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Guides for hotshot drivers
Straight answers to the questions hotshot drivers actually ask — where the contracts are, what the work pays, what a dispatcher costs, and what it takes to get set up.
Finding work
- Hotshot contracts near you
Where do hotshot contracts near me actually come from?
- How to find hotshot loads
How do I find hotshot loads — and can I find them for free?
- Non-CDL hotshot contracts
What hotshot contracts can I run without a CDL?
- Government hotshot contracts
How do government hotshot contracts work?
- What is hotshot trucking?
What is hotshot trucking, and what do hotshot drivers haul?
- Load boards for hotshot loads: what each one really does
What are the best load boards for hotshot loads — and what do drivers actually run into on them?
- The platforms that won't take a hotshot truck
Which big platforms won't take a hotshot truck — Amazon Relay, Uber Freight, Convoy, uShip and Landstar?
- Hauling cars and campers with a hotshot rig
How does hauling cars and campers with a hotshot rig work — and how is it different from regular hotshot freight?
- Hotshot part time: what the weekend version really looks like
Can hotshot trucking be done part time — on weekends, with the truck I already have?
- Hotshot trucking in Canada
How do I start hotshot trucking in Canada?
The money
- How much do hotshot drivers make?
How much do hotshot drivers actually make?
- Hotshot rate per mile
What is a good hotshot rate per mile?
- What it really costs to start hotshot trucking
How much does it cost to start hotshot trucking?
- Is hotshot trucking worth it?
Is hotshot trucking worth it — is it profitable, and is it in demand?
- Shopping for hotshot insurance when the big names say no
Who writes hotshot insurance when a big name pulls back — and how do I shop it?
Not getting cheated
- What does a hotshot dispatcher cost?
What does a hotshot dispatcher cost — and is one worth it?
- Hotshot scams: dispatchers, fake brokers and roadside traps
How do I spot a hotshot scam — a bad dispatcher, a fake broker, or a trap on the road?
- Factoring for hotshot drivers: the contract is the product
How does factoring work for hotshot drivers — and what does the contract really say?
- Getting paid by brokers — and what to do when one doesn't pay
How do I get paid by a broker — and what do I do when one doesn't pay?
Getting set up
- Do I need my own authority for hotshot?
Do I need my own authority to run hotshot?
- Hotshot insurance: what the doors ask for
What insurance does hotshot work take, and what drives the cost?
- How to start hotshot trucking, step by step
How do I start hotshot trucking, step by step?
- Leasing on vs. your own authority
Should I lease on to a carrier or get my own authority?
Equipment
- The hotshot truck: what works, what doesn't
What is the best hotshot truck setup — and what trucks will not work?
- The hotshot trailer: length, type and the mistakes that cost
What is the best hotshot trailer — and what length should I buy?
Rules of the road
- Hotshot weight limits, with and without a CDL
How much weight can a hotshot haul — with a CDL and without one?
- DOT rules for hotshot drivers: numbers, scales, tests and the medical card
Do hotshots need a DOT number, drug tests and a medical card — and do they have to stop at weigh stations?
- ELDs, logbooks and sleeping in a hotshot truck
Do hotshot drivers need an ELD and a logbook — and where can they legally sleep?
- IRP, IFTA and apportioned plates for hotshot trucks
Do hotshot trucks need IRP, IFTA and apportioned plates?