Roehl Or Wil Trans

Do most starter companies stay east of texas? Is there any that cover the whole country? Thanks in advance.

I drive for Wil-trans , we go all over.

Your title is funny to me because when I left my last company I called time if companies and narrowed it down to Roehl and Wil-trans.

Honestly, I wish I had started here. Instead I drove for 2 mega carriers. I'm really happy here, my recruiter was honest about everything, I wait minutes for maintenance to have a plan if I break down (instead of hours with the big carriers), and when I have been unhappy about something my fleet manager addressed the issue on the first call. After hours and weekend dispatch support is as good as weekday support. Good people across the board.

Also, as far as starting companies go (or most companies for that matter) the trucks are nicely equipped.... Apu , inverter, direct TV, you can get a fridge installed if you want, not the most uncomfortable mattress I've had in a truck, I added a microwave.

Super easy pet policy, if that matters.

Lemme know if you have any questions. If I don't know the answer I know where to get it LoL.

Fleet Manager:

Dispatcher, Fleet Manager, Driver Manager

The primary person a driver communicates with at his/her company. A dispatcher can play many roles, depending on the company's structure. Dispatchers may assign freight, file requests for home time, relay messages between the driver and management, inform customer service of any delays, change appointment times, and report information to the load planners.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

Do most starter companies stay east of texas? Is there any that cover the whole country?

ChillR, where did you get that impression? Most of the companies that hire rookie drivers cover the lower 48 states.

Companies like Swift, Prime, Schneider, C. R. England, Knight, Werner, Western Express, and a host of others - they all go all over this vast country.

Thanks Dude for answering. What made you pick Wil Trans over Roehl?

I may have misread something before. Thanks Old School for correcting me. I love your stories and advice on here.

Roehl does run 48 and Canada, however most of the freight is east of Texas. Also, where you run will depend on what division you're in (dry van, flatbed, or reefer. Which division you're in depends on where you live if you get your CDL through them. There is a possibility to switch divisions after training.).

I just completed phase 1 (CDL school) of their training. I felt that the CDL training was solid. 3 students per instructor (less if a student leaves the program), which means more time behind the wheel. Phase 1 is 4 weeks (there may be a 5th week if a retest is needed, which I did. Passed it the 2nd time with ease. 1st time could've largely been due to nerves.). I'm currently waiting on being assigned to a trainer.

I can't speak from experience outside of Roehl's CDL school, but every Roehl driver I've talked to likes the company (other than those that are leaving due to driver facing cameras, aka event recorders, being installed company wide over the next 2 years). So far, though, it seems like Roehl supports its drivers.

Thanks Dude for answering. What made you pick Wil Trans over Roehl?

For me the recruiter made the difference. They were neck and back for a couple weeks. I sent both recruiters an email with 21 questions. Ryan at Wil-trans asked me for a day or 2 to get all the info put together. After he was done we went over everything on the phone and he willingly emailed me back all the answers we just talked about.

I never got answers from Roehl to ask the questions and nothing back in email. I figured that a recruiter confident enough in the company he was selling to get me answers back in writing, and put that much effort in to making sure I had all the answers I wanted was a place that would treat me well. I was right.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

I was right.

Sorry Landion, but I have to set the record straight on this.

Actually, you were wrong, but you were also lucky. Wil-Trans is a great company that will treat you well, and so is Roehl, but the recruiter has nothing to do with it. The experience you'll have with a company has nothing whatsoever to do with the recruiter and I've even written an article on this very thing in the past:

The Biggest Mistake Drivers Make When Speaking With Company Recruiters

Think about it. When you call a company's recruiting department your call gets routed randomly to the next available person. You have no clue who this will be, but you know they're human which means:

• They might be having a good day, might be a bad day
• They might be good at their job, they might not be
• They might be swamped with work, they might not have much going on
• They might think you sound like a good prospect, they might not
• They may have a lot going on in their lives outside of work, like a death in the family, they might not

What makes you think that the experience you have with a recruiter will represent your experience with the company overall? Once you sign up for the company there's no need to ever speak with that recruiter again, and they have no input or authority whatsoever on how you're treated as an employee.

And you certainly wouldn't believe that at a major corporation that either all employees are conscientious, hard working, attentive, organized, and well informed, would you? Certainly not. The very best companies have some poor employees, and the poorest companies have some great employees.

Look at Microsoft. Their software has always been buggy, clunky, insecure, bloated garbage. And yet they have thousands of extremely talented and dedicated software engineers.

Folks, I implore you, please do not let your experience with the recruiter determine where you go to work! Decide where you want to work based upon:

• Pay and benefits
• Types of freight they haul
• Regions of the country they run
• Equipment they have
• Home time options they provide

The recruiter is nothing more than a randomly selected salesperson that's supposed to answer your calls and move your application to the next department if it's approved. That's it. They do not represent the company no matter what your business teacher in high school taught you.

Would you choose Ford vs Chevy based on the salesperson?

Did you choose Verizon vs AT&T based on their commercials?

Did you buy your house based upon the real estate agent selling it?

Choose a company based on quantifiable facts. Things you can put numbers on, like in the list above.

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

OOS:

When a violation by either a driver or company is confirmed, an out-of-service order removes either the driver or the vehicle from the roadway until the violation is corrected.

Wil-Trans:

Darrel Wilson bought his first tractor in 1980 at age 20, but, being too young to meet OTR age requirements, he leased the truck out and hired a driver.

Through growth and acquisition, Wil-Trans now employs over 200 drivers, and has a long-standing partnership with Prime, Inc. to haul their refrigerated freight. The family of businesses also includes Jim Palmer Trucking and O & S Trucking.

Thanks Brett for reminding me about the recruiter thing. I read the article not too long ago. Thanks Landion for replying. Thanks Dart for your input. This is an awesome website for truckers.

Does wil trans have driver facing cameras?