Team Or Go Solo?

Beginning of July a guy I knew asked if I would be interested in getting my CDL and going on the road with him, he and his father were buying a AUTOMATIC 2016 Freightliner Cascadia because his dad couldn't push the clutch anymore and now his father was told by his doctor he couldn't drive at all anymore. So he asked me if I wanted to go to CDL school and drive team with him, he said we would split the money the truck makes 50/50 after the Truck Payment, TriPack APU , Insurance, Maintenance account deposit, Diesel, DEF and Scale costs come out. He says can average $700-1000 each a week. I have been semi retired and have not worked for a few years and thought it may be nice pay, I am married and have three children ages 13,15 & 17. After a long talk with my wife I enrolled in CDL school, started July 18th, passed all my tests on my first try and graduated August 5th as a CDL ACE. Went to orientation August 8th for the trucking company he works for and have to do 200 hours training for the company and pass a written and driving test when my 200 hours are complete. He went to a class while I was in orientation to be a mentor(my mentor). So I am now at present on his truck doing my training, When I signed up for CDL school the company offered to pay half of my weekly payment to the school for a year, that's how long it will take to pay the school back. But if I go Team with him, after my training is done and I pass my tests they basicly fire me and he becomes my boss and is the one who pays me and I have to pay the school back myself, he says he can have them take the payment from the trucks weekly detention I believe is the word, basically the weekly check we get for what the truck makes. But then they would not be paying half of it and I would be paying double of what I thought I would out of my pay, $75 week for 13 months. There are PRO's and CON's to staying on as a TEAM with him as well as going SOLO. SOLO I have benefits, steady pay, guaranteed job(they want the money back I owe them), privacy, cleanliness, ability to schedule how I see fit, etc. But with TEAM I have freedoms I won't have as a company driver, can do over 62 mph, no camera in truck, can drive truck on my time as owner operator for a few hours, always same truck, automatic, I already know the guy, company while on the road, etc. There are CON's too though we clash when it come to cleanliness and hygiene, he doesn't stick to plans he makes, he will be responsible for paying me, etc. I am worried I will not get paid what I am supposed to most of all with him, I also like the idea of the company paying half my tuition back, when he and I make plans to shower and eat etc the next day and he wakes up early and calls in to get our load dropped off early or just rearrange our schedule ruining our plans to shower etc drives me crazy. I am starting to ramble and rant but you see the jist of it, any advice from anyone who has delt with this or has useful input would be greatly appreciated!

CDL:

Commercial Driver's License (CDL)

A CDL is required to drive any of the following vehicles:

• Any combination of vehicles with a gross combined weight rating (GCWR) of 26,001 or more pounds, providing the gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of the vehicle being towed is in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 or more pounds, or any such vehicle towing another not in excess of 10,000 pounds.
• Any vehicle, regardless of size, designed to transport 16 or more persons, including the driver.
• Any vehicle required by federal regulations to be placarded while transporting hazardous materials.

Owner Operator:

An owner-operator is a driver who either owns or leases the truck they are driving. A self-employed driver.

APU:

Auxiliary Power Unit

On tractor trailers, and APU is a small diesel engine that powers a heat and air conditioning unit while charging the truck's main batteries at the same time. This allows the driver to remain comfortable in the cab and have access to electric power without running the main truck engine.

Having an APU helps save money in fuel costs and saves wear and tear on the main engine, though they tend to be expensive to install and maintain. Therefore only a very small percentage of the trucks on the road today come equipped with an APU.

I think you have already answered your own Questions.. sounds like a solo driver it is...

The company in question is Swift, correct?

Let me talk you out of teaming with your buddy. Just kidding, but I think you have more reasons to drive solo than team.

You said:

he doesn't stick to plans he makes, he will be responsible for paying me, etc. I am worried I will not get paid what I am supposed to most of all with him, I also like the idea of the company paying half my tuition back

So your friend isn't reliable. You said if you guys team, you are eventually not going to be working for the company, just your buddy. I don't know if that's how it works or not. But if it is, then what if your buddy decides he's had it with [Swift] and wants to switch companies, even though you like it there? That sucks for you, right? What if he decides he wants some time off? It's his truck--I mean, you're not going to go galavanting around the country in his truck without him, right? So you're stuck with him. You have no options. What if you don't like otr? Or you want to try one of the dedicated accounts (Swift has tons of those!)? Nope, you're stuck, unless your friend wants to try it too. Also, if you decide you want to try solo instead, you'll have to be rehired by them (if you are correct about the way it will work).

Then there is the cost of the schooling. Again, assuming you are talking about Swift, their tuition assistance program works even better than you might think. I read the tuition agreement I signed with them and talked to the student loan department at Swift. They take 52 weekly payments of $75 each out of your paycheck. The payments start as soon as you finish road training with your mentor and are assigned your own truck. They pay you back 104 weekly payments of $37.50 as long as you are an otr company driver with them. So yeah, like you said, that basically means they take $37.50 a week out of your paychecks for the first year as a company driver. But if you stay another year, they continue to pay you $37.50 extra each week even though you no longer owe them for the schooling.

Another thing. Otr trucking is tough. Most people have no idea what they're getting themselves into, myself included. I expected this to be difficult, and it still shocked me how difficult it is. And I'm a solo driver. Teaming has even more challenges that you started to touch on. Hometime, hygiene, space (these trucks aren't very big even for just one person, much less two), who's in charge, etc.

Then there's the other aspect. Your buddy has a business to run. He just bought this truck and now he has to run run run to pay it off. So the pressure is on for him! But he's been doing this a while, so he's at least got a bit of a handle on it. But what about you? I think it's alot of pressure for you to have to deal with.

And what if you accidentally hit something? Oh no, but you never would!! That only happens to other people! LOL. Well, maybe you won't hit something. Maybe you will. If you do hit something in a company truck, that sucks. I did it. But I didn't pay anything. I was coached on it, they fixed my truck, and I kept on trucking. If you hit something in your buddy's truck, you will have to pay for it. Not to mention, your buddy is gonna be pretty upset with you for dinking up his brand new truck.

Sorry, I hope that wasn't over the top. There are definitely benefits to teaming with your friend. I mean, heck, you guys get to see the country together, which is honestly really cool. And it can be really fun to have someone around. I remember I got along pretty well with my second trainer and we'd have a good time talking for a couple hours a day before he or I went to bed. It really was fun. But I think it's a whole lot different considering you will be working for, not just with your friend.

Either way, good luck with whatever you decide and feel free to stick around!

Here's a thread where we discussed team life situations. I hope it helps.

Solo or Team

Most successful teams I know are relatives or spouses. I met a team who were not romantically involved and after five years needed dispatch to solve issues like a divorce when they split.... Who gets the TV, fridge, micro wave. No lie.

Teaming is a preference. And honestly I make about $900+ clear a week solo. So what he quoted you sounds low to me, unless the miles are low.

The way it works In my company is that a lease/owner op "leases the driver" from the company for the amount of his salary. Therefore the teammate is still a prime employee (with all insurances and company benefits), but the wages come out of the truck "settlement" (the word detention you used is what a shipper or rec pays the drivers when they hold us past the agreed appt times for too long.... And I have gotten over $100 in detention in one week).

BTW, even with teaming you normally still get paid cents per mile so it is unlikely an owner would split the profits of the truck with anyone. Which means he doesn't sound seasoned enough as an owner to understand the business. And this is coming from a rookie haha.

Regardless I would get any agreement in writing. If you can live in a closet with a guy whose habits are already driving you nuts.

I couldn't hence I'm solo.

Two weeks into my phase two with CR England, and I've been considering team driving. Just the process of keeping moving versus camping out in a parking lot appeals to me. But, I'm definitely living the reality of a not so compatible team. Teaming with someone (more experienced) who laughs about being late and completely missing appointments, not driving after dark or on Sundays, and stopping for naps during their shift and sleeping for hours. Pretty frustrating for me just trying to do a good job and learn a new trade.

I'd say without the baggage of making truck payments, I'd personally go the team route. But I also don't have a problem with taking "Book of Eli" showers i.e. wet wipes, before crashing out in the sleeper. If the truck situation was a shared ownership versus being just an employee of someone that might be different, but that's a whole can o' worms all its own and too complicated for me. Good luck with which ever route you choose!

I dunno about the entire lack of privacy in that rig with team driving, much less with the team driver already known to have lack of hygiene and unreliability, yadda yadda.... If I'm going to be peeing every couple of hours with someone in the close confines and earshot, I'd like to be 100% comfortable with that person and feel s/he can be completely trusted/reliable at all times... Especially if my pay is involved.

Sounds to me the arrangement was enthusiastically discussed and being prepared for and it's just now sinking in the reality of what it'd really mean to be teaming with this one particular person. The question seems more of a "how do i avoid being the bad guy here if I say no now" matter.

If i may suggest reading your own post again, as if it were someone else's post... And see how you feel with what was just shared. Have a feeling you've answered your own question unwittedly.

Alternate plan could also be going solo for a while to pay off at least part of the tuition with the team driving offer on the back burner and revisit it at a later time.

Great post. Thanks