What Am I Waiting On.

I am a 56 year old woman been driving a school bus for four years. I am bored. Driving the same routes 10 times per week. I interviewed for a job with republic awesome trucks but still same routes day in day out. I want a big truck and just drive forever. I already went and got my clp but I just can’t seem to make that call to comment. Am I over thinking or under thinking or what?

You are over thinking. I'm a fellow overthinking person.

I had the ball rolling last year to go to Swift. .. Now here I am restarting. Oh well.

Sometimes you might think that sitting on the fence, thinking it over, etc. keeps bad things from happening.

It doesn't, lol.

Who do you see yourself driving for?

Donna, you’re not the only one. I’ve wanted to drive most of my life. I am now 55, my youngest is heading to collage this fall, so yesterday I bit the bullet and applied online for the Roehl CDL school. There are several things that have to happen before I can actually go but it’s a step in the right direction.

Good luck!

And good luck to you too, Voodoo! For me, I’m done sitting on the fence. lol

I want to go to Roehl as well but the application scared me they wanted a signature on a contract for money as part of the application. I was like wait just a minute. The where, when, what’s up front cost all that I want to know first. I also read something about they had cameras in the women’s trucks. Gonna wierd thought there.

Hi ladies

Roehl is an awesome company and many people choose it for.the various home time options. you can choose a schedule like work 14 days be home for 7 or be out 7 days be home for 7. there are a bunch of them but i dont know exactly what they are but read over the site im sure you will find it.

something to consider about that is money though. think about this. if you are working 7 then off 7..that means you are only actually working 6 mos a year. you dont get paid for home time just like a normal job doesnt pay you weekends off. So one of our members here who loved roehl then came back with "i have to leave because i only made $32k this year". well duh! if you choose the option with half the down time, you will get half the pay. Im sure you can change those home time options too.

Roehl.is the only company i know that pays you while you are training with your permit. $500 per week. The website says that is a 4 week program then you go out with a trainer for 3 weeks before going solo. starting pay is 37cpm for reefer and increases to 40cpm after six months.

as far as the contract of a year...any company sponsored school will have you sign a contract. some are 9 months, some 2 years, Prime is 1 year, some are teaming only companies and require you to team but may habe a shorter contract.

all of the contracts have a buyout option. if you were going to pay $5,000 for a local school but find a company that will train you for free as long as you stay a year....why would you not expect to pay that money if you decide to leave the company?

you shoukd stay at the first comoany a whole year anyway for a whole slew of reasons i dont have time to state right now.

paying back is different for each company. At prime you pay $155 upfront which are licensing fees and paperwork costs. $100 to prime $55 to DMV. after that...nothing comes out of your check. stay a year and no pay back. quit and you get a bill in the mail. prime paid for my bus hotel and food they advance $200 per week for food while you have your permit.

at CFi they have you get permitted at home and go to the school. then 7500 miles driving solo with a trainer. you pay nothing unless you leave...but i think you go with yoir oermit so yiu pay for the doctor and permit before you go.

swift has a weird set up where you pay them a portion weekly as you work the first year and i think they reimburse you as you work towards the second year.in the end you got back anything you put out.

so be sure to ask about the paybacks and whether they pay for transportation hotel and food. i think with swift the hotel is on you but free at other companies.

as far as the cameras...it was a hot topic years ago and it seems many companies are taking them out. drivers blew it way out of proportion. and if you read the whole thread about the roehl putting cameras in womens trucks, you will see that was BS. they put the cameras in some trucks of drivers who had safety issues...speeding accidents etc. it was more of a training tool so be a good driver and dont get a camera but the cameras were not removed when going to the next driver. this was totally NOT a sexism issue

and so what if you have a camera on you while driving? are you naked? the cameras were off when parked and you could cover them!!! it wasnt hidden.

ttys

In Roehl’s national fleet they have 11-14 days out with 3 days home. The main reason I chose Roehl over Prime is the pay during training. I will still have bills while I am away from home (my son is taking over my house payment and utilities for a little while) and really don’t want to lose my car or phone. However, Rainy, you are very convincing so I went back and looked again at the Prime timeline. Thoughts of that top bunk for that long give me heart palpitations. lol But, it would probably be worth it for the extra actual driving time with a trainer. I can maybe figure out something about my bills. I mean, the $200 loan a week is only for a little under a month, correct?

Still lots to consider before making a decision.

Donna, sorry for hijacking your post.

Im.not trying to convince just give info. i want everyone to do what is best for them.

as for the top bunk...with the permit at prime, you do all of the driving while delivering loads with the CDL instructor sitting next to you. you will park for the 10 hour breaks and yes you will sleep on the top bunk. When you team train you sleep on the bottom while trainer drives. Teaming has very little down time so mostly in the bottom bunk.

Orinetation is one week with hotel and food paid for. the second and 3rd week you will be driving OTR hauling loads. Then return to Prime to test. how long that takes is up to you. could be a week.

so yeah basically you will test by the end of the 4th week and go on payroll right away. you will get a check the following friday based on what day you tested before payroll cutoff.

the prime check is $100 per day/$700 per week (plus .14 per mile if above 5000 miles per week during teaming). So fi you test on Friday and pay cut off is tues, you should get sat sun mon and tues on fridays check....$400. then $700 each additional.

unless you come in with a CDL from a local school. that is a whole other pay scale.

so prime training: week 1 no pay weeks 2-4 is $200 loan each next 30,000 team miles is $700 per week. usually 6 to 8 weeks depending on home time (if you run more miles, you get more and you get fuel bonis too)

$250 bonus if you past the exam on the first try. trainers get $850 if you do that, so they really try to get you learning!!!

so add all that up it is $600 for the first month, then $700 × 8 weeks = $5600+$600= $6200

divide that $6200 per 12 weeks (4 weeks permit, 8 weeks teaming) and you get a minimum of $516

plus fuel bonus, .14 cpm for any weeks over 5000 team miles, and possible $250 exam bonus.

upon upgrading you make 42cpm for a condo or 47cpm for a lightweight

with Roehl you get $500 for 7 weeks= $3500

then solo reefer starts at 37cpm

if you average 2500 miles that is $925 per week

5 weeks x $926 = $4625

so at Roehl in the first 12 weeks you would be about $8125

so $8125 ÷ by 12 weeks and you get an average of $677

keep in mind that depends on your miles.

So first 12 weeks at Prime averages to $516 minimum per week plus bonuses

Roehl first 12 weeks would be $677 if you averaged 2500 miles per week solo for the 5 weeks.

If you average 2000 miles per week solo it is $600 per week at Roehl.

That means between the two it is possible there could be a $75 difference per week average. And if you pass the exam the first time, that $250 bonus could almost even it out.

going solo....well that is another story.

BTW... a cost in here is $126 for the TWIC card and it will be taken out in payments once you get hired at prime.

Okay so today I finally did it. I finished the application to Roehl. I spoke briefly with a nice lady and she said they would verify all my information and would be getting back to me . She said I would be going to their training center in Georgia.

That’s awesome, Donna! Please keep us updated on how things are going for you. As a wannabe newbie I’m walking in your shoes and I’m curious where your path takes you.

I’m still considering Roehl but I’m also digging deeper into Prime.

Good luck!

Congrats Donna!!!

When choosing a company, figure out what is good for you. then compare.

read the training diary section with posts from various new drivers at various companies. read several from the company you want.

i chose prime because 1) i only had $155 upfront costs 2) training was one on one and about 3 months 3) they allow pets...not all companies do. 4) the paid training and starting com was much higher than most.

also, how important is home time? does it matter if the company has a lot of women drivers? does the company allow riders if you plan to bring someone? are you allowed to have an inverter for outlet power? have an APU?

if you are a good driver, the cpm wont mean much. the bonus structures are different for each company, so a lower cpm might be offset by a bigger bonus package.

CFI has a lower starting rate, up increases several times and you dont lose your home time it builds...so say you want to take 6 days off instead of the normal 4 per month....if yoi work 6 weeks, then come home you get 6 days. at some other companies you cannot take more than 4 or 5 at a time.

i cant stand this guy in this video, but he gives a tour of our main terminal.if you can stomach him lol

https://youtu.be/ratFh-CHuQA

Terminal:

A facility where trucking companies operate out of, or their "home base" if you will. A lot of major companies have multiple terminals around the country which usually consist of the main office building, a drop lot for trailers, and sometimes a repair shop and wash facilities.

CPM:

Cents Per Mile

Drivers are often paid by the mile and it's given in cents per mile, or cpm.

HOS:

Hours Of Service

HOS refers to the logbook hours of service regulations.

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.

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.