Is this a bad time??

[littlehill]

Is this a bad time of year to start driving??
We won't be able to start for another month. Or should we wait until spring time?
My husband is experienced in a semi and I will only have my permit.
Want to make sure we are always busy and running hard.
What do ya think?

 

[vandriver2]

Is this a bad time of year to start driving??
We won't be able to start for another month. Or should we wait until spring time?
My husband is experienced in a semi and I will only have my permit.
Want to make sure we are always busy and running hard.
What do ya think?

Your husband should walk over to Straight Truck Drivers and Vanners at the Truck Stops who expedite and talk with them about what expediting is all about. What kind of Vehicle are you going to TEAM in? That matters. Expediting is NOTHING like having a Dedicated Route in a Tractor Trailer or Preplanned out 3 loads at a time. So, you being his wife and wanting to team with him....you're going to get your Class A CDL? Or a B Class for driving Box Truck with him? In Expediting you will sit on occasion....more so if you're in a Sprinter or Cargo Van...but yes, even in a Box Truck you will sit sometimes. You will not always be busy and running hard like your husband does now in his TT. There are highs and lows....you'll average your Gross over 3 to 6 months, not monthly. Being a Team in a ST or TT is your best chance at being busier than a Van. Every Expediting Company out there is a little different. Talk to MANY Drivers and READ a MILLION Posts on here....go to the 'Newbies" section and read, read, read.

 

[Treadmill]

Is this a bad time of year to start driving??
We won't be able to start for another month. Or should we wait until spring time?
My husband is experienced in a semi and I will only have my permit.
Want to make sure we are always busy and running hard.
What do ya think?

Freight should be running strong until at least Thanksgiving. Then it will fall off just a little. Then around Dec. 15 it will fall off just a little more until automotive shuts down for the holidays and then it will be dead in Jan with a very slow uptick til March. This has always been my experience.
If you start in a month by the time it gets to the holidays you should have some loads under your belt.

 

[vandriver2]

Littlehill, your statement ....
"Want to 'make sure' we are ALWAYS BUSY AND RUNNING HARD."
In Expediting there is no "making sure". You either are moving loaded or sitting, waiting.
No Carrier can Guarantee that you are "Always Busy and Running Hard".
Expediting is a Crap Shoot, a Gamble, a DeadHead move to a better location.
You will have times when you can barely get enough sleep you're so busy and times when
you want to pull your hair out you're so bored, load-less, frustrated, no work.
Don't have much Debt or Bills and have an adequate fund for emergencies, breakdowns and the slower weeks and months.
Why does your husband want to leave his 'steady paying' Tractor Trailer Profession?
So, so many non-expediting companies as well to consider who want Husband/Wife Teams in their TT. Big Money there as a Team (especially an O/O)and Preplanned Loads....always rolling!

 

[JohnMueller]

Littlehill;

There is never a better time to advance your career than the present! Read some posts on ExpeditersOnLine.com, attend an expediting workshop (EOU) and talk to other drivers. Get some wheel time with your husband and obtain your CDL. Read Linda and Bob Caffee's blog here on EO for some really great advice. You can also read their writings on Freightliner's Team Run Smart website. You'll then be able to seek out the ideal carrier to drive for and have a great chance for success.

Good luck with your career.

 

[ttruck]

Is this a bad time of year to start driving??
We won't be able to start for another month. Or should we wait until spring time?
My husband is experienced in a semi and I will only have my permit.
Want to make sure we are always busy and running hard.
What do ya think?

No time like the present to get into biz. whatever happens happens.

 

[Mailer]

If you have the emergency funds to cover atleast 6 months of your required monthly bills and expenses, c'mon in. If not, stay where you are at until you have enough emergency funds saved.......in my opinion.

 

[leezaback]

this business is hard to predict, been a strange year,up and down. I agree,if you have a steady income,stay where you are for now until you are armed with enough information to make a decision that will suit your needs. And yes, have an emergency fund to help get you thru the lean times if needed

 

[cheri1122]

I think that if you really want to stay busy running hard, you will be frustrated and disappointed in expediting. TL [truckload] and LTL [less than truckload] carriers can keep you busy and running hard, with computers to preplan trips, maximizing efficiency, balancing everything against federal Hours Of Service regs. because their customers don't require delivery ASAP. Expedite can't do that - there's no way of preplanning 'emergency freight' that generally must be delivered direct. After delivery, you will have to wait for the next 'emergency' in the area, or deadhead to a more likely area, sometimes. Knowing which is which [less likely vs more likely] is always a crapshoot - unless you just head for Chicago, lol. [I know a cargo van driver who did that, from Laredo!] . It's a business of percentages, [AKA: gambling], and knowledge will help, but not guarantee more loads. As dispatchers will tell you, "There are no guarantees".
Except death - that's a gimme, eventually.
Hope that helped.