Just Lost My Dispatcher AGAIN, And Going Team

So, for second time in less than 5 months I'm being assigned a different dispatcher. My current driver leader sent us a message this morning saying she has accepted a position with the safety department and we will have a different DM as of tomorrow. Sucks, I really liked her.

In other news, I have a friend from college who's in driving school right now. He really wanted me to train him at Swift but that's not happening. We talked about teaming and I think we're going to give it a shot, at least for a little while.

We both live in CO and have known each other for several years now. We'll see how it goes. Biggest thing I'm worried about is HOS management. When I was teaming with my mentor, we just went back and forth from Salt Lake to Denver twice a day, so I didn't really learn how to manage HOS very well as a team.

Any teamers on here got any tips (HOS or anything else) for a solo guy wanting to try it?

Thanks

So, for second time in less than 5 months I'm being assigned a different dispatcher. My current driver leader sent us a message this morning saying she has accepted a position with the safety department and we will have a different DM as of tomorrow. Sucks, I really liked her.

In other news, I have a friend from college who's in driving school right now. He really wanted me to train him at Swift but that's not happening. We talked about teaming and I think we're going to give it a shot, at least for a little while.

We both live in CO and have known each other for several years now. We'll see how it goes. Biggest thing I'm worried about is HOS management. When I was teaming with my mentor, we just went back and forth from Salt Lake to Denver twice a day, so I didn't really learn how to manage HOS very well as a team.

Any teamers on here got any tips (HOS or anything else) for a solo guy wanting to try it?

Thanks

Well when I teamed with my mentor we would each do a 10 hr shift. 9 hours driving mixed in with 15 min pretrip, 30 minute break, etc. Ran this way and barely had to reset at all. Also you may consider either doing only night/day driving. Or just let it cycle to where it depends on how things go. I really miss teaming to be honest. I like being alone, but always running and rarely have to worry about parking. Just my 2 cents from a 29 day rookie haha!

For what it's worth. When I was training here at Prime, during the second phase of training we ran as a team. The way I had it set up was that both drivers would have a 12 hour shift. The start/stop times were 3am to 3pm & 3pm to 3am. My only requirement was you had to be driving/working 10 of the 12 hours. What you did with the other 2 hours was up to you. You could take a nap/shower/eat, whatever you wanted to do. Because of load/unload times we vary rarely had to do a reset. That worked pretty well for me.

Ernie

I think that managing a clock is easier with a team, you have the advantage that there is always someone that can drive (running your 70 down not withstanding).

Big fan of the 12 hour rotation like Ernie posted, it lets you retain some sanity in your schedule (you can always sleep at the same times).

The only difference in the way we run is we'll typically drive out our 11 if we're running and gunning, it still winds up about 12 hours with the pretrip and 30 minute break. We typically each get a 34 by skipping one of the 12 hour shifts over the course of the week (so the truck shuts down).

There are a lot of different ways to run a team truck though.

My trainer swapped us out every 10.hours or 550 miles. What sucked is that showers.... eating... laundry was always done during my sleep time. We never stopped unless she felt like it. So... if she drove 400 miles and wanted to shower and eat... I still did 550... and didn't sleep.

As soon as my 10 were back we switched. I hated it.

Thanks all. I like the idea of the 12 hr rotation--I'll have to see what my friend thinks of that. Maybe we could switch the shifts every week or two to be fair.

With my trainer, we always ran as hard as possible. I'd run til I was out of hours, then switch and he'd do the same. Then we'd do a 34 at the end of the week. We got great miles but I was exhausted.

I'll also recommend the 12 hr shift split. Being able to sleep on a regular schedule was the biggest key to us turning the corner on being a successful team.

Hey Paul, getting caught up with my reading. A suggestion for you,...since you were really getting on well with your former DM , ask them (with an "In Message" through the Qualcomm) to put in a good word for you with their replacement. Considering your progression with the previous DM, this can't hurt and might help to set you apart with the new DM. I would also try to stay in touch with your former DM. Having a friend in the safety department is a good card to have in your pocket.

Good luck with all of this. Changes...they never seem to end.

I'll also recommend the 12 hr shift split. Being able to sleep on a regular schedule was the biggest key to us turning the corner on being a successful team.

Thanks, appreciate the input !

Hey Paul, getting caught up with my reading. A suggestion for you,...since you were really getting on well with your former DM , ask them (with an "In Message" through the Qualcomm) to put in a good word for you with their replacement. Considering your progression with the previous DM, this can't hurt and might help to set you apart with the new DM. I would also try to stay in touch with your former DM. Having a friend in the safety department is a good card to have in your pocket.

Good luck with all of this. Changes...they never seem to end.

Thanks G. How do I do that "in message"? Is that the Mac 13? She's already switched positions -- yesterday was the first day with the new DM. Talked to her today on the phone and sent some messages --sound really nice and on top of it. I think she's brand new at this too, but I could be wrong.

I never did meet my (now) former DM, so I have a good excuse to go see her next time I'm at the terminal.