May Need Help Moving On From Roehl

Not complaining at all btw, just chiming in about how shortages have had an effect that I've noticed

I got a 2022 with 67k miles and while it's nice it is missing the "side guard assist" and the "drive assist." I assume due to chip or circuit board shortages.

Even has a big sign on the dash "side guard assist is disabled on this vehicle"

Welcome to trucking. I laughed out loud at the "refuse to pay" line. I would request mileage pay and or layover pay for running back and forth between terminals though. Get rid of any expectations you have right now. Go with the flow.

Get past the entitled "they had brand new cascadia" sitting there. A new driver is more likely to be placed in a truck that has some miles on it so when they wreck it.... And probably will do some damage their first year... It isn't as big of a loss. Often new trucks are saved for experienced drivers as sort of a reward. My company allows a million Mile safe driver to order their truck...so what makes you think I should give up my rewarded truck for a new driver who wants to give up before he even turns a key by himself?

"I know there is a truck shortage". Dude you have no idea had bad the shortage is right now. I know for a fact that I wouldn't be able to get a brand new truck right now... And honestly wouldn't want one cause many "covid" trucks are junk. My company just had 200 people waiting for trucks because a shipment of expected trucks didn't come in.

I already know where this is going... So be forewarned.... It may need work. It may need to be cleaned. Prime puts ours through a detail shop and even then we often still have to shop it. This is trucking. It's no problem for them to route you back home for your stuff. This happens all the time.

Good luck and keep an open mind. You signed a contract. Even if they terminate you, you are still responsible for that $7,000. Read the contract.

Just so we're clear I should have no problem with them telling me to go to Appleton to pick up my newly truck assigned truck and when I get there there is no truck?

Just so we're clear I should have no problem with them telling me, after I've gone to Appleton, to go to Marshfield to pick up my newly truck assigned truck and when I get there there is no truck?

I'm not demanding a brand new truck, I do have an expectation that if information is conveyed to me that it be accurate. Apparently it is no big deal that I have bills to pay and other obligations in life that I have to put on hold. It appears that venting my frustration and looking for answers equates to me being entitled.

You are human. You are jumping into a profession that is totally new to you. You are filled with uncertainty and may have certain expectations about the way things are supposed to work.

No...emphatically no. Being frustrated and annoyed that things aren't going smoothly does not mean you are acting entitled. That word is thrown around too often IMO. You have every right to be frustrated. It's the same reaction anyone would have when plans get messed up. It's human nature.

Your challenge now is to manage the frustration, roll with the punches, and do your best to work through any unforseen setbacks that may occur as you begin your career as a driver.

If/when you're faced with another bad situation or setback, and you're not sure how to handle it, post a question on the forum and ask for advice on the best course of action.

But first try to communicate with your fleet manager to clear things up. Good communication skills are essential to becoming a successful driver.

You shouldn't take the advice of people on a this forum about whether you have grounds to break your contract or not. You can get a consultation with a lawyer who specializes in that area for $100, maybe less. I know there are lots of them on upwork

You shouldn't take the advice of people on a this forum about whether you have grounds to break your contract or not. You can get a consultation with a lawyer who specializes in that area for $100, maybe less. I know there are lots of them on upwork

Okay, James. Now you're the authority on hair follicle testing AND contracts. What other hidden talents are you going to share with the rest of us dummies here?

You shouldn't take the advice of people on a this forum about whether you have grounds to break your contract or not. You can get a consultation with a lawyer who specializes in that area for $100, maybe less. I know there are lots of them on upwork

That sounds like a waste of money, especially for somebody concerned about paying their bills.

But just for giggles, let's say you're right. He hires a lawyer and they're able to get him out of his contract (over the course of months, if not years) what's the next step? He's uninsurable and nobody will touch him because he has no experience and no certificate. Then what?

How much experience do you have in the trucking industry, again? The OP is more than welcome to not heed the advice of those with experience (some many years) and have gone through the same aggravating situations that pop up as a driver. Based on what the OP has told us, he has ZERO (as in NONE) chance of getting out of a contract that he signed. Roehl has broken no part of their contract. Just because a new grad is having a hissy fit because he has to adjust to changes in situations, doesn't give him grounds. Now, go back to your hair follicle studies.

You shouldn't take the advice of people on a this forum about whether you have grounds to break your contract or not. You can get a consultation with a lawyer who specializes in that area for $100, maybe less. I know there are lots of them on upwork

Real awesome career advice there, james. You know, the more you talk, the less you seem to know.

The nature of the industry. There's a lot of chaos in it. Did you ever stop to ask if you could get reimbursed for your time and milage? Did you stop to think, I'm unfamiliar with the industry, what solution can I do?

My first truck was in Dallas, I'm out of Denver. I drove down there in a rental car, provided by the company. They put me up in a hotel. It was a recovery, disgusting inside, was supposed to be cleaned. They had it for a week, I finally ended up cleaning it myself. I also ended up getting it serviced in the shop. I politely asked for layover pay, reimbursement of expenses and a cleaning fee. It's just the nature of the industry.

Very little goes as planned. Improvise, adapt, overcome. You can thrive in this environment if you're self motivated. Ask the right questions in the right manner.

Geez; you’re so right about that… NOT.

So James, is that your intention with your Swift contract? Plan on breaking it…?

I was with Swift for 8+ years… I’ll be happy to take your $100 just to tell you their school/training contract is binding. It’s not a non-compete; it’s about fulfilling an obligation, similar to paying off a debt. Foolish to advise wasting a hundred bucks on a lawyer for this… where is your integrity?

You shouldn't take the advice of people on a this forum about whether you have grounds to break your contract or not. You can get a consultation with a lawyer who specializes in that area for $100, maybe less. I know there are lots of them on upwork

Why all the Ruckus Uncle Truckus?

Be patient and expect everything that can go wrong in tucking will go wrong in trucking. Expect that you will be waiting around a long time for a lot of things. Just wait until you hit the fuel Islands and the driver in front of you is taking a shower, and you're unable to pull away until said driver moves their truck whenever it pleases them.

Seriously though, be patient, and things will work out. You will, from time-to-time feel like you're being punished or someone is out to get you. That is not the case. I've been solo for six months, I'm in my third truck already. When my first one broke down, the company I work for put me in a hotel the same day, then flew me home the next day. One week later, I drove 2 hours to pick up a truck from a repair shop. They reimbursed me for mileage and tolls. It's gonna happen! And, to your point, some of my things were left in my first truck, and I still haven't been reunited with them.

You'll get through this, but you won't get away from paying back that money.

I'm sure you're in good hands with Roehl. Good luck.

I recently completed all initial training with Roehl's GYCDL program and have been waiting over two weeks to be assigned a truck with a lot of mixed messages along the way about when and where I am going to actually pick up the truck from. I live an hour east of Roehl's terminal in Appleton, Wisconsin (which is where I did GYCDL) and was informed by my management a week ago that I was to return to Appleton at the beginning of this week to pick up my new truck. That day I was informed that I was not going to be picking up my truck in Appleton but rather at their Marshfield, Wisconsin terminal the next day. So I drive two and a half hours to get to Marshfield the next day and as soon as I arrive I get a phone call from management telling me that I am now going to need to fly to Dallas to pick up a new truck from their Dallas terminal. Mind you that they had about a dozen new Freightliner Cascadias prepped and ready at Marshfield but apparently none of those were for me.

Now I'm just sitting waiting on more information about some potential flight to Dallas. A big problem is that I have all my stuff ready to transfer into my new truck in my personal vehicle and I can take very little of it on a flight. So I'll have to be routed back to Wisconsin to get all my stuff and I don't know how long that will take.

If for some reason things continue to not work out I'm going to request that my contract be rendered null and void due to the fact that Roehl is not enabling me to fulfill the terms of said contract and I will refuse to pay $7,000 for my GYCDL debt obligation. I understand that there is a truck shortage but honestly I've been led to believe so many things over the past week that I'm very distraught that the company simply cannot get their things together and keep feeding me bad information.

So I have a CDL-A and experience of basic company training, what are the best options for OTR in the event that I need to look at another company to work with?