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It took some searching, though, to find a
company that would train them together.
“There are a lot of companies that will take
teams but won’t train you together,” she said.
“We wanted to be able to train together. When
we finally found someone who would train us
together, it was basically three of us and a trainer
in the truck. It worked out.”
Gwenetta admits that she was initially a
bit nervous about training with Julian, but she
quickly found that they made a great team and
having the trainer with them in the beginning
helped them to learn how to work together and
get better acquainted with being behind the
wheel.
“We are still learning each other,” she said.
“I’m learning his habits, and he’s learning mine.
We are figuring out what we like and don’t like.
Driving together teaches us a lot, but we rarely
bump heads about anything. We work really
well together, and there’s a lot of teamwork. We
call ourselves Team Binns.”
Although being in a confined space with a
spouse during the first few months of marriage
can seem challenging, Gwenetta said that taking
shifts allows for the two to get plenty of space.
Typically, while she is driving Julian is sleeping
and vice versa. Their designated route is about
eight hours of drivetime one way, which makes
for an ideal length of time before needing to
switch drivers. Working as a team helps to keep
the truck moving while a single driver would
need to stop for rest.
“Every once in a while, we might get on
each other’s nerves, but for the most part, we
don’t really cross paths like that,” Gwenetta
said. “[When one of us isn’t sleeping] we listen
to music and talk. It might be hard, but if you
can find that person that you can tolerate all day
every day, [driving] is a perfect job.”
Also under the category of a “perfect job,”
Gwenetta said the couple normally spends
all week on the road but is back home for the
weekend, which allows for plenty of time to
spend apart or relax with family and friends.
Long before Gwenetta became a part of
“Team Binns,” she wanted to pursue culinary
arts and even attended college to do so. A little
later, she did a little research and found out
that the money in that industry wasn’t exactly
what she had in mind, and she quickly lost her
passion for cooking professionally. With the
encouragement of a few friends who were truck
drivers, Gwenetta started to consider getting her
CDL. The deal was sealed when she realized
that driving a truck provided the ideal financial
stability she was seeking in a career.
Driving as a team, though, allows for even
more financial stability since Gwenetta and
Julian can save money by minimizing bills at
home while they are on the road all week.
“We can both save up like we want to now,”
she said, adding that the two have plans of
buying a house soon.
Even though she is a part of a team,
Gwenetta said she still gets interesting
responses when some people see a woman
driving a truck, but that has never detoured her
from wanting to grow in the trucking industry. If
anything, she said it encourages her to continue.
“Don’t underestimate us women. We can
outdrive just about anybody,” she said. “I tell
my husband that all the time.”
As Gwenetta and Julian learn more about the
trucking industry and each other, the two hope
to someday be their own business, but for now
they are happy to have the opportunity to work
together every day.
“We love what we do and hopefully we will
be able to purchase our own truck someday,” she
said. “We really like the company we are with
and we love seeing the world together.”
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