Imagine a job where you get to both work and live with your best friend, spouse or work buddy. In closed quarters about the size of a very large backyard shed. Well, to be honest, depending on your personality, that could be either a dream come true or hell on earth.
If you’re a team driver, though, it’s just all in a days’ work. For them, the job is exactly what they’re looking for (at least we hope so!). Team drivers trade off on driving duties, assist each other at deliveries and with safety checks, and work in tandem to get the job done all day, every day.
If you’ve been considering team driving for yourself, it has a lot to offer, especially if you find OTR pretty lonely. It’s not for everyone, though, so you need to consider exactly what’s in store for you before you sign on.
Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of team driving.
PROS
Companionship. One of the most difficult parts of trucking is being away from friends and loved ones. What if you were lucky enough to have a spouse who’s also a truck driver, though? You two just might make the perfect team.
Not every couple is meant to work together, of course (the various divorce jokes prove that). For couples whose work personalities are compatible, though, driving as a team is close to a dream job.
Your driving partner doesn’t have to be your spouse, either. In fact, given the aforementioned divorce jokes, driving teams often work out better if they aren’t!
In the white-collar world, these kinds of team drivers would rightly be called business partners. We see no reason why we can’t call them the same thing: a partner who you click with on every business level, sharing a giant rolling office that takes you both nearly everywhere in the southwest.
Two to do the work. Truck driving isn’t for the faint of heart, as we’ve said many times before. Aside from being away from home for days at a time, there’s traffic to monitor, delivery times to track, and delivery data to manage, too. It’s a lot!
Having a partner with you on the job allows you to divide and conquer the workload. If one of you is better at managing paperwork (actual paper or digital), they can take the lead on that. If one of you can handle traffic congestion better than the other, they can handle rush hour and city driving. Plus, it’s just plain reassuring to know you have someone else with you if things get stressful or if bad weather rolls in. As they say, team work makes the dream work.
Rest while someone else takes the wheel.
The best part of having two to do the work? One of you gets to rest while the other keeps hauling. While partners usually divide up driving duties in a way that suits them both, there’s usually sufficient time to take a long nap in the sleeper. There’s something soothing about dozing off in a moving big rig as it rumbles down the highway, too.
CONS
If your personalities clash, you’re in for a miserable time.
Remember when we said team driving is perfect if your personalities are a working match? There’s a reason we added that “if”.
You and your teammate are not only business partners, you’ll be sharing very tight working/living quarters for days at a time. If you get peeved with one another, there’s nowhere to go to get away from each other. If you choose a partner for team driving, make sure it’s someone you can get along with both on and off the job. Otherwise, petty arguments over who gets which bunk, to who ate the last granola bar, are going to make both your lives miserable.
If you actually like driving solo, then team driving isn’t for you.
To expand on the previous point: if you prefer to work alone, then no driving partner will ever be compatible enough for you. Collaborating with another driver on everything from whether to detour, to whether reheating fish in the microwave is a fireable offense, will feel next to impossible.
Team driving might also mean nonstop driving. Depending on the run, team drivers might be expected to haul right through to their destination, without stopping overnight. That’s the downside to that pleasantly swaying sleep we mentioned earlier. Teams often haul through for days on end, with only short stops for changing drivers or bathroom breaks. They also drive for NIGHTS on end, which mean you’ll both need to get comfortable with becoming nocturnal. If making these adjustments is a dealbreaker, then team driving probably isn’t for you.
Team driving might not be for everyone. For those who like it, though, it’s more than just a job they just happen to get to perform with someone they like. It’s a partnership that endures across every mile, every delivery, and sometimes, off the road as well.
Here at Truline, we’re often on the hunt for team drivers. Are you ready to take on the road with us? Check out our current openings, and start hauling for Truline today.
