Team Driving question

[strawberryrhubarbpie]

My husband and I are just trying to get an idea for what we are in for haha.

When you are driving as a team, does the company tell you that you have to drive a certain amount of hours a day? Or do they just give you a deadline to get to the destination? And if they do give you a deadline, does the deadline become a lot shorter with a team then with a single driver?

We are just wondering how many hours a day we will be expected to drive. Like, will we have to have the truck in motion 20 hours a day?

My husband is afraid that he won't be able to get much sleep while I am driving, so he wants at least a few hours a day to be able to sleep while the truck is parked. Me, I can sleep anywhere, so I know it won't bother me lol. I've actually done some of my best sleeping on road trips in the past, cramped up in the back seat of a compact car.

[Mystikal]

The company we worked for (2+ years spouse driving) expected us to be ready for a load 24/7 and I would say we ran the truck about 21 to 22 hours out of 24. We were responsible for choosing how we ran and opted on 12 hour shifts to maintain a steady sleep schedule and, once in a while, were able to overlap our sleep schedules so we could sleep together for 2 or 3 hours depending on our delivery time. I'm with your husband... I found its hard to hit REM while moving.. so after 3 or 4 days of moving sleep i'd have to have a night down just so I wouldn't bite my wifes face off by the end of the week! Its extremly difficult sleeping iwth the truck moving and, now that i've been solo 2 months.. I wouldn't go back to teaming!

Our company loved to dispatch us EVERYWHERE like our hair was on fire... it wasn't uncommon to have a 53mph dispatch or faster (most of the time we would get there and the consignee didn't expect the load for another 2 days.. but it was MEGA IMPORTANT as we were told). I dont know how many times we would be in.. say.. North Carolina bound for Oregon for say an 1800 delivery.. and our GPS estimated our ETA to be about 1540. That's TIGHT when your going ascross the country.

Others might have a different outtake but I found it extremly difficult to sleep and not really worth the extra money to team. The current HOS are really against the team driver but work great for solo's. Why we need to change it for a solo is beyond me, but I wouldn't mind seeing something different for teams!

If your not an experienced driver already I recommend finding a team driving mentor and learning their secrets. We were ready to quit after our first month cuz we couldn't get it to work.. (always tired and never seemed to have enough time) but my wife had been talking to another female team driver from our company and we met up with them at the terminal... they taught us everything they knew... and we were pro's after the 2nd month out here.

[Orangetxguy]

This is just me....But I will not team drive. Period.

I can not sleep while being bounced around in a truck. Especially when the "other guy" seems to hit every pothole, bad bridge joint and rock, on the road surface.

[crb]

It will depend on the company and the load honestly. We ran team OTR and most loads we had to run pretty hard honestly. There are occasionally loads that give you time to screw around. I wouldn't say we were rushed on normal loads I think we were usually dispatched at 50 mile at most. We tended to run hard to get close to the destination and then use our extra time. We ran really hard now at this job but its a little different as we run terminal to terminal. We still are not pushed, but we have little time between loads. When we ran OTR we ran averaged 5500 miles in a 7 day week now we average over 6,000 miles in 5 days. When we ran OTR we had to stay out 90 plus days at a time to make miles and money here we are home 2 days a week and make much much better money. Life can be very hard as a team to be honest the cab gets really small at times. A good rule that an older couple that ran team for years and years told us when you get out of the truck you are husband and wife and you leave truck problems and stress in the truck. I tell people driving team with your partner is the quickest way to divorce. Driving as a husband wife team gets stressful, yet it is a great way to see the country and can be very fun! Man do I have some stories about my nieve small town wife LOL!

[freebirdrfd]

Why would anybody want to run teams?

[crb]

It can pay very well. We work with teams that make $100,000 per driver as company drivers. I had no plans on driving team when we started but my dear wife said she wasn't staying home. I don't think I would drive team with anybody other than my wife or old man. Driving team has many benefits if you can sleep with the truck moving such as companionship, a spotter, a helper for sliding those stubborn tandems, less sitting in truck stops, better runs and loads. I think running team is a good way to learn because you have help. I'm not saying its easy, but can be beneficial. Teaming is nor for everyone. I would not bank on having a lot of time for naps. I would expect to keep the truck moving 22 plus hours a day on average and many times 23 hours or more.

[strawberryrhubarbpie]

Thanks for the info guys, that helps me to know what we are getting into. Mystikal, what are some of those tips you speak of? CRB, who do you work for and are they hiring? LOL.

[P0rk Ch0p]

I used to be totally against team driving.

But the company I first worked for, I sorta team drove, not with a trainer, more like another newb, and they stuck is in a truck together to basically swim or float. He didn't know a thing about anything, but he was a good guy to chat with, never a dull moment, always someone to talk to, act up with, etc.

On the other hand, I could have ended up with someone i absolutely hated.

But, now, I think I will stick with Solo, unless I could talk my dad into quitting his cushy day job over at Estes LTL..ha..

[crb]

Thanks for the info guys, that helps me to know what we are getting into. Mystikal, what are some of those tips you speak of? CRB, who do you work for and are they hiring? LOL.

Yes they are, but you will need 2 yrs tractor trailer experience! Feel free to pm me and we can discuss it.

[syl77dar]

if you are not driving yet and still considering it I would recommend Schneider and yes the truck is suppose to be in motion for 20 plus hours a day, but you do run out of hours every couple of weeks or so. I love teaming and am currently looking for a team partner. I can work at any company I want with my experience.

[dle]

My wife and I have team drive for about 3 years now, 1 with swift 2 with panther. When the company sends a load to the truck they will tell you when the load picks up and when it delivers. You and your team mate will then have to decide how you want to drive the load. My wife likes to drive at night so I try to manipulate it so she can do that - sometimes it works out sometimes not. The company will not dictate how many hours you drive, the regs do. Hopes this help.