Husband and wife are empty nesters…what next we ask?

Wait to sell your house after a year. Until you know you like trucking.

Teams are kept busy since they have enough hours to deliver loads. A lot of the time the wife & I spend together is while one is driving & the other in the passenger seat. Other than that, one is driving while the other is sleeping.

The times we've gotten to park for the night & sleep together....we've received calls to re-power another driver. Then one of you have to wake up in the middle of the night & drive to the place where the truck your re-powering is. Then on you go to make that delivery.

I have trouble sleeping in the truck so I take Melatonin.

When you pick up your load & have to tell your company your delivery ETA. Calculate it by 45-50 mph. If you go 65 mph, then that will give you several hours to make the delivery on time & to shower, eat, etc.

Overall, teaming is good because you get better loads. Not a whole lot of live unloads. Wife & I have even deadheaded over 1,100 miles several times. Got paid for everyone of those deadhead miles. Plus, it gave us time to stop somewhere & eat a really nice meal.

 

They will voice verify all of your jobs. My wife wasn't hired until they spoke with one of her former employers on the phone. You can give them your work history before orientation but they won't verify it till you get there.

Come prepared. Bring all documentation. This can be a nightmare if you don't.

 

What next ? The turnover rate at trucking companies is 100%. Apply to others. You'll get on with one that will take you.

People who are sent home are those that fail the physical or medical test, can't verify work history or have a bad work history. Get everything in order & you should be fine.

 

Sorry to weigh in late on this but,,,

You seem like you're in a good position to put your belongings in storage and rent out your house.
(You could sell it but you might be in a better position to wait out the market.)

I'll let you in on a secret with some of the companies with older fleets. Try NOT to get the newest rig.

If your running a 3 year old veteran with 250k on the clock, they're less likely to notice small dings and dents.
And one option some of the younger newbies don't mention (because we're broke) is that there's not reason you can't out of pocket small repairs. (a front bumper on a 9400 is like $600, DON'T ASK HOW I KNOW!)

Remember ideally your farthest point out on your truck is your mirror. So if it contacts something you are FAR too close.

Also, regardless of good your marriage, as Team Operators, you really need to work on your communication.
When backing into a spot and your spouse is spotting you, it's not a good time to have an argument.

Don't think about getting fired in the first 6 months, that's just negative energy. Just focus on safe driving. (especially with winter coming) Not to scare you but death is a much bigger danger than losing your job in this profession.

Driving tired, poor conditions, rookie judgement, etc.

Get comfortable with what you're doing first and the first 6 months will pass in a blur.

Then you'll have a year under your belt and you'll know if you're up for the job.

Good Luck.

 

What work you did or didn't do isn't all that important to a starter company. They just need to verify that employment. If unemployed they usually ask for references that can verify that, though most don't bother calling them.