Pros and cons

[nightshift]

What are the pros and cons of straight truck expediting and van expediting for a husband and wife team?

Don't know where I'm going, but there's no use being late.

 

[ATeam]

Good question to ask, but I think it has more to do with the people than the kind of truck. My wife and I drive a straight truck. We look at van driver teams and wonder how on earth they do it. I also know of at least one van driver team that wouldn't dream of driving a straight truck. As far as I know, they love the work as much as we do. It's not so much a question of which style of expediting is best? It's which style is best for YOU?

You are asking the perfect question to help you determine the answer. There are differences between the two styles to be sure. The differences include the requirement to keep a log book (or lack of requirement), living space in the vehicle, fuel costs, parking, truck routes, truck stop benefits (from fuel purchases, big trucks burn more fuel), etc.

I know people succeed in both expediting styles. One thing that will likely keep us in a straight truck forever, and this is goofy I admit, is the view when you drive. I love sitting up high. I'd be frustrated in a van because I could not see as much. I guess I feel safer too. If I was going to be in a wreck, I'd much rather be in a truck than a van.

 

[SHARP327]

WELL I'D SAY TRY PUTTING YOURSELF AND YOUR BETTER HALF IN A PHONE BOOTH FOR A LONG WEEKEND TOGETHER! AND IF YOU STILL THINK THE WORLD OF EACH OTHER AFTER THAT THEN I'D GO TO STEP TWO! CONSIDER WHAT IT'D BE LIKE IF IT WAS 20 BELOW OR 100 ABOVE WHILE IN THAT PHONE BOOTH!

THE WIFE AND I RUN TEAM AND FOR THE MOST PART WE LOVE GOING DOWN THE HWY. AND SORTA BEING HAPPY CAMPERS BUT THEN THERES THOSE OTHER TIMES THAT THE LIVING QUARTERS ARE A BIT TOO SMALL FOR COMFORT! AND WE DRIVE A STRAIGHT WITH A 84" SLEEPER.

THAT'S ALL I GOT TO SAY BOUT THAT!

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE
SHARP327

 

[davekc]

THE WIFE AND I RUN TEAM AND FOR THE MOST PART WE LOVE GOING DOWN THE HWY. AND SORTA BEING HAPPY CAMPERS BUT THEN THERES THOSE OTHER TIMES THAT THE LIVING QUARTERS ARE A BIT TOO SMALL FOR COMFORT! AND WE DRIVE A STRAIGHT WITH A 84" SLEEPER

You are not using your cargo box to its fullest extent.....just kidding....couldn't resist
Davekc

 

[RichM]

I remember a couple of years ago meeting a couple at the Pilot T/S in Syracuse NY and they were all decked out in their Companies outerwear and holding hands as they walked across the lot. We shared a cup of coffee and they admitted that they had only been on a week.
We talked for a while and my wife said"At times it can get tense in the cab,but we yell at each other for a while and then forget it".

The female said "Well we have a special relationship and nothing will bother our relationship". I kept quiet but wanted to say,"Wait till your in Buffalo in Febuary and the daytime temp is 6 degrees and the nightime is 10 below and you havn't had a run offer in 3 days,see how special your relationship is then." But I kept my mouth shut. Expediting as a husband/wife team is a good test. We have been doing it for 18 years,but still love and respect each other,but sometimes you wonder,especially when that gear is slipped and so on.. You know who slipped that gear..

 

[terryandrene]

Rene' and I learned early on that there are two teams in our truck. We have Terryandrene, co-drivers; and, Terryandrene, spouses. We believe that to be successful, a couple, related or not, must clearly separate their personal and professional lives. Clear-headed business decisions cannot be made if personal spat feelings are allowed to cloud the business decision process. We certainly have had our personal differences over the years, but when the qualcomm beeps, the spouse team gives a smile and the co-drivers team gets back to business.