Been Away For A While, Busy Truckin

Hey gang, sorry I've been incommunicado, my data plan on my phone wasn't all its cracked up to be and well Truck stop Wifi is spotty at best and downright junk almost all the rest of the time. Enough wining, i've been running since I left for Roehl Transport Phase 1 orientation on Nov 4th, made it through their phases 2 and 3 got issued a 2011 Volvo 630 series I believe not too beat up but the most magical thing about it was its Tri-pac APU , I was the envy of the fleet, nearly the entire fleet is Int'l ProStar +'s with the battery bank apu with an auto start feature. And now I am in one as well 2013, its like the only Pewter Colored Roehl Truck that is not Lease Op. Averaging 2700/ wk up til the weather recently so I'm liking it. Roehls not bad, its not easy, but they give you all the tools and its up to you how to use them in the most efficient manner for yourself. I said i have been out since Nov, I have and it was my choice, they have an awesome array of hometime fleets but be careful, if its a dedicated account and its also a hometime fleet servicing it your mileage isn't going to be very much, so make sure there are other ways to make money on the account. I need more self discipline and need to work out more, the weather here in the midwest this winter hasn't been too conducive to inspiring my participation.

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.

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.

Good to hear from you Dave..how about posting some pics of our new rig...also, sounds like you've been busy, which is good to hear..hopefully this weather will clear out soon and you guys can start posting some good mileage again..as a interesting side note, what phone carrier did you have that you found to be less than stellar??

Hey very cool Dave! Glad things are going well for ya. 2700 miles a week is pretty awesome considering you're new and it's the slowest time of the year. I would take those miles anytime under those circumstances.

Hey Dave! Glad to hear things are going well. Are you in a dry van , reefer or flatbed? I will be starting with Roehl very soon. Where have most of your runs been? How long did it take for you to get up to making that many miles a week? have a lot of questions, you may want to run.

Can you explain the phase 3 training. It just says you will work with a fleet coach for 4 to 6 weeks. Do you get good weekly milage during this time?

I think I saw a Pewter Colored Roehl Truck on I-80 a few weeks back.. haha

I go back and forth to Chicago once a week and see a lot of Roehl drivers heading East.

Six