I Could Use Some Advice.

My uncle has a small OTR trucking company in the midwest, and he asked my father to join his team after his early retirement. My father asked me to join him and drive as a team. I would have to take the driving course and get my CDL , which I've been interested in doing for quite some time. My only concern is that my father would be my first OTJ trainer, and I have read several articles have conflicting opinions of team driving. When I was young I use to spend my summers traveling all over the country with my father when he was a full-time truck driver, but since he has been out of the business for many years I worry that he will not be up to date with the rules and regulations pertaining to truck drivers now. I also worry driving as a team may put stress on our father/daughter relationship. we have always been close, and I don't want to cause any rifts between us. My father has always been a very hard worker but we have never worked together before. Has anyone out there started their trucking career as a team driver with a family member, and who might be able to give me advice on this?

I have not driven as a team per say but did spend a few weeks similar during training and my wife has gone out with me, but she doesn't drive. So, similar - but not exactly so take it with a grain of salt. I will say this, though; even with my beloved wife the truck gets small after a few days but I'm kind of a loner. Same with my trainers, we didn't get into fusses but break time away from each other was nice, but that's kinda different because they are used to sharing their trucks with people that start out as strangers and with all different personality types. After our first trip together my wife and I had to work out some things so we wouldn't get on each other's nerves too badly, like I said sharing the cab and sleeper got kinda small after a while even with my wife, but that's kinda a me thing and may not be the case for a lot of folks. If it was there'd be no such things as teams. LOL. Once we worked out some things, though, it worked out pretty well and it was nice for the companionship - for a while. I do like my alone time too. So I guess my advice would be to A, yeah make sure you're up on the current state of the industry. This website has some great resources that will really help with that and training and B; I'd probably have what may start as an awkward conversation with your Dad about sharing such a small space for extended periods of time but if done tactfully and with mutual respect should pay a dividend of avoiding stepping on each other's toes later. I've always advocated having like I said what may be a little awkward conversation up front to avoid misunderstandings and hurt feelings down the road. That's just me though and I'm a bit of an odd duck. Best of luck.

Welcome aboard Lady R! Animal gave a great answer and I'll see if I can add anything.

I personally haven't shared a vehicle with a family member but I can say that teaming up with anyone is really stressful, at least at times. Obviously a huge part of it will depend on your personalities, which we know nothing about, so there's no way for us to really predict how it would go. But I for one would certainly not hold it against you if you felt it was safer to either learn on your own without him or run the highways solo.

You also mentioned he's been out of it for quite some time. That may not be a big deal because not a whole lot has changed besides a few logbook rules and the technology we have available.

It's really a tough call. In theory it would seem you'd want your father there to help you break into this industry and stay safe. But if you two clash it could add so much stress that it may make it more dangerous than it is helpful to work together.

I think in the end you're going to have to decide based on your personalities. If you trust that your dad will have some patience and restraint and you can do the same it should work out fine. But if you don't trust yourself or your father to stay calm and be cooperative then it's likely to end badly.

Thank you for your input guys :) I had a long talk with my dad last night about the pros and cons of working together, and my concerns. We're going to give it a try on a trial basis, and my dad has decided that he will also be taking the time to go to school, he has a CDL but never took the class and he says there is always something new to learn, and that way he can be up to date on any equipment and laws he didn't have to know in the 80s. I guess now my next step is to begin preparing for school and finding a good school in my area.

Hey that sounds great!

I guess now my next step is to begin preparing for school and finding a good school in my area.

Well we have just the thing for you and your father!

The first thing is our truck driver's career guide. If you haven't read through that I highly recommend it. It covers a million different topics that pertain to getting your trucking career underway, including how to choose a school, how to choose a company, and what to expect once you get out there on the road. Follow all of the links in the guide - there's a mountain of great information.

The second thing is our High Road Training Program. You and your father should both use this. It's a training program with the entire CDL manual built right in along with 700 multiple choice questions, a scoring system, a review system, and all kinds of great features. It breaks the CDL manual down into small chunks and keeps feeding you review questions from past lessons to help reinforce the materials. On top of the CDL manual it also has sections on the Logbook Rules and Weight & Balance which the CDL manual and Truck Driving Schools fail to cover well at all.

So get started on the guide and the training program and certainly don't hesitate to ask anytime you have any questions. We're always happy to help out any way we can.