Team driving - any companies hook up an experienced w/an inexperienced?

I know expedite companies do if you want to team drive with another person

 

What's in it for the experienced driver ?

I believe that any company will do this, but you may have to find the expreienced driver on your own.

What's the reason for Teaming ? Have you thought that through ? Are you over-thinking things ?

 

I understand the more productivity out of the truck part. I also get that Teams get better loads and tend to wait less for loads. But, when you complete the run and the money is split in half are you really making more money than being on your own ?

I have not been able to answer this question on my own. But, I have made runs with another driver and I came away from that knowing I cannot Team with most people.

The first guy I went with stunk so bad it about killed me. And, he sweat all the time. Should I tell you he was a mouth-breather too ?

The next guy was OCD. I'll stop there.

The last guy was angry. He scared me all the time.

I run by myself. Because of the type of work I do I make more per mile than most Team Drivers.

Are you driving yet ?

Don't make these decisions until you get out there behind the wheel and see what it is like.

I ask about over-thinking things meaning "are you concerned you won't do well out there" and I would encourage you that if you can solve puzzles you can make it fine by yourself. It seems daunting at first but soon you realize that you were trained for this and you know what to do. I would drive for a few months before you consider Teams and maybe pick your own co-driver.

Some people have a great time in Teams. It is a different way to drive.

 

For training purposes, that is how it is. The experienced driver teaches (or is supposed to teach) the inexperienced driver (who is supposed to make a serious effort to learn). The experienced driver is paid for all dispatched miles, those driven by him/her and those driven by the trainee, and that is part of the lure of training: more money. The trainee gets a stipend. You already know this.

While it's true that post-training teams run more miles than solos, team ops work better if all of the money goes into the same pot, say a husband-wife team, but if the two team drivers are supporting two households, I'm not sure the economics work out that way. Yes, you split more miles, but each mile pays each driver a lot less.

Then there's the problematic side of throwing two people together in a truck. Maybe they get along, maybe they don't. Issues arise: differences in personal hygiene; religion; politics. Maybe one likes to talk and the other doesn't. Maybe they can't agree on who should drive first or what loads to accept. Maybe one wants to run and the other wants to sit for a day. Or there turn out to be two different standards for safety. Or whatever. There may, of course, be no problems at all, but if you drive solo, these issues never come up.

I'd respectfully suggest that you forget about truck productivity for now (you'll have little enough control over it once you start driving). Learn the ropes. Gain confidence in your own abilities. THEN ask yourself if you think you want to team.

You're asking good questions. Ask this one: "Could I sleep knowing a rookie is driving?"

 

If you are concerned about being hired then start calling around to get hired. I had my job "parked" before I started school.

Instead of a Criminal History I have a medical condition that some employers could make an issue out of. I made full-disclosure to all companies that I applied at and only one made a big deal out of it. The other more progressive non-neanderthal companies thought nothing of it.

So before you go in circles just pick up the phone. Call around. Get a Conditional Job Offer.

I came out of school at $0.385 cpm, Dedicated, driving a nice condo, all the standard pay for stops, detention yadda yadda and I come home once a week.

My Orientation Buddy got a Dedicated run at 500 miles per day, home every night, over $0.47 cpm, drop & hook, Crossing Bonus and all the other stuff. He couldn't believe it.

He also "parked" his job BEFORE he even went to school.

Pick up the phone man.