Why require teams in straight trucks?

Why require teams in straight trucks?

Do you have any solo positions?

This is one of the most common questions we hear from potential drivers who are checking us out, and the answer is essentially yes, but…

We have two types of positions available: team driver in a straight truck, and solo driver in a tractor trailer. Straight trucks require a Class A or B CDL and no prior experience; tractor drivers must possess a valid Class A CDL and at least 6 months of DOT-verifiable experience.

The natural follow-up question from drivers who don’t qualify for tractor is:

Why can’t I run solo in a straight truck?

The answer to this question is the very nature of our business. We run expedited freight, which consists of specialized loads that need to get somewhere ASAP. Say a customer has an item that picks up in an hour and needs to travel across three states in the next 12 hours in order to make it to the consignee before the start of the next business day. These types of loads pop up all the time—they’re the sorts of needs that make shippers willing to pay premium expedite freight rates.

If that hypothetical load pops up and your truck is nearby, but you only have one hour of drive time left on your clock, you can’t take it. UNLESS you have a teammate! We teach our drivers to manage their schedules so that someone in the truck is always able to drive. This is really the only way to succeed in expedited freight. Sure, you may sometimes get loads that are doable for a solo, but over time that solo driver will earn far less than he would as part of team. It all comes down to being available to take a load at a moment’s notice.

Now, you may be thinking:

Dang, I don’t have a teammate.

Most companies match up teammates based on where they take their home time. Maybe you can’t see yourself getting along with a complete stranger who just so happens to be from the same state as you. We’ve found a better way to build our teams: putting together compatible drivers. They’re much more likely to be successful if they get along! We look at some straightforward factors, like whether you’re a smoker and whether you prefer to have a male or female partner. We try to account for experience level so that newer drivers can learn from those with more experience, and we also look at personality factors that may work well together. Where possible, we put together drivers who have hazmat and tanker endorsements, which helps you get more loads and run even more profitably.

We don’t pretend to have a 100% success rate matching people up—far from it! What we will do is listen to driver feedback, try to help resolve issues between teammates, and move people around when necessary. Our success depends on your success, so we do everything in our power to create teams that work well together.

If this sounds like the arrangement for you, complete our pre-qualify form to start a conversation with our recruiters.

18 Replies to “Why require teams in straight trucks?”

    1. No, all of our positions are over the road. You may sometimes have down time over the weekend but we’re looking for drivers who can stay out 4-6 weeks at a time.

    1. Bladder tanks now require a tanker endorsement. Because of the movement of the liquid inside. It can give you the feeling of running a tanker without actually being a tanker. So they want people to understand the concept there for getting the endorsement.

    2. Yes, what David said, and also having hazmat and tanker endorsements greatly increase your load availability.

    1. Unfortunately we can not directly help you with getting your CDL. However we do offer tuition reimbursement if we are your first position out of school.

  1. Are the tractors take home for home time or do they stay somewhere for the next driver?

  2. can a driver not do team work and accept the fact that they’ll get fewer loads? What’s the (cat) pet policy? Are tags, insurance, fuel, and maintenance covered? If I do teams, who would the lead driver be?

Leave a Reply to Richard Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *