Hot shot dispatch service for CDL and non-CDL rigs
A hotshot is a long rig carrying a light load, and it lives in the gap between pickup and tractor-trailer. Our hot shot dispatch service books freight that fits your deck and your weight rating, sends the rate con to you, and plans the day so it ends where a pickup and a gooseneck can actually park.
Gooseneck, bumper pull, dovetail or flat deck. CDL or non-CDL. Tell us what you pull and what it can carry, and we work from there.
5% of gross for one truck, 4% for 2+, 7% while your MC is under 6 months. No haul, no pay.
The hotshot road kit, before the first load
A hotshot load can go wrong in three places before a wheel turns: a strap that is not rated for the job, a log that does not match the day, and a stop at night that will not take your rig. The road kit below covers all three, plus the paperwork an officer will ask for at a scale.
Check items off as you pack. The checks stay in this browser, and you can copy the list or print it for the door pocket.
Hotshot road kit
0/19 packed
The securement rules behind the list
Federal cargo securement rules apply to every hotshot load. The short version: the working load limits of your tiedowns have to add up to at least half the weight of what you are hauling, and the number of tiedowns depends on how long each piece is. Equipment, coils, lumber and some other cargo have their own rules on top of these.
That is why we ask about your straps and chains when you sign up, and why we ask the broker for piece count, length and weight before we pitch a load. A 30 ft bundle of pipe needs more tiedowns than a pallet of parts at the same weight.
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 393.106(d) · checked Oct 2026
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 393.110(b)(3) · checked Oct 2026
Logs and ELDs for hotshot drivers
A pickup and trailer rated over 10,001 lb combined counts as a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce, and almost every working hotshot setup clears that line. That brings the hours of service with it: 11 hours of driving in a 14-hour window, then 10 hours off.
Most hotshot drivers need an ELD. The main exceptions are drivers who stay inside 150 air miles under the short-haul rule, drivers who need a log on no more than 8 days in any 30, and trucks built before model year 2000. If you are not sure which applies to you, check the rule before your first load, not at a roadside inspection. Our hours of service calculator helps you see the clock for a given day.
Run the numbers for a real day with the hours of service calculator.
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 395.8(a)(1)(ii)(A)(1) · checked Oct 2026
Where a hotshot fits at night
A pickup with a 40 ft gooseneck is long enough to block a car lot and short enough to feel out of place in truck parking. Some truck stops welcome hotshots in truck spaces, some point you to RV or oversize spaces, and some do not want a pickup and trailer overnight at all. The rules change store by store, so ask inside or check the store page.
Many hotshot drivers end up at hotels with a big lot, RV parks that take trucks, or a customer's yard with permission. When we offer a load, we tell you where we think the night ends and whether we have confirmed the spot. Pull-through matters more than it sounds: nobody wants to back a gooseneck into a dark row at 22:00.
Packing for a longer run? Our trucker packing list covers the cab, the food and the rest.
Non CDL hotshot dispatch, and when you need the CDL
Under federal rules, you need a Class A CDL when the combination is rated 26,001 lb or more and the trailer itself is rated over 10,000 lb. Keep the combined rating under that line, or the trailer at 10,000 lb or less, and the rig can run non-CDL.
Non-CDL hotshot setups are popular because the driver pool is bigger and the startup is cheaper. The trade-off is payload. A lighter rating means fewer loads fit, and some brokers prefer CDL rigs for heavier equipment. We dispatch both, and we tell you honestly which freight your rating opens up.
POSTED: eCFR, 49 CFR 383.5 (CMV, Group A) · checked Oct 2026
What we need from you to start
Getting set up takes one phone call and a short list of documents. Have these ready and your first offer can come the same week:
Authority and insurance
Your MC and DOT numbers, the authority letter, and a certificate of insurance showing your auto liability and cargo amounts.
Your rig, in numbers
Truck GVWR, trailer GVWR, deck length, trailer type (gooseneck, bumper pull, dovetail, ramps) and the payload you can legally carry.
Your gear
How many straps and chains you carry, whether you have a tarp and a winch, and anything you will not haul.
Your W-9 and payment setup
So brokers can pay you. If you factor, the factoring company's notice of assignment goes in the packet too.
How you like to run
Home base, how long you stay out, lanes you like and lanes you avoid, and the lowest rate per mile you will take.
We build your carrier packet once and send it to each broker we book with, so you are not filling out the same forms at a fuel island. Then we start looking, and nothing is booked until you say yes.
Dispatch for hotshot loads: what an offer looks like
Every offer from your hotshot dispatcher comes with the lane, the rate, the weight and what happens after delivery. This one is an EXAMPLE, not a real load. Accept it or turn it down to see what happens next.
LOAD OFFER · EXAMPLE
from your dispatcher
Houston, TX to Oklahoma City, OK
- Miles
- 440
- Rate
- $1,150
- Per mile
- $2.61
- Pickup
- Wed 06:00
- Delivery
- Wed 16:00, expedited
Expedited partial: two crated pumps, 9,400 lb on a 40 ft gooseneck. The next reload is 22 miles away in Norman, so the empty miles after delivery stay short.
Your call. Nothing is booked until you say yes.
Freight that fits hotshots is mostly time-sensitive or awkward: machinery and parts, oilfield equipment, building materials, ag equipment, trailers and smaller loads that cannot wait for a full truckload. What it pays depends on the lane, the week and your rating, so we never promise a rate or a number of loads.
Empty miles are where hotshot money leaks out. A high rate into a town with no freight can pay less over two days than a fair rate into a busy lane, once you count the fuel and the hours spent driving out empty. So before we pitch a load, we look at what is likely to be available near the delivery and say so in the offer. If the honest answer is that the reload is thin, you hear that too, and you can weigh it against the rate before you say yes.
Hotshot dispatch companies: three questions to ask
Ask who receives the rate con, whether you can say no to any load without a penalty, and what the fee is charged on. Hotshot dispatching services that hesitate on any of those are worth skipping.
Here is how we answer. The rate confirmation is sent directly to you. You can say no to any load. No penalty, no pressure. The fee is a percentage of gross on loads you haul, month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice, no setup fee.
One fee schedule for every hotshot dispatcher job
A hotshot pays the same tiers as every other truck we dispatch. New MCs start at 7% and drop automatically at month 6. Everything else is on the fees and terms page.
YOUR TIER
Standard (1 truck, MC 6+ months)
5%of gross
- Weekly gross (1 truck)
- $6,000
- Dispatch fee
- $300
- You keep (before costs)
- $5,700
Month-by-month table
| MC month | Fee |
|---|---|
| 12 | 5% |
| 13 | 5% |
| 14 | 5% |
| 15 | 5% |
| 16 | 5% |
| 17 | 5% |
| 18 | 5% |
| 19 | 5% |
| 20 | 5% |
| 21 | 5% |
| 22 | 5% |
| 23 | 5% |
Same tiers for every equipment type. No setup fee, no minimums, month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice. EXAMPLE math, not a promise of revenue.
Hotshot dispatcher questions
How much does hot shot dispatch cost?
7% of gross while your MC is under 6 months old, 5% for one truck after that, and 4% per truck when you run two or more. The rate drops on its own at month 6. There is no setup fee, no minimum and no contract, and you pay nothing in a week you do not haul.
Where do hotshot drivers park at night?
Truck stops, hotels with a big lot, RV parks that take trucks, and customer yards with permission. Truck stop rules for a pickup and trailer change from store to store, so ask inside or check the store page. We plan each day to end near a spot that fits your rig and tell you whether we confirmed it.
Do hotshot drivers need an ELD?
Most do. If your rig is a commercial motor vehicle in interstate commerce and you must keep logs, you need an ELD unless an exception applies: short-haul within 150 air miles, logs needed on 8 days or fewer in any 30, or a truck built before model year 2000. Check the rule for your setup.
Can you dispatch a new MC hotshot?
Yes. A new MC pays 7% until month 6, then steps down automatically. Some brokers will not book a very new authority, so we start with the ones that do and build your approvals from there. The first weeks can be slower than later ones, and we will tell you that honestly instead of promising volume.
Will you force me to take loads?
No. You confirm every load before it is booked. The rate confirmation is sent directly to you. Say no to any load, for any reason, with no penalty and no fee. Telling us why helps the next offer land closer to what you want, but you never owe us an explanation.
Book hotshot loads that fit your rig
Tell us your deck, your rating and your home base. Takes about 2 minutes.