Profile For Shawn B.

The way I was taught is if you’re taking a right turn , use the inside lane towards the curb but ride white line and borrow over as needed , left turn is outside lane ..

Think of a “one two “ pattern , when double clutching you don’t put it all the way to the floor , like a traditional manual .. I’d say about 1/4, clutch in out of gear , off clutch , clutch in , into new gear You’ll grasp it quick , it’s easier in a real truck vs the simulator

Started my first day on the shifting simulator its taking me some time to get my coordination down to double clutch. I used to have a manual pickup so it's screwing me up with my coordination. Like they say old habits die hard... more simulator time this week so hopefully by the end of the week hopefully I'll have better coordination.

My suggestion to you is to talk more with your recruiter and see what can be done to train on a manual , I’m sure they have some and still train elsewhere. I drive manual and wouldn’t change it for the world , you’ll like auto shift for the city traffic and up east .. east coast sucks

Hi all, Thanks for all your help and I decided to go with Prime. Since I am from north east they told me to go to Pittsburg, PA for training. That is something new for me since no one ever mentioned this anywhere. But I am excited at the same time. I really wanted to drive manual and all my life I drove only stick shift cars and l like the feeling of total control of a vehicle. But my recruiter told me that they are changing to automatic and it is highly doubtful that I will get a manual. So now I have to train my mind to enjoy automatic lol. But my biggest worry is about my future. How about other trucking companies, what if after 2 years or so I want to get into another company and they don't want someone without any manual experience. Or shouldI I try finding some other company which trains in manual or go to a driving school and learn manual. I am upset because I am going to dedicate a year for a company but they won't teach you manual and I feel that I am going to learn only half of driving.

I’m personally not a fan of lease . My company offers it and I’m slightly considering it, not because I’ll consider myself owner op , as you’re not owner op til it’s paid .. but because with my company you can choose where you run when you’re lease op , and I hate the east coast ... so to me that may be worth it ... still company driver , will debate it in the future

I also forgot to add YOU ARE TRAINED AND TESTED IN A 10spd manual at the APPLETON WISCONSIN LOCATION. I think most locations test manual , except Conley , GA, they are strictly automatic

PART 2

Week 4 The stress is on , this is the final week of GYCDL, the big day is coming , EXAM DAY!. Usually on Monday is all more practice , preparing for your test...

Test day; The nerves are up , you’re now gonna test for your cdl A that you’ve worked so hard for .. On test day it works like this , When you’re testing , your test consists of three segments: -Pretrip -Backing -Road

You must pass each in order to move on. For the pretrip you will be either given a section (A, B, C) along with coupling -OR- a full pretrip plus coupling.

The backing consists of -Offset -straight line -alley dock

Easy enough okay let’s go , time to hit the road!

The road exam I must say , well for the whole test I was very nervous before hand . An instructor there at FVTC (Jake) told us to act like we are being paid by the hour and to take our time as the test is NOT TIMED.. so that’s what I did . I will admit , I did fail the first time , it wasn’t my fault it was a lose lose situation , a vehicle took over my right of way so I stopped. (Impeding traffic ) however , I was given a second chance and I’ll get into that in a bit, I took it the second time and passed with only 3 points . 0 points on backing .. the road exam is actually very easy , don’t stress it more then you have to . The instructors training you at FVTC are also state examiners , they will be testing you . You will not have the same examiner that was training you . It will be someone you haven’t driven with or trained with. He is just making sure you know what you know and can operate the CMV safely . Do that and you’ll earn your license .

If you fail your first attempt , Roehl will most likely give you a second chance if they see you’ve been putting in effort into the program , as they do have reports that they file on you that you will never see ... each instructor will say your progress and how you’re doing . If you want your cdl you must earn it . You’re going to this program for 4 weeks , don’t waste your time here, even at the hotel. Use your time wisely.

Okay so you passed! Great! Time to go home right ? NOPE! You will spend the remainder of the day driving and backing . Graduation isn’t until Thursday .

Graduation day You’ll have to be at the terminal by 0630 as graduation is at 0700. This is your final day at GYCDL. I highly suggest you pack the night before so you can head out (if you drove ) once class ends, because you’re done.. This day will consist of mostly some videos on safety etc , fuel cards , you’ll get an atlas of you’re own and some other useful things along with meeting your fleet manager .

Also I forgot to mention , weeks 1-3 you will have half day Saturday classes at the terminal no matter where you attend training . 0700 until 1130. Final notes My last piece of advice is as I’ve said before , use your time wisely , bed early up early . I was up everyday at 0500 out the door by 0600 for a 0630 start. This is in my opinion a great company. Don’t listen to the other BS people will tell you about “come here this place pays more etc “ one of the biggest reasons trucking has the highest turnover rate is because people think the grass is greener on the other side , it’s usually not. Roehl will take care of you if you’re a hard worker.they have many opportunities to get pay raises . The top guy here makes 0.60 a mile plus bonuses and a bunch of paid vacation. Don’t come here to get your cdl to go work somewhere else . Remember if a company is willing to invest in you , they care about you . No matter where you go , you’re gonna be at the lowest pay scale as you are a ROOKIE driver. Don’t fall for the people saying they make more , they may, who knows but I promise you they don’t get the miles I get here . My first week driving I hit 3490 miles.. TRAINING, driving , just me. Another thing , Roehl’s biggest thing here is SAFETY. They care more about that then anything . No load is worth a life is there motto. I hope this helps anyone considering the program , I had a great time and would defiantly Recommend it to anyone looking to get a CDL. Any questions feel free to ask, I drive OTR so I’m not online much but I’ll do my best , feel free to put me down as a work- reference on your application if you’d like.

By the way if you attend FVTC , and see jake, tell him I said hi 😊

PART 1:

Hello all, My name is Shawn and after some extensive research, there isn’t really a lot out there for the company I work for (ROEHL) so id like to start and give some information on the program that I attended with my personal experiences during the program. I will start off with this , Roehl is so far an amazing company ... I have ZERO problems with them . I don’t recommend coming here as a gateway to get your CDL and then leaving as you will be billed... go to phase two and try it , a lot of miles and they’re great to me ... I am bad at this kinda stuff so bare with me , if you feel I missed anything or have any other questions feel free to message me or comment below. I’m currently OTR so I’ll add more as I can, stay tuned. Also.. more motivation to come here was Raymond Gibbs, I suggest you look him up on YouTube ..

Okay let’s start;

August 2018 I applied for my class A permit at my local RMV. After this i started researching companies to get my actual CDL with ... checked a bunch of companies ....

September 2018 I ended up choosing Roehl after reading a lot about the other companies .... put it on hold until November ...

November 2018 November 26th is my starting day , prior to this my recruiter and I made all travel arrangements .. YOU are responsible for all travel expenses (minus hotel ). It is recommended you drive your own personal vehicle if you can , as you need to drive to and from training , you may be able to car pool with your room mate or class mate once you meet them... November 24th ; Departure day This is the day I packed and got ready , from Massachusetts I drove to Appleton Wisconsin where my training was taking place. I arrived at the comfort suites (Appleton airport area ) on Sunday morning around 11am as I drove all night Saturday... the hotel was pretty nice zero complaints .. pool and hot tub , wasn’t really into it as there was always kids there ..

Monday, November 26th : Day 1 Day one; 0630 ;on the first day Roehl will actually provide a ride to the Terminal for orientation for the first day... the first day is pretty much paperwork after paperwork , along with a physical test to make sure you’re capable of performing the job functions The day goes by really slow , so be prepared and stay awake. You’ll also get a lunch menu to eat Erberts and Gerbert’s sandwiches .. enjoy lol

Official Start of WEEK 1 GYCDL,

Great! You finished the first day , on the second day , 0500 wake up , shower **** shave eat and at 0600 start heading to the terminal to be there EARLY (on time is late !) the second day is more paperwork , and then they’ll split the class up , 6 students will get their training for the remainder of GYCDL at FVTC (Fox Valley Tech College) and the remainder will train at the terminal.. I myself got selected to train at FVTC, and loved every minute of it. If you get chosen to train at FVTC, you’ll spend half the day of day 2 at the terminal and then after lunch you’ll head over to the tech college. Once you get to the college , you’ll meet all the wonderful (and I sincerely mean it!) instructors , well some of them , you’re going to start a FVTC file to be considered a student . Once all the paperwork is done etc , they’ll hand you clipboards and vests .. day 3: you’re going to spend most of the day in the “simulator “ room to practice shifting , they’ll break the group into half the next day half will be outside on the truck and half inside , then you’ll rotate .. lunch again at 1200 HRS, erbs and gerbs.. Day 4-5: you’re outside , on day 4 you’re driving in the lot usually bobtail , depends on your trainer and how they feel , either way 4th day you’re pulling a trailer on the range and then hitting the road ! Everyday you’ll be either on the road or backing , usually it’s split 50/50 on a daily basis..

WEEK 2 Week two is here , now you’re halfway through this 4 week fast paced program !! Week two consists of more driving and backing, driving during the day , backing in the afternoon... pretty much same schedule as every other day but now you’re driving , starting Friday afternoon all the groups join together after lunch and do a backing circle... a big course everyone goes through ...end of the day , you’re at the hotel practicing / reading your CDL/pretrip materials they give you (READ IT)

Week 3 This is your finals week of training , this is the week your instructor will fine tune the skills you learned over the last few weeks! Also during driving your instructor will take you on tighter turns/ harder areas . Areas that aren’t required but they teach you to make the road exam easier .. again by Friday , backing course everyone week 2-4 join in on .. by Friday , you’ll have your road test appointment , they test on tuesdays and Wednesday’s , your day depends on your instructor and your time of test (0730, 0930 , or 1330), usually depends on your roll call in the morning , sometimes they switch it up.

WEEK 4 will be continued below