Why Do We Demonize Team Driving?

It would not surprise me if the day of the solo driver eventually came to an end and only team drivers were used.

God bless every American and their families! God bless the U.S.A.!

 

I've been thinking about trying to get a job with a company like CRST specifically for the benefits of running with a teammate with more experience for the first eight months. I wonder if you'd elaborate on what you meant by the comment above?

 

Team driving is an entirely different animal altogether. I usually run team once or twice a month and your partner and destination can always vary. I'll try to put a list of pros and cons together and I'm sure some have been mentioned already.

Pros:
- MORE MILES
- If you have a good partner, the company can be nice
- Usually get help loading and unloading freight
- While one person is driving, the other can handle paperwork, routing, etc.
- Depending on experience, the lesser experienced driver can pick up a lot of good habits from the other driver

Cons:
- God help you if your partner is a nut case
- Lack of quality sleep due to truck moving, music too loud, obnoxious talk on CB
- If you're a smoker and they're a non-smoker, or vice versa, good luck making both sides happy
- Partner could be a slob (leaving clothes everywhere, not hygenic, smells awful)
- Privacy is gone for the most part
- After a while the smallest things become a problem (music taste, burping/farting, laugh, etc)
- Driving style - can relate to sleeping issues, also if one driver is not pulling their weight, it becomes unfair to the driver who is busting out 500/600 miles per shift.

There's so many more to list. Team driving isn't as cut-and-dry and you'd think. It can be a very complex world of intricate little details and after three or four weeks out together, they all matter. If you decide to end up teaming just be polite, be tidy and try to bust your ### learning from your experience and making the most of your miles.

 

One problem is that experienced drivers don't want to run with rookies. If I go on a teaming forum and post that I'm looking for a co-driver and that I've only run CMVs since last month, the only drivers who are going to answer are people who've never driven at all. Likewise, I don't want to team with a rookie because I don't want to wake up in a rolled/jacknifed/crashed semi.

...There's also the chance I'd hear from someone looking for a road wife. I'm sure he'll ask for pictures first.

 

When a company has team drivers being paired up, wouldn't they be of the same gender?

 

With someplace like CRST, I'd imagine they would keep the same gender together unless a husband/wife team hires on. O/Os or drivers arranging their own teams sometimes post looking for co-drivers and may or may not specify they are looking for a certain gender. Some just post stuff like, "Drivers! Looking to team? Lower 48 + Canada. Call 555-555-5555."

 

Not always my wife was teamed with a male and decided to dump me and take him. Thank you CRE ! Hope she don't make it home to get her hard copy licence transferred over to Maine ....Shes in CA now and has one week to do it .

 

Jeez. That is rough. Sorry that happened.

 

My wife and i teamed for 8 years. That is the only way i would ever team. The stress and lack of rest from teaming takes itss toll on you. If you are not getting both paychecks it is not worth it.
We teamed for the first year then she quit for a few years. It was when i first started solo driving that i learned the most. I no longer had her to watch for me so i had to learn how to do things myself. Made me a better driver. I am back to solo driving now after teaming for 7 more years with her and while i miss her company i love being able to park and rest.
As far as demonizing team driving i was not aware of it happening.
Teams are not going to replace the solo driver because true team freight is disappearing. Not as much coast to coast freight as there used to be. And running teams with multiple short runs will wear them out fast. No one can rest while their co driver is constantly doing drop and hooks.