Husband/Wife (or couples) Teams - geting started Info, advice, experiences, etc

Only people I know who came outta school and bought their own rigs were ones who had money behind them and either worked on the docks or had a relative in the industry. You have to remember its not what is use to be out here with all the new stuff kicking in soon. Why do u think I would bail? It was not for lack of money but the fact I was one of a dying breed left out here and that is old time outlaw trucking. I lost 2 brokers in a months time that closed up shop due to the economy.

As for the new EOBR's im sure there will be a way to cheat on them. The prices of.fuel. Maintaince.and all the other that goes with.it and unless your a heavy haul right now or do LTL rates are not all that great. Your gonna pay a buck thirty for a new whopper and a buck eighty for a big sleeper ARI I know cause u use to own both. As for experience your Insurance is not going to be what you think. Alot of Insurance companies just as truck lenders want to know how long you have been driving.

Then depending on where your from you have Hugh mountain grades out west here and if you have never driven them you can get in trouble in a fast way and thats on dry roads. Come out here in a snow storm and go down a 6 or 7% grade with snow under u whole different senario. Throw iron to get traction up or down a grade or wait it out and then u start losing money. There is so much to read and learn just stop thinking about the money end of it think about if you really want to do it. Money means nothing if you kill yourself or a family because you dont have the experience but you decided to be a trucker right out of school and buy a rig. Trust me it takes more than that. I didnt buy my first truck till after 2 yrs of experience driving. we cant tell u what to do but make the wise choice first and learn our lifestyle out here. RW

 

As a husband/wife team our first year as company drivers we did $160,000. The second year we ran as owner ops and did well over $200,000. Husband/wife teams can do very, very well with the right company out there. Expedite is also another good option.

 

yeah RW....people see $$$$$ signs....and dont realize all that is involved..i dont mean that ugly, or rude or implying ppl are stupid...i am just saying there is WAYYYY more to it than meets the eye....and its way different and getting worse every day.....i know i am more stressed now than i used to be...more traffic, more attitudes, more stupid ppl, more wrecks (NOT US)...i saw a sign in TX yest...1785 ( i think i know it was over 1700) DEATHS THIS YEAR ALONE on TX HIGHWAYS.......the rudeness out here is unbelievable...its just not anything close to how it used to be....and we will be calling it quits just as soon as a few more details are worked out...

 

All in a short little package...and dead on the money!

 

OTTER you said..."all in a short little package", thought you were talkin bout me....LOL

 

G&C is right and don't get me wrong, wasn't making it out to sound like easy money. Its one of the if not the toughest careers out there. I was going to throw in "especially nowadays" but I really am not that old and can't compare the ol'days of trucking to today's. Nonetheless it isn't easy. You have to be a seasoned, refined driver and really have to hustle out there. All your ducks have to be in a row and you also need to be a successful business owner. Besides being a business owner, hustler, refined driver etc... you have to be able to survive what life throws at you every single day! Traffic, extreme weather conditions, obstacles of all kinds etc... Being a safe driver and being aware of your surroundings is the utmost important. With that being said though, statistically something is going to happen. Hopefully with all your knowledge and skills it can be minimized.

When my wife and I retired from driving we literally felt as if we survived! It was a hell of an adventure!

 

I've been told most O/O get to keep 50% for themselves, the rest goes to the (cost of ins./tires/maint./Etc.) Truck . True?

 

Good advice.
Well if (again IF) I've done my math right, you're talking over $365,000 a year. Is it fair to say half goes to the team and half goes to the truck? I think some people are reading my posts and thinking all I care about is the $$$. Well, in some ways you are right. I've never been OTR. But I am thinking about it as a way for my wife and me to build up our nest egg. Do this for ten years and quit. I've held my CDL and been a driver since 1998. BUT, I've always chosen work where I slept in my own bed at night. I've never "Thrown iron". I've never been down a mega grade covered in snow. The closest I've ever come to anything like that was rain coming down the grapevine @ 80K. I haul Haz-Mat.

 

The key phrases here heard over and over again but are always lost on New Drivers is... With the right company, and knowledge gained with some time in.

It's rare and I mean rare that someone just starting out hits it right the first time and sails on.

Like any JOB it's what are you willing to put into it? How hard are you willing to work to achieve goals you set?

You may believe you love your sweetie to no end. Live with them not three feet from you for days or weeks on end and the true tale gets told. If your solid with each other and understand what the big picture is for you both you can literally have your cake and eat it too.

 

I believe you. We've been together (although not in a box) over 25 years. I'm just researching at this point. If we decided to pull the trigger, it wouldn't be until our Son goes to college.