Car hauling dispatch that fills the trailer, not just the next slot
Car hauling doesn't work like general freight. You're not booking one load. You're building a trip out of single cars, each with its own price, pickup window, drop and payment terms, and the trailer only pays when most of the slots are full.
Our car hauling dispatch does that puzzle for you: we find cars along a route, check each broker or dealer, counter the per-car price and line up drops so the trailer stays loaded. Every car comes to you to approve, and nothing gets booked without your yes.
- 5% of gross, 1 truck
- 7% new MC or hotshot hauler
- No setup fee
- Month-to-month
TRIP DAL, TX > ATL, GA 7 CARS
The trip is the load
Seven single cars, four pickups, five drops, one trailer. A car hauler gets paid by the car, but earns by the trip. That's the number we plan around.
fill the slots
Carrier B builds a full trailer from single cars
Meet Carrier B, a hypothetical car hauler with a 7-car open trailer, home base in Dallas, heading toward Atlanta. Every car and price below is an EXAMPLE to show the math, not a real posting or result.
- EXAMPLE
CAR 1-2 DAL > ATL $1,100 PAIR
Two sedans from a dealer near Dallas, same pickup, same drop. The anchor of the trip.
- EXAMPLE
CAR 3 FTW > BHM $520
One SUV from Fort Worth to Birmingham. Fits the route with a short detour.
- EXAMPLE
CAR 4-5 SHV > ATL $900 PAIR
Two cars from a Shreveport lot, picked up on the way out of Texas.
- EXAMPLE
CAR 6 JAN > ATL $480
A pickup truck from Jackson. Inoperable, so it needs a winch. Priced higher for it.
- EXAMPLE
CAR 7 MGM > ATL $380
A short-haul car to fill the last slot. Low on its own, worth it on a trip already going there.
- EXAMPLE
TRIP TOTAL 7 CARS ABOUT 960 MI
$3,380 gross for the trip. That's roughly $3.52 per mile across the route. Any one of those cars alone would have been a weak load.
price the trip
That's how car hauling works when it works. The money isn't in any single car. It's in stacking cars that share a direction and pickups that don't add a day of driving. The hard part is time: finding those cars, calling on each one, confirming pickup windows and keeping track of which slots are still open, all while you're driving the trailer you already have.
That's the part we take. You see the trip as it builds, approve each car, and drive. If you want to check a trip's numbers yourself, the load profitability calculator and the multi-stop load pay calculator handle per-stop pay and the extra miles between stops.
Where car hauling loads come from
Most vehicle shipping doesn't show up on general freight boards. It moves through vehicle-transport load boards, Central Dispatch being the best known, plus dealer groups, auction transport desks, rental and fleet companies and brokers who specialize in car moves. Prices and terms on those boards are set per vehicle, and every posting is its own small contract.
That changes what a dispatcher has to watch. Per-car postings often leave out whether the vehicle runs, whether there are keys, how wide the pickup window is and how payment happens. Some vehicle moves are paid on delivery, some on broker terms. A car that's inoperable, oversized or going to a residential address with no room to unload should pay more, and often doesn't unless someone asks.
- Condition. Running, inoperable, keys present. Non-running cars take a winch and more time.
- Pickup and drop windows. A car available "any time this week" is easy. One that needs a 2-hour window can wreck the route.
- Payment terms. Cash or check on delivery, quick pay or broker terms. We confirm before you say yes.
- Access. Can a full trailer get in and out? A dealer lot is easy. A cul-de-sac often isn't.
- The broker or shipper. Checked against FMCSA's public records and their payment history before we counter.
What our car hauling dispatcher handles
On the desk, a car hauler needs more coordination per dollar than almost any other truck. That's where we spend the time, so you don't have to spend it on the phone at the fuel island.
- Building trips from single-car postings along your route and toward home.
- Countering per-car prices, with extras asked for on inoperable, oversized or hard-access vehicles.
- Confirming pickup windows and gate times with dealers, auctions and private sellers.
- Sequencing pickups and drops so the trailer stays as full as possible for as long as possible.
- Checking every broker before we counter, and passing on postings with red flags.
- Check calls and delivery updates, plus a weekly report of every car, its gross, our fee and your empty miles.
Whether you run an open 7- to 9-car trailer, an enclosed trailer for high-value cars or a pickup with a wedge trailer, the approach is the same: plan the trip, then fill it one approved car at a time.
Tell us your trailer type, how many slots you have and whether you carry inoperable vehicles, and we'll only send cars that fit. If you'd rather run regional trips and sleep at home, the trips get built around that instead of around the longest haul on the board.
What usually goes wrong on a car hauler's week
Car haulers lose money in ways van drivers rarely see. Most of it comes from a single car that didn't go as planned, because one problem car can stall a whole trailer. These are the things we watch for before a car reaches your phone.
- The car isn't ready. Dealer says Tuesday, car shows up Thursday. We confirm release before you route to it, and keep a backup car in mind for the slot.
- Wrong condition. Listed as running, turns out it needs a winch, or it's wider than the slot. We ask for condition and dimensions up front.
- Payment trouble. Cash on delivery that becomes a check, or a broker who pays late. We confirm terms in writing and check every broker first.
- Bad access. A full trailer can't turn around in a lot of residential streets. We ask where the car is and plan a meeting point when needed.
- One car pulls you off route. A single car 80 miles out of the way can cost more than it pays. We price detours before we accept them.
Inspections, photos and the bill of lading
On every car, the inspection at pickup is your protection. Note every scratch and dent on the bill of lading or condition report, take clear photos from all sides, and get the shipper or dealer to sign. Do the same at delivery. A damage claim without pickup photos is very hard to fight.
We remind you which pickups need extra paperwork, like auction gate passes, release forms or titles, and we confirm the contact person at each end. You handle the inspection and the signatures, because they're yours to sign. We make sure nothing surprises you at the gate.
It's also worth knowing your cargo coverage limit against the cars you carry. A trailer of late-model trucks can add up quickly, and some shippers ask for a certificate showing the limit before they release anything.
What car hauling dispatch costs
For a car hauler with authority 6 months or older, it's 5% of the gross on what you haul. If your MC is under 6 months, or you run a pickup-and-trailer hotshot car hauler, it's 7%. Two or more trucks get the 4% fleet rate while it lasts.
No setup fee, no monthly minimum, month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice. A trip you don't run costs nothing. The fee breakdown has the full math in cents per mile.
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Car hauling dispatcher questions
How are car hauling loads priced?
Where do car haulers find loads?
Can a new MC haul cars?
Where do car hauling loads come from?
Do you book auction and dealer loads?
Tear a tab. We'll fill the trailer.
You say yes or no to every load. The rate con comes to you. No setup fee. Month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice.