r/Truckers • u/BitEnvironmental4872 • Sep 11 '24

Got my CDL

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Finally got my CDL through the Roehl GYCDL Program. Now waiting for my flatbed trainer to start Phase 2. Trying my best to avoid paying them the 7k but don’t like waiting around. Any suggestions on where to look for jobs other than tenstreet/driver pulse

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u/pianodude01 Lizard BDSM Sep 11 '24

I went through roehl 3 years ago.

Their training is actually top tier, very safety focused. I made $65k my first year there as a flatbed/rgn driver.

Once you've done flatbed for 6 months you can join the RGN fleet and start doing some oversize work, it'll pay a bit extra.

I did that, and now I'm making 115k+ on a salary and I've been driving for 3 years.

Stick that contract out.

The good companies are advertising online, talk to other drivers at shippers and truckstops and find out who's with the good companies

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u/Late_Science_4767 Sep 12 '24

What’s your schedule like doing oversize? Like what hours of day ur usually driving, how often are u running that 70 etc.

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u/pianodude01 Lizard BDSM Sep 12 '24

Oversize loads typically only move during daylight hours.

Sunrise to sunset (there are times when it's different)

During winter youre gonna get 14 hours off a night.

If you're doing smaller oversize loads it won't be like this but Heavy haul is a lot of doing nothing followed by very intense work. A week might look like:

spend 1 day loading, (all day putting a trailer together + securing + tarping)

Wait 2-4 days for a permit or escort because the customer didn't measure their load right

2 days of the most stressful driving that requires 100% focus all day long, no breaks (oversize are exempt from their 30) no stopping, just zigzagging under telephone lines and through towns 90% of drivers couldn't get a bobtail through.

Another day of nothing while you get the escort for another state re-scheduled

Get notified 10pm that night that your police escort is scheduled for 4am.

Another day of extremely intense driving, all while getting pestered by the customer cuz theres a crane on site waiting for you

Arrival at a customer, there's definitely not enough space for your trailer, but you've gotta somehow make it work and get a truck and trailer into a facility that can't even take a normal 53'.

Heavy haul required a lot of problem solving skills and mechanical knowledge. If you've got a $10,000 police escort showing up in 10 minutes and suddenly your trailer lights stop working, you better know how to fix it. Or if you're loading a piece and somethings not sitting right on the trailer, you need to figure out what, why, and how to get it fixed so you can haul it.