When you imagine yourself cruising down the highway, traveling across the country, do you imagine a partner by your side or are you more of a lone wolf? Do you relish the thought of making your own schedule?
These are just a few of the questions you must consider before you make the difficult decision of whether or not you’d like to be a team driver.
It’s not just about the money — at least, it shouldn’t be. You have to be in a small, enclosed space for long periods of time together and for many people, you couldn’t pay them enough to spend all day every day with a person they don’t get along with.
I’ve been in this industry for a long time. I’ve seen far too many drivers jump into team driving only to get a few miles down the road and call it quits because it was a bad fit. I don’t want you to make that same mistake. Not only will you lose time, but you’ll also lose money — which is why many drivers get into team driving in the first place.
There’s no quiz you can take in a magazine or on Facebook to tell you who your perfect driving partner is or how to tell if you’ll succeed together. However, you can work together with your potential driving partner to answer some tough questions to help figure out how well you work together and if you’re aligned.
In this article, I’ll help you understand what team driving is, how you can get into it, what you can expect on the road and how you can decide if it’s the right move for you.
Team driving is exactly what it sounds like — it consists of two drivers switching driving responsibilities to maximize the distance the truck can travel in a specific period of time.
Each driver operates under their own Hours of Service (HOS), which means drivers can operate round-the-clock if they so choose. Drivers do still need to take their required 10-hour break in the sleeper berth, however.
The loads team drivers haul typically have a tighter transit time. There are a few reasons for this, including:
The need for a tighter transit time can be any combination of these reasons as well. For instance, produce with a short shelf life in Florida might need to get to California as soon as possible so it can be stocked and sold to consumers.
In the case of a shipper or receiver needing a product as soon as possible, they may be hauling essential goods or something like auto parts that need to be shipped quickly.
The Department of Defense (DOD) also requires team drivers to haul their military freight because it needs to be monitored round-the-clock for security purposes and the truck can’t stop moving for more than a very short window of time. This is the only case where it makes sense to have team drivers on short hauls.
To be a team driver, you first need to find someone who’s on the same page as you (more on that below). You may own a truck or they may own a truck, or you could decide to be company drivers. In that case, the company you’re running for owns the truck and you won’t have any payments to worry about. You could also lease a truck.
Depending on whether you’re a company driver or an independent contractor, you’ll be paid a certain way (more on that below).
Once you have a team together, you’ll both need to apply at a trucking company and you’ll both need to meet hiring guidelines to be approved and then hired. If one of you has past moving violations or convictions that take you out of guidelines, you can’t work for that company.
If you want to haul freight for the DOD, you’ll both need to earn your security clearance.
Team driving is a very lucrative option for truck drivers. In fact, the primary reason that many truck drivers pursue team driving is for the money.
While every company is different and will pay based on cents-per-mile (CPM), percentage, or a combination of the two, more often than not you’ll be paid for all the miles both drivers run. That means that, even if you only drove 300 miles one day but your partner drove 500, you’ll also get paid for the 500 miles your partner drove.
If you’re a team of independent contractors, the money will be paid out to the lessee or truck owner and they’re responsible for paying the second driver. The money is divided based on your financial agreement.
Company drivers are most often paid in one of two ways. First, the truck as a whole can earn a certain CPM or percentage of the load. Then the earnings are split evenly between both drivers. Second, each driver could take home their own percentage of the load or CPM for all miles both drivers run. In some cases, one driver could make a slightly higher CPM or percentage because they have seniority with the company. For instance, one driver may make 40 CPM and the other makes 43 CPM.
Keep in mind that some companies may pay a lower CPM or percentage than solo drivers. Let’s use an example.
A solo driver travels 450 miles for one load and gets paid 65 CPM for every loaded mile. They make $292.50.
On a team, one driver drives 450 miles and the other drives 450 miles for one load. The truck makes 80 CPM for every loaded mile and earns $720 that day. Split evenly, each driver takes home $360.
Conversely, one driver may make 43 CPM and one driver may make 40 CPM. The first driver takes home $387 and the second driver takes home $360.
Even if team drivers are paid a lower CPM or percentage than a solo driver, they typically make more money because the truck is almost always moving. They maximize their time and move that load much faster. It might’ve taken the solo driver three days to move the load in the example above and make that much money while it only took the team drivers one day.
Because team drivers can keep moving and run double the miles that a solo driver can run, they can move loads a lot faster and therefore make more money.
Sometimes team freight also pays higher. For instance, consider DOD freight. Drivers are making upwards of $10,000 each per week.
Becoming a team driver isn’t something you should ever jump into, though as I said before, I’ve watched drivers do it time and time again. Before you sign that contract, so to speak, talk through these questions with your potential driving partner to make sure you’re following the same map.
This is one of the first things you should consider before you go into team driving. If you don’t have similar driving habits, it can lead to a lot of disagreements. One of you may prefer to take a certain route, go to a certain truck stop, pre-trip or secure your loads a certain way or only haul a certain type of freight. You could even disagree on when to fuel.
If one of you is adamant about doing things a certain way, and both of you think you’re right, you can count on a lot of arguments — arguments that can escalate quickly and make you quit really fast.
Even something as simple as one driver being more aggressive than the other — which makes it difficult for the other one to sleep — can be problematic for numerous reasons.
You also have to consider night and day driving. If both of you prefer driving during the day, one of you will have to settle and drive at night. Or, you’ll have to settle for alternating day driving, resting overnight and ultimately not maximizing your time out on the road.
You and your driving partner should align on how often you’d like to go home. A lot of teams typically end up on the road longer than solo drivers. It can be hard to find home weekly or home daily jobs as a team.
Make sure that you’re both in agreement regarding how often you want to get home.
As a team, your financial success is tied to your partner’s. Are they as motivated to succeed as you are?
Does your partner want to be home every weekend or are they fine staying out for four weeks at a time? Do they only want to drive a few hours a day?
If they don’t push hard but you do, you may not reach your financial goals — especially because you’ll be splitting the profit.
On the other hand, if you’re the one who would rather only drive a couple hundred miles per day and take it easy, they could be the one upset with you.
Make sure you talk about how much you want to earn and that you’re on the same page.
You’ll have long days that’ll turn into long weeks out on the road — in an enclosed space. Because the cab is only so big, you can’t exactly get away from your driving partner if you need to cool down and get some space.
You might be driving while your partner is in the sleeper berth, but if you’re upset, even the sound of them snoring might be enough to set you on edge. Consider carefully if your personalities will mesh well together.
Then there’s also the issue of what will go in the limited amount of space you have. Do you both agree on what appliances you’ll have? Do you both keep things clean or is one of you messy?
The most minor things can drive you crazy if you don’t get along with your partner very well, and the last thing you want to be on the road is mad. It can negatively impact how you drive.
Especially when you consider how your finances are divided, you have to consider how you’ll split the work before you start driving together.
Some partner duos decide that one spouse will do most of the driving and load securement while the other spouse will take care of navigation. These duos are often considered a “super solo” which means that one spouse does most of the driving (like a solo driver would) but gets a little help.
Some teams decide to split everything evenly. Some teams secure and tarp together so it goes faster and then they each drive the same number of hours.
Whatever you decide is fine — just make sure you have a clear understanding of how the workload will be shared. Getting it in writing doesn’t hurt, either.
There are benefits to team driving for many people — especially spouses that are already used to riding in the truck together.
Being a team driver increases your earning potential. Not only will some loads pay more, like DOD loads, but you can move more loads as a team driver and therefore increase your earning potential.
Pay is one of the primary reasons people go into team driving.
Some drivers already have their spouses with them in the truck for most of the time anyway, so the other spouse decides to get their CDL to maximize their earning potential.
When you decide to be team drivers, you get to enjoy even more time together — while also earning more. It’s a win-win.
Truck drivers are often lonely on the road, but when you have a partner with you, that loneliness can decrease.
You may also feel safer with a partner on the road with you.
As a team, you have an opportunity to see even more of the world. Another person is driving while you’re sleeping, so you can go to sleep in one state and wake up across the country.
It’s also great to have a partner along for the ride with you as you explore the world.
There’s a reason team driving has a high turnover rate. It’s not as easy as it sounds, so be sure to carefully consider it with your partner before you jump into anything. Team driving gives you the opportunity for a successful career, but it can also lead to a lot of distress.
If you already have a team, ATS is looking for qualified drivers to haul freight for the DOD. We can work with you to help you get your security clearance.
To see if you’re ready to haul freight for the DOD, check out, “What Does it Take to Haul Department of Defense Military Freight ?”