OTR Team Driving with Wife

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by TBonze, Oct 5, 2015.

  1. TBonze

    TBonze Light Load Member

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    Sep 24, 2015
    Seattle, WA
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    My personal sidekick has agreed that we are ready for a change. So, we are looking into CDL schools in the Seattle, WA area. One of the things we have already decided is that we want the ability to change it up if we are not happy with the company and don't want to get into a position where we will be working for free for one of the companies we have read so many "special" things about.

    Our questions are:

    1. Have you attended a school near this location that you loved, would recommend, or has the connections to a company you would highly recommend?

    2. Do you have any positive advice to share?
     
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  3. TruckDuo

    TruckDuo Road Train Member

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    Chicago, IL
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    Wife and I team drive. Strongly recommend you get your CDL from a school instead of a company. That way you're free to go anywhere you want if the first company you went with isn't good.
    [​IMG]
     
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  4. Crassius

    Crassius Light Load Member

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    May 15, 2013
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    Check out community colleges for training.... they are usually thousands less than a commercial school making it much easier to pay your own way through training and avoid being an indentured servant to a company you don't want to work for anymore.
     
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  5. TBonze

    TBonze Light Load Member

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    Sep 24, 2015
    Seattle, WA
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    Thank you for the community college training tip... the CC here is a 20 week program. Because of our jobs, we can't do both at the same time... so we are opting to go to a school that is 4 weeks and show up with our permits in hand. Hopefully, this will give us the opportunity to stay ahead of the game.

    Community college is about an hour away... so would need to take off half the day or more to attend.... for 20 weeks... probably not going to happen.

    Going to pay out of pocket for a school and if someone has reimbursement... they only reimburse a small portion at a time so it takes at least a year to pay back (happy to fill out the paperwork though... every little bit helps). Usually more... the recruiters are brutal and I am not sure that they are aware that their stories are so off from what we have researched. Sometimes, I think they get uncomfortable when my wife asks questions because she's a "what if" kind of person. And, they don't have any answers.... just that they are hiring and you can make XYZ amount of money! "Keep those wheels moving" "Teams makes lots (subjective of course) money....
     
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  6. 2Girls_1Truck

    2Girls_1Truck Medium Load Member

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    May 18, 2014
    Nova Scotia, Canada
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    I team drive with my spouse.

    Talking to other drivers at a prospective company might give you a better picture than a recruiter who "headhunting" you. It might also give you a lot of negative drivel, or drivers may try to discourage you (for fear of losing miles themselves), trucking is a mixed bag.

    Why not make a post detailing what it is that you and your wife ARE looking for in terms of pay, where you want to travel, if there are any concerns about types of equipment, what type of trailer you'd like to haul, how often you want to be home, etc. Include as much detail as possible, for example: "My wife and I like to cycle. It is imperative that the company allow us to tether 2 bicycles to our truck and we will need 4 hours off each day to use them" or "I had a terrible fall back in the winter of '99 and there is no way I can strap/tarp loads safely"

    Rather than trying to stumble on this information through recruiters and a million newhire applications, send out a sonar here and people can let you know what their company is like, and undoubtedly, a few of the "regulars" here will show up to tell you why teaming is terrible, your wife asks too many questions, your demands are unreasonable and you should really just quit. It's a given, that's what they live for and we can't deny them the chance to rain on someone's parade.

    Good luck.
     
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  7. PackRatTDI

    PackRatTDI Licensed to Ill

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    El Chuco, Tejas
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    I decided the best place for my wife was nowhere near me. :)
     
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  8. TBonze

    TBonze Light Load Member

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    Sep 24, 2015
    Seattle, WA
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    Thank you for your tips! Much appreciated.
     
  9. kbarttt

    kbarttt Light Load Member

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    Feb 24, 2012
    Utah
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    I went through a company program and 7 months later trained my wife from start to finish. She did not want to get in a truck with anyone else. Wasn't all great but got through and enjoying ourselves now.
     
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  10. akfisher

    akfisher Road Train Member

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    Makes me angry just thinking about my wife driving with me
     
  11. TBonze

    TBonze Light Load Member

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    Sep 24, 2015
    Seattle, WA
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    We can't all be happy I guess. Good luck with that!
     
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