3 months team driving

My wife and I finished CDL school in March and started on with Amhof trucking near Davenport Iowa. We did company training on flatbed and dry van until June and then started over the road team driving together. So we have about three months experience with driving team together.

we’ve done 60% flatbed 40% drive van thus far. We average between 3000 and 4000 miles a week. That’s low for a team and the reason is that most flatbed customers are not open 24/7 so we end up sitting waiting for customers to open so that we can deliver or pick up. That can happen with dry van as well. As this week we ended up sitting at the Atlanta Costco distribution center for 15 hours waiting for them to open in the morning to deliver LG electronics we brought from Fort Worth Texas. If We weren’t forced to stop to wait for customers to open We could easily do over 5000 miles a week.

our loads have been across the entire spectrum. We’ve delivered multiple production robotics to Tesla in Austin worth millions of dollars, John Deere, combine heads and gators, coils, electronics, and even loads of just empty wood pallets.

People Have asked, why don’t we just go to A company that uses teams for 24 hour hubs so that we could make more money now. The short answer is we love our company. They’re very flexible with our 5-2 schedule, If we get in late Friday or Saturday morning, they won’t schedule us a delivery until Tuesday morning Because they know our time off is important to us. They have provided us with brand new equipment and The owners sons are available 24/7 when we have issues. (Such as gladhands that needed to be be replaced in Wichita, Kansas and trailer tires that need to be replaced at 11 PM in the yard ) they have never lied to us, and basically treat us very well. No place is perfect but we’re pretty happy here for now. The long answer is We are thinking long term, we want this flatbed experience so that in the future we can use my security clearance for some AA&E opportunities.

One of our biggest challenges is sleeping while the other one drives. My wife drives at night and I drive during the day. A very cheap solution, and a very expensive solution have helped us to sleep better. The cheap solution is earplugs. Our freightliner shakes with every bump and really the noise is just as bad as the vibration. The expensive solution was the Froli Spring system ($300) for under our mattress. It makes the bed many times more comfortable, and does reduce some of the vibration from bumps.

A couple other things that keep us moving and add convenience are the portable toilet for my wife and for me widemouth detergent bottles With the spouts cut out. We add in citrus RV black tank treatment to all the above To keep the tractor smelling fresh.

I can’t imagine team driving with anybody other than my wife. It’s just too close quartered. For us, it works well, but I can’t imagine that intimate of a Living situation with a Stranger, or even a good friend.


If you’re an old experienced team driver, we are open for suggestions, if you’re considering team driving Feel free to ask me any questions.

 

Solid points for operational security. I never mention a load until it’s delivered.

 

Good memory! We are their first and only team. We have no intention of going anywhere anytime soon. When we do though, it will be to do A A & E freight.