Co-DRIVER Needed For A TEAM Out Of AZ (Seeking A “needle In A Haystack” Here At The T.T. “magnet”)

Now if you drive 3,000 mile and your buddy only manages 1,800 miles

I do appreciate the concern, but I don't see that part as a problem. If each puts in the same hours, the miles will average out. Into my 50's, I've driven enough to know that driving a highway averaging 45 is a lot more strenuous than a smooth 65. Those 1800 may well be the short end of the stick.

If 5k mi/wk is unrealistic, then so should 2500 for a solo. Perhaps I'm missing something here, but the challenges of teaming are mostly being able to tolerate being cooped up with someone else and sleeping in a moving rig. Since training is pseudo teaming I'll have some answers by its end. I'll have team and solo opportunities after training.

One of my considerations is being told teams get the longer runs since they can turn more miles in a day. Theoretically, and I know the difference between "on paper" and IRL, there are more miles available to a team than a solo. I know nothing will be exactly as imagined (wish I could have that conversation with my Army recruiter all over again), so I keep expectations in check, but I will set flexible goals as this unfolds.

This year has been tough and it's set me back a bit. Its all about how much can I endure to shorten the catch-up process. If it turns out I can only endure the solo gig and reduce income by 10-15k, so be it. Once the year is up, I'll reevaluate.

I will do all I can to avoid an inexperienced co-driver. The training is perhaps too short at only 2 weeks. I'm confident in myself, but would like to be confident in the other seat. I don't expect making teaming a career, it's about getting the most financially out of my rookie year. (and I've read to be careful not to be lax in learning so as to be prepared for solo when the time comes)

If God shines on us and lockdowns don't kill all the restaurants near me, my wife and I will do fine even I make half what I'm looking for. If we lose her income I'll need to be in a position to maximize my potential.

So thanks for all the insight, God bless ya'll and Merry Christmas

it's about getting the most financially out of my rookie year.

That's where you are so wrong. You are convinced of that, but trucking seldom works that way. One of the most critical things about starting this career is that you have got to look at the big picture. I know you are feeling the pressure of a bad year and you want to "catch up." There is a steep learning curve to this. That is where your focus needs to be. You want to learn how to be good at this job, and that involves a lot more than just being able to properly drive a truck for thousands of miles each week.

Mark, we have no agenda here other than helping newbies make a good start at this. We just share what we know. It's tough to do with you. It seems you already have it all figured out.

Just one more thing though. You said this...

I will do all I can to avoid an inexperienced co-driver.

Think about what you are saying. Don't you think your co-driver is thinking the same thought? Why would an experienced driver want you as their co-driver? Oh maybe it's because...

I'm confident in myself

That's great for a guy who has yet to drive an eighteen wheeler around the block! It means nothing out here.

The smartest thing you've said so far was this...

I know nothing will be exactly as imagined

So, keep that in mind.

We are here to help you - I hope we do!

That's where you are so wrong

Forgive me, but I think you're reading into my comments. With respect, I may never have driven 18 wheels around the block but I have driven a 10t, 10 gear, dump truck. Ok, for a day and that was 35 years ago, funny story, but still, I've done quite a few things with a steep learning curve. Some of them plenty dangerous. I'm confident in my ability to learn and I have enough fear as to respect the job. I'm not a fool who thinks I can do no wrong, I'm keenly aware that I can and take great care to mitigate risk.

You know it's not the novices who cut off fingers with power tools, it's the experienced pros who get complacent. Darn near happened to me.

I've trained people in various jobs and it's natural to search for misconceptions held by people just starting out. You expect me to be wrong because so many trainees are, but I beg your indulgence to trust I do consider the big picture. It gets redundant to preface every statement with caveats but I understand how you would assume I'm counting dollars at the expense of all else. The first year is about learning. It's about gaining that essential experience to open up career path opportunities. It's about becoming excellent at efficiency and safety. That said, this education and maximizing earnings are not mutually exclusive. IOW, I'm seeking to achieve the greatest financial reward without sacrificing that education towards future opportunity.

I've never claimed team driving is the optimal way to operate, for some it may be but I don't expect to team drive past that initial phase. Then again, I may surprise myself. I acknowledge there are additional challenges involved. What I don't acknowledge is that I'm doomed to failure if I go this route. I expect no guarantees, but nothing ventured nothing gained. Ultimately, my hands are not tied since the company also offers solo. it just pays less.

48cpm x 5000 ($2400) ÷ 2 = $1200 each per week.

A solo at Prime would make $1200 to $1600 per week depending on miles and truck size

Company teams @ 5000 miles are making $1800 to $2100 each

It is a 56cpm split up to 3000 miles

It is 81cpm split between 3-4k

It is 87cpm split above 4k miles

PLUS fuel bonuses, wellness bonus, safety and On time delivery bonus

The training is team and can take 2 to 3 months depending on CDL status

Training is longer for those who come with a CDL and the pay is less per week during training

CDL thru Prime (50k team truck miles)

paid $700 per week first 30k miles

then $800 per week last 20k miles

Has option to go company team at 30k miles but commits to 4 months of teaming. Will get full team pay at 30k miles

CDL Local school:

First 20k miles is $600 per week

2nd 20k miles is $700 per week

Last 20k miles is $800 per week.

$1500 tuition reimbursement

A solo at Prime would make $1200 to $1600 per week depending on miles and truck size

And after that initial training year this would be available to me. I don't know that I've landed on the best opportunity for me, but when I looked up Prime for that first year it wasn't nearly so lucrative. Everyone is promising $50K first year with a couple claiming $60k. Articles, which may be out of date, are setting expectations at $35-45k.

Stevens is now offering $.40 cpm right after 10 wks training, and the school is close by in Tampa. Not bad. Benefits are 90 days out from there. Dedicated available after 30 days (I've seen a lot of the world, kinda like the idea of a fixed route). Of course Every claim of income is based on best case so the $60k they hype isn't a given.

I'm not trying to defend any particular decision, I'm still evaluating and love the feedback. I will defend including income in my evaluation though. It's not everything, but it does matter. Who here would drive a rig if they hit lotto? An RV maybe, but hauling product? Of course income matters.

So far, Pam is offering benefits after 60 days, and full team pay after 2 weeks training, which follows the 3 weeks classes. Roehl was the best for benefits, but they don't seem to want to speak with me here in FL.

I will defend including income in my evaluation though. It's not everything, but it does matter.

Mark, the reason I keep giving you a little push back is because I've watched so many people jump into this without understanding how this career works. You simply don't know what your income is going to be at this point. You keep using CPM levels of pay as if they are some indication of your possible income. They aren't. I made more money at .27/mile than guys at .38/mile.

You keep thinking team drivers earn more than solo drivers, but that's not necessarily true. Don't you think everyone would be clamoring after those jobs if they really were that lucrative?

I honestly could care less whether you team drive or run solo. What I do care about is that you get started off with a good understanding. A lot of people just give up from being disillusioned and demoralized. Their high expectations devolve into disappointment because they didn't understand how the career really works. Equating higher pay rates with higher income is the classic bubble that eventually bursts unceremoniously.

You'll determine your income out here. It won't be decided by the name on your truck or the CPM rate your loads are calculated at. Income in trucking is always measured by your ability to be productive while conquering the issues that all truckers face. Recently we had a driver complaining about sitting all week to get four batteries replaced. It didn't matter what his CPM was - he turned zero miles. He didn't understand how to deal with the circumstances.

I'm doing my best to get you focused. You'll get there at some point, but it's better if you can begin to learn it now rather than later when you are struggling with all the problems associated with being a rookie driver.

Happy Holidays to all! [Hey does anyone know how to tweak the topic line? I think I saw that happen here recently. I especially want to take out the "AZ" part, since I'm no longer quite as limited to finding someone who lives near me, although that'd be ideal...Expand the field of those who might be interested at least in looking at the thread, even if I'm not gonna find a co-driver this way. (Hmm, is not living in the same area another challenge of teaming, that it's a lot harder to get two drivers home or re-deployed than one, the further apart they live?]

Everyone’s comments so far are of great interest to me. I’ll get down to addressing questions and issues raised…

ANNE, yeah, my initials are too cumbersome…Haven’t come up with a suitable nickname yet (“Sir Thinxalot”? ;-)… I assume some of those used here double as the driver's CB handles. I think I know what mine would be, but here and now just “JD” will be fine; it’s the most accurate, so I’ll try to sign off with that. As for what company I’m ending up with… I’m not quite there yet, and in the meantime am a bit, well, “superstitious” isn’t exactly the right word…It just feels best to defer for now on further discussion of specific companies in favor of drilling down deeper into the dynamics of the Big Decision being debated here which aren't company-dependent. Ok, my turn at a Q to put YOU on the spot: Please ‘splain more what you’re sayin’ about you and your hubby. Some tongue-in-cheek, some not, sounds like..?

MARK C, I read that you’re looking at the “Pam” trucking company, which you say trains OTR for a mere couple weeks. Also Schneider seems another rare exception that does that short a stint, which is ironic since they’re SO all about “safety” there. In most ways at this point I feel that a shorter period with the trainer would be more right for me overall (especially than like a month or so), and then go right into co-equal teaming. But it’s another complicated and controversial sub-issue, I know…

…I read the conventional wisdom here that it’s best not to team up with another newbie and that it’d be an unlikely scenario (to score an already well-trained co-driver), cuz who’d want to team with a noob if they didn’t have to? It does seem a good idea in another way to do that though, to be learning the stuff at the same time, as two total rookies, rather than have the start of teaming be more like an extension of the training period. Again, gotta see how the training goes, and if that’s too much of a burn-out, that’d make teaming tough right out of the gate and likely a no-go, period.

MIDNIGHT FOX, your question’s both an easy one to answer AND it brings up real issues. Nope, this is most definitely NOT a multi-purpose quest for me. I’d rather not further complicate things and lower my odds of job success more than necessary by even THINKING about teaming with a romantic partner. To me it’s clearly an unrealistic fantasy better off not entertained, whether someone’s “available” or not. I AM a heterosexual guy who’s lived much more with women than with men in his adult life, including presently, and never in close quarters with one male since just before college. But the mixed gender thing seems possibly even riskier in terms of it working out for any worthwhile duration as co-drivers. And obviously there are, for very good reason, few females who’d be interested in teaming with a guy they don’t know and trust well enough. Some mixed feelings here, so I’d not rule out an “appropriate” female co-driver if it seemed the odds WERE good we’d work really well together (I know, I know, it’s another one of the Big Ifs that’s too hard to tell ahead of time, and does seem pretty unlikely)…[To be continued…]

Haya again, J.D. << can I just call you that? Thinking the E.Z. R. stands for EZ Rider?!??! LoL. It's just I forget to put the 'space' in between the E.Z. and the R. LoL!

J.D.E.Z. R. << see?!?? LoL.. you don't have to appease me; I'll adapt, haha!!!

Looks like you have the AZ out of your home 20, that's cool~!! (Still, just put your 'destination' in, maybe?)

Any new info on your 'peaks and tunes' of life, good sir?!?!?

Merry Christmas, of course!

~ Anne ~

ps: The G13MomCat is/was an identifier, for another forum that my hubby used to frequent as G13Tomcat. He contributed much and helped many..but started drowning in a pool of Tomfoolery (pun intended!) and I should delete THAT from my moniker here, now . . . anyway!!

Following ya, for sure, sir!~

Nice to get a quick reply Anne...hope you (two?) are having a great day.

Yes'm, JD is fine... There actually wasn't supposed to be a space before the R... But you're right about the "handle".

About your husband...was wondering what you meant about not wanting to team with him, that a few days together at home is enough at a time...

Some clarifying Qs-- ---What does "looks like you have the AZ out of your home 20, that's cool" mean? Put my "destination in"? You mean my chosen company that I'm not sure of yet? ---And what are "peaks and tunes of life"?

Your comments are sometimes kinda cryptic, and I'd hate to miss your meanings, cuz you have an impressive memory, are such a great "cheerleader" and sweet person here! --JD

Nice to get a quick reply Anne...hope you (two?) are having a great day.

Yes'm, JD is fine... There actually wasn't supposed to be a space before the R... But you're right about the "handle".

About your husband...was wondering what you meant about not wanting to team with him, that a few days together at home is enough at a time...

Some clarifying Qs-- ---What does "looks like you have the AZ out of your home 20, that's cool" mean? Put my "destination in"? You mean my chosen company that I'm not sure of yet? ---And what are "peaks and tunes of life"?

Your comments are sometimes kinda cryptic, and I'd hate to miss your meanings, cuz you have an impressive memory, are such a great "cheerleader" and sweet person here! --JD

JD it is, haha!!

Here's the 'AZ' part ... was in your big post, and I couldn't recall if it was in your profile, just assumed; we all know what THAT does, haha!

Happy Holidays to all! [Hey does anyone know how to tweak the topic line? I think I saw that happen here recently. I especially want to take out the "AZ" part, since I'm no longer quite as limited to finding someone who lives near me, although that'd be ideal...Expand the field of those who might be interested at least in looking at the thread, even if I'm not gonna find a co-driver this way

Got my hubby a CB for Xmas.. so 'peak and tune' is my new 'catch phrase' for everything. Yes, I'm cryptic .. for fun and pun, but I can quit for ya.. Brett's scolded me on that before; just hard to change who I am. A mom to teens this late in life is . . . . um . . . challenging, let's say! LoL.

Again, thanks for the other compliments, all of'em actually! Fer'sure, fer'sure ... << name THAT song/movie, haha! I do have a somewhat eidetic memory and it doesn't always work in my favor; usually that of others ... but I'm just me!

Re: teaming, et al. Tom had SO many years in when he taught me how to drive back in 2012'ish ... his mom wasn't in a home, and around to help when we left the kids w/their auntie. Tom and I are 'special.' We've spent SO much of our life with he being OTR , that .. we kinda NEED our time apart! We are BOTH yappers... well, he's a yammer. LoL... just wouldn't work at our age. I'd do better with a stranger, tbh!

On another serious note..have you 'looked' into CRST? Their contract is abhorrent .. and impossible (it seems) to get out of. Look at Jrod's photo gallery; photos of the actual are in there. On the other hand (OTOH) Millionmiler24 went from homelesness to heaven via CRST ... don't know if you've read his diaries.

It's an individual decision, JD. Yours, and only yours to make. In all sincerity, if I do ever go OTR, it'd be with ... someone else... esp for training!

For fun, look up Miss Myoshi's training diaries for Prime, and Rainy / Kearsey's chime ins. Their trainer was a Trans, named Paige.

Again, I'm NOT a doxxer ... I just 'study' the industry, a bit different than Rickipedia!

TTys...

~ Anne ~