Many truckers keep finding loads for box trucks to increase their sources of income, mainly when they are not doing a single job with a company or government.
How to Find Loads for Box Trucks? You can find loads for box trucks by looking for efficient load boards like DAT to get customized results that connect you with shippers that match your requirements. Moreover, look for freight brokers or government contractors to confirm a consistent income source. In addition, shippers and dispatchers are also good to consider options when you are struggling with the shortage of hauling options. Furthermore, networking provides an indirect means of looking for suitable loads for your truck.
The trucking industry has changed a lot after the introduction of advanced technology, but one thing is still consistent that is truckers’ desire to find more loads.
Furthermore, many online platforms have solved the issues of drivers and provided them with maximum hauling options in a short time.
What is a box truck?
It is a commercial vehicle that helps transport cargo to different places in a large box-sized container behind a cab.
By looking at its shape, you can also consider it a straight or cube truck. It is highly versatile as it can haul many types of cargo of varying sizes and weights.
Moreover, these powerful engines provide wide space for cargo placement, making them an ideal transportation medium for commercial and residential items.
Furthermore, it can deliver furniture and parcels or provide a storage facility when you want to move to a new place. These trucks can last for 156000 miles with good maintenance.
How do you find loads for box trucks?
There are many ways to find a load for your truck, as many brokers are working through their system to connect the applicant with the one who needs this facility.
Load Board
It is a freight board that matches the requirements of those who want to move heavier or lighter objects on their trucks. Therefore, it helps find a suitable task for the truckers and facilitates the public.
You can also consider it an online marketplace that connects shippers or brokers to the carriers, as they can post their availability on this platform so that someone can hire them.
Moreover, DAT (Delivered at terminal) is considered a reliable platform for providing a suitable offer at both ends by introducing multiple types of filters on their website.
Accordingly, you can find a compatible load for your vehicle in a few easy steps at a reasonable price.
Understand the vehicle
You have to understand whether the vehicle offered for a paid service that it is capable of this task or not. A box truck has many aspects to look for, including its weight holding capacity.
It is essential to check its towing capacity as it can break down on the road anytime when you put stress more than its capacity to tolerate.
Most commonly, a 20 feet long box truck is supposed to tolerate only an 8,000 to 10,000 pounds weight and can be broken down if it exceeds 10,000 pounds or goes against the law.
You have to check all the rules and regulations related to towing limit of the vehicle to avoid disobedience and inconvenience.
All vehicles have specific loading weight limitations to keep them safe, not only for the drivers but for the nearby automobiles sharing a common road.
In addition, the cargo volume is essential to be considered as it has to match the available cargo space; otherwise, it does not fit well on it.
Furthermore, understanding the fuel capacity and efficiency of vehicle help determine each mile’s desired cost.
Accordingly, you have to calculate the CPM values (cost per mile) that include the expenses of the vehicle to cover each mile.
Access the market
Market analysis involves collecting information about the available shippers or online platforms that provide you with better facilities and less strain on your nerves.
DAT is the preferable platform when choosing a load board, but you can also consider other sources that suit you.
I prefer to use DAT as it offers convenience for the new truckers as they can set some requirements to get the appropriate loading options.
Furthermore, you can look for multiple routes that are offered for delivering a product to avail the best ones. You can choose 3 to 5 routes that match your requirement.
Tap on the search loads option and click on the new load search. Choose the type of your vehicle from the options available on their website.
You can choose a straight box option if you have this type of vehicle and click on the partial and full loads to select an option of ‘both’ as it increases the range of results visibility.
After that, enter the length and weight of the box truck and set the date when it is available for hauling.
Prepare yourself for negotiation
Once you have found a load for a box truck, you have to contact the broker. It is better to get an idea of an estimated cost that you are going to demand the task to avoid confusion and regrets.
You have to know about your vehicle and how much fuel it consumes for a single mile so you can calculate it according to the overall length of the route.
The weight of cargo also affects the CPM as heavy material demands more charges than lighter ones. In addition, the fuel cost and the driver’s wages also matter.
So, you have to make up a clear mind before calling a broker for negotiation to take them to your point; otherwise, you have to face a loss sometimes.
You can also click on the toolbox option in the upper right corner of the DAT website to get an idea of the spot rate of the past 50 days to make your mind clear.
The market conditions can tell you about the profit margins, and you can ask for high costs if your area comes under the red market.
Negotiate with the dispatcher
You have to deal with the dispatcher like a professional driver to make an impression to build a reputation and trustworthiness.
You have to get a grip over communication skills that will become your strength after an experience as you can convince a broker at the desired rate.
Moreover, deal politely, try to make them understand if they are not getting your point, and make a good deal at both ends.
Government Contractor
You can get a loading task as a government contractor because there are many transportation tasks to do at the state or federal level that the government governs.
You can sign a contract with any company or become a partner working with governmental bodies as it provides a consistent income source.
Moreover, you can also register as a government employee willing to transport loading materials and haul the loads according to the government’s instructions.
Search a shipper
There is an excellent way to find the shippers by researching the market to know about the requirement of the truck driver for hauling the load.
You can deal with a shipper better if you know that they need you. Additionally, you can call multiple shippers directly to know about the availability of any contract.
It is frustrating to call someone and get a negative response most of the time, but you have to contact and introduce them to secure a good contract.
However, it is better to avoid relying on a single shipper as they have a lot of options to move, but you do not have other contracts.
So, do not stick to one shipper and look for more than one shipper to haul heavy objects.
Freight broker
You can look for freight brokers to connect you with the people or companies that need box truck loading services. It can quickly match the loads and reduce the efforts of the owner-operators.
They negotiate the cost of the hauling service with the shippers on your behalf, so they need some time to do some assessments. Therefore, you have to show patience at this time as it is beneficial for your business.
This assessment helps determine the hauling task’s average profit at the trucker’s end. These freight brokers charge some amount for their services to do the task on your behalf, which can be time-consuming.
They usually mention the charges to clarify so that owner-operators know about the additional cost of services.
Networking for local loads
Networking can be a slow process to find loads, but many truck drivers prefer to rely on this method, mainly when their business operates on a small scale.
You can connect with the shippers through indirect contact, or the internet is a good option.
However, it is better to interact with people by joining any trucking association for the business’s success.
You probably cannot find clients through association, but it opens opportunities to get references from those in your industry who are doing the same work.
Dispatch services
You can also hire a dispatcher to work with for the long-term if your compatibility goes well.
However, you can make an agreement with a dispatching service that can connect you with shippers.
The dispatchers provide services like billing the hauling tasks and accounting for the related information. In addition, it helps build a reliable relationship with truckers and shippers as they manage all the deals.
Moreover, they ensure that shippers pay for the tasks on time to pay their truckers within time.
Does DAT help find loads quickly?
DAT is an effective platform for box truck drivers to find loads that fulfill their requirements.
Not only is it quick in providing results when you search for the available loads, but it offers multiple tasks that can be good for a driver facing financial issues.
They update the results regularly, and almost more than 1.3 billion hauling tasks are posted by different people on their website daily, excluding the weekends.
Moreover, it provides advanced tools that make your search task easier. Accordingly, you can plan the loading tasks by changing the availability for every post to keep your business running.
Search for the desired results and get historical information to make better decisions using DAT.
Related Articles: