OWNER-OPERATOR DISPATCH
Dispatch service for owner operators who want to stay the boss of their truck
You bought the truck so nobody else decides where it goes. Our dispatch service for owner operators keeps it that way: we do the searching, the haggling and the broker calls, and you get the final word on every load. 5% of gross for one truck, nothing on the weeks you don't haul.
WHAT STAYS YOURS
Every load, yes or no
Rate cons to your inbox
Your floor rate
Your home time
UNIT 02
What you keep control of
When owner-operators leave a dispatch service, a common story is that the dispatcher started deciding for them.
Here's the arrangement. You set a floor rate, the lanes you like, the places you won't go and how often you need to be home. We look for loads inside those lines and bring you each one with the lane, loaded miles, deadhead, rate, pickup window and broker. You say yes or no. Nothing gets booked on your truck without that yes.
After you say yes, the broker sends the rate confirmation to you, and you sign it. That matters more than it sounds: the rate con is the contract for the load, and you should read it before your truck is committed to it.
Sometimes we'll bring you a load under your floor, and we'll say so and say why. Maybe it reloads near home for Friday, or it moves you out of a dead market. Try the example: the second offer is below a $2.10 floor, flagged, with the reason. Take it or pass on it; either answer is fine.
UNIT 03
What we take off your phone
A normal day for your truck, and who does what.
EXAMPLE DAY: ONE TRUCK, ONE RELOAD Times are an illustration of a typical day.
05:30
You roll
Pickup confirmed last night. Appointment time and shipper notes already in your texts.09:00
Desk works the reload
Searching for the next load near your delivery, inside your rules, while you drive.11:40
Offer to you
One text: lane, miles, deadhead, rate. You answer at your next stop.12:10
Booked
Broker emails you the rate con. You sign it from your phone.16:00
Delivered
BOL photo to the desk. Detention claim filed if the receiver kept you.
Self-dispatching one truck can eat two or three hours a day: refreshing boards, calling on posts that are already gone, negotiating, filling out packets and answering check calls. Those hours come out of sleep, home time or driving time. Our owner operator dispatch services take that work, and the phone calls that come with it.
You still see everything. Every offer, every rate con and a weekly report for your truck: loads, loaded and empty miles, rate per mile, detention claimed and the offers you passed on. If a week looks thin, the report shows why, and we adjust the plan with you.
Detention is the money most solo operators leave behind. Filing a claim means logging arrival and departure times and chasing the broker for weeks. We log the times as they happen and file every claim your rate con allows.
What we don't do: drive the truck, decide your home time, or book anything you haven't seen. The desk works for your business, on your terms, and you can stop with 30 days notice if it isn't working.
UNIT 04
How to pick from the dispatch companies for owner operators
There's no single best dispatch service for owner operators. There's the one that fits how you run your truck. Five questions sort them quickly.
CHECK 1
Do I approve every load?
If the answer involves the words 'usually' or 'unless', keep looking. Forced dispatch, a dispatcher booking loads you never agreed to, is a frequent complaint about dispatch services.
CHECK 2
Who gets the rate con?
It should come to you, from the broker, for you to sign. A dispatcher who signs on your behalf is making commitments for your truck.
CHECK 3
What is the fee charged on, and what else is billed?
Linehaul only or the full rate? Setup fees, software fees, minimums? Get the whole list in writing before you compare percentages.
CHECK 4
How long am I tied in?
Month-to-month with short notice keeps a dispatcher working for you every week. Long terms and exit fees do the opposite.
CHECK 5
Who will I talk to?
A desk that answers at night and on weekends, and that knows your truck and lanes, is worth more than a lower percentage with nobody picking up on Sunday.
Our answers: yes, you; a percentage of the load's gross with the counted items listed in the agreement; month-to-month with 30 days notice; and a desk that's open 24/7. Hold any dispatcher you're considering, including us, to the same five.
UNIT 05
Thinking about a second truck? Run the week first
Most owner-operators who come to us are already doing the math on truck two. Here it is with a hired driver, using your numbers.
Two things change the moment truck two exists. The work doubles: twice the broker calls, check calls and paperwork, plus a driver to manage. And your dispatch rate drops from 5% to 4% on both trucks, because a fleet is simpler for us to plan per unit than two separate owner-operators.
The calculator uses the median heavy truck driver wage as a starting point for driver pay; your market and pay model may differ, so change it. Fuel for truck two scales with its gross as a rough estimate. If truck two only breaks even, it isn't ready yet: a single breakdown or slow month would put both trucks under water.
Our playbook on how to grow a trucking company covers the rest of the decision: the rules that apply once you hire a driver, the cash you need on hand, and the systems to set up first. Once you're running two or more, the small fleet dispatch page shows how the desk runs a roster.
Cash flow catches a lot of owner-operators before profit does. Brokers often pay in 30 days or more; fuel is due today. If that gap is the problem, run your weeks through the cash flow forecaster and see where the balance bottoms out. All of our fees are explained on the dispatch rates page.
UNIT 06
Owner operator dispatch services: common questions
01What does a dispatcher do for an owner-operator?
Searches the boards and broker contacts for loads that fit your truck, negotiates the rate, handles broker calls and carrier packets, books the load after you approve it, runs check calls, plans your next load before you deliver, and files detention claims. You drive and decide; the desk does the phone work.
02Can I turn down a load?
Any load, any time, for any reason. Every offer comes to you first, and passing costs nothing. If you pass on a lot of offers for the same reason, tell us and we'll adjust your rules so the next ones fit better.
03Who signs the rate confirmation?
You do. After you say yes, the broker sends the rate confirmation straight to you. You read the terms and sign it yourself. We never sign a rate con for you.
04How much do owner-operator dispatch services cost?
Ours is 5% of gross for one truck with an MC at least 6 months old, and 7% while your MC is newer, dropping on its own at month 6. Add a second truck and both pay 4%. No setup fee, no minimum, month-to-month.
05When should I add a second truck?
When your own truck covers its costs and your pay with room to spare for a few months running, you have cash for a down payment and a slow month, and you've found a driver you'd trust with it. The calculator on this page shows what truck two needs to gross to add money rather than stress.
06Can leased-on owner-operators use a dispatcher?
If you're leased onto another carrier, that carrier usually dispatches you, and your lease decides whether an outside dispatcher can book for you. Check your lease first. If you run under your own authority, you can use any dispatcher you like.
07How fast can I start?
Usually within a few days of the first call for an established MC: we need your documents, then broker setups. A brand-new authority can take longer, because some brokers won't set up a carrier without history.
Keep driving. Let the desk do the phone work.
Apply in about two minutes. A dispatcher calls you back, sets your rules, and brings your first offer for a yes or no.
4% for 2+ trucks, 5% for one, 7% while your MC is new