Profile For Pick/Grin

Locally, if I make $12.50 and work 60 hours, I'll make $1000.

Actually, working 60 hours at $12.50 would yield $750. Unless you're getting time and a half for hours over 40, in which case you'd get $875. Or do live somewhere where you get double pay for overtime or something?

Oh wow, yeah it comes out to $875, I'm just bad at math haha Some jobs give double time, though it's rare. A position with the county or city would be more likely to offer it, considering my father works a gov't job and is offered double time and a half several times a month, though he's got quite some tenure with a cushy county job.

@Brett, I already acknowledge all of that. I'm not sour about it, but obviously the best thing to do before sending a business money is figuring out if that amount can be reduced. I was told by a seasoned driver that these sorts of contracts are in fact not legal, so I figure I'd scour the internet and find out whether or not he was correct in that statement. A little bit of research beforehand helps.

And yeah, I make a ton of impulsive decisions, but don't go thinking I'm not gonna go through with the consequences. OTR was never the long term goal either way. I'm not in a worse position, I'm actually living quite comfortably with what I've saved up.

Out of curiosity, what happened at Roehl that you weren't able to complete your 75k? A roehl recruiter came to my school today. Although I knew most of the info, he only briefly mentioned the contract however. I plan on staying at my company for a year or 2 regardless.

Nothing "happened", but after doing the math and comparing it to other professions, I figure it wasn't worth the pay.

32 cpm at 2000 miles comes out to $640, 2500 = $800, 3000 = $960. I could get 3000 a week with a bit of effort, though my goal was 2800 and my dispatchers kept me moving. With our 70 work hours: if I run on recaps and use 65 of those hours (legally) while maintaining my goal, I'll make roughly $13.78 an hour, with no over-time of course. Granted, you don't make that if you don't conserve your clock, and that's if you don't mind getting zilch while sleeping in subzero temperatures on the other coast, literally across the country. My diet is very limited, no bed, no human contact, adverse weather on a constant basis, I'm making very little money, and my free time is still limited to the cab (still AT work regardless of duty status).

Locally, if I make $12.50 and work 60 hours, I'll make $1000. I was good driving OTR, and I actually enjoyed it. I made appointments early, never turned down a load, and was generally treated well by Roehl. I don't hold it against them with this breach in contract, but when you work for three weeks at a time and make out with such a dismal amount of money, you start to consider other types of CMV work. Plus, I'm only 22 so I really don't mind the physical aspect of local work.

Anyway, if I don't have an out with this contract, I guess I'll just have to pay it. If you guys have questions, feel free to ask, regarding Roehl or OTR work in general.

It's a little late in the day for me to go calling them, but how legally binding is this contract exactly? I've received a bill from Alliance Collection Agencies to the tune of $4,630.

No, I did not complete the 75k miles, and yes, I acknowledge that housing me for training and all does cost money. I understand that the company is trying to recoup losses, but I'd like to collect as much info as possible before I go sending anyone money.

So, does anyone have any experience with this? I'm back home for good, trying to get into local work, and this sizable bill will definitely be a set back.

It happens in some areas. We have a spot near East St Louis that's shared with Werner I believe

An older guy tried explaining why I was wrong in not going straight into flatbed. His one deal-breaker was the extra money.

Everybody likes a certain aspect of their type of freight. Yeah, I could very easily get into flatbedding, but I don't see it as worth it. Others beg to differ, but that's their opinion.

Farthest I've gone is Mass. It wasn't bad, though it was pretty bleak at 7am. Some cities you avoid at certain times of day. I drive through Chicago frequently, and never go through it unless I know traffic, crash locations, and have at least 4 hours on the clock. It might take three miles to merge into another lane simply because it's a bad place to be during rush-hour.

Also, I don't think I've ever seen Milwaukee during the day. I always hear about the bad traffic, but I've got my foot down the whole way because I check my hours way in advance.

Gonna have to check this out when I have the chance

You can request to your dispatcher to be given loads that occur during certain hours. I prefer getting up early around two or three, that way I can shut down by 4 in the afternoon and I have a good four or five hours of little traffic early in the day. Additionally, shutting down midday is a lot safer and you will find it much easier to find a spot since everyone else is still out on the road. However, they might give you an assignment that conflicts with your personal schedule. Every once in a while, you will be the only driver in the area that can pick up a particular load. You might start your day at 8 at night, but they need you to load at 2pm, in which you say "no problem". It's just a necessary occurrence.

Windex, a spare toothbrush, a truck stop pocket guide in case you don't have a smartphone, a claw hammer (is great for prying), some old t-shirts or shop rags, etc.

Everyone has things that they find the most useful. For me, I'd rather use a claw hammer over a tire checker as they both serve the same purpose. If you don't want to pay 5 bucks for shop rags, go to Walmart and get the 18 pack of hand towels. Same price for a way bigger quantity, and they're also a lot more absorbent. Consider a clipboard case for your paperwork, they are a lot more reliable then storing everything in a folder. Some drivers will get the biggest cup they can find and fill it with free ice to throw in a cooler, as opposed to buying one with a built-in refrigeration unit. This is much cheaper and more reliable than relying on something that relies on the battery. Get yourself a hand broom and dustpan as well. It's not a good look for a truck to be covered in dust and dirt, so I sweet mine out every 2 or 3 days. Dawn dish soap or any other dish detergent works great on bugs.

I'm not trying to rain on the parade , but you guys need to call Schneider. If you have new cdl from private school they have Otr option of out 11 days/ in 3 starting at .34 cpm Orientation is only 17 days at $80 per day. And in some areas offering $5000 sign on bonus. That's a deal breaker for me

That $5000 bonus you're referring to is most likely only for otr drivers who have some experience and if they are offering it to new graduates, well, it'd be very far and few options like that. Roehl starts off at .32 but after 3 months it goes up to. 34 and then .36 after another 3 months. Flat bed starts off at .34 or.36 I think. The same thing applies though, after 3 months .02 raise. Roehl has much better home time flexibility that Schneider doesn't always offer. Schneider has tankers though if you wanted to go that route.

I weighed my options between the two, because I really wanted to drive a tanker but I don't think there's anything else that could compete with the home time I get. I don't know what it is, but specialty haulers really draw me in, and I really wanna took a big ol tank of gas behind me. That or autos.