Dry vans
Dry van freight moves a lot of the country's groceries, retail goods and packaged products, and much of it goes in and out of distribution centers that run on appointments and live unloads. The miles are often the easy part. The hours in the lot, the lumper at the door and the detention nobody wants to pay are where a dry van week is won or lost. Our dry van dispatch desk works those terms before you ever see an offer.
The card is a made-up visit to a grocery distribution center. Every punch is a moment where something has to be recorded, or the hours that follow can't be billed. Change the times to a stop you made last week and the card shows the detention at your rate.
Arrive and check in
Get the check-in time on paper or a screen photo. Early arrivals often don't start the clock until the appointment, so know which applies.
Into the door
Note the door number and the time. A long wait for a door is still time on site.
Lumper starts
Ask the price before work starts, and how it's paid. Confirm the broker reimburses it.
Free time ends
Before this moment, the broker gets a message: still on site, unloading not done. Some rate cons require that notice for detention to count.
Count, seal and POD notes
Any shortage, overage or damage goes on the POD before you sign. Photograph the seal if it was cut at the door.
Check out
The out time on the signed paperwork ends the clock. Photograph the POD, every page, and the lumper receipt.
$138 detention at $50/hr after 2 free hours.
Terms come from your rate con. This is the math, not a promise that a broker pays.
Clock start 07:00.
You drop an empty or loaded trailer and hook to another one that's ready. Minutes on site instead of hours, and less detention to argue about. Drop loads sometimes pay a little less because the shipper is saving you time, and you need to check the trailer you're pulling: seal, tires, lights and any damage, before you leave the yard.
You wait while the freight is loaded or unloaded. More of the market runs this way, and the rate may be higher, but your day depends on the dock's pace. Live loads are where free time, detention terms and a agreement matter most, so we never book one without them in writing if we can get them.
Most dry van carriers run a mix. Give us your preference and the receivers you've had trouble with, and we weigh offers with that in mind. A live unload at a receiver known for six-hour waits might still be worth it at the right rate with detention in writing, or it might not. You'll see the trade-off before you decide.
Some live loads are no-touch freight, where you don't handle the product at all. Others turn into driver assist at the dock. We ask which before booking, because unpaid hand-unloading is the dry van equivalent of free labor.
If something on that list can't be confirmed, we tell you what's missing when we bring you the offer, so you decide with the full picture instead of finding out at the gate.
Many grocery and retail distribution centers require a third-party lumper service to unload. The driver often pays at the door, by electronic check or card, and gets reimbursed by the broker afterwards.
That reimbursement only arrives if three things line up: the rate con says lumpers are reimbursed, you have the receipt with the amount and the load number, and the receipt reaches the broker with the invoice. We handle the first and the third. The second is a photo before you leave the dock.
Our percentage never applies to lumper money. It's cash you fronted to get unloaded, not income, so it passes back to you in full. The same goes for tolls and scale tickets.
The full story on lumpers, including what federal law says about who can be made to pay for unloading, is in our guide to lumpers in trucking.
Load offer 1 of 2
ExampleMemphis, TN to Dallas, TX
Pickup Mon 06:00
Two offers on the same morning, made up for this page: one with a drop at the receiver and detention after two hours, one with a live unload at a slow receiver and detention only after three. The second pays less per mile and probably costs more time. You see both side by side and choose.
Accept, and the rate con lands in your inbox for you to sign. Decline, and nothing happens except we keep looking. You set the floor, the lanes and the receivers to avoid; we check every offer against them first.
Track what each stop is costing you with the detention pay calculator.
5% of linehaul and the accessorial pay we collect for one truck past 6 months of authority, 4% for two trucks or more, and 7% for a new MC until month 7. No setup fee, no contract, nothing on weeks you don't run. Example A week with $5,600 in linehaul, $175 in detention and $380 in lumper reimbursements carries a fee of $288.75; the $380 isn't touched. Details on the pricing page.
Other trucks, same rules: car hauler dispatch and dump truck dispatch.
Send the application. Every dry van offer comes with free time, detention and lumper terms worked out, and the decision is yours.
You approve every load. No setup fee. No contract.