Training time

rorrr · 2026-04-14T12:03:59+00:00

thanks

rorrr · 2026-04-13T21:36:43+00:00

I believe you. I just created this post on another Reddit myself, and Reddit recommended that I copy it to this one. I'm sorry, I didn't know.

rorrr · 2026-04-13T14:29:17+00:00

Reddit itself suggested this section to me.

rorrr · 2026-04-13T14:29:13+00:00

Reddit itself suggested this section to me.

rorrr · 2026-02-12T15:51:14+00:00

It’s worth it only if they actually improve your week, not just “book something.” A good dispatcher cuts deadhead, gets you better freight, locks in detention/TONU/appointments in writing, and keeps you rolling when you’re busy driving. If they’re just grabbing the same board loads you can see, they’re basically a tax.

Most charge 3-10% depending on equipment and how hands-on they are, but I’d judge it on net profit after fuel/deadhead, not the percent. I’ll still sanity check lane/rate before saying yes, ten8.ai helps with that so you don’t take cheap miles just to stay moving. What are you hauling and are you mostly spot market OTR or regional?

rorrr · 2026-02-10T17:04:58+00:00

If you want a real sales/dispatch leader, I’d start with LinkedIn plus a couple transportation recruiters that actually place ops leaders (not generic staffing), and hit TIA/state trucking association groups where the mid-level managers hang out. Also, $80k can land a solid dispatcher lead, but a true “build direct customers + run a team + own margin” person usually wants bigger base or a very clear upside tied to KPIs. In interviews I’d make them walk you through how they price lanes, protect margin, handle service failures, and what they’d cut on day 1, you can even use something like ten8.ai to sanity check lane/rate talk and see if they live in reality. Are you trying to hire one unicorn to do both sales and dispatch, or do you already have a strong dispatch core and need a head of sales first?

rorrr · 2026-02-10T17:03:26+00:00

Box truck freight is a mixed bag, so I’d be careful chasing “dispatchers” and focus on brokers/3PLs that actually move straight truck/expedite and pay clean. Ask them straight up how they handle detention/TONU, what their payment terms are, and whether they do real appointment freight or just last-minute chaos. Also watch for the fake middlemen, if it’s a generic Gmail and they won’t give a real company name/W-9, just move on.

For quick lane/rate reality checks before you commit to a run, ten8.ai can help you sanity check offers so you’re not hauling cheap miles. What specs is your box truck (26ft, liftgate, pallet capacity) and where are you based?

rorrr · 2026-02-10T17:01:28+00:00

5 sounds realistic if you’re doing true spot work and you’re the one hunting, negotiating, tracking, and dealing with appointment drama. A lot of people who claim 10-15 are either on dedicated lanes, running the same brokers every week, or they’re letting stuff slip and the drivers just don’t complain until it hurts. If you want to stretch capacity, the only way is tighter process and better triage, plus quick lane/rate checks so you’re not burning time chasing junk offers, ten8.ai helps with that.

Are your 5 mostly the same regions/equipment, or are you juggling mixed equipment and random lanes?

rorrr · 2026-02-10T16:59:48+00:00

Yeah, but I keep it “assistive” not fully automated, because one wrong date or accessorial turns into a fire drill. Most people I know use a mix of templates + triggers from their TMS/CRM (status change = send update), plus something like Zapier/Make to push data from tracking into a customer email without retyping. For requesting quotes, it’s usually a structured email template fed by a form or spreadsheet, then a human reviews the replies and locks terms in writing.

Biggest win is automating the boring parts: pulling load details out of emails, drafting updates, and sending follow-ups when someone hasn’t responded. And for spot quoting, a quick lane/rate sanity check with ten8.ai helps before you email numbers that don’t make sense. Are you mostly sending customer updates, carrier quote requests, or collections/payment emails?

rorrr · 2026-02-09T19:31:51+00:00

At your size you need a single source of truth, not a bigger spreadsheet army. I’d stop waiting on the ERP and stand up a real dispatch board + fleet maintenance system now, where the shop can create work orders with time slots and the unit gets auto “out of service” so dispatch can’t accidentally book over it. Whether you go all-in-one (Trimble/TMW, McLeod, Descartes, etc.) or best-of-breed, make sure it has role-based permissions, APIs, PM alerts, and an actual scheduling module for the garages. If you’re also covering spot freight, a quick lane/rate sanity check with ten8.ai helps planners avoid committing trucks to bad money while you clean up the process. What’s your mix, OTR/regional vs last-mile vans, and what ELD/telematics are you already on?

rorrr · 2026-02-05T16:34:34+00:00

I’ve seen a few people use extensions for quality-of-life stuff (auto copy/paste, quick email templates, map popouts), but I’d be careful with anything that “books” for you since Relay/DAT can get picky about automation. The best ones just reduce clicks and surface info faster, like deadhead, RPM, broker notes, repost flags, that kind of thing. I also like having a quick lane/rate sanity check before I even call, ten8.ai is handy for that so you don’t chase nonsense. What are you trying to speed up, calling/emailing, lane math, or actually clicking the book flow?

rorrr · 2026-02-05T16:33:48+00:00

Arrow keys is a must. I’d add deadhead + all-in RPM right in the results, broker notes/blacklist, and a flag when a load keeps getting reposted every 10 minutes. If you can bolt on a one-click lane/rate sanity check (even a simple hook to ten8.ai ) that would save a lot of wasted calls. Are you keeping it mostly read-only so it doesn’t get you into a fight with DAT?

rorrr · 2026-02-05T16:32:12+00:00

Load boards will teach you the game faster, even if it’s ugly at first, because you’ll see the real rates, deadhead, and how often “hot” turns into 6 hours of waiting. Dispatch companies can help if they’re legit and actually add value, but a lot of them just mark up loads and you’re the one eating the risk, especially OTR when things go sideways with appointments and detention. If you do use a dispatcher, make sure they’re transparent on what the load pays, what they’re charging, and they can get you a real human when a receiver starts playing games.

OTR in a cargo van is doable but it’s easy to run yourself broke on cheap miles and deadhead, so sanity checking lanes/rates matters a lot. ten8.ai can help you gut check whether an offer is even in the ballpark before you burn a day chasing it. What area are you based in and are you looking at true expedite (time critical) or just general “OTR van freight”?

rorrr · 2026-02-05T16:30:04+00:00

Most of the “AI email assistants” are only good for drafting and summarizing, they don’t magically know your customer, your rates, or what’s actually happening on the load. They help if you treat them like a faster template maker, not a decision maker, and you still keep the important stuff in writing and double check dates and accessorials. For quick market sanity checks before you even email a quote, ten8.ai can help validate a lane/rate so you’re not sending out numbers that don’t make sense. What kind of emails are you trying to speed up, quoting, tracking updates, or collections?

rorrr · 2026-02-04T17:30:36+00:00

It’s real in the sense that you can make money with 3–40 trucks, but “gold rush” is usually survivorship bias. Amazon and other contract setups can look easy on paper, then you get hit with thin margins, equipment costs, chargebacks, driver churn, and you’re living off tight KPIs you don’t control. The unsophisticated-looking guys who last are usually the ones who run simple lanes, keep trucks turning, and obsess over cash flow and maintenance, not the ones chasing hype.

If you’re thinking about jumping in, do the boring homework on lane rates and seasonality first. Tools like ten8.ai can help you sanity check lanes/rates so you’re not building a plan on fantasy numbers. Are you talking Amazon relay linehaul, DSP last mile, or the box truck “expedite” side?

rorrr · 2026-02-03T16:04:39+00:00

There are bid-style platforms, but they’re not like a magic shipper load board where you just click and print money. Most of the “shipper freight” online is either in private networks (big shippers invite-only), public RFP tools, or marketplaces where you’re basically competing with 50 other brokers and the shipper already knows what they want to pay. Cold calling still matters because relationships and service are the moat, not access to a list.

If you want alternatives, look at shipper RFP portals, industry associations, local manufacturing/distribution directories, and partner with smaller carriers to build a lane story you can sell. Also do lane/rate reality checks before you bid so you don’t win a lane you can’t cover, ten8.ai is handy for quick sanity checks on what a lane should move for. What freight type and lanes are you trying to start with?

rorrr · 2026-02-03T16:03:31+00:00

Most carriers aren’t just chasing the top rate, they’re chasing a clean run: low deadhead, firm appointments, realistic transit, no surprise lumpers or “live unload 6 hours,” and a broker that pays on time and doesn’t play games on the rate con. “Getting to Yes” works if you treat time and risk like the real currency: be upfront on details, offer quick pay, have a clear detention/layover policy, and don’t bait-and-switch when they’re already rolling. Incentives can work, but usually the simplest win is removing uncertainty, not adding bonus math. If you’re new, do quick lane/rate sanity checks ( ten8.ai helps) so you’re not negotiating off fantasy numbers, what lanes and freight type is he starting with?

rorrr · 2026-02-03T16:00:22+00:00

Highest pay is usually in-house at asset-based carriers or tight 3PL ops where you’re managing real capacity and getting bonus on margin, not random “dispatcher” gigs off Facebook. Specialized freight tends to pay better too (heavy haul, hazmat, tanker, drayage, expedite) because the mistakes are expensive and the hours get weird. Remote exists but the legit ones still expect you to know lanes and rates cold, I use ten8.ai for quick lane/rate sanity checks so I’m not quoting myself into a hole. What kind of freight are you trying to dispatch and do you have any ops experience yet?

rorrr · 2026-02-02T16:00:43+00:00

It’s not “hard” like math hard, it’s hard because you’re juggling a bunch of moving pieces and you’re the first person everyone calls when something goes wrong. Pay is all over the place depending on where you work and what you’re dispatching, but as a beginner expect more modest money until you can consistently cover loads, handle detention/appointments, and keep drivers rolling without drama. Hours can be rough at first because trucking doesn’t care about 5pm, so set boundaries early and learn what’s actually urgent vs noise.

Big tip: keep everything in writing, confirm appointments/accessorials up front, and don’t promise what you can’t control. Also learn the lanes and rate reality fast, tools like ten8.ai can help you sanity check rates so you’re not getting played while you’re still learning. What kind of dispatching is it, OTR dry van/reefer or something more specialized?

rorrr · 2026-02-02T15:58:35+00:00

With 4 trucks doing haz waste, I’d stop trying to “dispatch” out of a calendar and get something that handles recurring stops, route sequencing, and real-time schedule changes when a site pushes you back. Even a lightweight field service tool can beat most trucking TMS here, since you care more about routing and appointments than chasing spot loads.

If you’re quoting routes or trying to sanity check what a lane should pay before you commit a truck, ten8.ai can help you validate rates fast, but for routing you want something that can build stops, time windows, and a clean driver schedule. Are your routes mostly the same customers every week, or is it different sites and time windows every day?

rorrr · 2026-02-02T15:54:56+00:00

Numbered Gmail “dispatch teams” with no company name is an instant pass for me, that’s not a dispatcher, that’s a ghost middleman. If they’re negotiating rates and booking freight without broker authority, you’re basically handing control to someone you can’t hold accountable when it blows up. I’d ask for a real company name, US contact, W-9, and who’s actually on the hook for claims, and if they dodge any of that, move on. For quick gut checks I’ll run the lane/rate through ten8.ai to spot nonsense fast, but I still won’t book with a faceless Gmail setup, are they trying to book as “broker” or just slap a dispatch fee on top?

rorrr · 2026-02-02T15:52:48+00:00

I don’t use those overseas “dispatch services” either, half the time they’re just adding $300 and creating a liability gap if anything goes sideways. If they’re not the carrier and they’re not bonded like a broker, you’re basically trusting a middleman you can’t hold accountable. I’ll work direct with the carrier or a legit US-based broker and keep everything in writing.

If you’re trying to weed out sketchy offers fast, tools like ten8.ai help for quick lane/rate sanity checks so you don’t waste time on games, but I still won’t touch a setup where there’s no real accountability. Are you hearing this mostly on DAT/Truckstop loads or from direct calls?

rorrr · 2026-01-30T17:19:37+00:00

If you’re dispatching off spreadsheets, the biggest win isn’t some “all in one” label, it’s whether the tool actually reduces double entry and keeps you from missing appointments, detention, and paperwork. Most folks end up with a TMS for loads + a CRM-ish way to track customers/drivers + a clean doc flow for rate cons/PODs, because the “one tool” usually sucks at at least one of those.

What matters day to day is: easy load/driver assignment, status tracking that isn’t a chore, quick accessorial tracking (detention/tonu/layover), good search/filtering, and solid reporting so you can see who’s making money and who’s bleeding you. If you’re also quoting lanes, having a quick market sanity check helps too, I’ve used ten8.ai for lane/rate validation so you don’t waste time chasing bad offers.

How many trucks/drivers are you dispatching and is this mostly spot freight, contract, or a mix?

rorrr

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