Power only dispatch services that keep your tractor pulling
Our power only dispatch services plan your week around trailer pools and drop yards, so each delivery sets up the next hook instead of a long bobtail. You pull pre-loaded trailers you don't own, and we keep the paperwork, the interchange terms and the broker calls straight.
5% of gross for one tractor, no contract, and every load is your call.
What do you run?
One week, two ways: planned around the pool or not
Power only money is made or lost between loads. Here's an example week for a single tractor working a trailer pool in the Midwest, drawn as a route. Toggle between a week booked one load at a time and a week planned around where the trailers are.
- Loaded
- Empty trailer move
- Bobtail
- Total miles
- 1,490
- Loaded share
- 67%
- Bobtail miles
- 490
- Week gross
- $2,800
Same tractor, same region, similar loads. The difference is that the planned week chains each delivery into the next hook: an empty trailer returned to a yard that pays for the move, then a loaded trailer from the same area. The bobtail legs mostly disappear, and the loaded share of the week goes up. These numbers are an example to show the shape of it, not a promise of what your week will pay.
To put a price on the empty legs in your own week, use the deadhead miles cost calculator. Bobtail miles cost you fuel and time like any empty mile, with nothing behind you to earn on.
What power only asks of you
You bring the tractor and the driver. Someone else brings the trailer. That split creates its own paperwork and its own risks.
- Trailer coverage
- Physical damage coverage for a trailer you don't own while it's in your care. Trailer owners often call it trailer interchange coverage and ask for proof.
- Interchange agreement
- Some trailer owners want a signed agreement that spells out who pays for what if their trailer is damaged. Read it before you sign it.
- The right hookup
- Air lines, light cord and fifth wheel set to pull trailers you've never seen, from different owners and makers.
- Photos at hook and drop
- Every side of the trailer, tires, doors and seal, at pickup and at drop. It's your defense against damage you didn't cause.
- Seal and paperwork habits
- Record the seal number and match the trailer number to the paperwork before you leave the yard.
- A clean inspection record
- Trailer owners and brokers look at your safety record. Out-of-service violations on someone else's trailer still count against you.
Requirements differ by program and broker, so we confirm what each one wants before we offer you its loads. If you're new to this kind of work, our power only trucking guide covers how it works and what it costs to run.
Someone else's trailer is still your responsibility on the road
Federal rules don't care who owns the trailer. Before you drive, you have to be satisfied the vehicle is in safe operating condition, and that includes the trailer you just hooked in a dark yard. Here's the check we expect on every hook.
- 01Tires and wheelsTread, inflation, sidewall damage, missing lug nuts.
- 02Brakes and airAir lines connected, no leaks, brakes adjusted and releasing.
- 03Lights and reflectorsEvery light working, reflective tape present.
- 04CouplingKingpin locked, fifth wheel jaws closed, tug test done, landing gear fully up.
- 05Doors, seal and paperworkDoors latched, seal number matches the BOL, trailer number matches the load.
- 06Visible damagePhotograph anything you find before you pull out, and tell us right away.
Source:49 CFR 396.13, driver inspection before driving · checked 2026-10(driver must be satisfied the vehicle is in safe operating condition before driving)
If a trailer isn't safe, don't pull it. Call us from the yard. We contact the broker or the trailer owner about a repair or a different trailer, and we document the delay so it doesn't become your problem on the rate con.
Every hook is your decision
Power only offers show the pickup yard, the delivery, whether it's a drop or a live unload, any empty trailer moves, the rate and the extras. You say yes or no. If you book it, the broker sends the rate confirmation straight to you.
Load offer / Power only
Indianapolis, IN to Chicago, IL
- Miles
- 420
- Rate
- $1,150
- Per mile
- $2.74
On the rate con: pre-loaded 53 ft van, drop at receiver, empty return paid
Pickup: Mon, open yard
Nothing is booked until you say so. You see the lane, the miles, the rate and every extra before anyone commits your truck.
Where power only freight comes from
Power only loads come from a few kinds of sources, and each one runs differently.
Broker trailer pools
Some brokers keep their own trailers at shipper yards and need tractors to move them. These are often the steadiest power only freight, and the pools reward carriers who show up when they say they will.
Shipper-owned trailers
Manufacturers and retailers with their own trailer fleets hire tractors to move them between plants, warehouses and stores. Lanes repeat, which is good for planning.
Spot power only on the boards
Load boards list power only loads too. The rate is the usual fight, and the hidden cost is the bobtail to reach the trailer, which we count before we offer you anything.
Steady pools and repeating shipper lanes can turn into regular work. If that's what you want, read how we approach dedicated lanes. Different trailer types show up in power only too: vans, reefers, flatbeds and step decks. Tell us which ones you're willing to pull and we'll keep offers to those.
What we ask a power only carrier on the setup call
Power only planning starts from a different set of facts than other equipment. These answers decide which pools and lanes we offer you.
- 01Which trailer types will you pull?Vans, reefers, flatbeds, step decks. Reefers need fuel and temperature habits; open decks need securement gear.
- 02How far will you bobtail to a pool?Your limit sets the radius we work in. A pool two hours away isn't a pool for you.
- 03Which yards are near home?Pools close to home make it easy to start and end the week loaded.
- 04What trailer coverage do you carry?The limit decides which programs and trailer values you can take.
- 05Will you sign interchange agreements?Some programs require one. We tell you before you're asked to sign.
- 06Live unloads, or drops only?Drop-only weeks are easier to plan but narrower. Your call.
- 07How many days out, and when home?Pool work suits regional runs. We plan the last move of the week toward home.
- 08Any brokers or yards you won't work?A yard that holds trucks for hours or a broker who paid late. Off your list.
What a bobtail mile costs, and how yards eat your day
A bobtail mile earns nothing and still costs fuel, tires, maintenance and your time. Say your all-in running cost is around $1.20 a mile before your own pay. In the example week above, the one-load-at-a-time version bobtailed 490 miles; the planned version bobtailed 90. At that cost per mile, the difference is a few hundred dollars of pure cost before you count the hours.
Use your own number, not ours. The deadhead cost calculator works it out from your fuel, maintenance and fixed costs.
- Bobtail, unplanned
- 490 mi
- Bobtail, planned
- 90 mi
- Cost per mile (example)
- $1.20
- Cost avoided
- $480
Yards, gates and appointments
Big drop yards run on their own rules: check-in at the gate, assigned spots, trailer numbers that have to match, and sometimes a wait for the yard to release a loaded trailer. A dispatcher who knows a yard's habits can time your arrival so you aren't sitting at the gate. When a yard holds you past the free time on the rate con, we tell the broker while it's happening.
Live unloads still happen in power only, especially at smaller receivers. They get the same treatment as any live unload: free time and detention on the rate con before you book, and your arrival logged.
One power only move: the desk and the cab
The desk
- Finds the trailer and the delivery, and checks the bobtail to reach it.
- Confirms the program's coverage and interchange terms fit yours.
- Sends you the offer: yard, trailer number, delivery, drop or live, rate.
- After your yes, makes sure the rate con reaches you from the broker.
- Sends the yard check-in details and any gate or appointment rules.
- Takes the check calls and warns the broker early about any delay.
- Lines up the next hook near the delivery before you drop.
The cab
- Says yes or no to the offer.
- Reads and signs the rate con.
- Checks in at the yard and matches the trailer number to the paperwork.
- Does the pre-trip on the trailer and photographs every side.
- Records the seal and pulls the load.
- Drops the trailer, photographs it again, gets the signed delivery receipt.
- Sends the paperwork, then heads to the next hook.
The photos at both ends matter more in power only than anywhere else. The trailer belongs to someone who wasn't there when you hooked it, and a time-stamped photo of every side is how you show the dent was already there.
5% of gross on loads you haul
Power only dispatch is 5% of load revenue for one tractor with an MC older than 6 months. Fleets of 2 or more pay 4%, and new authorities pay 7% until month 6. Paid empty trailer moves and detention are revenue, so they count. No setup fee, no minimums, month-to-month with 30 days notice.
The full breakdown is on the dispatch pricing page. If broker pay terms squeeze your cash between weeks, owner-operator factoring can close the gap.
- Week gross
- $3,320
- Rate
- 5%
- Dispatch fee
- $166
- Loaded share
- 90%
Is power only worth it without a trailer?
Power only lowers your startup cost and your maintenance bill, because you don't own or repair a trailer. In exchange, you depend on someone else's trailers being where the freight is, and you carry the risk of pulling equipment you didn't spec. It works best for carriers near busy trailer pools and drop yards, and less well in thin markets where the nearest pool is a long bobtail away.
Our opinion: power only rewards planning more than any other way of running a truck. A tractor booked one load at a time spends too much of the week bobtailing. A tractor planned around the pool can run a week with very few empty miles. That planning is the work we do.
Who it suits: a carrier who wants a lighter startup bill, lives within reach of busy yards, and is fine pulling different trailers from different owners every week. Who it doesn't suit: a carrier who wants to haul specialized freight, keep one trailer set up exactly the way they like it, or run in a region where the nearest pool is hours away. Many carriers start with power only, learn the lanes, and buy a trailer later once they know which freight they want. If that's your plan, tell us, and we'll keep notes on which trailer types paid best for you along the way.
Power only dispatch questions
Note 01How much does power only dispatch cost?
5% of the load's gross for one tractor with an MC older than 6 months, charged only on loads you haul. Fleets of 2 or more trucks pay 4%, and new MCs pay 7% until month 6. No setup fee, no minimums, month-to-month with 30 days notice to cancel.
Note 02What insurance do I need for power only loads?
Your normal liability and cargo coverage, plus coverage for physical damage to a trailer you don't own while it's in your care. Trailer owners and brokers often call that trailer interchange coverage and ask to see it before you hook. Requirements differ by program, so we confirm what each one wants before we offer you its loads.
Note 03Do you book power only loads with drop trailers?
Yes, that's most of power only. Many loads are a pre-loaded trailer waiting in a yard, delivered to a receiver who drops and hooks. We plan the week so each delivery sets up the next hook, ideally in the same yard or close by, instead of leaving you to bobtail across a region.
Note 04How do you cut bobtail miles?
By planning the week around where trailers are, not only where loads go. Before we offer a delivery, we check whether there's an empty to return or a loaded trailer to pull nearby. Chaining those moves keeps the tractor pulling something. Toggle the example on this page to see the difference planning makes.
Note 05What if the customer's trailer has a defect?
Don't pull it until it's safe. You're required to be satisfied the vehicle is in safe operating condition before you drive, and that includes a trailer you didn't spec. Photograph the problem, call us, and we'll contact the broker or trailer owner about a repair or a swap. That call is part of the job.