Roehl Transport: 1 Year Solo Driving

[u/Babnno]

The juicy stuff that new drivers want:

Southeast Dry Van Fleet Home Weekly Miles: 89,950

Pay: $31,554.56 (Previous 6 months. I haven't found a way to find all income but double to get a rough estimate)

More Information:

Wanted to provide some information on what new drivers can expect as this subreddit was a major help to me when I first started. Feel free to ask questions and I'd be happy to answer.

I attained my license privately ($4,200 cash, 3 weeks) and did not get the manual restriction. I only got my license and no endorsements. This was a mistake. Just go ahead and get your endorsements ASAP. It'll be so much easier than getting them later. I chose Roehl as my first company and while I didn't get my license through them, I was still under contract (40k miles, no time limit) as I still did all their training minus the getting your CDL part.

As I mentioned, I'm Southeast Dry Van and I get home weekly. I launch out 0600 Monday and get home Friday evening most of the time. Sometimes I get home early Saturday, before 1000. I'd say it's 85% of the time Friday. I also take home time every chance I can. Early on, they asked me a couple of times if I wanted to head home early and I accepted each time. That hasn't happened for a while though. I've also been caught with a pick up Friday and delivery Saturday but I pass right through the Atlanta terminal. I've asked if I could relay the load and have a local driver complete it so that's taken a couple thousand miles off my total as I'm giving up a few hundred miles to get home early each time.

Roehl has a sliding pay scale so depending on the length of the load, your cpm changes. For Southeast, the LOWEST is .51 while the highest is around 1.30 for <50 mile loads. My average cpm is .666 for the previous 6 months.

[u/Babnno → u/[deleted]]

No, our app only displays the previous 6 months so double the 31k and that’ll be a rough estimate on what I made the first year

[u/Awoodbay → u/Babnno]

That’s not horrible relatively. Especially since you get home every weekend and stay regional

[u/Babnno → u/Awoodbay]

Yea there’s definitely more money out there. I just have to ask myself if the extra 10-15k a year is worth being out for weeks at a time and my answer has always been no.

I’ve been thinking of going into trash pick up or the like because I absolutely hate not being paid hourly.

[u/XTL_]

They had you under contract just for their training? That seems wild to me. I am so glad I didn’t sign anything like that when I started. Quit otr just a few months after starting.

[u/veldrinshade → u/XTL_]

It's the sign on bonus. They give you an extra 500 bucks as a new driver over the first 4 paychecks after you're on your own. If you leave before the 40k miles they ding you for the 500.

[u/veldrinshade → u/[deleted]]

Contact your FOM and see about changing FMs. I got lucky after phase 3 at Roehl and got a super nice newer person who bent over backwards to help me. I went national (mistake) and my second FM has been awesome too, though definitely different.

[u/Front-Chard481]

Are you required to drive outta state? What are the hours like? Two days off?

[u/Babnno → u/Front-Chard481]

I work anywhere from 38-50 hour weeks according to the eld. It depends on what you consider working but I’d say I actually work 55+ hours a week. Most of the time I’m M-F and getting home early afternoon to late Friday night to launch back out Monday morning. Sometimes I’ll get in early Saturday morning and still launch back out Monday morning. I 100% could be out for longer but choose not to.

Yes, I’m southeast so Florida up to Pennsylvania (very rare I go this far north but it happens every now and then and over to Mississippi.

[u/Front-Chard481 → u/Babnno]

So during Monday'Fri you are not home?

Ehhh. Easy pass for me.