Car hauling dispatch that counts every walk-around, not just the miles
A car hauler's day is a string of stops: an auction lot, three or four dealers, sometimes a private customer at the end of a cul-de-sac. At every one of them you load or unload, walk around each vehicle, note the damage, take the photos and get the signature. All of that is on-duty time, and on a multi-drop day it can eat a third of your 14-hour window. Our car hauling dispatchers plan the stops with that time already in, negotiate per-vehicle and per-load rates that pay for it, and send every load to you as a rate confirmation for your yes or no.
A hypothetical multi-drop day, stop by stop
This is a made-up day for a made-up driver with a 7-car trailer, built to show how a car hauling day really spends its hours. It is not a record of real results. Tap each stop to see the work done there and where it sits on the 24-hour strip. Watch the amber blocks: two hours at the auction alone, then a stop at every dealer.
MULTI-DROP DAY · 7-CAR TRAILERHYPOTHETICAL
- Yard0 on deck
- Auction7 on deck
- Dealer A5 on deck
- Dealer B4 on deck
- Dealer C2 on deck
- Dealer D0 on deck
STOP 1 · AUCTION · 07:00
Load 7 vehicles. Walk-around on each, condition noted on the bill of lading, photos of every panel. About 2 hours on duty.
- DRIVING
- 06:45
- ON DUTY, NOT DRIVING
- 05:15
- WINDOW USED
- 12:00
Hypothetical day for illustration. Loading, inspecting and photographing vehicles is on-duty time under 49 CFR 395. Limits per 49 CFR 395.3.
Two details in that day are deliberate. First, the 30-minute break doesn't need its own stop: any 30 consecutive minutes off the wheel counts, so the 45-minute unload at the first dealer covers it (49 CFR 395.3(a)(3)(ii)). Second, the day ends with two hours of window left. A plan with no slack falls apart at the first dealer whose lot is full.
Keep the photos with the paperwork
In car hauling, your best protection against a damage claim is the condition report you made before the vehicle moved. Note every scratch and dent on the bill of lading at pickup, take photos of every panel, and do it again at delivery with the receiver's signature. Keep the photos with the BOL for each load, not just in your camera roll. When a claim shows up weeks later, a dated photo set that matches the paperwork usually settles it. We collect the paperwork per load and keep it with your load file, so it's there when a broker asks.
Where car hauling loads come from
Car hauling freight comes from a handful of places, and each one has its own timing, paperwork and payment habits:
Auctions
Dealers
Relocations and private customers
Fleet and rental moves
How we plan a car hauling day
We start with the pickup. Auctions and big lots have release processes and loading lines, so we confirm the release paperwork and gate passes before you go, and we ask how long loading usually takes at that lot. Then we build the drop order: the route that fits each dealer's receiving hours and your clock, not just the shortest line on a map.
Every stop gets time for the unload, the walk-around, the photos and the signature. That time is on duty, not driving, and it counts against your 14-hour window like everything else. A plan that books four dealer drops 30 minutes apart, with no time to unload, is a plan that will make you late at the third one.
We also plan the reload. A car hauler running empty back from the last dealer is losing money with every mile, so we look for vehicles going your way from the delivery area, or the next auction near your last drop, while you're still unloading.
And we plan for the stop that goes wrong. A dealer who isn't open yet, a lot with no room to unload, a customer who doesn't answer the phone: each of those can cost an hour. When it happens we call ahead to the next stops, move the times that need moving, and protect the 10-hour break after your last stop rather than squeezing it to finish the route.
Wedge, hotshot or full multi-car rig: we dispatch them all
Car haulers come in very different sizes, and each one fits different freight. A pickup with a 2 or 3-car wedge trailer is nimble, can reach residential streets and small dealer lots, and is often run without a CDL. A dually with a 3 or 4-car gooseneck adds capacity while staying flexible. A full 7 to 10-car stinger or high-mount rig carries the most vehicles per mile, but needs a CDL, bigger lots and more planning around low clearances and tight turns.
We match loads to the rig you actually run. That means your deck count, your weight ratings, whether you carry SUVs and pickups or only cars, your ramp setup, and whether you can do residential deliveries. A load that needs 8 spots never reaches a 3-car wedge, and a single-car run across town doesn't get offered to a 9-car rig as if it were worth the trip.
Hours of service apply to all of them in interstate commerce once the rig is rated 10,001 pounds or more (49 CFR 390.5), with or without a CDL. Smaller rigs often hit that threshold sooner than drivers expect, so we plan every car hauler's day inside the 11-hour and 14-hour limits.
When a damage claim shows up
Damage claims are part of car hauling, and how they end usually depends on what you documented at pickup. When a claim comes in, we pull the load file: the bill of lading with the condition notes, the pickup and delivery photos, the signatures and the timestamps. If the damage was noted at pickup, that record usually answers the claim. If it wasn't, we help you respond quickly and work with your insurer. What we can't do is fix a load with no condition report, which is why the photo habit matters more than any dispatcher.
WHO IT FITS
Car hauling dispatch fits owner-operators and small fleets running wedge, gooseneck or multi-car rigs who want auction and dealer days planned with real stop times, and rates negotiated per vehicle with the work counted.
A car hauling week, planned around the auctions
EXAMPLE, one owner-operator with a 7-car trailer based near Atlanta. Monday: an auction pickup and four dealer drops across north Georgia, like the day above. Tuesday: a dealer trade run to Chattanooga, booked Monday night, with a backhaul of three vehicles going back toward Atlanta. Wednesday: a relocation load for two families moving to Florida, with residential delivery times confirmed in advance. Thursday: the auction ran slow, release paperwork took two hours, and the delay was documented; Friday's plan was adjusted to keep the 10-hour break whole. Friday: a fleet repositioning run that ended 30 miles from home. Every load reached the driver as a rate confirmation first.
What a car hauling dispatcher handles
Release paperwork and gate passes
Drop order and timing
Rate per vehicle and per load
Payment terms
Backhauls
What car hauling dispatch costs
Same fee as every truck we dispatch: 5% of gross for one truck with authority older than 6 months, 7% while your MC is under 6 months, and 4% for fleets of 2 or more trucks while the fleet rate lasts. Wedge, hotshot and multi-car rigs all pay the same rate. No setup fee, no minimums, month to month, and nothing on a week you don't haul. Full pricing
- one truck, authority 6+ months
- 5%
- new MC, first 6 months
- 7%
- fleets of 2+ (limited time)
- 4%
- setup fee or minimums
- $0
More dealers per day, without a dead clock at the last one
Apply in about 2 minutes. Every load waits for your yes.
Start car hauling dispatch