Box truck dispatch for 26 ft trucks, and nothing smaller
Our box truck dispatch is for 26 ft straight trucks and larger, CDL or non-CDL, liftgate or not. We book regional, appointment and liftgate freight that fits your floor and your payload, and we plan the week so you aren't living on the load board. Smaller boxes, cargo vans and sprinters aren't on our desk, and we'd rather say so here than after you apply.
7% of gross, no contract, and every load is your call.
What do you run?
The short version
What box truck owners ask first. Longer answers are in the notes at the bottom of the page.
- Which trucks?
- 26 ft box trucks and larger. No 16, 20 or 24 ft boxes, no cargo vans, no sprinters.
- CDL?
- Either. Non-CDL 26 ft trucks rated under 26,001 lb, and Class B trucks rated above it.
- Fee?
- 7% of gross on loads you haul, at any authority age.
- Liftgate?
- Not required, but it opens far more freight.
- New MC?
- Yes. The first weeks focus on brokers that work with new authorities.
- Forced loads?
- Never. Every load is an offer you can turn down. The rate con comes to you.
Why 26 ft is our line, and what fits on your floor
We draw the line at 26 ft for one reason: the money. Smaller boxes compete for a thinner slice of freight at lower rates, and after fuel, insurance and a dispatch fee there's often too little left. A 26 ft truck carries enough pallets and enough weight to take loads that pay.
Check a load against your floor and payload
Pick a pallet count and an average weight. The interior size and payload used here are an example; box bodies vary by builder and options, and your truck's real payload is its rating minus what it weighs empty. Our 26 ft box truck guide goes through dimensions and payload, and the max payload calculator works out yours.
8 pallets, 8,000 lb. Fits the floor and the 10,000 lb payload used here.
Weight runs out before floor space on a lot of box truck freight. A floor full of heavy pallets can put you past your payload with spots still open, and that's an overweight truck, not a full one. We ask for pallet counts and weights before we offer a load, and we turn down loads that only work by overloading. Light, bulky freight is the opposite problem: the floor fills long before the weight does, so the rate has to pay for the space, not the pounds.
CDL or non-CDL: what the weight rating decides
The rating on your door sticker decides your license, and a few other rules too.
A single truck rated at 26,001 lb or more needs a Class B license. Many 26 ft box trucks are built with a rating just under that line so they can be driven without a CDL, which caps the payload. Some are rated higher and need the Class B. Neither is better for dispatch; they just open slightly different freight. Tell us your rating and we book inside it.
Non-CDL doesn't mean unregulated. At 10,001 lb and up in interstate commerce, a box truck is a commercial motor vehicle, so federal safety rules like driver qualification and hours of service still apply. What a non-CDL box truck doesn't need is a DOT drug and alcohol testing program, because those rules cover drivers who need a CDL. A Class B box truck driver does need one.
Source:49 CFR 383.91, commercial motor vehicle groups (Class A combination, Class B straight) · checked 2026-1049 CFR 390.5, definition of commercial motor vehicle (10,001 lb) · checked 2026-10
The box truck freight we book
26 ft box truck freight is mostly regional, often appointment-based, and frequently delivered without a dock. Each kind asks something different of you.
- Retail store deliveries
- Pallets and cartons to stores, often at a back door without a dock. Liftgate and appointment windows matter.
- Furniture and appliances
- Bulky, lighter freight, sometimes to homes. Blankets, straps and care at delivery.
- LTL-style partials
- Several pallets for several receivers on one route. More stops, more appointments, better use of the floor.
- Expedited freight
- Time-sensitive loads that can't wait for a full truckload. Pays for speed, punishes late arrival.
- Distribution center runs
- Dock-to-dock freight between warehouses and DCs. No liftgate needed, often steady.
- Trade show and event freight
- Exhibits and equipment on fixed dates. Tight windows and strict venue rules.
Pallets, weight and liftgate on every offer
Every box truck offer shows the freight, pallet count, weight, liftgate and appointment needs, the lane, rate and extras. You decide. If you book it, the broker sends the rate confirmation straight to you, so you always see what the load pays.
Load offer / 26 ft box
Dallas, TX to Houston, TX
- Miles
- 240
- Rate
- $650
- Per mile
- $2.71
On the rate con: 8 pallets, 6,400 lb, liftgate delivery, 13:00 appt
Pickup: Thu 08:00
Nothing is booked until you say so. You see the lane, the miles, the rate and every extra before anyone commits your truck.
Liftgate, pallet jack and the rest of the kit
The gear on your truck decides which offers we can send you. Here's what opens the most box truck freight.
- Liftgate
- The biggest single door-opener for box trucks. Know its capacity and keep it maintained.
- Pallet jack
- Many liftgate deliveries assume you can move pallets off the gate yourself.
- Load bars or straps
- Keep partial loads from shifting between stops.
- Moving blankets
- Furniture and finished goods arrive scuffed without them.
- Appliance dolly
- For single heavy items on residential and commercial deliveries.
- E-track
- Lets you strap freight anywhere along the walls.
Tell us your liftgate capacity and whether you carry a pallet jack. A load with a 2,000 lb pallet and a liftgate rated below that isn't a load you can deliver safely, and it shouldn't reach your phone.
How a box truck week gets planned
Box truck money is made in short, linked runs. The plan matters more than any single rate.
Most 26 ft box truck freight moves a few hundred miles or less, and many loads come with appointment windows. That makes the week a chain: a morning delivery that frees you up near a midday pickup, a partial that fills the truck on the way back, a Friday load that ends close to home. Planned well, a box truck runs loaded far more of the week than one booked load by load.
Appointments cut both ways. Hitting a 13:00 window two states away is easy if the plan allows for traffic and a slow pickup, and impossible if it doesn't. We don't offer you a load whose appointment only works if everything goes perfectly. Our opinion: a slightly lower rate with an appointment you can make beats a higher rate you'll miss.
We also check the reload before you deliver. Box truck freight is dense in metro areas and thin in rural ones, so a good load into a small town can strand you. If the reload looks weak, you hear that with the offer.
The setup call, and multi-stop days
What we ask on the setup call
- 01Your truck's ratingFrom the door sticker, plus the empty weight if you know it.
- 02Liftgate and its capacityAnd whether you carry a pallet jack.
- 03Box dimensionsInterior length, width and height, and the door opening.
- 04How far you'll runLocal, regional or multi-state, and how many nights out.
- 05Residential deliveriesSome owners love them, some won't do them. Your call.
- 06Brokers or customers to avoidOff your list for good.
Multi-stop and residential days
Box truck work often means several stops in a day: a store, an office, a home. Each stop is a chance to be late, so we check the order, the drive times and each receiver's hours before we offer a multi-stop load. Extra stops should pay extra, and that goes on the rate con.
Residential deliveries come with their own catches: narrow streets, no parking, stairs, and customers who aren't home. We ask about access and whether the delivery is to the curb or inside before the offer reaches you. If the shipper can't answer, you'll know that too.
One box truck load: the desk and the cab
The desk
- Checks pallet count, weight and liftgate needs against your truck.
- Confirms the appointment windows and the order of stops make sense.
- Negotiates the rate, extra stops, liftgate pay and detention terms.
- Sends you the offer and, after your yes, makes sure the rate con comes to you.
- Takes the broker's check calls and warns them early about any delay.
- Lines up the next load near the last stop before you're empty.
The cab
- Says yes or no.
- Reads and signs the rate con.
- Counts pallets at pickup and notes any damage on the bill of lading.
- Secures the load so it rides between stops without shifting.
- Delivers each stop and gets each receipt signed, with any shortage noted.
- Sends the paperwork and heads to the next pickup.
Counting pallets at pickup sounds basic, and it's where a lot of box truck claims start. A receiver who signs for seven pallets when the bill says eight leaves you explaining the missing one. Count at pickup, count at delivery, and note any difference on the paperwork before anyone signs.
Running more than one box truck
Small box truck fleets are common: an owner with two or three trucks and drivers who need loads every day. We dispatch the whole fleet, plan routes so trucks don't cross paths, and give you a weekly report for each truck. You decide whether the owner or each driver approves loads.
The fee stays at 7% for 26 ft box trucks whatever the fleet size. If your fleet mixes box trucks and semi trucks, the semis can qualify for the 4% fleet rate on their own loads while the box trucks stay at 7%. Each truck's statement shows its own rate, so there's no guessing.
7% of gross on loads you haul
Box truck dispatch is 7% of load revenue on loads you haul. 26 ft box trucks sit on our starter tier at any authority age and any fleet size, so there's no step-down at month 6 and no fleet rate for box trucks. No setup fee, no minimums, month-to-month with 30 days notice.
The full breakdown is on the dispatch pricing page, and new authorities should read dispatch for new authority. If broker payment terms leave you short between weeks, see how factoring works or start with freight factoring.
- Week gross
- $3,200
- Rate
- 7%
- Dispatch fee
- $224
- Kept
- $2,976
Is a box truck dispatcher worth it?
For some owners, no. If a couple of steady customers already keep your truck full, keep that work and don't pay a percentage on it. Where a box truck dispatcher earns the fee is the owner who spends evenings on load boards, takes the first rate offered, and loses days to empty runs between regional loads.
Run the numbers on your own week. If the loads we add, the better rates and the hours you get back are worth more than 7% of what we book, it's worth it. If they aren't, it isn't, and we'd rather you knew that before you apply.
Box truck dispatch questions
Note 01How much does box truck dispatch cost?
7% of the load's gross, charged only on loads you haul. 26 ft box trucks sit on our starter tier at any authority age and any fleet size, alongside hotshots. There's no setup fee, no monthly minimum, and no contract beyond month-to-month with 30 days notice to cancel.
Note 02Do you dispatch 16, 20 or 24 ft box trucks?
No. We dispatch 26 ft box trucks and larger only, and we don't take cargo vans or sprinters. Smaller boxes rarely get the load access and rates that cover a dispatch fee, and we'd rather say so plainly than take a percentage of loads that don't pay. If your box is shorter, we're not the right desk.
Note 03Can you dispatch a non-CDL 26 ft box truck?
Yes. Many 26 ft box trucks are built with a weight rating just under the 26,001 lb line, so they can be driven without a CDL. Trucks rated at 26,001 lb or more need a Class B license. Check the rating on your door sticker and tell us; we keep every load inside what your truck and license allow.
Note 04Do I need a liftgate to get loads?
Not to get loads, but it opens a lot more of them. Many box truck deliveries go to stores, offices and homes without a loading dock, and those receivers expect a liftgate. Without one, you're limited mostly to dock-to-dock freight. Tell us whether you have one, its rating, and whether you carry a pallet jack.
Note 05Do you work with new MC box trucks?
Yes. Plenty of box truck freight moves through brokers that work with newer authorities, especially regional and expedited loads. The early weeks focus on carrier packet approvals and a clean record. Box trucks stay at 7% at any authority age, so nothing changes at month 6.
Note 06Do I approve every load?
Every one. You see the freight, pallet count, weight, liftgate and appointment needs, lane, rate and extras before you decide. If you book it, the broker sends the rate confirmation straight to you. Saying no costs nothing, and a load that won't fit your floor or payload never reaches you.
Got a 26 ft box? Send the details.
Fee
7% of gross
Setup
$0
Contract
Month-to-month
Loads
Your call, every time