Married Couple needing advice on starting our Team career

Yes, married teams are a hot commodity.

System Transport : systemtrans.com (.50 CPM + motel money for layover)

Fairchild Freight : fairchildfreight.com (aggressively looking for teams)

Can apply online.

 

Yes, if you pay for a school outside a company, you will have more options.
Even if you go to a company school, the companies usually charge you for the training and you are on a contract to work for that company from 6 mos. to 18 mos.

Excluding the companies mentioned above; your best money will be with a refrigerated (reefer)company.
In Phoenix, Knight-refrigerated division is headquarted there and has their own school.

Another good company is Marten @ drive4marten.com and earn up to .46 cpm. They usually want 6 mos. experience, but give them a call and see if they will accept your driving school vs. experience.

Navajo.com accepts some driving school certificates.

Also, check on the "Questions from new driver" forum & there is a link for companies that accept new drivers. The companies I mentioned aren't on this particular list.

There are other good, quality companies to choose from that I haven't mentioned. Most all have an online application process to save time.

 

Going to school for trucking is just to get your license. It is not to actually learn the job. You will do that on the job. There are tax advantages for paying for it yourself plus you should be able to find government grants, Pell Grants and such, to help with the cost. As a team you have you choice of lots of jobs. They most likely will split you up for a month or so to train you with the new company.

As to which company to stay away from. You are going to get lots of company names tossed at you. The truth (well MY truth) is most companies are the same. They all pay about the same because if they didn't no one would work for them. The ones with high turn over rates either work out the problem or go out of business.

The key is communication. As a DJ you should be good at that. Do not suffer silently. If something is going on that upsets you, talk to someone about it. It could be that you simply do not have all the facts. It could be that they are unaware of the problem. With you both being there you are twice as likely to get upset with the company so you will have to work twice as hard on communication with them.

Ask someone on this site to REFER you to a company that teams. This will get your foot in the door and the person who refers you will get paid for doing so. I do not work for a company that uses teams so I can't but I am sure someone does. Most companies want teams. And a husband and wife team are the one they are looking for first of all.

Good Luck and lets go to the phones. Hello caller, you are on the air.

 

Good advice there ^^^^ One thing that he said I will say once more after you get your schooling done whether company sponsored or private , be ready to assigned to a trainer for a spell (read be in separate trucks) , mainly to learn the basics of how the company wants things done and to get you accustomed to the grind of the job. If you can deal with that then you should not have too many problems...other than the usual "growing pains". Keep referring back to this forum with questions because there are lots of folks willing to help out. Good Luck...this profession can be very rewarding just remember... you get out of it exactly what you decide to put into it!

 

I would go for company training because they will train you @ same time and Cental out of salt lake city,ut will accially put both of you on same truck after training with same trainer so that both of together. But before you make this jump make sure your marriage is rock solid because there are alot more stressers in trucking and talking from experience my husband and I ran as a team for 20 yrs you are couped up 365/7 days a year with no where to get away from each other except for showers. It can be very hard on marriage and has caused alot of devorces.

 

Howdy DJ, Welcome to The Trucker's Report.
What's up?

You mean broadcasting, like on the radio?

Fret not, we have several lifeguards on duty at all times just in case your brain gets in over your head.

WoW!
I'm impressed, as I'm sure others will be, that you're so well prepared.

I'll let those more qualified to answer your questions chime in.
I have a few questions though, --- what interests you about Big truck truck drivin'?
Has your wife been readin' along with you?
Have you considered bed-buggin'? (Household and/or commercial moving)
It sounds like you're goin' about things in the right way.
I wish y'all the best of success.

 

Centralrefrigerated.com

 

The community college route is the one I like. When you get out of there, you may get your license, but you are also have a lot of experience backing and so on. You can start at a company that pays more than your average training company.You also get more choice in the jobs you chose.

 

If you have a perfect record along with your wife you should be in demand and be able to pick the best company for you. I would recommend a good community college program that is recognized. You don't want to be tied to a company to pay back the schooling. That's where you'll find the bottom feeders with the high turnover rates. I also recommend that you get a good laptop so you can keep records of EVERYTHING you guys do. You can make folders for truck info,driver info, highway notes, where to eat, park, the list goes on and on.

I've talked to a few husband wife teams and everyone I talked to like what they were doing. You come in clean and stay that way and you'll build a reputation that will help you make a very good living. The trick is working for them and using them as much as they are going to use you. Good luck and keep us posted on what happens.