How does one become a team driver

Some companies have good team freight, some don't. Teaming doesn't necessarily mean you will make more money. It does mean that you will be driving with someone you may or may not like. It also means that you have to trust your safety to that person while you try to sleep regardless of the weather or road conditions. I have seen very few roads in this country that are in good enough condition to let me sleep comfortably while the truck is moving. I have had three different team partners over the years. None of us remained friends after teaming. Best of luck in whatever you decide.

 

teem is were the money is. solo you get .37 teem you split .43 but run moor miles than solo. Look for someone you will find a partner

 

I hear what your saying but at the same time if your with a good company running solo you can get avg of 3,000mi a week. Running team that's 6,000 a week but once you split it it's still only 3,000 per driver per week!

 

And you get to keep all that lovely money in the family!!

However, if that truck stays rolling, you WILL get tired. When my wife and I were teaming, it was a necessity to come off the road every month for a few days to get some rest. We averaged 5000-6000 miles weekly and did it because we wanted to be together. However, we stayed tired most of the time, and just because your line has been drawn down to line 2 DOESN'T mean you're sleeping. Ask my wife what it was like going across Louisiana, Arkansas, PA Turnpike or any other God-forsaken road and she'd tell you in a heartbeat that it was murder.

To blazes with the money; I make more now than when we were teaming and I get to sleep in a non-moving bed at night to boot.

If you decide to team, ask a lot of questions. That cab is too small to harbor grudges and not get along with one another. If you team with a stranger, you'll probably have a hard time getting along when you get tired and you'll have to get to know and trust them.

You will have to decide who will be the night driver, that poor soul who has to take the vampire shift and keep plugging along no mater how tired they get.

Some people do extremely well with teaming, but it's not an option I'll consider any more.

 

I tried teaming once with a good friend. That lasted about 2 months, and I couldn't stand it anymore! I wouldn't do it either, but I don't have to worry about that, since driving isn't really happening for me anymore. I'm falling apart already . . . did someone see my walker?

 

The benefits of running team are priority dispatch and longer trips meaning less wasted times at customers. In many cases teams are swapping out trailers rather than sitting on a load to live load or live unload. In the case of solo drivers (in the current economy), they get shorter runs and have to spend more time at customers loading and unloading. I know there are solo AND team drivers sitting for days waiting for a reload in some areas of the country. That said teams will routinely be dispatched quicker than a solo will.

As the other posters have mentioned the financial reward really does not add up especially when considering the lack of quality rest. I currently team with my spouse and neither of us are able to get any decent rest when the truck is moving. We stop the truck each day for 5 to 6 hours to get decent rest, Fortunately we have loads that are not that time sensitive in the first place. Other than that we normally turn 800 to 1000 miles per day together.

 

I hav done it for a year, I would do it again, but only because I like torturing myself so i will try to make you understand 3 important things.

The pros of teaming:

You will get priority on loads.
You will generally get a newer truck with better features.
Most companies will treat you a bit better.
Much of your running will be drop and hook.

The cons of teaming:

You will be tired, and dispatch will not want to hear it. Try sleeping while someone is on a bumpy road or construction or stop and go. But if you have hours you will be expected to drive them. I am willing to bet cash money that if someone did an audit of accidents caused by a driver asleep at the wheel teams would probably be a high percentage of involved.

Your loads are almost always scheduled tight. You have to do what a solo cannot. Your truck will be expected to ROLL. Not stop any time you are on a load other then fueling, and even then its tight. If you get a load thats 1000 paid miles, you will usually be given exactly 21 hours to get it there. Regardless of weather, traffic, your bio needs, and so forth. Which doesn't sound bad till you consider this: You only have 5 hours extra time if you are running at 65 mph the WHOLE WAY. Get stuck in traffic? Oh well, now you only have 4 or 3 hours extra. Pull off to fuel and there is a line? 3 or 2 hours extra. Need to use the bathroom 3 times stop to grab some food and walk around to wake up a bit? 1 or 2 hour... better not hit traffi again eh? Try putting in the enroute inspections ever 3 hours or 200 miles, and get it there on time. And many times that load is a normal load that doesnt need to be there till next week but they don't care, if its assigned to a team truck its getting there in 50 mph transit time.

But wait thers more! The MYTH you make more as a team!

Solo: .37 cpm 2500 mls this week paid; 925 bring home before taxes
Team: .42 cpm 5000 mls this week paid split; 1050 bring home for each

Thats 125 extra a week, 4500 a year. And when I say its not worth it I speak from expierence. And honestly you won't make that much. Especially now. And that ONLY applies if you make at least 4000 miles or more where you end up BETTER then a solo. If you don't hit that number you will be making LESS.

 

Try landspan they have a way to pair you with someone. I don't think theres enough extra money on the table for me to ever try this. You may go to sleep for a few but just remember when you do your partner is probaly just is tired as you are because he laid in the bed for his ten hours and maybe got 3 hours of sleep.

 

If you have never tried sleeping in a bed that can through you straight up in the air then hit you before you land, then your in for a treat.A good solo driver should make 50to 60K per year or more. They advertise teams to make 110 to 120K per year,sounds like thesame kind of money,and alot more hazards.

 

Hubby and I have been teaming for over a year now and love it. Maybe I am weird but I sleep better when the truck is rolling, of course there are those roads though... When we are rolling and I know we are passing through Oklahoma I always know when hubby has crossed the state lines.

I can't imagine doing it though if it wasn't with a spouse. Its seems that many don't last too long if they aren't "together," and even then it can be iffy.