Couples teams

their are a bunch of married couples running teams out there....
yeah OTR companies love teams, since all you do is run run run......
the money part i really dont know too much about but they advertise u can make alot...

 

During the past 16 years as a truck driver I have seen an explosion of male/female teams. I just recntly got my wife to join me so we are a team couple as well now.

Companies love teams because they can legally turn more miles per day than a solo. Expedited freight pays companies more as well and they get more profit from 1 team running 1 truck than 2 solos in 2 separate trucks.

As for potential earnings it depends on the rate per mile your paid and the number of miles you drive. In our case we run about 16 to 18 hours per day which gets us about 900 to 1000 miles per day. We have a dedicated run from Pa to Ca and back each week which equates to just under 5200 miles per week. At .47 cpm we are grossing over 2400.00 per week. We have other teams that run much harder than we do and are turning 6000 to 7000 miles per week. Neither of us sleep well while the truck is moving so we shut down every day for quality rest.

If your serious about teaming with your spouse I say go for it. You should make about 120 grand per year if you turn 250,000 miles or more at .48 cpm. Of course there may be bonuses that will increase your wages further as well as possible accessorial pay.

Be sure to get your Hazmat endorsements as you will be more valuable and will have greater flexability in the loads you pull than a driver that does not have a hazmat endorsement.

 

My wife and I are going to give it a go when I get back from Kuwait. She is more than excited about a career change and so am I. Good luck to ya!

 

My husband and i drive team. We love it. Our dm is great. We do alot of miles most weeks. Yesterday our radiator on our trk went out. Stupid whole in it i guess. So we are resting for a few days at a hotel. Money wise for being a team? It all goes to the same account so pay is good. Unless, situations like now we are losing money big time lol. My husband was actually my trainer. He is an experienced driver and i new how he drove, this it itself helped alot, i was comfortable in knowing he new what he was doing. There are many many companies that pay good for husb/wife teams. It does take some getting used to, the trk is always moving. We went from eating and showering together to sleepin separarte most of th time, shower and eatin is done separatly the majority of the time too. all in all we love it. white dove

 

My husband and I just recently started running team, and we are absolutely loving it! We are so happy that we made the decision to do this. We have been averaging about 4500K-5,000K miles right now with it being sort of slow but freight is starting to pick up. I am nervous for those 7,000 mile weeks ahead though, I am sort of a lollygagger and I struggle driving past 9 hours.

It def is an awesome job if you want to make great money, see the country, work hard, and be with your spouse and dog in our case. Having our dog with us makes it even better!

 

for the couples out there how do you divide your home time up between two families? how do you do holiday's?

 

Trucking does not usually allow time off for holidays, anniversaries, birthdays, etc. The job comes first and foremost.

If you want time off then you should request a couple of days off at least 2 weeks in advance. Be sure to communicate with your driver manager, or dispatcher when you need to get home.

Depending upon where you live and what freight you pull will have a lot to do with how easy it will be for you and your partner to take time off.

In our case we are on a dedicated route so we plan our appointments for our normal day off. Special ocassions are celebrated "when" we are home rather than a specific day.

 

It can destroy a relationship so make sure it is not a "have to do it" set up. All the teams that fail will not get on here to tell you about it. For husband/wife bf/gf teams probably one out of three make it past a year. I had two relationships destroyed by it. Starting to think it might be me so not sure I would risk it again.