Profile For Joe M.

I am starting school in Indianapolis on Monday 12th of January, I will be posting daily updates.

OK, I arrived at the Celadon training school today and we assigned my dorm room. Classes start at 8am in the morning, excited to get started.

Nice, good luck. I recently graduated from Miller-Motte with my Class A CDL, and I start training with Roehl Transport for flatbed on 1/19 in Gary Indiana.

Watch yourself in Gary...that's a rough town to be in and I'm not joking. I used to live near there when I was a teenager and from what I have heard from all my friends back home it's gotten even worse since I moved away.

Thanks for the info. As a former police officer I did some checking on my own as well. I plan on going to class and going back to the hotel and that's it. I'll have a roommate as well and I think there will be other people there for the class too. I will be very cautious though!

Thanks David, I've enjoyed reading this as I prepare for my orientation and training on the road for 2 weeks. Enjoy your home time, I think you deserved it!

I start orientation with Roehl on Monday 1/19 in Gary Indiana for flatbed division. I put myself through school locally for my CDL, and I used the High Road Training Program that Brett mentioned. I had a little trouble grasping things out of the CDL manual, but the tests here made it so much easier to understand. I started school with my permit, but only had a Class B due to having trouble with the combo test, after studying in class with this website I left school early one day to go take my combo test. I made it through the test without one wrong answer! I plan on looking over the tests again to brush up for orientation and yard training. I even submitted applications through TT and got a few recruiters calling me but I chose Roehl.

I am starting school in Indianapolis on Monday 12th of January, I will be posting daily updates.

OK, I arrived at the Celadon training school today and we assigned my dorm room. Classes start at 8am in the morning, excited to get started.

Nice, good luck. I recently graduated from Miller-Motte with my Class A CDL, and I start training with Roehl Transport for flatbed on 1/19 in Gary Indiana.

Nice. Who was the pre-hire from? I got a few of those letters. I just signed on with Roehl Transport and start my training for flatbed on the 19th in, and I'm guessing freezing, Gary Indiana.

I'm near Madison WI (about 3 hours north of Gary) and I have family just east of there, near Portage. The wind chills have been between 10 and 25 below zero for about a week now. Frankly, I'm happy to not be training in this - it's stressful enough without having to be concerned with frost bite and having to learn pre-inspections and such with bulky clothes and boots. My CDL school school starts on Feb. 2nd and I'm crossing the fingers that old man winter gets this out of his system by then. Living up in this neck of the woods however, we know that isn't the case. February will be just as brutal.

My pre-hire letter is from Werner Enterprises. According to this, my orientation would be in Indianapolis if I choose them. They have been near the top of my list of companies, so it's looking more and more likely.

Roehl is right there near the top as well. Their reputation is respectable and Green Bay is less than a two hour drive from me.

Jeffrey, how long have you been with Roehl? Did you start out on flatbed?

Joe R.,

While I was in school, one of our instructors was talking with a former student who was working with Werner. The student stated that he had been on the road non-stop since September, this was during class in December, still with his trainer and that they were team driving because they didn't have a truck for him yet. He also told our instructor that if he got anywhere close to SC, he was getting off the truck and walking home. He told the instructor to warn any students away from Werner.

I'm not sure how valid his statement was since I didn't know the student, but as a former police officer I can say that there are 3 sides to every story. the 2 sides involved and the truth! I chose not to look at Werner because I trusted my instructor, and because I found a few other companies that looked more appealing before picking Roehl.

My top choice before Roehl was Trans Am because of a driver/recruiter that stopped by the school with his truck. He took the time to answer our questions and then some, and also let us check out his truck and see all the great things it did. Automatic transmission, auto 5th wheel release from inside the cab, double bunk which he used the top for extra storage, fridge, TV, and microwave.

Good luck with your school, I enjoyed mine and made a few friends. Plus, my school instructors have asked that I stop by and talk with future classes and let them see my truck which I'm looking forward to.

Hello David,

I have been reading this latest thread and find it very interesting. I just recently graduated from truck school with my CDL A, and signed on with Roehl for flatbed. I start my training in Gary Indiana on the 19th, next monday, and I'm looking forward to it. Not so much the could weather though as I'm from Myrtle Beach where we have occasional 8o degree days in December and January, which are nice to spend out on 2 wheels.

I am a coffee drinker as well, and was guessing from your posts that you have a coffee maker in your truck. I was told that when I get a truck, it'll have an inverter for plugging in things. I love my Keurig and plan on getting one to put in the truck, along with plenty of water. I usually only drink water and coffee, save for the occasional beer, root beer or sweet tea when we go out to eat.

Since I'm just starting out OTR, are there any items or equipment that you can recommend that will make things easier on the road?

Thanks for putting together such an informative thread and posts.

Joe

Nice. Who was the pre-hire from? I got a few of those letters. I just signed on with Roehl Transport and start my training for flatbed on the 19th in, and I'm guessing freezing, Gary Indiana.

I drive flatbed for Roehl and yes it freezing here lol.

Awesome, looking forward to that cold weather. Ok, not really!

Have you done much with Roehl or have you just started? Do you like working for them?

Very good information from Old School and Hambug. I would also like to mention that 2 guys in my class did the school through Workforce Investment Act or WIA for short, while the 3rd guy enrolled using Military assistance.

Here is a link for Workforce Investment Act from the Department of Labor website.

http://www.dol.gov/recovery/implement.htm

I hope this information helps.

Nice. Who was the pre-hire from? I got a few of those letters. I just signed on with Roehl Transport and start my training for flatbed on the 19th in, and I'm guessing freezing, Gary Indiana.

I just recently completed school, here in Myrtle Beach SC where I live, and enjoyed being a part of the class. I chose Miller-Motte Technical College due to the fact that they limit the class to 4 people per 1 instructor. I found it very easy to learn, and we all got along great with plenty of seat time for all 4 of us. I was able to pay for the school myself which cost me $4k. I decided to go that route because I was told that it would be easier to pick a company rather than have a company sponsor me and then get locked into an agreement with them. This is just my personal experience and in no way implies that it is the right way to do it. I hope this helps.

Joe

Thanks Joe, It seems it might be a better option. May I ask how the job placement is going?

Jeffrey,

During school we had drivers and recruiters from various companies that stopped in to talk with us. The school also had lots of brochures from companies including local companies willing to hire recent graduates. I also came here to TT and filled out applications to some of the companies. And, I had 7 companies sending me emails or calling me to explain their benefits and what to expect if I signed with them. After much debate and plenty of discussion with my wife, I chose to sign up with Roehl Transport (Rail) for flatbed. I start my training in Gary Indiana on January 19, 2015 and I'm really looking forward to it.