Newbie needs teammate

I see that you already have a lot of real experience and knowledge, Skunk_Truck. That will help you immensely with your job. Every little experience counts and no matter how much you know now, each and every day you keep on learning something new. This job involves much more than just driving a truck and the biggest mistake people make when starting this career, is to underestimate all that is involved. That’s one of the reasons why I think that a partner might be a good idea, so we can help each other out. However, I also see all the negative aspects, sharing space, having no privacy, dealing with each other’s moods and habits, synchronizing logs and activities, sleeping while the truck is running, being on the same page, so forth and so on 24/7. To be honest, am not sure the positives would be worthy the sacrifice. My female friend got a good partner at Covenant and they seem to be doing just fine. That’s a blessing for her. She said if she were by herself, it might be a little harder. She prefers to drive at night when there’s less traffic, but whenever they arrive at the location (shipper, receiver, yard), whether it’s day or night, they both go out together, slide the tendons, go the office, and then she goes back to bed. They really help each other, with logs, with directions, pre-planning the trip, etc. They have been teaming for a month now and things seem to be running smoothly. The only negative is that she is not making as much money as she would like. I wonder how much she would make if she were driving solo. Thank you, danc694u, all your advice is well taken. I am open to all opinions. Good luck with your search, Skunk_Truck.

 

Hey Jackey... if you look at the date when I posted that comment... It was March/08 I am a solo driver now Not looking for team partners anymore... And I don't intend to ever have a team partner again... Been there, done that... Had 7 partners in a 6 month period... Teaming "helped" me on the first 2 weeks because it showed me that I didn't need a partner... I would be better off on my own...
I was in a company that required their new drivers to team for the first 6 months... No words to describe... it was.... EXCRUCIATING... thank God I survived and never again... It's not easy... at least for sooooo many folks that I met there... It may be "good" for husband and wife... or if you know someone that can be a good team partner and bring that person with you.... Otherwise, to find someone during orientation or in the company... or someone you have never met before...
Don't know what your situation is.... why you want/ need to team... But if you have to team... It doesn't take long for team partners to realize whether they can work together or not... a few days on the road will suffice... And if it seems it's not going to work, contact dispatcher immediately and let them know what is going on and ask them to route you back to terminal... don't let a bad situation escalate... I wish you good luck...