Need Honest answer on running team....Please

Real Newbies here. Straight and to the point. My best friend and I are considering teaming up and getting our CDL's with the expectation of running together. Question : Can we make money running this way and if so, what can we expect to honestly make ? Would it be better if we owned our own truck verses being company drivers. Your answers are greatly appreciated.

 

Walk don't run.

Get your cdl's and go to work. As a team you have a greater advantage of making more per driver than a new single driver would because there is such a demand for teams. That being said it will take a couple of years before you each make more than 60k each

After a few years then if you still have the urge you could consider buying a truck, but that's a long ways off.

 

There are so many factors that play into your question.

Can you handle being around each other 24/7 for a month at a time at least?

Can you sleep in a moving truck? Trust me, I can't!

Company truck might be better until you get a good grip on the trucking industry. All I Hear about is newbies getting leases or becoming owner operators and either failing at it or just plain hating it.

In my opinion, teaming usually means more money, but it's too big of a pain for me to even consider trying... especially after hearing the stories my friends that have teamed tell me.

 

And may I add an old "truism" from the business world?

Do not EVER go into business with your "best friend". That is what being an O/O is... a business.

 

Read about the rejection rate at orientation and by trainers . The odds are better than 6 to 1 against each individual . The chances of both of you making it are pretty slim . How can you tell you'll be able to drive a truck before you even go to school ?

 

One more thing to consider.....You live in Florida, I see. ABSOLUTE WORST place in the states for a truck driver. BASICALLY NOTHING comes out of Florida. Next time you are on the interstate notice ALL the loaded trucks headed South and THE VERY LARGE NUMBER of EMPTY trucks headed North. I basically stay as far away from Florida as possible. Good luck to both of you. And I personally dont like to RIDE with anyone. In a car or a truck. Just me though.

 

never ever go buy a truck and become an O/O without having experience number one and a Cash flow incase of problems... this goes for LP if you dont have the back up to cover your butt incase of problems out there you will go BROKE fast..

 

There are a lot of threads on this forum about running team and owning your own truck. READ THEM ALL, then rethink your options. You have a lot of reading to do before you even know what questions to ask. Do your homework, sonny.

 

Moral of the story... IT'S A TRAP! Don't let yourself get trapped in a lease as a newbie... especially with your "best friend". You will probably both end up hating each other when things go wrong.

Read the posts before this one. They are full of great advice. Trucking is a business. It is never ever ever ever fun. It's even less fun when you're trapped with someone, confusing the trucking industry with a never-ending fun-filled road trip.

 

I ran team with my best friend and am about to again next week. It's doable but you better be good friends. Fact of the matter is there are days that you won't do well with each other but you have to be able to just let that go. Even small things like when one of you wakes up you might be in a crappy mood and say something you normally wouldn't. You have to be able to let things slide and you have to be honest with each other. It's almost like a marriage, if you don't bring up problems immediately it just builds into you both being pissed off at each other and it blows up.

The money depends on the company, how hard you work and possibly some luck in getting a good run so it's hard to say. If I stayed team through my entire first instead of going local for 4 months and not making crap I would of most likely grossed 45k or more. On my W2 I grossed 22k in 7 1/2 months including the horrible local pay for 4 months. I made 14k of that in 3 1/2 months running team including the lower training pay period. I literally made half of that in 4 months working local. With 9 months experience I'm starting a team dedicated next week that will easily gross 60k a year.