Do companies allow new drivers to team together? Can I team with my buddy?

Teamed for about 2 months. Now gone from Schneider. It wasn't that I didn't like team. There are some very positive aspects to it (pay is better, miles better, about 95% drop and hook). My team mate (just can't bring myself to use "partner" although that's what a team mate is) discussed our goals and plans at great length before going out. Then one week out he seemed to change his mind. I wanted to run 4 to 6 weeks at a time, he decided just over 3 weeks was enough because he saw time out as earning 'x' number of days home rather than the money. Oh well, all of that changed anyway. More on that in a moment.

The toughest part of the team experience is sleeping in a moving truck. There's the constant whine of the drive tires on pavement. There's the rough highways (especially at bridges and overpass). We split the day 3 to 3 thinking midnight to 6 a.m. is the toughest adjustment for anyone. I would get up before 3 a.m. and take over until mid afternoon. He would then start. He usually hit the wall about midnight or 1 a.m. so our day got shortened by a few hours. We got so we would just stop the truck for several hours until my day started. We would both get a couple hours good sleep. Otherwise it was kind of in and out of sleep in the bunk while the truck went down the road. We ran just over 4,000 miles a week during our short tenure at team. I could easily see that going to 6,000 had we not had to stop the truck. We covered 32 states in the 7 weeks we ran. Did not get to New England or Florida. Ran the Carolinas, Georgia, Texas, California, Washington, Illiniois, Tennesee, Kentucky and Minnesota (probably some others but I remember these drops). Why did it end? It's a good story.

We were holed up doing a 34 hour reset when my team mate fell ill. Turns out he had pneumonia and was put on some medication. We rolled the next day and within a couple days he was pretty much back to normal. But as he was coming out of the hospital after the diagnosis he said "when it rains, it pours". I ask what he was referring to. He said he just got a call from his buddy (and former co-worker) who is driving a truck in the North Dakota oil fields and that firm is hiring. His buddy said he could get my co-driver hired on. I said "that's not bad news, that's great news!". He said he felt guilty about busting up the partnership because he agreed to drive team with me. I told him this is business not personal and he had no choice but to grab the opportunity. Let me be clear here. This wasn't an opportunity because driving in the oil fields is exciting. It's all about the money. This job paid by the hour with time and a half for anything over 8. These drivers are working 60 to 70 hours a week. They're making almost 3 times what we could hope to make as a rookie team. He fired off an application. He also called his buddy back and started pitching me as another hire. Within about 2 weeks my co-driver got the call from North Dakota firm management. He was hired. Our team was busted up. He told Schneider and they said congratulations, they would put him on a rehire list if it didn't work out for him. So he's gone, now what shall I do?

Frankly, I was excited to go solo. I happen to love being on the road in a truck. I loved going down the road, taking showers at Pilot/Flying J, meeting the consignees and shippers, dealing with the drop and hook. I'm tellin you I should have done this decades ago. I talked to my dbl and said I didn't want to find a new partner (yikes, there, I said it!). I was going home for a couple days so she said that she could run me solo for 30 days and if I wanted to stay solo she's transfer me out of Indianapolis to Des Moines. Sounded good to me. On my 3rd day home she called and ask if I was going solo. I said yes. She said okay, you're transferring and here's the numbers, they have another power (tractor) for you. It's in the same yard where I park the team truck not far from home. Off I went. Transferred all my stuff into the new (actually 2 years older) truck. Cleaned it and was to come back the next day and off I would go solo! The whole change process took about 2 or 3 hours. I was excited to launch the next phase of my short trucking career. I made the 15 minute drive home and as I walked in the door I pulled my cell phone from my pocket and noticed I had a missed call/voice mail. Hmmmm.

The call was from the oil field firm. "So, you still want to come to work in the oil fields?" "Absolutely" I said. I need to make more money to support my family. "Hired" he said. They provide housing (actually you rent it for $650 a month),all the benefits, you'll regularly get 60 to 70 hours, you'll be driving nights, tankers hauling water from drill sites. "Done!" I said. See you on October 1st. Stay tuned! I'll find another place to post here to update you on this adventure.

Let me say this about Schneider for those of you considering. I would go back to them in a heart beat. Even though they kept my last check because they said they were taking back the $500 signing bonus they had given me at the start. I couldn't argue their justification. That bonus was a part of the $3,500 they would give me over a year for going team. I didn't deserve it because I didn't stay. The people were great. The dbl took care of business and yet was there for support. equipment was first rate. While out running I saw Schneider trucks everywhere! The only other firm that I saw that much was US Xpress. Once out of the upper midwest I rarely saw a Roehl truck (my other early favorite). Schneider training while short is intense. I had some training in Gary on my last day out with Schneider that really clarified electronic logging and Qualcom. They don't let go. They want their drivers to be professional in all ways.

This is my story thus far. If you're new or soon to be new I hope your experience is as good as mine. I did have some very frustrating days and I got pissed off more than once. I fell out of the truck once and hurt my hand because I got in a hurry. It was all part of it. I'm 63 years old and feel 43. Go out there and burn those wheels. Life on the road is a gift!

 

recently licenced, and looking for similar employment, can you point me in the direction of a company that might be hiring up there. thanks

 

Good you got to experience team, however you could have driven those miles as a single driver and not had to share the profits. As a team if you are running 6000-7000 a week it for sure isn't worth it. It really does take a hardcore individual to run team! I am currently running team and have a super sweet run. 9 day runs comprised of 9300 miles. Multiply that by $.22 hub miles and it makes for a sweet deal!

Wish you luck with your oil field endeavor. I think you should be able to do very well with that gig. Keep us up to date and let us know how it goes. I always see a lot of questions from guys wanting to work in the oil field industry and rarely do they get straight answers.

Good luck man. Drive safe....

 

That is a sweet deal ...