Dump truck dispatch that keeps the truck working, not waiting for a call
Dump work is local, early and unforgiving of gaps. A good week is five full days at job sites, quarries and plants close to home. A bad week is three days of work and two days of phone calls looking for the next job. Our dump truck dispatchers find the work, line up the days, track the tickets and keep an eye on the hours rules that still apply to local trucks. Every job still comes to you for a yes or no before it's booked, and the fee is the same as any truck we dispatch.
RATE CON · 06:00
QUARRY -> SITE 4 · 22 MI
HOURLY, 8 HR MIN
BOOKED
Dump truck dispatch vs finding the work yourself
Plenty of dump truck owners keep busy through their own contacts, and some of them should keep doing exactly that. Here's a fair comparison of where the time goes:
| ON YOUR OWN | WITH OUR DESK | |
|---|---|---|
| Finding work | Calls to contractors, brokers and plants, usually in the evening | A dispatcher calling contractors and brokers during the day |
| Gaps between jobs | Common when one job ends early | Next job lined up before the current one wraps |
| Tickets and paperwork | Kept in the cab, sorted on the weekend | Collected daily and matched to each job |
| Hours and time records | Often an afterthought on local work | Checked against the short-haul rules every day |
| Billing and follow-up | Your evenings | Invoices backed by tickets, chased when late |
| When DIY wins | Steady contracts with one or two contractors | When finding the next job is eating your week |
Does today fit the short-haul exception? The fit check
Most dump work stays close to the yard, which is why many dump drivers run under the short-haul exception in 49 CFR 395.1(e) instead of keeping a full record of duty status. Set your license type, the farthest point you'll go, your report and release times, and whether you come back to the same yard. The check tells you whether the day may fit the exception or needs regular logs, and lists the time records the carrier must keep either way.
SHORT-HAUL FIT CHECKPLANNING AID
Driver license
Back to the same yard?
MAY FIT THE SHORT-HAUL EXCEPTION
A 11:30 day within 60 air miles of your yard, returning to it. If every condition holds, you may keep time records instead of RODS and an ELD isn't required that day.
Time records the carrier still keeps for 6 months either way:
- Time you report for duty each day
- Total hours on duty each day
- Time you're released each day
- Total time for the preceding 7 days
§ 49 CFR 395.1(e)(1)-(2) · checked 2026-10-05 · verify against the current rule; not legal advice.
The exception changes how you record your time, not whether you track it. Even on a day that fits, the carrier keeps time records showing when you reported, your total hours, when you were released and your total for the past 7 days, and keeps them for 6 months. A short-haul day that runs long, or a job that sends you past 150 air miles, needs a full record of duty status for that day.
Short-haul rules for dump trucks, in plain words
- air miles from your yard (172.6 statute)
- 150
- back and released (CDL)
- 14 hr
- off between shifts
- 10 hr
- time records kept
- 6 mo
For CDL drivers, the 150 air-mile exception in 395.1(e)(1) applies when you stay within 150 air miles of your normal work reporting location (that's 172.6 statute miles), return there and are released within 14 consecutive hours, and get at least 10 consecutive hours off between shifts. On those days you don't need a record of duty status or an ELD, and the 30-minute break rule doesn't apply.
Non-CDL drivers get a variation in 395.1(e)(2): stay within 150 air miles, return to the work reporting location at the end of each duty tour, and don't drive after the 14th hour on duty on 5 days of any 7, or after the 16th hour on 2 days of any 7. There's also a separate 16-hour short-haul exception in 395.1(o) for drivers who return to the same location every day, usable once every 7 days. The 16-hour exception
ELDs follow from this. A dump truck driver who qualifies for the short-haul exception every day doesn't need one. A driver who needs a full record of duty status on more than 8 days in any 30-day period generally does. If your work mixes local days with longer hauls, track those days carefully. This page is not legal advice; the regulation is the authority. The 150 air-mile exemption
How dump truck work pays: hourly, per ton or per load
Dump work pays in three common ways, and the right one depends on the job. We negotiate the pay model along with the rate:
Hourly
Paid for your time on the job, usually with a minimum. Best when loading lines are long or the job site is slow, because waiting is paid.
Watch for: when the clock starts and stops, and the minimum hours.
Per ton
Paid on the weight you haul, backed by scale tickets. Best on short, fast cycles with quick loading.
Watch for: loading delays you aren't paid for, and ticket accuracy.
Per load
A flat amount per trip. Best when the cycle time is predictable and the route is clear.
Watch for: how a cancelled or partial load is paid.
We look at cycle time before choosing. If a quarry has a long line, hourly usually beats per ton. If a job site is a quick in-and-out, per load or per ton can earn more. We'll show you the math on the jobs we offer. Whatever the model, the terms go in writing before the first load: the rate, when the clock starts, the minimum, how tickets are counted, and when the contractor pays. Most dump truck payment disputes come from terms that were only agreed on the phone.
Dump trucks we dispatch
Tri-axle and quad-axle dumps
End dumps
Side dumps
Belly dumps
What a dump truck dispatcher handles
Lines up the work
Tracks tickets
Watches the hours
Handles billing
Plans the season
Tickets are money: keep every one
In dump work, the ticket is the invoice. A load ticket or scale ticket signed at the plant or the job site is the proof that a load happened and how much it weighed. Lose it and you're arguing about a load you hauled. We collect tickets every day, a photo from your phone is enough, and match them to each job so every invoice goes out complete. When a contractor disputes a count, the matched tickets usually end the conversation.
SCALE TICKET
TKT 4471 · 22.4 T
MATCHED
SCALE TICKET
TKT 4472 · 21.9 T
MATCHED
SCALE TICKET
TKT 4473 · 22.8 T
MATCHED
A dump truck week, planned the steady way
EXAMPLE, one owner-operator with a tri-axle dump based outside Dallas. Monday and Tuesday: hourly work hauling dirt off a site 18 miles from the yard, with an 8-hour minimum. Wednesday: the site job finished early, so a per-ton aggregate run from a quarry to a road project was already lined up for the afternoon. Thursday: a long quarry line made per-ton work slow, so the dispatcher moved the truck to an hourly asphalt job instead. Friday: a half day of demolition debris and home by 14:00. Every day fit the short-haul exception, released well inside 14 hours, and every job reached the driver for a yes before it was booked.
Dump truck dispatch fits owner-operators and small fleets who want full, steady local days without spending evenings on the phone, and who'd rather drive than chase contractors for the next job or the last invoice. If one contractor already keeps your truck busy five days a week, a desk adds less; we'll say so.
What dump truck dispatch costs
The 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. No setup fee, no minimums, month to month, and nothing on a week you don't work. 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
Five full days, home every night
Apply in about 2 minutes. Every job waits for your yes.
Start dump truck dispatchEXAMPLE · 49 CFR 395.3 · checked 2026-10-05