Wannabe Team driver with husband.

Prime Inc. uses some shorter tractors and they're called Eco trucks. You can buy those trucks brand new or buy used ones from Prime. These trucks are used by Prime Inc. to haul heavier loads.
Very unlikely any company or broker will offer work to anyone that has an old cabover that's been refurbished.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prime Inc. Eco trucks:

 

Cabover, every bump in the road is like being kicked in the back.

Work for a company first. You don't even know if one or both of you can even sleep in a moving trucks. That's not a minor consideration. Unless both of you could lay down and sleep at a rock concert or busy shopping mall, or conversely, know if a bluebird chirps you wake up you will have to try it to find out.

Why risk your money to see if you like or can do the job? It's like deciding instead of buying a Christmas tree for the holidays you buy a Christmas tree farm and start making payments next month. Chances are you will run out of money before you run out of lessons learned.

Be a company driver(s) to learn the job and what features you like, or must avoid. Most of those you cannot learn except by experience. Going from civilian to owner-operator is like jumping off a cliff to learn how to fly. Motivation isn't the ONLY key to success.

Stay away from CR England, CRST, Western Express, or any "dollar store" accounts for any company, regardless of trucking company or the actual name of the dollar type store. Any trucking ad that emphasizes "pay UP TO X per mile or UP TO X per year" is not a real offer. It's enticing newbies to pretend they will immediately be paid the highest rate in the company and run the maximum miles the most dependable veterans are running.

Don't decide how to get your CDL until you have picked a trucking company and HAVE TALKED TO CURRENT DRIVERS at that trucking company doing the work you are being hired to do. You don't want to just hear what the trucking company wants to tell you. You NEED to hear what current drivers doing the type of work for THAT company are experiencing. Office people only know the company-wide averages of pay rate and miles driven per week. There is a big difference between you driving 1200 miles per week and other drivers getting almost 4000 miles in one week. You can't spend average paychecks at the grocery store. You spend YOUR paycheck at the grocery store.

90% of first year CDL holders do not complete 1 year in the industry. Mostly because many of the newbies will not, no matter what, look before they leap into a trucking company. Like shoes, a good experience depends on finding a good fit for YOU. You wouldn't want me picking you a pair of shoes you are going to wear every day for the next year.

As a woman you may have a longer wait getting a trainer at your first company. There are a lot fewer women trainers than men. Be prepared to decide should you wait for a woman trainer for several weeks, maybe a month or two, or get training from a male trainer now and get it over with. If your husband is not an experienced CDL driver, it's very likely you will both have different trainers. Some companies allow any CDL driver employee with a good record and experience to become a trainer. The bad companies dangle "be a trainer" in front of any driver saying they want more money. Some trainers couldn't train a fence post to stand still since they only have 6 weeks experience and no patience. Some trainers are great with years of experience.

You have maximum leverage in picking a trucking company up until you make a decision. The day you tell a trucking company you want to work there, you will never talk to the same people again and you will be dropped into the training/new hire pipeline. You will get the treatment they give to all of their recruits, regardless of what anyone said.

YouTube videos like to show you pretty scenery and empty interstate miles. That's the icing on the cake. Most of the time you will be in big cities and surrounded by cars that are happy to try and kill themselves to be in the tiny space between you and the vehicle in front of you. They, the car drivers, may not in theory want to die, but that's better than missing an exit or or being behind a truck for 3 seconds.

The situation at truck stops isn't dangerous like everyone assumes. It's no more dangerous than walking from your car into a Walmart or grocery store. The job isn't physically difficult, even if you are a woman, short, young, old, etc. Truck drivers mostly die from over-eating, under-sleeping, under-exercise, not crime or crashes. If you promise not to buy/sell drugs or stolen merchandise, or hang out with someone doing those things your concern should be getting enough rest and not too much food.

 

Wow another one. Not even ... never mind ...

 

You will be assigned a tractor that as a team will have lower miles to start, likely will have that truck for 1 to 1 1/2 years. There are companies willing to train you together keep that in mind as a question for the recruiter.

 

We do come across as salty dogs, we do have your best interests at heart though.

 

Going to have to lose the side arms.