Drive Solo

Howdy

iam a new green horn just graduated from a polli wog

I need help -I don't want to drive as a team driver The awesome company who gave me opportunity requires team driving NO DISRESPECT i just cant hang in a truck with a stranger 24/7 I could not sleep at all while truck flying down road i was bouncing around like pop corn in the sleeper it is crazy insane i want to honor my team but i can not hang doing so

I can do 11 hours and work hard as hell and drive the miles needed just cant handle doing another shift that is what it seems

is my truck days over?

What company are you with? What is in your contract? Did you not know you were signing on with a company that ran teams?

I am sure there are some jobs out there that won't require team driving for a new driver with no experience, I have no idea where you would find them though. Most companies that do hire non-experienced drivers, such as yourself will require at least a temporary period of team driving with a trainer. At Prime, the company I am with, if you have COL but 0 - little experience, they send you out with a trainer for 40,000 miles (8-10 weeks) of team driving. Upon completion of that, you upgrade to your own truck. It really isn't that bad and you adjust to sleeping in a moving vehicle. I actually had to get used to the peacefulness of a stopped vehicle again afterwards. Like most things worthwhile, a little bit of sacrifice is required to succeed in this career.

I don't mean to push you out the door of where you are at, but if push comes to shove look up Roehl and Schinder in the reviews here. One of them doesn't dispatch the trainer trainee as a team, and I think it's Roehl, but it's one of the two. Everyone here says one year at one job, but if you truly can't sleep that's a safety issue. Be aware though Roehl doesn't hire for all 48 states.

What company are you with? What is in your contract? Did you not know you were signing on with a company that ran teams?

He may very well have known they ran teams in training but never having experience trying to sleep with the wheels rolling he would have no idea what to expect. I can see where he's coming from. I can't sleep in a car unless I am so tired I pass out.

Indeed everyone has to drive team in the beginning, at least for a while. And everyone struggles to sleep in a moving truck, especially in the beginning. In fact, everyone will struggle with all sorts of things trying to get their trucking career established, especially in the beginning. You just have to push through it. It's not much fun for anyone, but it's part of the process. If you're under contract then get it in your head that you're going to finish the contract and then decide what you want to do next.

And whatever you do, stop listening to people who keep talking about how great other companies are. There is a huge contingent of people in this industry that never stop thinking about the grass being greener elsewhere, and these people love talking about this subject. They'll go on all day long giving you endless lists of names and features and pros and cons for dozens of companies all over the country.

Ignore it. Ignore all of it. Just stick to the path you're on and see it through. If you were to leave this company because you didn't want to team you would simply find yourself at a new company wishing something else wasn't the way it was. Again, this is why you have so many people spending so much time trying to evaluate companies. No matter where you go there will be pros and cons. That's just how it is.

So stay the course and get through it. You'll get used to it soon enough and before you know it you'll have an opportunity to run solo. If you're with a company that runs team exclusively you may have to change companies when your contract is through in order to run solo. That's fine if that's what you decide to do. But if you're under contract, finish out the contract first, then decide what's next.

I know I'm a crazy person for saying this, but I slept really well in a moving truck. Something about the truck rolling down the highway just rocked me to sleep. It was nice. I was fortunate in that my trainer had me run first thing in the morning until my hours ran out, and he ran the night shift - the lesser traffic + my circadian rhythm made it much easier to sleep back there at night.

Yeah, Steve, I really liked sleeping in a moving truck also. It just seemed so cozy to me. HOWEVER, I did not enjoy sharing the tiny living space, and was very happy to get my own truck!

Brett:

I hope you didn't think I was leading the guy down the path of, "The grass is greener in other pastures." As the first sentence of my post said, "I am not trying to push you out the door..." I was merely trying to point out information which is here on TT. I did go back and check and the company I was thinking of was Roehl. They do send you out with a trainer, but you are not dispatched as a team. I had a serious concern when the OP said there was no way he could sleep while his trainer was driving. As we all know a drowsy driver is a dangerous driver, whether it be a big rig or a car. If you guys say he'll get used to it, then I believe you.

I went from school to solo while ive been succesful and am doing great out here (i did drive classb log truck for years family business) i tell everyone who asks to get with a company that trains you ive had to learn the hard way and would have valued a trainer at times learning the ropes good luck brother stick with it youll get where you wanna be