going tomorrow morning to get my CLP (I let it expire a few years ago). As soon as I pass this, I will be calling Roehl!

Update: I scored a 100% on my CDL Permit test. I have been trying to find a number to call and speak to Roehl, but the posted number on the website send me to the operator, "Cannot be completed at this time"

I was also looking into Maverick and was interested in going that route, until I found out that you have to go 4 weeks without being paid while in training. That is impossible for me to swing.

I keep getting the "Hell naw" response from people when I talk about TMC.

I would rather stay away from Schneider if I can.

Paul, not sure if you could help there with the Roehl phone number issue. But are there any other reputable companies that ya'll know of that will pay the bills as a starter? Melton maybe?

Something was wrong with my phone. I was able to get in touch with a Roehl recruiter, but they wouldn't really talk to me without an application being filled out first.

I am concerned, though, and unsure if I will be able to follow through with this and attend school due to financial reasons. At $500 gross a week during training, I can't survive for a month with that kind of pay.

I will keep digging for options, though. Thank you all.

Virtually all of the carriers that train will pay about the same during school/training.

Its important to note the difference. School is where you get your CDL , usually at their facility, classroom, on the pad and some driving. Training is real life on the job training, where you are actually doing real loads with a trainer in their truck. Sometimes the two phases are concurrent, some not.

Most carriers seem to land in the 400 to 500 per week if at all while in school, although if they are paying, they may not cover lodging, or food, etc. Meaning you won't make squat while in school. (Why should you, you're not an asset yet, just a cost).

During training it varies by carriers, but it seems to be around 600 to 900 per week.

Knight hires you before you start school, so its more secure job placement. When I was there, it was 480 per week in school for 3 weeks, 850 a week in training. The training was only 2 weeks long, plus a week of top gun. No contract, but if you stay a year, your school cost is paid off.

Its totally unrealistic to expect to come into this industry thinking that you'll make money right off the bat. Like any other trade, you get your schooling done then training and then your first year is basically being an apprentice.

It will take you a year to consistently perform efficiently and produce. You can make great money but you need to learn the fundamentals and be committed to your career.

Most people have been fed a narrative that this industry somehow magically makes you wealthy and a truck driver after 3 weeks. Its simply not the case. Run hard and smart and you can make a decent living though.

There is no easier softer way than to do what we all did, find a way to survive school, training and then your first year.

I don't have false expectations when it comes to the amount I will be making on the road. I know that I need to put in some time and experience.

I am going to talk to Roehl tomorrow some more and I will look into Knight as well.

You have to be really careful with the information about trucking companies you gather online. Most of it is so unreliable that you do yourself a serious disservice trusting it.

You have to realize you know nothing at this point. Then you have to realize most of the reviews you read are written by people much like you. They came into this career knowing nothing, got their hopes dashed because they had no idea how to be successful at this, then they start pointing fingers at the company.

You've made several remarks dismissing certain companies that could provide you a great start at this career. You took false information and based your job searching on it. Trucking is hard to break into. That's where the problem lies. People don't understand it and get themselves all up on a soapbox wanting to warn everyone how bad this or that company is. They miss the point completely.

This job takes a lot of commitment to being successful at it. Without some grit and grind, nobody would survive it. Your comments about TMC being particular about tarping are funny to any flatbedder. A true flatbed guy is always going to be particular about tarping. He's a professional and he enjoys the satisfaction of a job well done. There is so much more to trucking than just driving a truck.

You say you want to avoid Schneider. You also say your broke. Schneider can get you rolling and earning money faster than anyone out there. They have an excellent training program that is done very quickly. I think it's just two weeks and then you're on the payroll.

I'm just trying to point out how you really don't even know what you don't know. You're gathering information from people who failed and counting it as valuable. I understand it, and I have some empathy for you. That's why we are called Trucking Truth. We recognize all the bad information online.

I wrote a book which would be very helpful to you. If you're interested you can find it on Amazon. Go to their website and type in the search bar... Hit The Road by Dale McClure. It's a book designed to help you make a successful start at this. It's filled with my experiences and stories from the road. I started my career at Western Express. What has your research shown you to think of them as a good place to start? I have a solid career out here. The key isn't where you start, it's HOW you start.

"You have to be really careful with the information about trucking companies you gather online. Most of it is so unreliable that you do yourself a serious disservice trusting it." - Partly the reason I made this thread.

"You've made several remarks dismissing certain companies that could provide you a great start at this career. You took false information and based your job search on it." - 100% agree. Also, why am I here? I try to avoid YouTube reviews because they are mostly full of disgruntled drivers searching for an easy paycheck. Laziness gets you nowhere fast.

"Your comments about TMC being particular about tarping are funny to any flatbedder. A true flatbed guy is always going to be particular about tarping. He's a professional, and he enjoys the satisfaction of a job well done. There is so much more to trucking than just driving a truck." - When I said particular about tarping, I am not talking about the quality of tarping. I want to be trained correctly and I am anal about the work I do. I am a bit OCD because of my Military background. What I mean is that they seem to tarp much more than others companies. But that is not what keeps me away from TMC. The lack of an APU and the fact that they punish your wallet for idling is what keeps me away.

Old School. I have read many of your posts on this forum, and I am honored to have your guidance on this thread. I love honesty, whether it hurts or not. I agree that I know nothing, and I fully expect to be corrected if I say something based on incorrect information or hold a wrong opinion.

When I mentioned I wanted to stay away from Schneider. I don't have anything against them. The $ 10-an-hour training pay is what holds me back, but I have no problem reevaluating that. Plus, I want to go to flatbed :P

Side note: I am working on getting a small loan to help pay some bills while I am in CDL school. If that is a possibility, then I am open to any option, regardless of training pay. That being said, I may go back and look into Maverick some more. I have talked to many that loved it there. Does anyone have any opinion on Maverick? Is that a good option?

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Maverick is an excellent option. That's a really well run flatbed outfit. Don't fall for the idea that you'd make more money by joining their lease program. Just stick with being a high performing company driver.

I want to be trained correctly and I am anal about the work I do. I am a bit OCD because of my Military background.

That's all great. OCD is not a bad thing in trucking. Here's my concern... I've seen a lot of military guys and former law enforcement abort their trucking aspirations during training. This industry trains to bare minimum standards. It's the cost effective way they've found to provide themselves with a sufficient influx of new drivers. Years of recruiting and training have boiled down to a system that is both cost effective and reliable enough to keep some good drivers.

You cannot expect to be trained similarly to military standards. This industry will get you to a point where they feel you can be trusted to not tear anything up too badly. That's basically the standard. You will be expected to be learning continually through your on the job experiences. You will be exposed to new problems and scenarios continually. Those should all be considered training experiences.

A lot of people, who've been trained for all kinds of scenarios in other careers, find this frustrating and quit. You'll have to take the bull by the horns and learn to ride even when it's rough going.

I just want you to be prepared mentally for some real challenges. Don't blame the problems you encounter on poor training. Consider them as continual training that's being randomly thrown at you.

Those are some of the reasons we highly recommend you stick with your first company for one full year. It just takes time to get where you can be productive, safe, and reliable.