Power only dispatch services that check the trailer before you hook

Power only dispatch: quick answers

The short version. Power only loads use a trailer from the shipper, broker or a trailer pool. Rates are often a little lower than full dry van because you are not bringing a trailer, but your costs are lower too. The fee is 5% of gross for one tractor with authority older than six months. Every load is your call, and the broker sends the rate confirmation to you.

The biggest difference from other equipment is the trailer you inherit. Inspect it as if it were yours, because at a roadside inspection, it is. The full questions are answered at the end of the page.

Power only dispatch: loads we look for

• Pre-loaded drop trailers. Hook and go at shipper yards, often with tight windows but little dock time.
• Trailer pool programs. Loads tied to a broker or carrier's trailer pool on regular lanes.
• Trailer relocations. Moving empty or loaded trailers between yards.
• Specialized trailers. When the shipper owns the equipment and needs a tractor.

Many power only loads are drop and hook, which saves waiting at docks and keeps your hours for driving.

Insurance for power only

Pulling someone else's trailer raises an insurance question: who covers damage to the trailer? Many power only programs ask for trailer interchange or non-owned trailer coverage on top of your liability and cargo insurance. Ask your agent which you need and what limits the programs you want to run require. We check each load's insurance requirement against your certificate before it reaches you.

Power only vs pulling your own trailer

Power only rates are often a little lower than the same load in your own van. But you skip the trailer payment, the trailer's insurance, and its tires, brakes and repairs. For some owners that makes power only the better net, especially early on when capital is tight. For others, their own trailer opens more loads and better rates. Compare the net per mile, not the gross.

Your tractor still needs its PM

Without a trailer to maintain, the tractor gets all the attention, and it should. Fifth wheel, glad hands on the tractor side, air lines, brakes, tires and the engine's PM schedule. Share your intervals and we plan around them, so a drop and hook program does not run the truck past its service.

What every power only offer includes

A power only offer needs more than a lane and a rate. Before one reaches you, we get the trailer pickup location and hours, the trailer type and length, whether it is pre-loaded or a live load, the delivery and drop location, the windows at both ends, the insurance requirement and the rate. If a reload trailer is waiting at the delivery yard, that goes on the offer too.

You check it against your plan and your insurance, then say yes, counter or no.

Making drop and hook actually save time

Drop and hook saves hours at docks, but only if the trailer is ready when you arrive and the yard can find it. Yard checks, missing paperwork and trailers that are not where the system says they are can eat the time you were supposed to save. We confirm trailer numbers and yard hours before you leave, and if a yard keeps you waiting, we log it with the broker.

Documenting trailer problems

When a pool trailer has a defect, the record protects you. Photograph the problem with the trailer number in frame, note the time and location, and report it to the yard or the broker before you move. If you are told to take the trailer anyway, get that in writing and still refuse if it is not safe. Send the photos to the desk and we attach them to the load file and the broker call.

Do not attempt brake or air system repairs on a trailer you do not own unless you are qualified and authorized. That is the owner's job.

Lanes and home time in power only

Power only programs often run steady lanes between the same yards, which can make home time easier to plan. Tell us your home base and the nights you want there, and we look for programs and loads that fit. When a one-off load pays better, we bring it as an option with the trip home attached.

Power only with more than one tractor

Power only scales well for small fleets, because adding a tractor does not mean buying a trailer. We spread your tractors across the programs and lanes that fit, stagger their PM days, and keep trailer problems documented per truck. Two or more trucks pay the 4% fleet rate while it lasts. See small fleet dispatch.

A power only week on our desk

An EXAMPLE week for one power only tractor, not a real result. Monday we offer a pre-loaded drop trailer on a regular lane; the owner accepts and signs the rate confirmation. At the yard, the pre-trip finds a dead marker light and a slow leak at a glad hand seal. The owner reports it, the yard fixes the seal and light, and the delay is noted for the broker.

Tuesday the drop and hook goes smoothly, and we have a reload trailer waiting at the delivery yard. Wednesday and Thursday run the same lane back. Friday is the tractor's PM. The weekly report shows each load, fee and the trailer delay we documented.

Power only on a new authority

Power only is a popular way to start because it avoids buying a trailer. Some programs want authority history or specific insurance first. We start new MCs with brokers and programs that accept them. Read dispatch for new authorities for the first months.

If the tractor or trailer breaks down

Get safe, then call the desk. If the trailer failed, we contact the broker and the trailer owner about repair; if the tractor failed, we work through the options for the load with the broker. Outcomes depend on the broker, the trailer owner and the repair time, so we give you straight answers, not promises.

When we are not the right fit

If you already run a steady power only program that fills your week, keep it. We are most useful when you are building lanes, juggling several programs, or losing time chasing trailer problems and paperwork instead of driving.