Have just passed my CDL test - and am considering working for ROEHL - or -- US XPRESS ----- anybody have any advise on these two companies????

Welcome to the board!
First of all, either one would be a good company to start with, but i would prefer US Xpress because of the equipment they have on the road!

All tractors are auto shift and they maintain them. Get 2 -3 years under your belt and move on....BUT....you might just like staying where you are at by then.

THE THING TO REMEMBER IS........protect YOUR CDLs....your name is on them, NOT the company you drive for at the time..........and always "If you can't do it safely, DON"T DO IT!"........KK

Kennesaw Kid.....30 years...2.980M miles safe driving!

welcome to the forum. congratulations on passing your test. not every company works for everybody else. you have to see which one offers what you are looking for (hometime, money, area run, etc) and choose that one and stick with it. personally of the two options you give , i like Roehl. to me they offer more of what i like or am looking for that better suites me. i have heard pretty positive on both companies. i am not on the automatics as a first company since if you decide to leave them and go somewhere else then the new company might look down on the lack of experience on a manuel transmission. good luck with whatever you choose.

Best advice is to contact both companies you are considering and do a line by line comparison.

Compare equipment; age, type, motor, transmission, engine brake, governed speed, size of sleeper (flatroof, midroof, condo, single bunk double bunk).

Is the equipment assigned to you or is it a slip seat operation? Can you take the truck home or do you have to park it at the company terminal. If you take time off how long will the company permit you to hold onto your truck before requiring you to clean it out and return it for re-assignment?

Compare wether the company has a rider program for wife and kids or pets?

Will the company allow you to install an inverter to run creature comforts such as computer, tv, cell phone, microwave etc.

Does the company have satellite communications (such as qualcomm)?

Compare benefits packages; Medical, dental, vision, 401k (with employer match? when can you start each?) How much does company charge for each insurance item?

Compare pay structure; hub miles (best and rarest), Pc Miler practical (better), Pc Miler shortest 53' (good), Rand McNally (fair), Percentage (formulae based upon revenue of load requires honest employer so as not to get cheated on pay), How much pay per mile, is a per diem offered? (perdiem is untaxed money that is given to the driver in each pay check to increase his/her take home pay. Downside is; you then cannot take the perdiem deduction when you file your taxes. Note: If you are underpaid during the year you may deduct the difference, if you are overpaid you will have to pay taxes on the money you were untaxed on.(recommended NOT to accept this pay gimmick. Your employer gets away with not paying social security taxes on the money given to you and will lower your adjusted gross income which may be a bad thing if you are applying for a loan)

Compare accessorial pay; stop pay, drop and hook pay, detention pay, congestion pay, layover pay, unloading pay, breakdown pay, muti-stop pay, sick pay, paid personal days, holidays, vacation pay (important to ask how the paid days off are calculated. A flat rate or a percentage of previous years earnings), etc.

Dress code; uniforms, street clothes, required footwear (steel toed shoes), facial hair allowed? (many hazmat haulers go to chemical plants and due to respirators fitting on your face clean shaven drivers is a must).

Length of haul, rate of dispatch (average speed used to calculate transit times from shipper to receiver), operational area. How long does the company expect you to be on the road before routing you home for time off? Will you be allowed to take the truck thru the house under a load?

As you can see this is a very personal decision. You must take the time to do some research and choose the best set of compensation for your situation.

Strictly second hand from talking to their drivers, I'd pick Roehl's homestyle fleet. You get home/depart on Tuesdays. Because they have a schedule to keep, you get priority loading. A driver was telling me you'd be foolish to take their fulltime because you don't make significantly more for investing all the extra time, as you sit around waiting for all the homestyle drivers. At least this way you'll have a life.

Welcome driver. Congrats on passing your test!
I get great feed back from my students who go with US Xpress.
I don't know about Rohel. Did you get any help from your school with
research on jobs? Bottom line is what is best for you.
I have a waiting list for recruiters to come in the school and Rohel is on it. I research every company that comes to my school and try to let only the best in. I've only thrown three companies out of the school in almost six years.

Congratulations!

You now have a license to learn. Please remember that you know very little, and that you have a long life in front of you. Please protect it.

Driving is a lifestyle unto its' own. There is no other job that will give you the opportunities you now have. There will be a big adjustment in your home and away life.

Your family is also going to be working at the same place, because your life is going to be partially owned by the dispatcher.

Try to keep your home time strictly for you and your family. Let your employer know that your home time belongs to your family.

Let your family know that your road time belongs to the company.

Thanks for your insight - it is greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have had my CDL since 1974. Many years before CDL's. Back then it was a Class 1 License. Anyway, the best advice I can give you is that you need to get some experience in your resume in order to be selective about what company you drive for. That means experience under all kinds of conditions. City, mountains, snow, ice. etc. Also, I will give you something to think about...I got this from the owner/operator that took me under his wing back in 1973. It still is ingrained in my head today...Always look and act like a professional, and you will be treated as such. When you pull into a weighstation or roadside inspection-if you project the image that you know what you are doing, that says it all.