Co driver question

Absolutely. Training companies that actually train drivers, and not just team students operate this way. If you/she got the hours, send it.

 

I don't really see that as a viable situation if you were working for say, a common carrier. It would be more hassle for them to work things out. Who wants to be responsible for two employees and only get the return investment of one.

 

We team, but most of the time we just work an 8 hour shift, swap for an 8 hour shift, and then sleep for 8 hours. When I have to sleep in a truck while it's moving, I end up charging a lot more.

Large companies would gladly have a team in a truck and pay them both solo wages. Since they're typically self insured and pay by the mile, they don't really lose much by having two people in the truck.

 

Some companies like to call this arrangement "Super Solo" .
Basically a primary driver, and the other driver willing to do a few hours, but not a full shift. Something like 14-15 hours driving in a day between the two.

It's not common, but it is out there.

 

Waaay back, working in Chem Leaman's central dispatch [pre-deregulation] where we dealt with anyone over 150 miles from home [with a backhaul alble trailel] so we saw all of the team units.

My partner for our area was from the gulf an ex-driver who came north after working that areas 'regional' dispatch when they were all consolidated in Downingtown so he knew some of these teams.

We had a husband wife team that was always late. The wife always did the phone calls with the continuing rotation of exuses for always being late and my partner said that she wasn't a driver 'back then' and he believed that while she had a valid license [Pre-CDL] and had passed her road test; He felt that the husband was doing all the driving.

Then we had a bunch of new tractors and tanks to move to the gulf from Pennsylvania so we were instructed to split the teams to relocate the new stuff.

My partner decided it was time to split this team which, finally, got the husband on the phone howling and screaming but they still split.

OP needs to find the 'right' company but someone out there, maybe not a major/mega, but perhaps more of a private carrier scenario.

 

I spoke to several people across 14 carriers about this question. Not one said it was something they were interested in doing. The "wife" has to be in the testing pool, all their information has to be in the company files. The logging dept has to have their information. Even an OO leased to a carrier will have this same issue. The "wife" has to also be insured. If the "wife" can't get a job on her own the company is not going to allow her to drive until she has finished their training program. By this time the "wife" is an employee of the carrier and the truck will be expected to operate as a team operation. If you want to do this I recommend you buy your truck and run your own numbers. However, if you are able to find a carrier willing to do this I would love to know. I spent almost 2 hours last night and several hours this morning asking people about this. I struck out with everybody I asked.

 

Chem Leaman did have one O/O in Ohio who, in 1968 ran a cabover KW with an allison. He would work regional running alone but when a good load wasn't covered by a company team, he was able to call home and tell his wife to pack her bag and logbook.She only ran team once a month, if that.