It's a Team's Life

Are you sure you want to be a Team Driver?

I have heard the saying if you want to know what it is like to live in a truck go lock yourself in a bathroom or small room but I do not agree.  Our tiny house that makes money usually has great views that change daily.  The other problem is that in most trucks if you want to use the bathroom you have to get dressed, figure out where the building is, and wander down there in the dead of winter or the heat of summer. Not often are the facilities as close as an outhouse would be. 

As a married couple, your marriage will change when living close together 24 hours a day.  Not only will you be within arm's length at all times you have to share in the work.  In many ways learning to live in a small area is like performing a dance.  One person moves to the right and the other moves to the left.  This becomes something over time that is done without thinking.  

When working one of the team will be asleep and the other will be driving.  When on a road trip in the family car you're usually shared in the sites you get to see and talk as you drive. As a team truck driver that shared windshield time is regulated by law.   As a truck driver, you have the chance to listen to all the books you want, listen to music on a headset (you do not want to wake the sleeping partner), or lip sync with songs.  As you are driving you watch the road and everything around you carefully to avoid hitting potholes when possible to not throw your teammate to the floor or make sudden moves that will wake them.  Team driving should make you a smoother driver. Our lives depend on each other's ability to drive alertly and safely. 

When not on a load and parked the sleep schedule needs to stay the same or close to the same as the driving schedule.  That means in the small area of the truck and sleeper one person is awake the other is sleeping.  Learning to keep yourself quietly entertained while your partner sleeps a few feet away takes a little planning.  In our situation, Bob likes to play Suduko and other games on his Ipad while watching a video with a headset on.  I like to work on my cross-stitch and my computer.  I get some odd looks as I wear my headlamp so I can see my stitching in the early morning hours before the sun comes up.  Both of us would also like to clean or work on the truck but we know that would wake the person sleeping. 

We minimize getting in and out of the truck and that wakes us up.  Both of us use the phone often during the day so talking on the phone does not bother anyone. One thing we do is keep our phones on silent as the phone ringing does wake us up. It took time to work out what does and does not bother each other. 

When we first started team driving the noise of loud vehicles passing the truck a few feet from our heads would wake us up.  Our nerves were more on edge and we resorted to using earplugs to keep the noise down.  We also upgraded our mattress to one that would not allow us to bounce as that kept us awake. This worked and in no time we were getting better sleep. 

It takes time to adjust to becoming a team driver and learning to sleep as the truck goes down the road.  

A few Ideas:

Keep sleeper dark 

Keep sleeper cool

Wear earplugs

Keep pillow against the back wall to cushion the movement of the sleeper

Put the phone down

Read a book to let your mind relax

When first starting realize your limitations and if needed go out of service to catch up on sleep, food, and showers.  You can master sleeping in a truck. 

Bob & Linda Caffee

TeamCaffee

Saint Louis MO

Expediters since January 2005

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Expediting isn't just trucking, it's a lifestyle;

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