WIFE IS INTERESTED IN DOING TRUCKING.

I'M BE GOING TO TRUCKING SCHOOL IN MARCH . well the company I'M GOING WITH DOESN'T HAVE TEAM DRIVER, THEY USE THE TRAINER,ALONG WITH STUDENT FOR THAT. NEED TO KNOW WHAT WE COULD DO AFTER, I COMPLETE MY TRAINING, AND DOING MY YEAR? I WOULD WANT TO TRAIN HER IF IS POSSIBLE, THEN DO TEAM. I FEEL THAT WOULD WORK BEST. ANY SUGGESTION WOULD BE GREAT TO HAVE.

Well, you have several options. You can go solo and bring her as a passenger if the company allows.

Or you can go solo and wait a very long time until you qualify to be a trainer. You can't just graduate as a solo driver and be a trainer. Being a trainer has many qualifications that you must pass. You need to have the required amount of experience, winter driving experience, on time %, accident free. It's a long list. So don't expect to be a trainer until at least a year after you go solo.

This is what I would do. I would bring her as a passenger with me until I meet the minimum requirements to be a certified trainer. Then after I qualify I would train her and then team drive with her. Realize this, by the time you're ready to be a trainer your wife will have been with you for many, many months. By that time she will understood how to operate a truck just by watching you. When you'll be teaching her, it'll be a lot easier because she's been watching for so long. That would work best.

Yap, Daniel is right about everything he said. I'll just throw this in - if you'd like her to get out there sooner then simply let her do her training at the same time you do or on her own at some point. Then, instead of waiting for you to become a trainer so you can teach her, she'll be ready to go far sooner and you two can get to running team.

Honestly, I'm a big fan of letting husband/wife teams be trained by two separate trainers. That way when the training is finished and you're running solo together you can compare notes. You'll have two totally different perspectives on how to handle the job and life on the road. Even trainers often times have bad habits, inefficient ways of doing things, strange preferences, and holes in their knowledge. If you learn from one trainer and then train your wife she'll likely be picking up some of those negatives from your training and the things you learned in your time running solo.

Another reason I'm a fan of splitting up couples for training is the stress. Having to train a family member, or be trained by one, can be really stressful. You know how to push each other's buttons and you have certain prejudices toward each other that might limit the ability to communicate honestly and openly. One small detail or mis-communication can escalate into a mess.

So it might not be a bad idea to let her train with someone else. It's usually only for a month or two. No biggie in the grand scheme of things. I mean, it can ultimately work out fine either way. But having one spouse train another can get a bit sketchy. Hopefully Starcar will read this thread. She used to team with her husband and she has some awesome stories of torture and torment!

I think Brett and Daniel hit it perfectly. We have several Husband/Wife teams at my company and also lots of wives that are just riders. Maybe look at companies that support teams. Whichever way you go good luck and be safe.

Hi Wayne.....Jeff and I are in the same situation. When we made the decision for him to "just go for it" and go to school we made the decision that I will stay at home, wait for him to though all of his training and then I will be riding with him to make absolute sure driving would be something I would want to do. With that being said, he would also have to get the experience under his belt before he could be qualified to become a trainer so he could train me. So needless to say....I'm waiting a long time. I really WISH I could have found this site A LOT earlier, because of all of the research and reading I have gone through, I feel it would have been best for me to go ahead and go through training as well. ( My only hesitation about driving is getting behind the wheel of something so big and with so much power, but now I know that is a normal feeling!)

I do know that if you do enough research you can find companies with females trainers, if she would be more comfortable with that option. That was the problem with us...we both agreed it was not in my best interest to have a male trainer...not for insecurity reasons, but safety. Our opinion only!

But anyway, this is the decision we are sticking with and on the BRIGHT SIDE, when that day comes, I will know exactly what to expect and will have more knowledge than the average student.

What ever you decide.......#GoodLuck #Keepusupdated

PS...I highly recommend your wife joining us here at TT.....she will learn so much!! This is the BEST PLACE EVER!!

I wouldn't advise training a family member, especially a spouse. I know how my wife deals with me criticizing her, whether it's constructive or otherwise. Remember wives might not want to listen to a husband who they have to tell to pick up their socks or put their boots in the closet. They bring their home life to the training as you would bring it to the instructing. I'm a flight instructor and would never consider teaching my wife how to fly, and when I start driving I want her to get her CDL , but to get it at a school without me anywhere near it.

Hey Now, Dale......you are treading in quick sand here !!! just jokin'.... TSB trained me for OTR....and I'll tell ya straight up...if marriage can withstand a trainer trainee situation...it will withstand anything. Women have a hard time finding a female trainer at ANY of the CDL schools...and personally, if I would have had my choice, I'd still have TSB train me. I know that there are trainers in it to make better truckers...but lets face the reality...most trainers are in it for the money..or in it to make sure they can make their truck payments. That being said...I"d let my spouse train me....besides...the fights are kinda cool you learn the darnedest things !!!! Throwing a styrofoam dish against a padded sleeper wall doesn't give you nearly the satisfaction as a plate against drywall....and slamming a vinyl sleeper curtain will never be as gratifying as a good hollow core door !!!!