The standard card in the deck
Twelve questions dry van carriers ask before they hire a dispatcher, answered plainly. Then a side-by-side of the van against two specialty trailers, and the fee. Every load we find is offered to you first, and the rate con comes to you.
5% standard · 7% new MC · 4% fleets
5% of the gross on each load for one truck on an MC older than 6 months. A new authority pays 7% until it turns 6 months old, and a fleet of 2 or more vans pays 4% while that limited-time rate runs.
There is no setup fee, no monthly minimum and nothing owed in a week the van doesn't move. On a $2,000 load at the standard rate, the fee is $100. The agreement is month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice.
Finds loads that fit your trailer and your plan, negotiates the rate, checks the broker's payment record, sends your carrier packet, makes the check calls and logs detention. Before you deliver, the dispatcher is already working the reload near the receiver.
Dry van has more posted freight than any other trailer, and more trucks chasing it. The work is less about finding a load and more about finding the right one: a fair rate, a broker who pays, an appointment you can make, and a reload that keeps the week together.
One that covers your cost per mile with room to spare, counted on all the miles, loaded and empty. Market rates move with the season, the region and the direction of the lane, so a number that is good out of one city can be poor out of another.
Know your own cost first: fuel, insurance, truck and trailer payments, maintenance and your pay. Then judge each load on its total pay divided by every mile it takes, including the deadhead to get there. The load profitability calculator does that math for you.
A dry van is usually the easiest start: plenty of freight, lots of brokers, no special endorsements and simple loading. The trade-off is competition, which keeps rates tighter than many specialty lanes.
Specialty trailers can pay more per load but ask for more: higher insurance, more experience, special gear or endorsements. Compare the cards below before you decide. Many carriers start in a van and add a specialty trailer once the MC has some history.
Yes, where they exist on your lanes. Drop and hook loads, where you leave one trailer and take another, save hours at the dock compared with live loading and unloading. Shippers with high volume and their own trailer pools are the usual source.
They often come with conditions: a trailer interchange agreement, specific insurance and sometimes a dedicated lane. We tell you the terms before you say yes, so a quick dock time doesn't hide a paperwork surprise.
Lumpers are workers a receiver uses to unload freight, and the cost is normally the shipper's or receiver's to bear. In practice, the driver often pays at the dock, then the broker reimburses it, but only with a receipt and only if the rate con says so.
We confirm the lumper terms before you accept a load. Keep every receipt and send it the same day. A missing lumper receipt is one of the most common reasons a dry van carrier is out of pocket.
Yes. A new MC pays 7% until it is 6 months old, then drops to 5% automatically. Dry van is a good place for a new authority to start because so many brokers move van freight, including plenty who book younger carriers.
We start with those brokers, set up your packets carefully and pick early loads that build a clean record. By month six most new carriers have a few brokers and a lane or two they can count on.
Detention is pay for waiting past the free time at a shipper or receiver, often two hours. We check the detention terms on the rate con before you accept, log your arrival and departure times, and file the claim with the broker.
The key is evidence: check-in times, out times and any notes from the dock. Send us your times as you go. A claim filed the same day gets paid far more often than one remembered a week later.
Over time, yes, if the lanes exist where you run. Consistency comes from repeat brokers and shippers: deliver well a few times on the same lane and the same people start calling with the next load. We track which loads and brokers worked for you and steer toward them.
Some carriers want a dedicated lane with the same reload every week. Those are fewer and often come with conditions, so we tell you the trade-off before you commit the truck.
Your authority status and age, liability and cargo insurance on the certificate, safety record, trailer length and door type, and sometimes load locks or a tracking app. High-value freight may need higher cargo limits.
We send your packet only to brokers whose freight fits your van and your coverage, so approvals turn into loads instead of a pile of forms.
Not if the plan starts from home. Tell us the day you need to be back and we work backward: the load out, the reload near that delivery and a backhaul that lands you close to home on time.
Dry van freight is everywhere, which makes home time easier to plan than in many specialties. The risk is the cheap load out of a busy market into a quiet one. We price that in before we offer it.
No. Every load is offered to you before it is booked. You hear the lane, appointment times, rate and anything unusual. Say yes and the broker emails the rate confirmation to you to sign. Say no and we keep looking, with no fee and no penalty.
Check any load's real margin with the load profitability calculator before you take it.
One van on an MC older than 6 months pays 5% of gross on loads it hauls. A new authority pays 7% for its first 6 months, then drops to 5% without you asking. Two or more vans pay 4% each while the limited-time fleet rate lasts.
No setup fee, no minimums, no fee on loads you turn down and nothing in a week the truck sits. Full details on the dispatch fee page.
Van freight is crowded, so the edge is in the details: brokers who pay on time, shippers who load on time, and reloads planned before you deliver. We watch appointment windows and lumper terms closely, push for drop and hook where it is available, and keep your empty miles low by planning the next load from where this one ends.