ENTRY 01 / TEAM DRIVER DISPATCH
Team driver dispatch for a truck that should never sit
A team truck earns its keep by moving while one driver sleeps. Every hour it sits at a dock or waits for the next load costs two people's pay. Our team driver dispatch books long-haul and time-sensitive freight, plans pickups and deliveries around both drivers' hours, and lines up the next load before the current one delivers. One rate con, one signature, every load.
- Two clocks planned
- 5% per truck
- You sign every load
Husband-and-wife teams, partners, and owners running with a hired co-driver. Van, reefer and other long-haul equipment.
Tell us who signs rate cons, who handles the phone on which shift, and how you split the driving. We set up communication around that so the sleeping driver stays asleep.
ENTRY 02 / TEAM SETTLEMENT
One team week, and how it splits
The fee is per truck, not per driver: one percentage on the truck's gross. Set the week's gross and the split between the two drivers. Every value is an EXAMPLE; your fuel, payment and split will differ.
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Team gross | $11,500.00 |
| Fuel | ($3,600.00) |
| Truck payment | ($690.00) |
| Insurance | ($420.00) |
| Maintenance reserve | ($750.00) |
| Dispatch fee 5% | ($575.00) |
| NET | $5,465.00 |
THE SPLIT · EXAMPLE
Many husband-and-wife teams split evenly; teams of an owner and a hired co-driver often pay the co-driver per mile or a percentage. Whatever the split, the costs come off before it, so both drivers see the same settlement.
BEFORE INCOME TAX. NOT TAX ADVICE.
To see what each of you takes home after your real costs, run your numbers through the take-home pay calculator. Taxes on a team's income depend on how the business is set up and who is paid what; confirm with a tax professional.
ENTRY 03 / TEAM FREIGHT
Freight that pays a team to keep moving
Long haul
Coast-to-coast and long regional runs where two drivers cut the transit time roughly in half. The longer the run, the more a team's speed is worth.
Expedited
Time-critical freight that can't wait for a solo driver's reset. Often pays a premium for guaranteed transit.
High-value and secure
Freight that shippers don't want parked overnight. Some loads require two drivers by contract.
Short regional loads with long dock times waste a team's biggest advantage. We keep team trucks on runs where both clocks get used, and save the short loads for repositioning or getting home. When a team splits up for a week, say one driver is home sick, we switch the truck to solo-friendly loads until both are back, instead of booking freight a single driver can't deliver on time.
Two clocks, one plan
Hours-of-service rules apply to each driver separately: driving limits, on-duty windows, breaks and weekly limits. The sleeper berth provisions let team drivers split off-duty time in specific ways, which is what keeps a team truck moving through the night.
What we plan around: who is on the clock at pickup and delivery, where the driver swap and fuel stops fall, appointment windows that land inside someone's driving hours, and a 34-hour restart or home time for both of you.
What you control: how you split driving, when you want home, and which loads you take. Every load still reaches you as a rate con to sign or refuse.
This is a summary of the rules, not legal advice; your ELD and the regulations are the final word.
ONE TEAM RUN · EXAMPLE, NOT A REAL CARRIER
A van team picks up in New Jersey on Monday morning with a Wednesday delivery in California. Driver A takes the first shift through the morning and afternoon; driver B takes over at dinner and drives through the night. Fuel stops line up with the swaps. While they cross the plains, the desk books the reload: a load out of Southern California 60 miles from delivery, picking up Wednesday afternoon. Both drivers have hours left. The truck heads east the same day, with home time planned for the weekend.
Running with a hired co-driver: settle these first
A team of an owner and a hired driver is a small business with an employee or contractor. Before the first run, settle in writing:
- How the co-driver is paid: per mile, a percentage, or a weekly amount.
- Whether they are an employee or a contractor, and what that means for taxes and insurance (ask a professional).
- Their driver qualification file, and, for CDL drivers, their place in your drug and alcohol testing program.
- Home time, and what happens when one of you needs to get off the truck.
Why owner-operator teams hire a dispatcher
Nobody to book while you both drive
One is driving and one is sleeping. The next load needs someone awake and on the phone.
Sitting costs double
An idle team truck stops two incomes, not one. A four-hour dock delay costs a team more than it costs a solo driver.
Long loads need long planning
The reload at the far end decides whether a coast-to-coast run pays.
Home time for two
Getting both drivers home on the same days takes planning from the start of the week.
ENTRY 04 / TEAM QUESTIONS
Team driver dispatch questions
A team truck pays the same tier as any truck: 5% of gross with one truck and an MC past six months, 7% while the MC is newer, 4% for two or more trucks. On the EXAMPLE $11,500 week above, that is $575 at the standard rate. No setup fee and no contract. How we work with owner-operators in general is on dispatch for owner-operators.
Q01How many miles do team drivers run per week?
It varies a lot. Under hours-of-service rules each driver can drive up to 11 hours after 10 hours off duty, so a team can keep a truck moving most of the day. Loading, fueling, breaks, traffic and home time all cut into that. Plan from your own logs rather than a headline number.
Q02Do team trucks get better loads?
Often, for freight where time matters: long-haul and expedited loads that must cover big distances fast, and high-value freight that shippers don't want sitting. Those can pay more. Short regional work rarely pays a team better than a solo, so we aim team trucks at long, time-sensitive freight.
Q03How do teams handle hours of service?
Each driver keeps their own record of duty status. While one drives, the other is usually logged in the sleeper berth. The sleeper berth provisions let drivers split their off-duty time in set ways. We plan pickups, deliveries and fuel stops around both drivers' clocks, not just one.
Q04Do you dispatch husband-and-wife teams?
Yes. Couples are a big share of owner-operator teams. We plan around home time for both of you, and the rate con still comes to the company email for whichever of you signs. Tell us how you split driving and decisions, and we set up the communication to match.
Two drivers, one truck, one signature on every load
Apply in about a minute. Tell us how you split driving and when you both want home; every rate con lands in your inbox to sign or refuse.
RATE CONFIRMATION · TO: YOUR COMPANY
COAST TO COAST · TWO CLOCKS · ONE PLAN
SIGNATURE: ____________________ (yours, never ours)