Anyone out there 100% independent and use a dispatch type service?

if you find a good one let me no!!

 

try TQL. They will give you good rates (sometimes). It depends where you wanting to go. Also if you can spend 45$ a month on a load board use getloaded.com that will come in handy.

 

There are a few that advertise on the back of truckpaper.

There are also a few on here that might accommodate you.

 

I have a friend who is helping me get loads. He's a pretty sharp guy but new to the trucking business (he's been in the taxi business 23 years). I'm paying him 10% for first time bookings when he has to fill out contracts and all that, and 5% for loads with brokers we're already set up with. He might be interested in booking loads for other O/O's, especially if you're an open deck carrier who wants to run in the midwest, south, and east coast. For me it's been a big help, I just lose too much time when I have to sit on the computer half a day and send faxes back and forth to line up loads. better to let him do it and keep the truck moving. plus since (right now) he works exclusively for me he can spend the time to find the right load going where we need to be vs. a broker with 10 customers and 30 trucks who just grabs what works or puts you off because they're busy dealing with everything else. I can give you his contact info by pm if you wanna give him a chance.

 

i thought about something like this as well

 

A friend of mine has someone book loads on his behalf, and the guy does a good job at keeping him loaded. BUT.... He also books for a handful of other people, so he is just trying to keep the carriers happy and loaded. Now, my friend and I both picked up the same load, same shipper, and same receiver. I negotiated $400 more to deliver than what his "dispatcher" got for him.

Sometimes yes, I'll have to sit a few hours on the computer to find a good paying load, BUT, its definitely worth it. If I negotiate the rate up, its hundreds in my pocket, if the other guy does for me, its only a few bucks in his pocket, and a lot of time he's lost booking loads for other drivers. Just like a broker, these guys make their money off of quantity of loads booked, not negotiating for top rate.

 

[/h]You're not 100% independent if you use a dispatch service. Learn the ropes, quit sharing the pie with unnecessary parties.. It amazes me that someone runs a whole company, but can't make a few calls and negotiate!
not trying to be harsh, just my opinion

 

At one time I had a dispatch service. I charged a percentage of the load. I was usually able to get as good and usually better rates for owners than they were able to get for themselves. Some seemed to resent paying someone a fee, even though they were making more money without having to worry about finding their next load. I charged 10%. When you get better rates, you spend a lot of time on the telephone. Anyone can find a cheap load, but if you want someone to negotiate the better rates then you need to be prepared to pay someone. Dispatching took too much of my time. I have my own trucks and decided that I just didn't have time to do both. It becomes particularly challenging when the owner only wants to run in a very specific lane. Unless you have done it you have no idea the time involved to locate good freight and negotiate decent rates. I tend to be very hands on when it comes to business. I would not dispatch for less than 10%. It takes too much time to do it for less. There are dispatch services that charge different rates. I have heard of some that charge as low as 5%. I have also been told about some that charge a flat rate per load or a weekly fee, whether the truck moves or not. You get what you pay for in most cases. I would not pay more than 10% for a dispatch service. Having a dispatch service that works on percentage is fair to both parties and is an incentive to the dispatcher to negotiate the best rate.

I never felt that I needed a dispatch service. I do a pretty good job of finding loads and negotiating my own rates. I have established solid contacts over the years. It does take time. That is one advantage of using a service. Some people are just not good negotiators. Some can't stand to sit, so they take the first load offered at whatever rate is presented. For those people, a dispatch service might be the way to go. I would be working on finding the next load as soon as the truck was loaded. Those whom I dispatched rarely had to sit. That is one reason you use a dispatch service. It is difficult for some to watch the load boards, make phone calls and drive at the same time.