Some people love the idea of striking out on their own. Not only are they free to carve their own way, but they’re also free to make their own mistakes. But when it comes to succeeding in the trucking industry, too many solo drivers end up learning the hard way that it doesn’t pay to go it alone — literally. We’ll look at the reasons why becoming a team driver can make you more money and deliver a better experience when you’re on the road.

1. Team Truck Drivers Make More Money

Did you catch the bit about making more money in the first paragraph? Because we really can’t hammer this point home enough. If you’re in this business to make a living, you owe it to yourself to start building your wealth as quickly as you can. Team drivers make more money because they can keep their trucks going for roughly twice as long as a single driver would. Very often team driver pay scale is higher than solo drivers. Even though you’re splitting the profits, you’re also making your deliveries in half the time as a solo driver. It means you can work longer and more efficiently.

2. You Get a Real Break

While solo drivers are mandated to rest to ensure everyone’s safety, it’s not always easy to really relax and recoup when you know someone’s waiting for your freight. With team driving, you get to take a break without having to worry about your income or deadline. While one person rests, the other one picks up the driving.

3. Team Driving Gives You Someone to Talk to

While there will be time spent switching between resting/sleeping and driving, driving teams will have the chance to spend time with someone else. Some people team up with a friend or even a spouse, so they can reduce the possibility of personality friction when on the road. Trucking can be a great way to spend time with the people you love while making a comfortable living. So if you’re tired of missing home when you’re out and about, take home with you when you become a team driver.

4. Team Truck Drivers Keep the Supply Chain Going

The supply chain is a vital part of the US economy, and the cargo carried from place to place is an integral part of ensuring everyone gets what they need. When you drive in a team, everything moves faster. Companies and companies across the nation can rest easy that the freight will be delivered and the inventory will be restocked. From medication to produce, team drivers can help reduce shortages in the many towns and cities they service. A solo driver is limited to how many hours they can drive, which can easily put them behind the curve.

5. Team Driving Gives You a Built-In Strategist

When you’re with a team, it’s easier to identify and solve the problems before they balloon into catastrophes. From when to stop for gas to how to arrange the freight, there are a number of ways for truckers to become better at what they do. Even shaving off a few minutes per driver can quickly add up over the course of the year. For solo drivers, it may take longer to catch these issues, especially if they’re shouldering the pressures without any help.

6. Team Drivers Can See It All

Truckers have the opportunity to travel without the associated costs that normally keep people at home. Some team drivers will choose routes that take them through some of the most scenic areas in the US, a practice that has led many truckers to truly cherish their time on the job. As you’re exploring the best the nation has to offer, you’re also perfecting invaluable skills that will help you in your everyday life. From general problem-solving to serious crisis management, team drivers have a chance to better themselves together.

People Also Ask

What does it mean to be a team truck driver?

A team truck driver is part of a pair of drivers who operate a single truck together. They take turns driving and resting, allowing the truck to stay on the road for longer periods without needing to stop as frequently. This setup maximizes driving time and productivity.

What is the highest-paying truck driver job?

The highest-paying truck driver jobs are typically in specialized fields, such as hazardous materials (hazmat) driving, tanker hauling, or oversized load transport. Team drivers also tend to earn more than solo drivers due to the increased mileage and workload. Additionally, owner-operators who manage their own trucks and contracts can earn significantly more, depending on their business acumen and market conditions.

What is the difference between solo and team truck driving?

Solo truck driving involves one driver who manages all driving, resting, and responsibilities alone. They typically have more control over their schedule but must stop more frequently for rest. Team truck driving, on the other hand, involves two drivers sharing the workload, which allows for more continuous operation and quicker delivery times since one driver can rest while the other drives.

How do team truck drivers sleep?

Team truck drivers sleep in shifts while the other partner is driving. Most long-haul trucks have a sleeper cab, which includes a bed or bunk area behind the driver’s seat. This arrangement allows one driver to rest while the other drives, ensuring the truck remains in motion for longer periods.

How many miles can team drivers drive in a week?

Team drivers can cover between 5,000 to 6,000 miles in a week on average. This is significantly higher than solo drivers, who typically cover around 2,500 to 3,500 miles per week. The higher mileage is possible because the truck is moving almost constantly, with only short breaks for refueling, loading, and unloading.

How to Choose a Team Truck Driving Partner

Whether you’re just getting started or you’ve been a solo driver for a while, consider the people in your personal network and whether they’d be good candidates to form a capable team with you. It could be a friend, a colleague, or even your wife or husband. You may be surprised at the amount of husband and wife team truck driving jobs available today. The key is to choose someone with whom you can share everything, from space to responsibilities. Each person needs to be willing to fulfill their side of the bargain to indeed form a lasting and successful partnership. From there, you can establish a team that gets more done, helps more people, and, ultimately, makes more money per year.

Looking for a team truck driving job? Apply Now or Search Truck Driving Positions

What is a team truck driver? Read our blog post: Team Trucking in 2020 and Beyond.

Amid the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic that hit the nation full-force, all jobs have now been divided into two categories–essential services and nonessential services. Most recognize the important role doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals play in this medical catastrophe; however, other industries are just as essential when it comes to keeping the country moving.

Most Important Items

For example, without the transportation industry, there would be no way to transport the various vital items that enable other industries and professionals to do their jobs. In fact, trucking underpins nearly all other crucial industries by carrying the following:

• Groceries: Food, milk, drinks, etc.
• Cleaning Supplies: The way individuals, both in a residential and commercial setting, prevent the spread of the virus through deep and regular cleaning.
• Medical Supplies and/or Medicines: What could be more critical when it comes to sustaining life than medicines and medical supplies getting from where they are to where they need to go?
• Electronics: This includes, but is not limited to, virtualization technology.
• Construction Material: In both commercial and residential capacities.
• Fuel: To keep essential workers moving from home to their jobs and to ensure trucks have the fuel needed to continue transporting vital goods.

Trucking, the Most Essential Service

Trucking is an essential service, necessary to get all the above items from one location to another. There is no way for this country to maintain order and civility without the trucking industry. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, an agency that was tasked with defining essential jobs, among other crucial duties, truckers were described as “critical infrastructure workers.” The following is a segment from the official report published by Homeland Security:

“Functioning critical infrastructure is imperative during the response to the COVID-19 emergency for both public health and safety as well as community well-being. Certain critical infrastructure industries have a special responsibility in these times to continue operations.”

Obviously, the trucking industry is considered one of the “critical infrastructure industries” mentioned in this statement.

Changes in Regulations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration recently reduced regulations on commercial drivers, allowing them to drive more extended hours than was previously allowed if they are hauling essential items, such as fuel, groceries, and/or medical supplies. This means that while other industries are reducing hours, laying employees off, or are grinding to a halt altogether, truck driving jobs are still available and even in higher demand.

Thank a Truck Driver

Truckers, the unsung heroes of this pandemic, deserve a big pat on the back and a hearty “thank you”! As outlined above, the country requires the transportation industry to remain robust and active to prevent complete chaos and risk the lives of many individuals if needed medical supplies or other vital items are not transported. Therefore, truckers deserve just as much praise as other essential professionals, as they are literally keeping the wheels spinning on America’s critical infrastructure.

How to Become Part of an Essential Service Team

The current increased demand for transported goods will probably dwindle somewhat as the COVID-19 pandemic passes. However, the role truckers are playing in the whole scenario highlights the immense need for truckers, defining them as essential workers.

Therefore, truck driving jobs are now and will remain plentiful for the foreseeable future, mainly to restock depleted goods across the nation. Anyone who has at least one year of recent OTR experience within the industry can reenter a field that is always considered essential and will never become obsolete, even in the middle of a crisis.

Truckers with a CDL who are currently working as truckers and who have a year of OTR experience should consider driving with us at Barr-Nunn Trucking to become part of our fantastic team of essential workers. Also, if a person’s current employment is deemed to be nonessential, now is a great time to consider completing a quality training program to become certified as a professional truck driver.

Looking for a truck driving job? Apply Now or Search Driving Positions.

Team trucking is on the rise in 2020, and it is poised for years of growth.

What are the main reasons team trucking is taking off?

• Friends are teaming up and hitting the road.
• Many women are getting into trucking as a second career, and many enjoy coming on board as team truckers.
• New truckers are needed in the industry, and team trucking offers an option that might increase the driving population.
• The trucking industry is beginning to realize great untapped potential in the team approach to driving.

At Barr-Nunn Transportation, we have positions open not just for solo drivers, but also for team truckers. Here’s what it’s about, and some aspects to consider if you’re thinking of driving as a team member.

Are You Cut Out for Driving as a Team Trucker? 

While many truckers prefer to drive alone, some prefer the team approach in which two truckers alternate shifts between on-duty and off-duty on their drives. With two people sleeping in shifts, the truck keeps rolling and the load keeps moving. This is good for the trucking company. And drivers make money for their total miles – which, of course, add up much faster when two people are taking turns at the wheel. 

And yes: team driving is in high demand in the industry in 2020. The growth outlook is very good. At Barr-Nunn, we point out that the team approach can definitely be a way into a trucking career in 2020 and beyond.

If you’re thinking of becoming a team driver in the near future and would like to prepare mentally, the following are some insights.

It Comes Down to Your Outlook, Preferences, and Partner

First, assess your personality. Are you an extrovert? Or do you just think you’d like to travel with a pal? If so, team driving might be just the factor that makes a trucker’s life work for you.

For people who like to handle things alone, team driving might just become nerve-wracking. You know yourself best.

Even though you’re part of a team, you’re not always interacting with each other, because one or the other is usually sleeping. (This is a good place to note that only two hours of off-duty time is allowed in the passenger seat. Drivers need to be in the sleeper berth for 8 of the mandatory 10 off-duty hours.)

As for breaks, team partners have to make their schedules fit their partners’ schedules, and their delivery timetables as well. That can get stressful unless the pair is remarkably compatible.

The main thing is this. You’re riding with another human being for days or weeks. If you no longer click with or lose trust in, your partner, this makes it nearly impossible to keep working together. But for some people who work with us at Barr-Nunn, partner driving makes their career fulfilling. 

Pairing Up: A Driving Partnership Can Be a Life Partnership

Your partner must share the work equally with you and must be someone you can trust completely. Maybe it’s no surprise that some of our ace teams are married couples.

For the couple that’s cut out for it, driving with your life partner can be a unique and precious benefit. Rather than being apart while the other is on the road for long hauls, the two partners can work together and look after each other.

Did you know women truckers accumulate more mileage than men do? It’s one of the notable recent trends in trucking and it happens because female truckers often drive in teams and can switch with a teammate whenever one driver gets to their driving limit. Women tend to have excellent safety records and are less likely to leave the industry, too. Are you looking for a partner with great stamina? There is so much to be said for women truckers. If you happen to be one of them or want to get started, we heartily welcome you.

For the Right Partners, Team Driving Has Its Perks

Team driving is different — some drivers love it and some don’t. There’s someone there to help with the inspections and fixes. There’s someone to guide you as you’re backing up or parking in a tricky spot.

And, of course, there is someone to take the loneliness out of the longer rides. Back in the heyday of CB radio, there were plenty of conversations. Today, it’s different. Everyone has smartphones but no one is allowed to talk on them while driving. 

Being away from home for long hauls can take its toll on some people. Interesting studies have appeared in recent years about truck drivers’ mental health and how important social relationships can be to protecting everything from heart health to longevity. Close relationships with other people can uplift our moods, strengthen our immune systems, and increase our life spans. It’s a fascinating line of research and adds yet another reason to appreciate the friendships forged for life in the trucking world.

You might have a good friend in the industry, and decide to pair up. If your friend does not have OTR driving qualifications, speak with us to see about bringing your friend on board with CDL and OTR training.

Will Teamwork Make Your Dream Work?

Yes, we couldn’t resist that one.

Ask yourself:

• Can I trust my partner 100%?
• Does my partner have the stamina and mental strength to perform consistently on the road, day and night?
• And what about the other person’s view? Am I good company in tight quarters? Am I a good communicator? Am I organized and tidy? Do I mind handling more than a 50-50 share of the work when the other person is under the weather?

Respect for the other person involves being sensitive about details that you wouldn’t bother about if it were just up to you. When sharing the same space for extended periods, it’s important to do all you can to avoid a cold, pay special attention to hygiene, avoid bean dip and burritos, keep the music volume down, and avoid bumpy or sharp moves. 

Are You OK With All That?

Now to add one more (really big) thing. Both of you will be working out your sleeping patterns and getting used to your off-duty time while the truck’s rolling.

Have you tried to sleep on a train or plane? If so, you know what we mean. Will you be refreshed? How will you split day and night driving? What if you need to change shifts? Will you be able to work out your preferences?

Sleep is a major factor in keeping you safe, and safety is your first priority, so think carefully about this: In a very real sense, you’ll need to be able to trust your partner with your life, and vice versa.

If you’ve already qualified for OTR, you have had a taste of team driving. As part of your training course, you drove with a mentor. Were you comfortable with that – or itching for the time you’d be on your own? That tells you a lot about whether you’re cut out for team trucking.

At Most Companies, the Pay Might Not Differ Greatly From the Solo Driver’s Rate. But at Barr-Nunn, You Will Earn More as a Team.

There are a lot of talks and promotional material out there suggesting that team driving means exceptionally high pay. But it’s just straight math. The more miles driven, the more pay is earned. Sources show the pay per mile averaging in the range of .32 per mile up to .50 per mile across the country, for each partner in a team.

If you were driving around the clock and around the calendar, you could pull in a gross yearly pay per driver of $61,000+, or 122K+ per couple, at the average U.S. transportation company. But we’re all human. Even in teams, we can’t drive constantly. And loads are not always available, even when drivers are. Most driving teams are out on the road an average of 35 out of the 52 weeks in a year. It varies.

That said, if life partners are also trucking partners, and the pair drives with a Top Pay Certified trucking company, the situation can be particularly beneficial for them. Their pay may be shared, and because they help each other on the road, this option can be a great way to make a living. It’s quite typical for team drivers to pull in several hundred dollars in extra income each month.

Interested? Talk With Us About Team Trucking.

We’re a trucking company that’s keen on team truckers. The industry has not recruited teams to the level it should, and we’re making sure we let drivers know this is an option. We’re working to be the best trucking company for team drivers, in 2020 and beyond.

Based in Granger, Iowa, with terminals in NC, PA, and OH, we’re also a National Transportation Institute Top Pay Certified Carrier. So, please contact us to find out more about how team trucking can meet your career aspirations and your financial goals. We appreciate your consideration of a career as a team trucker. 

Looking for a truck driving job? Apply Now or Search Driving Positions.