Advice on teaming

From what this says...your teammate needs to learn how to drive/shift/control the vehicle in a smoother manner, and pay attention to potholes (these need to be avoided of course). The "side to side shaking in lower gears" tells me the rpms are run too high when shifting...shift at a lower rpm and everything smooths out!

Get yourself a "body pillow"...try sleeping on your side and place the pillow between your legs...like pregnant women do...this will offer you a "barrier" to lean against and have a better "even keal" by having your legs separated giving a better "balance" with the movements of the truck.

For some, the extra soft cushion might be too soft not offering the support your joints require....try reducing the depth of the foam. The vibrations...etc...will reduce with the smoother driving habits.

 

I had the same problem for about a month,teaming's hard. Like someone said earlier tho,it's about getting urself to the point f exhaustion. Now, me and my ex , we're ready to roll 99% of the time and like u said we too we're getting 'solo miles' ... But I'll probably get that in another topic. You guys need a game plan,me and my teammate used to do it by shifts,I was early morning,he was afternoon. See who sleeps better when and go from there. B safe

 

In his OP, he indicated that his contract obligated him to team for 6 months

 

You said you are driving alternative days which means you both are using the same sleep schedule. Hard to sleep in a moving truck if you just woke up along with the driver at the same time. I usually am the night driver so when I'm trying to get back on that schedule I'll force it on myself usually. The night before we leave I'll stay up all night even if I've been up all day so I pretty much have to sleep once we head out in the morning.

If you're not running many miles it's going to be rough either way. The easiest way to be able to sleep in a moving truck is to keep running. Once you start sitting around and sleeping when you shouldn't be and shifts get thrown off, it gets real hard.

 

Valerian is another good OTC Herb you can try. It'll really help to relax you but don't touch the capsules while taking them... They smell like double dead-roadkill, but they work. Kava-Kava is another good one, gives you a mellow buzz but is totally legal. Mix it as a drink and you'll be on cloud 8.

 

Eat at the beginning of your driving shift so everything is settled by the time you are ready to sleep. Try not to drink liquids a couple hours before climbing in the sleeper. Get some ear plugs and yes a body pillow makes an excellent kick stand! Also start sleeping in a propped up position so by the time you fall asleep you will be to tired to notice the inconveniences. Try avoid taking anything because then you will find yourself depend on doing so. If you have to though Benadryl is a good thing to take to fall asleep. Its the exact same ingredient they use in sleeping pills. (diphedrymine) Also benadryl helps settle your stomach for some reason.

If you aren't getting the miles though it surely isn't worth it and as soon as you can I would recommend finding something else. If you aren't getting at the very least 5000 a week then its not worth teaming, unless you are in love with your co-driver!

Good luck man....

 

Advice: Don't

 

Sir, you are just screwed. Team driving is THE problem. I teamed at PAM for eight months and was constantly running a sleep deficit. To combat this, each team member would only drive about seven hours. Then we would pull over and sleep 6, sometimes a solid four hours was all I needed. What we would do if we were both burnt out was to drive 11's and burn our clocks out. Then we could both catch up on rest, laundry, ect. I know that 34 hours could have been making money, but I am not going to fall asleep at the wheel and kill two people. Teaming is a mother, that is all there is to it. You have to find creative ways to get 2-6 hours of solid, at still sleep. You will make better money than soloing at PAM, but not much. I have finished a year with them and am gone soon.