Wife getting CDL and Hubby needs advice

My wife and I teamed together for seven years and loved it! It took some getting used to but we managed. You guys will definitely make excellent money! Plus husband and wife teams are the highest of the food chain and are treated like gold! As long as they are doing what they are supposed to. As far as 3-4 weeks and then a week off, most likely not going to happen as company drivers. They usually don't want you sitting at home for more than a couple of a days. The company has to pay for that truck and trailer while its sitting in your yard not making any money. Now if you own the truck that's different. My wife and I owned our truck and would stay out two to three months at a time then come home for about 10 days. When we came home we would both go our own ways and take a little rest from each other. We actually had gotten rid of our house when we first started so when we came home we would stay with family. I like to surf a lot so most of the time I had a trip planned to go surfing somewhere. Ultimate relaxation! Work hard, play harder!

 

Watkins Shepard allows you to bank home time like that, they also go to all 48 states and Canada. I'm in orientation with them now, there is a TON of info on them here on the forum.


American Trucker

 

A good plan. Makes her more versatile and valuable to a potential employer.

Teaming with your spouse can be very rewarding. On the other hand it can also destroy a good marriage. It all depends on how well you two can get along in a space smaller than a prison cell, bouncing down the highway, traveling in all kinds of weather and terrain. You are placing your life in the hands of your partner. The driver will determine what is on the radio, temperature of the cab, windows up/down etc. If you can't stand her music, cab temperature or driving habits then DO NOT team up. Teams turn and burn. This means the truck stays moving whenever possible. This mazimizes the trucks earnings but also makes it difficult to get showers on a regulalr basis, stop for sleep, stop for a sit down meal, sight see, etc. You will bust your butt 24 hrs a day as a team until you get to go home. Then you and your wife will probably be so tired of one another you will be happy to get rid of the other for a few hours.

Some trucking companies will ask that you slip seat if you want more than a couple of days off at a time. That means you clean out the truck and park it at a company terminal so they may continue using it while you are on your time off. When you are ready to go back to work they will assign a different truck to you.

There are plenty of OTR companies that service 48 states and Canada. If you are planning on being a tourist you might as well forget it. You will see the scenery from the cab of a truck traveling at highway speeds while driving. Other times you will be sleeping in the back and not see anything but the interior of the sleeper berth. As for Canada you will both need a current valid passport and no criminal record to enter their country.

OTR companies have such a high turnover rate that they will take most anyone provided they can pass the DOT physical, drug screen, and have an acceptable MVR. Lots of older people drive trucks today.

Driving a truck is no picnic. Your work day will be 14 hours. You are currently allowed to drive up to 11 hours within that 14 hour time frame. Then you will have to take a 10 hour break before starting your next work/duty shift. You will be contacted via cell phone/computer at all hours of the day and night. There is NO privacy in todays trucking world. You will document your every waking moment in a logbook. An on board computer may do this for you but will also pinpoint your location every 30 minutes or so (pinging the truck) to check on the trucks location.

Sense of adventure? Your sense of adventure will be in trying to navigate this country in all types of weather and terrain without wrecking, finding customers with little to no help from your dispatcher, avoiding restricted routes, low underpasses, all the while trying to comply with federal, state and local laws.

Being your own boss? You will take your orders via a satellite link or cell phone from your dispatcher. Your on board computer will track your every move.

Not being bothered by anyone? You will be bothered by DOT, LEO's of every stripe, ports of entry, dispatchers, shippers, receivers, and other motorists on a regular basis.

Wearing what you want jeans and tee shirts? Sure. Some companies have lax standards when it comes to a drivers attire. Others require uniforms such as Fed Ex, UPS, Wal Mart etc. In short the best paying jobs will require a uniform. Go to a chemical plant and you will have to have long pants, boots/shoes, and proabably be issued a respirator, safety glasses, and hard hat after watching a "safety video" just to enter their facility.

Seeing new things everyday? Sure, a new stretch of highway, another warehouse, another plant, another road side rest area, another truck stop.
Scenic routes are not designed for trucks. Most beaches do not have places for trucks to park while you go sight seeing. As a matter of fact most places will want you to leave as soon as you make your delivery. Truck drivers are routinely chased from malls and even towed for parking in shopping centers such as Walmart.

Glad you feel this way. If you become an OTR truck driver your average pay will amount to less than minimum wage (after you factor in ALL the time spent on the job away from home). You will have no overtime. In fact you will wait for hours on end at customers with no compensation. Waiting on a new disptach may take hours as well. You will be categorized as "unskilled Labor."

I strongly urge you to reconsider this "plan" of yours. It would be far better for you to retire from your current job and buy an inexpensive rv to travel for a while. At least then you can ENJOY the sights.

 

As long as you have other sources of income and don't need to rely on trucking for financial support, then I say go for it. Ideally you would get to do something different w/o starving out here...

I totally understand your thought and point. I have been in the same job for 13yrs (no promotion ever and no raise since 2006). I hate the company and its lame MGMT meetings and rules - but it is decent paying and the benefits (so far) are very valuable. I would think long and hard before leaving this job...trucking just doesn't pay much. If you can retire and then head out, you get the best of both worlds I think...

..just do your research the best you can and think very hard before making any decisions. My good friend hated his IT position here in town and jumped to be an OTR driver. He made it through training..then got his own rig and quit 1 month later. It was too much of an eye opener no matter what I tried to tell him. Now his DAC is ruined and he owes $5k in training. He told the company to come after him for it. So far they haven't...