Flatbed dispatch that puts tarp pay on the rate con
Our flatbed dispatch is built for the work open-deck carriers actually do: tarping in the rain, chaining steel, waiting at mills and running reloads out of towns that ship lumber and steel. We negotiate for that work, and we only offer loads your gear can legally secure.
5% of gross for one truck, no contract, and every load is your call.
What do you run?
Plan the tie-downs, then price the tarp
Pick a commodity, set the length and weight, and the planner draws the deck and counts the tie-downs under the federal minimums. Then put in the load rate, the tarp pay and the hours you'll spend securing and tarping, and see what the load pays per hour with and without tarp pay on the rate con.
- Min by length
- 4
- Min by WLL
- 5
- Tie-downs needed
- 5
- Required aggregate WLL
- 22,000 lb
- Your aggregate WLL
- 27,000 lb
- Federal minimum met
- Yes
- Gross on rate con
- $1,950
- Fee at 5%
- $98
- Hours on the job
- 10.5 h
- $/hour without tarp pay
- $171
- $/hour with tarp pay
- $186
- Tarp pay share
- 8%
Tie-down math assumes every strap or chain is attached to the trailer at both ends and passes over the cargo. Commodity rules for coils, lumber, pipe, machinery and others can require more. This is a planning aid, not a securement inspection.
Source:49 CFR 393.110, minimum number of tiedowns · checked 2026-1049 CFR 393.106, general cargo securement requirements (aggregate WLL) · checked 2026-10
Two federal rules drive the tie-down count. The first sets a minimum by the length of the article: a short, light piece needs one tie-down, a piece up to 10 feet needs two, and longer pieces add one for every extra 10 feet or part of it, with fewer needed when the cargo is blocked forward by a headerboard or bulkhead. The second says the working load limits of all your tie-downs together must be at least half the cargo's weight. Whichever rule asks for more tie-downs wins.
Then look at the money side. A tarped load that takes an hour and a half to secure and tarp, with no tarp pay, often earns less per hour than an untarped load at a lower rate. That gap is why tarp pay belongs on the rate con, and why we raise it before you book.
The flatbed freight we book, and what it asks of you
Each flatbed commodity has its own gear, its own tarp habits and its own extra pay to ask for. Here's how we read them before an offer reaches you.
| Commodity | Securement gear | Tarp needed? | Extra pay to ask for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lumber and engineered wood | Straps, edge protectors, corner guards | Usually, lumber tarps | Tarp pay, extra stops at yards |
| Steel coils | Chains and binders, coil racks or cradles | Often, steel tarps | Tarp pay, detention at mills |
| Steel beams and plate | Chains and binders, dunnage | Sometimes | Detention at mills and service centers |
| Pipe | Chains or straps, dunnage, blocking | Rarely | Extra securement time on long pipe |
| Building materials | Straps, edge protectors | Often | Tarp pay, residential or jobsite delivery |
| Machinery and equipment | Chains and binders rated for the weight | Sometimes | Loading and securement time, oversize if over legal size |
Extra pay varies by broker, lane and season, so we negotiate it load by load instead of quoting a number here. For where flatbed freight comes from and how it moves through the year, read the flatbed freight guide and the guide to finding flatbed loads. Tarp types, sizes and drops are covered in our guide to truck tarps.
You see the tarp and securement terms before you say yes
Every flatbed offer shows the commodity, weight, dimensions, tarp requirement and the extras on the rate con. You decide with all of it in view. If you book it, the rate confirmation comes from the broker straight to you. If the load needs gear you don't carry, it never reaches you in the first place.
Load offer / Flatbed
Lufkin, TX to Little Rock, AR
- Miles
- 320
- Rate
- $1,150
- Per mile
- $3.59
On the rate con: lumber, 44,000 lb, 4 ft drop tarp, tarp pay $125
Pickup: Mon 07:00
Nothing is booked until you say so. You see the lane, the miles, the rate and every extra before anyone commits your truck.
Securement rules we check before an offer goes out
Securement is your responsibility as the carrier. Our part is making sure we never offer you a load your gear can't legally hold.
Before an offer reaches you, the dispatcher compares the load with the gear in your notes: how many straps and chains, their working load limits, edge protectors, coil racks, tarps and dunnage. A 44,000 lb load of lumber needs a different setup from a 20,000 lb machine on a skid, and both need enough working load limit to meet the federal minimum.
Commodity rules come on top of the general ones. Coils, lumber, metal, pipe, concrete and heavy machinery each have their own sections in the federal securement rules, and some need more tie-downs or specific methods. The flatbed load securement guide walks through them, and the load securement calculator runs the numbers for any load.
- Rule
- 393.110(b)
- What it sets
- Min tie-downs by length
- Rule
- 393.110(c)
- What it sets
- Blocked cargo: 1 per 10 ft
- Rule
- 393.106(d)
- What it sets
- Aggregate WLL >= half the weight
One flatbed run, from offer to POD
How the work splits between the desk and the deck on a single load. The securement checks in the middle are federal rules, not our preferences.
- OfferCommodity, weight, piece count, dimensions, tarp requirement, lane, rate and extras. You say yes or no.
- Rate conComes from the broker to your inbox with the tarp pay and detention terms written in. You sign it.
- PickupArrival logged. If the mill or yard runs long, the broker hears about it while you wait.
- Secure and tarpYour job, your call on method. Take photos of the finished load; they settle most damage disputes.
- First 50 milesFederal rules require the driver to inspect the cargo and securement within the first 50 miles and adjust.
- On the roadRe-check at every change of duty status, every 3 hours or every 150 miles, whichever comes first. We take the broker's check calls.
- DeliveryArrival logged, detention flagged past free time, delivery receipt signed with any exceptions noted.
- PaperworkPOD and any tarp or detention backup go to the broker or your factoring company.
Source:49 CFR 392.9, inspection of cargo and cargo securement devices · checked 2026-10(first 50 miles, then 3 hours or 150 miles)
Mills, yards and the flatbed calendar
Flatbed money is lost in two places carriers don't see on the load board: hours at the dock and weeks when the season works against you.
Detention at mills
Steel mills, lumber yards and service centers often load on their own schedule. Free time and the detention rate go on the rate con before booking, your arrival is logged, and the broker hears from us when the clock passes free time, not days later.
Winter chain laws
Mountain states require tire chains on some routes when conditions call for it. That changes which loads make sense in winter and how long they take. Check the rules for your route with the chain law checker.
Spring frost laws
When roads thaw, many northern states lower weight limits on some roads, which can push heavy flatbed freight off those routes for weeks. The frost laws by state table shows where and when.
Construction season shapes flatbed volume more than anything else. Building materials, steel and machinery move hard when construction is busy and slow down when it isn't. We plan your lanes around where that work is, and we tell you honestly when a slow stretch is coming.
Where flatbed rates sit, and what our fee takes
- Flatbed spot, incl. fuel
- $3.54/mi
- Flatbed linehaul only
- $2.66/mi
- Load-to-truck ratio
- 36.4
Source:DAT truckload spot market data, Aug 30-Sept 5, 2026 (week 36) · checked 2026-10
A national average hides the extras. Two loads at the same rate per mile can pay very different money once tarp pay, detention and securement time are counted. The flatbed rate per mile guide breaks that down.
- Week gross
- $7,400
- Includes tarp pay
- $375
- Fee at 5%
- $370
- At 10%
- $740
5% of gross for one truck, 4% for fleets of 2 or more, 7% for new MCs until month 6. No setup fee, no minimums, month-to-month. Details on the dispatch pricing page, and new carriers should start with dispatch for new authority.
The gear that opens more flatbed freight
Your gear list decides which offers reach you. Carriers who carry more of this see more of the board, and more of the loads that pay extra.
- Enough working load limit
- Count your straps and chains and add up their WLL. Heavy loads run out of WLL before they run out of tie-downs.
- Edge protectors and corner guards
- Protect straps and freight on sharp edges. Many lumber and building material shippers expect them.
- Lumber and steel tarps
- Lumber tarps for tall loads, steel tarps for low ones. Carrying both opens more freight.
- Coil racks or cradles
- Without them, most coil freight is off the table.
- Dunnage
- Lifts freight off the deck so forklift tines and straps fit, and spreads point loads.
- Chains and binders rated for the job
- Steel and machinery usually go down with chain. Check the rating on every link and binder.
Keep your gear list current with your dispatcher. Add coil racks or a second set of tarps and the offers change that same week. Lose a strap to a sharp edge and tell us, because a damaged strap or chain shouldn't be used to secure cargo at all, and your working load limit just dropped. The few minutes it takes to update your list is what keeps every offer one you can actually haul.
Five questions to ask any flatbed dispatcher
Ask us, ask anyone else. A flatbed dispatcher who can't answer these hasn't spent much time around open decks.
- 01Do you ask what securement gear I carry?If they don't, they'll offer loads you can't legally secure, or loads you'll have to turn down at the shipper.
- 02How do you handle tarp pay?It should be a line on the rate con or clearly built into the rate, not a hope.
- 03What do you do when a mill holds me for five hours?The right answer involves terms on the rate con and a call to the broker while you're still waiting.
- 04How do you plan reloads out of steel and lumber towns?Some of these towns ship far more than they receive, and the reverse. A good dispatcher knows which.
- 05Who sends me the rate confirmation?If it doesn't come to you from the broker, you can't see what the load really pays.
The longer version is our flatbed dispatch guide. If broker pay terms are the bigger problem, read about flatbed factoring, which can cover accessorial lines like tarp pay and detention along with the linehaul when the factor accepts them. And if you're choosing between decks, compare flatbed and step deck dispatch. To push the all-in rate higher, see how we negotiate better rates and the flatbed rate calculator.
Flatbed dispatch questions
Note 01Do you book steel coil loads?
Yes, for carriers set up for them. Coils have their own federal securement rules, and many need coil racks or cradles plus chains and binders. We ask what gear you carry before we offer coil freight, and we make sure the tarp requirement and the tarp pay are on the rate con before you say yes.
Note 02How do you handle detention at steel mills?
Mills and service centers can hold a flatbed for hours. Before booking, we get the free time and detention terms written on the rate con. When you check in, your arrival is logged, and if loading runs past free time we tell the broker while it's still happening and file the claim with your in and out times.
Note 03Do you dispatch Conestogas?
Yes. Conestogas are covered on our step deck and Conestoga dispatch page, because they haul covered freight that needs no tarping and often pays a premium over open deck. Most of what's on this page still applies: securement rules, gear checks, detention terms and the reload. Tell us your trailer type and we book for it.
Note 04Can a new MC get flatbed loads?
Yes. Brokers vet new flatbed carriers on insurance, gear and securement history, so the early weeks focus on brokers that set up new authorities. New MCs pay 7% for the first 6 months, then the standard rate automatically. Clean securement on your first loads matters more than anything else for getting the next ones.
Note 05Do you negotiate tarp pay?
On every load that needs a tarp. Tarping is real work, often in bad weather, and it belongs on the rate con as its own line or built clearly into the rate. If a broker wants a tarped load at an untarped price, you'll hear that from us before you decide, along with our opinion on whether it's worth it.
Note 06What flatbed freight pays best?
It depends on the lane, the season and your gear more than the commodity. Loads that need tarps, special securement or a long wait often pay more because fewer carriers want them, but only if the extras are actually on the rate con. We look at the all-in rate and your hours together, not just the headline number.
Note 07Do I approve every flatbed load?
Every one. We send the commodity, weight, dimensions, tarp requirement, lane, miles, rate and extras. You say yes or no. If you book it, the broker sends the rate confirmation straight to you to read and sign. A no costs you nothing, and we never book a load without your yes.
Note 08How much does flatbed dispatch cost?
5% of the load's gross for one truck with an MC older than 6 months, charged only on loads you haul. New MCs pay 7% until month 6, and fleets of 2 or more trucks pay 4%. Tarp pay and detention count as revenue; reimbursed permits don't. No setup fee, no minimums, month-to-month with 30 days notice.