Husband and wife team drivers - We have questions

I think blairandgretchen does husband/wife team for OD.

 

Hello emsummers;
My wife and I drove as a team for 2 years and she missed the grand kids so, she is home now but, I can give you info on what we did.

We drove for USXpress, a contractor for FedEx Ground and The Logistics Group. Out of those 3, The Logistics Group was by far the best company we drove for. In fact, I would still be driving for them, if they provided what I like to do.

During the winter months, we drove for 8 weeks and took 4/5 days off, than 8 weeks and 4/5 days off. During the summer months, we drove for 4 weeks and took 4 days off.

We split our hours of driving simply by each having a 12 hour shift. She drove at night, midnight to noon and I drove during the day from noon to midnight. That just worked better for us but, you can do whatever works for you.

The address you use depends on your states laws on domicile. We actually lived in a campground but could not legally use that address so, we just used a friends address.

We opened a UPS mail box and that is where our mail went. We would pick it up when we went home for our time off.

Teams normally drive many hours a day and have to take a restart before they can recap any hours. The 34 hour restart is the tricky part but what we did was park after she stopped driving at midnight. We would park for 34 hours or so and than I would start driving until noon of the day we left. You and your husband will adapt to whatever company you drive for and hours required.

I would definitely suggest The Logistics Group to you and your husband. They haul auto parts and if you know anything about that, it is an ASAP type of driving. In other words, get the load to the destination asap.

Wish you the best...

 

I really hope it works out for you guys. Please keep us posted when you can.

 

To expand a lil bit on sheepdog'd post on mail. You can also do a google search for mailing services. There are services that will receive your mail and you can get an on-line list of what they've received. You then have several options. You can have them re=mail it to a forwarding address(there is a charge for this), you can go pick it up when you get into the area, or, if you review the on-line list and something seems important, you can have them scan it and you can read it on-line. I THINK that's how the review process works, and of course, there is an additional charge to see more than just the envelope.. Hope this helps.

 

What is your primary motivation? money (CPM)? money (consistent high mileage)?, lane consistency? lane IN-consistency? (can change it up when you want and run wherever you desire), equipment offered? southern lanes vs northern lanes?

 

Hello,
I am currently drive team with my wife and while our conditions may vary from yours I will try to answer your questions the best I can.

1. We drive for Landstar. My wife has been there for 5 years and I am going on my 4th.

2. You have to find what feels right for the two of you. We usually go out for 3-4 months, but for us we stop when ever we want. Cons are crap piles up while we are out, but we have her folks there and they collect our mail and let us know when we have something that needs our attention.

3. No splitting hours usually we drive 10 or less each depending on the trip. no need for a restart

4. Mail? well you will need and address to get your drivers license Sorry I cant be much help there.

5. We drive coast to coast, for us it is 2 1/2 days each way. We have done 2 restarts this year. Planning makes the difference, and if you can stick to 9 hours a day you wont have to do a restart either. Just remember it is always to have downtime at home than on the road.

 

guess i'll chime in on this one

 

I agree with Flood. 7/70 is what I ran in teams with each of us running our shift in a 12hr time window. I cant help on the significant other or spouse aspect as my teammate has always been gratefully unattractive to me!!!! I am however friends with 4-5 husband/wife teams at my company and their hometime is very dependent on their personal needs. I know one team that is out 2weeks and home every other weekend, but most others work off each week out earns a day at home and they do 4-5 weeks with 4-5 days off. It all depends on how you want to run and what the motivation is obviously.