Truck dispatch service: you drive the rig, we keep it loaded
You know trucks. We know freight. Our truck dispatch service finds the loads, negotiates every rate and handles the broker calls, then brings each load to you. You say yes or no, and the rate con lands in your inbox, not ours.
Built for owner-operators and small fleets running their own authority, from a 26 ft box truck up to oversize. 5% of gross for most trucks, no setup fee, no long contract.
PICK YOUR TRUCK
Dry van
The enclosed trailer most people picture on an 18-wheeler.
- FREIGHT
- Packaged goods, paper, palletized retail freight
- CDL
- Yes
OUR FEE
5%
of gross (7% while your MC is under 6 months)
CH 02
Every load is your call
Here is how a load reaches you. A dispatcher finds it, checks the broker, works the rate, and then calls or texts you with the details. Try it on the card. Take the load and watch where the rate confirmation goes. Pass on it and see what happens next: nothing bad. We keep looking.
That is the whole deal in one card. Some dispatch outfits book first and tell you later, or send the rate con to their own office so the paperwork runs through them. We don't. Your company signs with the broker directly, and you can say no to any load for any reason. Too far from home, a shipper you've had bad luck with, a rate that doesn't cover the deadhead back: it's your truck and your call.
What we bring to the call is the legwork. We know which brokers pay on time, which lanes are hot this week and when a posted rate has room to move. You get the short list, not three hours of scrolling a load board at a truck stop.
One number on that card matters more than the rate: the all-in rate per mile. Divide the rate by loaded miles plus the empty miles it takes to get to the pickup. A load that pays $1,150 for 341 miles looks like $3.37 a mile. Add 22 miles of deadhead and it is $3.17. That is the number we compare, and the one you should too.
RECENT LOADS FROM OUR DESK
REAL LOADS · OCTOBER 2026| Pickup | Lane | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 12 | Sumner, WA → Portland, OR | $800 |
| Oct 8 | Everett, WA → Tualatin, OR | $900 |
| Oct 7 | Cornelius, OR → Redmond, WA | $1,150 |
| Oct 6 | Kent, WA → Salem, OR | $1,000 |
| Sep 29 | Puyallup, WA → Milwaukie, OR | $850 |
| Sep 24 | Paulsboro, NJ → Bellefonte, PA | $1,300 |
| Sep 18 | Evanston, WY → Lockport, IL | $3,150 |
| Sep 16 | Madison, AL → Cleveland, TN | $850 |
Loads booked through our desk, shown without driver or broker names. Each carrier approved its load and received its own rate con. Past rates don't predict future rates.
CH 03
What the dispatch desk does all week
A good dispatcher works the parts of trucking that don't happen behind the wheel. Tap through an example week on the board. Monday is mostly finding and negotiating. By midweek it's check calls, detention claims and lining up the reload so you don't sit empty. Friday is about Monday.
- Load sourcing. Major load boards plus direct broker and shipper contacts, filtered for your lanes and your home time.
- Rate negotiation on every load. We counter when the market supports it and walk away when it doesn't.
- Broker setup and paperwork. Carrier packets, insurance certificates and W-9 on file, so you send them once.
- Check calls and updates. We keep the broker posted, so your phone isn't ringing while you drive.
- Detention and layover claims. We log the clock and file the claim when a shipper holds you past free time.
- A weekly report. Gross, miles, rate per mile and fees, in plain numbers.
How we decide a load is worth your time
Before a load reaches you, it has to clear a short list. A dispatcher who skips these checks is just reading the load board out loud.
- The broker's payment record and credit, so you get paid on the terms you signed.
- The all-in rate per mile against what that lane has been paying lately.
- Whether it fits your hours of service and gets you home when you said you need to be home.
- Where it leaves you. A good rate into a dead market can cost you the next two days.
- Detention, lumper and tarp terms written on the rate con, not promised on the phone.
Want the full flow from first call to first paycheck? See how our dispatch process works.
CH 04
What our truck dispatch services cost
One percentage of gross, and only on loads you haul. Here is the whole price list, in the order we apply it:
- MC under 6 months7%
- 26 ft box truck or hotshot7%
- 2+ trucks, 6+ months4%
- 1 truck, 6+ months5%
Here is an example. A week that grosses $6,000 on a one-truck carrier past six months costs $300 in dispatch fees. The same week with a brand-new MC costs $420. A week you take off costs $0. The fleet rate is a limited-time offer. Everything else is plain: no setup fee, no monthly minimum, month to month, 30 days notice to cancel. Move the slider to see an example week for your truck. Read the full breakdown of dispatch costs.
CH 05
From driving for someone to running your own truck
Most drivers who call us spent years in someone else's truck. A company dispatcher handed you loads, the carrier dealt with brokers, and the paycheck showed up whether freight was strong or weak. The day you get your own authority, all of that becomes your job, on top of driving.
That's where a dispatch service for truckers fits. You keep the parts you got into this for: the truck, the road, your own schedule. We take the hours on the phone and the load board. The difference from your old company is that nobody assigns you anything. We pitch, you choose.
What you need before we can dispatch you
- An active MC and USDOT number in your company's name.
- A certificate of insurance that brokers will accept for your freight.
- A signed W-9, and your notice of assignment if you use a factoring company.
- For CDL trucks under your own authority, a drug and alcohol testing program in place before the first load.
Missing a piece? Tell us on the application. We'll point you to the next step and start as soon as the paperwork is ready.
- One truck, own authorityHow dispatch for owner-operators works day to day.
- Brand-new MCWhat to expect in your first 90 days as a new carrier.
- Coming off a leaseWhen a lease-purchase driver can use outside dispatch.
- Two trucks or moreDispatch services for trucking companies with a few trucks and drivers.
CH 06
Every truck from 26 ft up, and the ones we don't take
We dispatch eleven kinds of equipment and treat them the same. Pick yours to see what our desk books for it and how the fee works. The smallest truck we take is a 26 ft box truck. We don't dispatch shorter boxes, cargo vans or sprinters, and we'd rather say so up front than waste your time.
Why draw the line at 26 feet? Because that's where the freight we work every day starts. A 26 ft box with a liftgate can take pallets and partial loads that brokers post all day. Shorter boxes and vans mostly run courier and last-mile work, which is its own business with its own customers. We'd rather be very good at the trucks we know than average at everything on wheels.
Each truck page covers the questions drivers in that equipment actually ask: how the freight moves, what brokers want before they load you, and which fee applies.
- 26 ft box truck dispatch
- Car hauler dispatch
- Dry van dispatch
- Dump truck dispatch
- Flatbed dispatch
- Hazmat and tanker dispatch
- Hotshot dispatch
- Oversize and heavy haul dispatch
- Power only dispatch
- Reefer dispatch
- Step deck dispatch
- Not on our deskBox trucks under 26 ft, cargo vans, sprinter vans
CH 07
Free tools and Trucks 101 guides
Not ready for a dispatcher yet? Fair enough. Our free tools do the math drivers ask us about most, and the 101 guides explain the trucks and the trade in plain words, with sources. They're open to anyone, from first-week CDL students to fans who just like big rigs. The tools run in your browser with no sign-up, and every number in the guides links to its source.
- FREE TOOLDispatcher fee calculatorWhat any dispatch fee costs you per load and per week.
- FREE TOOLDo I need a CDL?Answer a few questions about weight and cargo.
- FREE TOOLHours of service calculatorPlan driving time inside the federal hours-of-service limits.
- FREE TOOLCB slang translatorTurn trucker talk into plain English and back.
Tired of waiting on broker payment terms? Factoring pays you on your invoices without waiting them out. We refer carriers to our factoring partner, RTS Financial, and may be paid for the referral. How freight factoring works.
CH 08
Questions drivers ask before they call
CH 01How much does your truck dispatch service cost?
5% of gross for one truck with authority older than six months. 7% while your MC is under six months, and 7% for 26 ft box trucks and hotshots. Fleets of two or more trucks pay 4% on a limited-time rate. There is no setup fee and no monthly minimum. You only pay on loads you actually haul, so a week off costs you nothing.
CH 02Do I have to take every load you find?
No. We find the load and negotiate the rate, then we bring it to you with the lane, miles, pickup time and rate. You decide. Turn it down and we keep looking, with no penalty and no fee. We would rather hear no than have you haul something that doesn't fit your week, your truck or your home time.
CH 03Who receives the rate confirmation?
You do. The broker sends the rate confirmation straight to your inbox, and you sign it as the carrier. We see a copy so we can track the load, but the agreement is between your company and the broker. Read it before you sign: rate, pickup and delivery times, detention terms and any lumper or tarp notes.
CH 04Do you dispatch new owner-operators?
Yes. Drivers who just left a company job or a lease and got their own MC are exactly who we built this for. Some brokers want an authority to have some history before they load it, so we start with the brokers that work with new carriers and build your record from there. Your fee is 7% until your authority passes six months.
CH 05Can a lease-purchase driver use a dispatcher?
Usually not while you are leased on, because most leases require you to haul the carrier's freight under their authority. Read your contract first. Once you run under your own MC, or if your lease allows outside freight, we can dispatch you. Our lease-purchase page walks through what to check in the contract and how the switch works.
CH 06Is there a contract or setup fee?
No setup fee and no long contract. You sign a simple dispatch agreement that runs month to month, and you can cancel with 30 days notice. We keep carriers by finding loads they want to haul, not by locking them in. The fee is a percent of gross on hauled loads only, invoiced on the schedule in your agreement.
CH 07Do you dispatch box trucks under 26 ft, cargo vans or sprinters?
No. A 26 ft box truck is the smallest truck we dispatch, and we don't take cargo vans or sprinter vans at all. Above that line we treat every truck the same: hotshots, dry vans, reefers, flatbeds, step decks, power only, car haulers, dump trucks, oversize and hazmat or tanker loads each get the same desk and attention.
CH 08Are you a trucking company or a school?
Neither. We are a dispatch service. You keep your own authority, your own insurance and your own customers, and we work for you as an outside desk. We don't hire drivers, sell trucks, train for the CDL or broker freight. Our 101 guides and tools are free for anyone who loves trucks, but the business is dispatch.
Get real offers for your truck
Tell us what you drive and where you like to run. A dispatcher calls you back, and nothing moves without your yes.