Team driving...can you give me the skinny?

There are so many variables that it's almost impossible to tell.

Teams can do anywhere between 4,000-7,000 miles a week normally, some can go more, depends on if it's a dedicated route.

If there are broker loads involved, they may find themselves sitting more than they'd like, or if it's customer freight that is steady, he/they could get burned out.

Team driving can be exhausting. Team drivers that even if they are friends, will end up stepping on each others' toes and arguments can happen, it's important to realize that this happens and that when it does, they need to forget about it and let it go out the window. One driver will end up doing most of the night driving. They will get their sleep time while the other is driving, and it can be tough to try and learn to sleep when the truck is moving. Tell him not to drink caffeine, especially at night, as this will cause him to become fatigued.

Pay goes to the truck an will probably be between 40-50 cents per mile for the truck, which is normally split evenly between both drivers. If it's less than 40 cpm then that is crappy pay.

 

Some can learn to rest well in a moving, bucking truck, top bunk is worse than bottom bunk when moving. As far as pay goes, 50 cents is probably the top end, and has to be split 2 ways. You can do the math but a solo keeping 40 cents or half a team keeping 25 cents ... it all depends. If the truck is rolling 20 hours/day, 6 day/wk, team drivers can perhaps gross more money but at what cost to their mental/physical health? As was mentioned, teaming can be brutally exhausting. It's one thing to run hard a week with the wheels rarely stopping, but if a team truck runs as it's supposed to, consistently 2, 3, 4 weeks at a time, it's hard ... even after learning to "cope".

A husband/wife (or similar) setup is ideal as the money is pooled and shared. You have to come to an agreement on hygiene. Shower time MUST be agreed upon. Some people are gassy, smoke, and have bad BO even after a shower, different music preferences, one talks too much? one is foul mouthed? one spends 3 hours/day on the cell phone yelling/griping with someone on the other end? Also, home location must be very nearby for both if ANY time off is to be expected [and agreed upon] for either. One may need time off due to some "family emergency", when the other doesn't ...

Trucking solo is a difficult lifestyle, teaming can make for an impossible lifestyle to live with long term. It's all about wether or not the personalities can co-exist in a tiny, confined space (jail cell), long term.

 

Some people can handle teams and some can't. I like it but the co-driver has to be competent. If they are not it gets old real quick.

As for being confined together, it's not as bad as people think. One guy should be in the sleeper while the other is driving. If you have to sit just go off and do your own thing.

I've had 6 co-drivers. Two were awesome. Two were jerks. One was a nice guy, but incompetent. One was okay.

 

get in touch w/some place like Baggett trans and let them tell you all about it.they pull munitions and all that good stuff

 

I like teams personally, but I team with my good friend. I find it less fatiguing due to the consistency of mostly 10 on/10 off. We get in a lot less of the situations where you don't know what you'll be doing tomorrow. Makes a big difference when you know when you should sleep rather than worrying about if I sleep now, will I be up for 10 hours before I even get a load and start driving and so on. The miles will wear you down over time but generally I don't really feel it until about the sixth week out.

 

Team Driving is like being in prison only the showers are not as fun. You are combined in a small space. It is important to keep the area clean. The cops are looking at you all the time. Drugs are not allowed. And all you want to do is escape and get back to your family.

I hope he enjoys his time as a team driver, if not maybe he can get paroled by Christmas.

 

There's not much you can do to alleviate the potential for team matching problems UNLESS the company goes to great matchmaking extents and has a large pool of drivers looking (or willing) to team. Smoking is the easiest habit to allow/disallow, but personalities and physical living habits are the big issue and all you can do for the most part is hope for the best. He's better off applying for janitor at a nearby school rather than subject himself to a disgusting co-driver long term, with no easy or quick remedy.

I'm not trying to be be discouraging but just want him/you to go in with an understanding that it is rare when a good (or tolerable) match happens first time out because there are a lot of slobs out there trucking an some of them get pushed into teaming.