Hotshot dispatch
Hotshot dispatch services
Dispatch for pickup-and-trailer setups, CDL and non-CDL: we find expedited, partial and equipment loads that fit your deck and your weight ratings, negotiate the rate and handle the broker paperwork. You approve every load.
- A flat 5–12% per load
- You approve every load
- In business since 2017
At a glance
Hotshot dispatch means a dispatcher finds and books loads for a pickup truck pulling a gooseneck, flatbed or bumper-pull trailer: expedited freight, partial loads, machinery, building materials and other time-sensitive work. Digital Storming dispatches hotshot owner-operators and small fleets, CDL and non-CDL, for a flat 5–12% of each load’s gross. You approve every load.
- Equipment
- Pickup with a gooseneck, flatbed or bumper-pull trailer
- Loads
- Expedited, partial and equipment loads
- Dispatch fee
- A flat 5–12% of each load’s gross
- You decide
- Every load is booked only with your OK
Who it is for
Hotshot operators we work with
Non-CDL hotshots
Setups whose weight ratings stay under the Class A CDL line, which caps the weight you can haul.
CDL hotshots
Class A drivers with heavier goosenecks who can take full-deck equipment and building-material loads.
Small hotshot fleets
Several trucks whose loads are planned so each one ends the day near its next pickup.
What is included
What we handle for your hotshot
Expedited and partial loads
We look for hot loads and partials that fit your deck and weight, and pair partials when the stops line up.
Rate negotiation
We negotiate every load and push back when a rate doesn’t cover the miles there and the miles back.
Weights and securement up front
Weight, dimensions and strap, chain or tarp needs come from the broker before you accept, so nothing changes at pickup.
Broker calls and paperwork
We are the broker’s contact on hot loads from pickup to delivery, and keep carrier packets, rate confirmations and load documents in order.
Freight and rates
Hotshot freight, and what moves the rate
Hotshots earn on speed and flexibility: smaller, urgent loads that don’t justify a full-size truck.
What hotshots haul
- Expedited parts and supplies for plants and job sites
- Machinery, attachments and construction or farm equipment
- Building materials: lumber, steel, pipe and roofing
- Energy-sector equipment and partial flatbed loads
What makes loads hard to find or price
- Weight decides everything. Your weight ratings set what you can haul; a load a few thousand pounds over is a load you can’t take, so we confirm weight first.
- Urgency moves the rate. A part that must deliver today pays differently from a load that can wait, so we ask when it must deliver before we negotiate.
- Many one-way runs. Equipment and job-site loads often go where little freight comes out, so the reload belongs in the rate decision.
- Partials need fitting. Pairing two partials means matching deck space, weight and both delivery windows.
How it works
How hotshot dispatch works
Step 1: Free consultation
Tell us your truck and trailer, deck length, weight ratings and securement gear, CDL or not, your lanes, home time and the lowest rate you’ll run.
Step 2: Send your documents
Your MC authority, certificate of insurance and W-9. We fill in the carrier packets brokers ask for, with your deck length and weight ratings.
Step 3: Approve your loads
Each load comes to you with weight, dimensions, securement needs and rate. Nothing is booked until you say yes.
Step 4: Haul, we plan the reload
You drive; we handle broker updates and load documents, and start looking for the reload before you deliver.
Pricing
Simple dispatch pricing
One pricing model for every operation, whether you drive solo or manage a growing fleet.
Dispatch fee
5–12%of each load’s gross
One flat percentage per load, negotiated by truck type and carrier profile. For owner-operators and fleets alike.
- No retainer and no weekly fee
- You approve every load
- No long-term contract
- Load search, rate negotiation and paperwork
- A dedicated dispatcher and load updates
- Multi-truck coordination for fleets
Tell us about your truck and we’ll tell you what we’d charge. To estimate it yourself, try the dispatch fee calculator or read our truck dispatcher cost guide.
Getting started
What you need to start
Documents to send
- Your operating authority (MC) letter and USDOT number
- Certificate of insurance
- W-9
- Your factoring company’s notice of assignment, if you factor
Where the CDL line falls
A Class A CDL is needed when the combination is rated at 26,001 lbs or more and the trailer alone is rated over 10,000 lbs.
Across state lines, a setup rated at 10,001 lbs or more is a commercial motor vehicle (USDOT number, DOT medical certificate), and for-hire general freight in a truck that size needs at least $750,000 in liability insurance. On the road you re-check the load within the first 50 miles, then at every change of duty status or every 3 hours or 150 miles, whichever comes first.
Sources (checked October 2026): 49 CFR 383.91 (CDL vehicle groups) · 49 CFR 390.5 (commercial motor vehicle) · 49 CFR 390.201 (USDOT registration) · 49 CFR 391.41 (medical certificate) · 49 CFR 387.9 (minimum insurance) · 49 CFR 392.9 (cargo checks on the road)
Questions
Hotshot dispatch questions
Do I need a CDL for hotshot trucking?
You need a Class A CDL when the truck and trailer together are rated at 26,001 lbs or more and the trailer alone is rated over 10,000 lbs (49 CFR 383.91). Many hotshot setups with a gooseneck cross that line. Below it you can run without a CDL, but your weight ratings limit the loads you can take.
Do non-CDL hotshots still need a USDOT number?
Across state lines, yes, once the truck or combination is rated at 10,001 lbs or more: that makes it a commercial motor vehicle (49 CFR 390.5), which needs a USDOT number (49 CFR 390.201), a DOT medical certificate and hours-of-service rules. To haul for brokers under your own name you also need for-hire operating authority (MC).
What loads do hotshots usually haul?
Expedited parts for plants and job sites, machinery and equipment, building materials such as lumber, steel and pipe, energy-sector equipment and partial loads that don’t need a full-size trailer.
How do you avoid one-way runs?
Many equipment and job-site loads head to places with little freight going out. We look for the reload before you deliver, and if the area is thin we tell you what the trip back is likely to pay before you accept the first leg.
How much does hotshot dispatch cost?
The same as all our dispatch: a flat 5–12% of each load’s gross, set by your truck type and carrier profile, with no retainer and no weekly fee. Tell us about your setup and we’ll tell you what we’d charge.
Ready to keep your hotshot moving?
Tell us about your truck, your trailer and your lanes.
Mon–Sat, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET · We reply within one business day
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