[dew]

Hey guys. Let me give you a little background on where I come from first...I started trucking with Prime, did the team training ya know for 6 months. I loved that and had a blast. I then went solo and hated it. I thought it was Prime but I went solo with another company and I hated it too. Now I'm off the road doing doing a regular job...and I'm itching to go back in trucking. I can't stand not being on the road. I'm sure that many of you know that feeling. Crazy as some of you may think I am, I realized that I really enjoyed running team. I don't like being alone, I love the long cross-country runs and I love being in a different part of the country almost every day. I also know you can make good money doing this.

So, having explained all of that, I want to get back onto the road and run team. I don't want to go to Prime as you have to be there three months first solo and I don't want to deal with the lease crap. So I want to know what companies are good to team with...so far I've come up with CRST, Covenant, and Celadon. There might be others I haven't come up with yet. I know I want to be able to run between 5,000 to 6,000 miles per week, coast to coast. Safety is important and I want a company that will not force you to run illegal and will also give you the power to decide if it is safe to continue in bad weather. I know CRST does this but I don't know about the others. I do like Celadon's detention pay and the week off after every 30,000 miles, which would happen very quickly in teaming. Teaming can tend to burn you out and such a break would be refreshing. However I have heard that Celadon does not have much freight and that you sit a lot. Do Covenant and CRST pay detention pay? They all say they are mostly drop and hook (CRST gives 80 percent on website). Does this generally hold true? How does the process of selecting a team mate work? How do they work out hometime with both team members? I only need to be home every 3-4 weeks. Also, do they match you up with your smoking preference? This is important to me as I'm very allergic to cigarette smoke. I apprecaite any and all information that you might be able to share. I want to do my research carefully and not jump into something quickly. One final question...is there any difference running for Covenant's dry van division vs their reefer division? Also maybe you guys can suggest companies I haven't thought of. I look forward to your responses. Thanks a bunch.

[dew]

just thought I should add I have 10 months experience...might make a difference in recommending other companies. Thanks in advance.

Dew one of the best team companies would be Earl Henderson Trucking I know for a fact there a team will get 5K plus a week in the late 90's as a solo I rouitinely as a solo was pushing 4K a week on my own. Give them a call with your reefer exp. from Prime you would fit right in there.

[Sabine]

freight is SLOOOOWWW at Henderson, and has been for over 4 months. Good friend of mine is starvibg over there and getting ready to jump ship after almost 3 years with them.

[millersod215]

you might want to list where you live, that could help a little.

[Sentinel]

Check into Con-Way Truckload ( www.con-way.com ). They are hiring teams. They run 100% drop and hook from Con-Way terminal to terminal only. Their LTL and PU&D divisions then make local deliveries and pickups. They run tight schedules for their loads and, from what I hear, really run you on the miles.

Good luck!

[dle]

Here is a link you might want to check out.


http://www.classadrivers.com/index.p...ting&ListAll=1


I used to have a column in my carrier info spreadsheet with this info, but I took it out because it became a pain to confirm whether or not the company did hire teams.

Some of the companies that I am aware of that hire teams (the order means nothing).
Southern Refrigerated Transport
Werner
CRST
Eagle Transport www.eagletucson.com
Covenant

[dew]

Originally Posted by millersod215

you might want to list where you live, that could help a little.

Conway, AR...thanks.

[golfhobo]

Originally Posted by dew

Conway, AR...thanks.

Have you checked with Cal-Ark??

I don't know which companies drive teams. I DO understand what you like about the set-up, as I drive team most of the time.

Check for some smaller companies with dedicated accounts that go to CALI and back.

Of what you listed, I would recommend Covenant, but I know little about any of them. Do a search, or visit their websites for comparison.

Don't stay OFF the road too long before jumping back in. You can usually get a nonsmoking teammate if you have time to wait for one to become available.

Best thing I can say is to get back into it NOW. You may have to wait awhile to get things perfect, but you can't do anything from your couch!

BTW, not ALL teams are out for weeks at a time. Many of us are home every week.

The time goes by quickly when you wake up three states over from where you went to sleep! I average 5500 miles/week from NC to Cali and back in 5 days. Two days at home. Do it all again!

Fill out an app on THIS website's homepage. Specify TEAM. See who calls.

[dew]

Originally Posted by golfhobo

Have you checked with Cal-Ark??

I don't know which companies drive teams. I DO understand what you like about the set-up, as I drive team most of the time.

Check for some smaller companies with dedicated accounts that go to CALI and back.

Of what you listed, I would recommend Covenant, but I know little about any of them. Do a search, or visit their websites for comparison.

Don't stay OFF the road too long before jumping back in. You can usually get a nonsmoking teammate if you have time to wait for one to become available.

Best thing I can say is to get back into it NOW. You may have to wait awhile to get things perfect, but you can't do anything from your couch!

BTW, not ALL teams are out for weeks at a time. Many of us are home every week.

The time goes by quickly when you wake up three states over from where you went to sleep! I average 5500 miles/week from NC to Cali and back in 5 days. Two days at home. Do it all again!

Fill out an app on THIS website's homepage. Specify TEAM. See who calls.

Thanks, golfhobo. I had never thought of that....I didn't realize this site actually had an application for companies on here. I'm not sitting on my couch per say, I'm back into a customer service job that I used to have. So I am being productive while I'm off the road. It's actually in a transportation related job. I don't want to jump back into it until I've done my home work and selected a good company to team with. Hasty decisions seldom are good decisions. Thanks for the advice.