Advice on teaming

your experience may vary, but my teaming experience lasted less than 6 months and i wouldnt team otr unless it was a last option type thing. it was not really sleep it was more like "dirty hybernation", i dont know what to call it..but i could lay down for 10 hrs and i couldnt tell you how much time i was unconscious, depending on how i felt it might of been anywhere from no sleep to 6 hrs once in a blue moon if trk was parked , and then of course its your shift to drive. then theres the high blood pressure even though youre only in your mid twenties, noticing health issues, attitude issues between your codriver and you are never home... "unforgiving" in a word.

solo driver or bust.

 

I remember when cudafish only used to complain about not making any money; you've come along way sir. Bravo and kudos for taking the safe route!

 

When I team, I put a military-style duffle bag full of clothes against the safety restraint net. I can then tighten the straps down enough to wedge myself securely between the duffle and the back wall...

 

I think you'll need a little bit more than a duffle bag to "secure" you when your teammate slams on the breaks and some of that cargo comes flying thru until it stops in the pavement twenty feet in front of the cab ...

 

Two of the best things that helped me and the old lady when we teamed were:

1. A new mattress (custom cut for the truck, made from memory foam).
2. Opening the air vent by my head and listening to the road noise. At speed the wind created a noise that was consistent and drown out everything else, which helped a lot.

Like everyone else already said, drive like you have someone sleeping back there. If you can both reciprocate that courtesy you'll find it much easier, too. I always put on headphones, turned off the CB & music, and reminded myself what a miserable time it is when your partner is a grump due to sleep deprivation.

Good luck, be safe.

 

I drove team for a few months at PAM, doing the runs to Laredo and back up to OH and MI.

We probably averaged around 7,000 - 7,500 for the 12 days we were out. We lived near each other so getting home every other weekend worked out well.

We took turns driving at night/day. One 12 day outing I would drive at night, then when we came back from hometime, he would drive at night. We both did our 11, but when we got to Laredo, we would normally sit for a few hours, which gave us time to sleep without the truck moving.

It was tough for me to adjust quickly, but since we stuck to a certain schedule, it wasn't all that bad. I would sleep 5-6 hours, then wake up for a bit, then go back and sleep another couple hours.

Knowing where I was going, how many miles were left without really having to figure it out, being as how we were on a dedicated lane, helped me get through the 700 miles.

Like some others have mentioned, the way you lay down does factor in. If you spread yourself out, then more points of your body will be affected by the shaking and movement of the truck. If you curl yourself up in the fetal position, which is how I sleep anyway, your body seems to be able to cushion more of the shock. I would also open up one of the vents to get some white noise, make sure the curtain is shut so I could get as much darkness as possible, then just close my eyes and forget about trucking, forget about everything, just concentrate on breathing in and out.

About the acid reflux, quit drinking pop.

In fact, if you are drinking pop, stop drinking it, this will help a lot. Caffeine and large amounts of sugar will give you some get go at first, but your body will crash from it. I only drank Gatorade and juice when I teamed.

What was funny about the whole thing, being on the dedicated lane, was that after a while, I was able to tell almost exactly where we were from the bumps in the road, and what time it was, within 20 miles, without opening up the curtain to look out the window.

I'd also like to mention that trucking companies that hire new students ought not to allow their trainers to have their students drive the vehicle with the trainer sleeping in the back. This practice should be outlawed.

 

Agree wholeheartedly with ure last statement, it should b these safety law ppls #1 priority; ure in the trainers' truck to learn. My trainer was next to me 100% the 1st week ...which in a way u should be given some alone time, my trainer told me that it was like taking the training wheels off ... He wasn't a bad trainer, the problem is the template of the industry ... Teams get freight there faster and trainers sometimes are coerced into teaming with there students, of course they don't mind, it's more money in the pocket for them. Every now and again I think about becoming a trainer, so I can teach the new breed the right way .... But then I remember my teaming days and I say to myself 'naah!'

 

I have thought about being a trainer, but I would refuse to drive team with my student - as in I won't sleep while he/she is driving, until I can feel comfortable, which would not be during the 1st week.

My first day with my trainer at PAM, we were at the TA in Gary, told me to get in the driver's seat, I got through I-80 and then onto I55 on the way to OKC, and once I got into 55, trainer said ok, have fun, make it to Joplin. And then he went to bed. I was like "WTF" and this was at like 9pm, after we had been sitting at the TA all day while he helped a former student of his figure out his logbook for like 5 hours.

Needless to say, I didn't make it to Joplin. I was on pins and needles all the way through St. Louis, but thought it was so cool to see the Arch. And then I realized how hilly MO was, was gripping my steering wheel until my knuckles about exploded, made it to I think Rolla, then pulled into the truckstop and I had had it at that point.


I think I was lucky to have made it that far.
He really didn't teach me how to back that well either.

 

Yeah,they're a bunch of a-hole trainers out there. My trainer for the most part was considerate and during the beginning of the 2nd week, PAMela was already calling him up and asking him to take up team freight ... Badgering him almost. I still talk to the man this day cause he always told me things for what they were, even once towards the end telling me 'youre gonna make me some money this week' - you take this statement and really it only means one thing, but since he was honest about everything else, to me it was just him being him. He did tell me alot of stories from other trainers across PAMela, so yeah, like Boy Wander's story, this is very common practice