The platforms that won't take a hotshot truck

That door is closed, and it is worth saying plainly so you do not spend weeks applying: Amazon Relay does not accept pickup trucks or gooseneck trailers at all, Uber Freight has no hotshot program and works with 53-foot semi trailers, and Convoy — the app drivers still ask about — shut down in October 2023 and no longer exists. uShip will take a pickup, but it is a consumer bidding market with thin rates. Landstar is a real carrier, but its owner-operators run semi tractors. Below is each door, and the questions drivers ask about Relay and Uber Freight answered one by one — most of them moot for a hotshot rig, for the simple reason that the rig cannot get in.

Amazon Relay: no pickups, no goosenecks

Amazon Relay's own site lists the equipment it accepts. Tractors: day cab and sleeper cab. Box trucks: 26-foot and 16-foot, each with a working tuck-under liftgate. Trailers: a 48-foot trailer, a 53-foot dry van, a 53-foot reefer, and 20, 40 and 45-foot high-cube containers. That is the whole list. No pickup trucks — Relay guidance summaries state pickups, sprinter vans and cargo vans do not qualify under any circumstances — and no gooseneck or flatbed gooseneck of any kind.

Can I use a pickup truck or a gooseneck for Amazon Relay?

No. This is the question drivers ask most, in several forms — pickup, gooseneck, hotshot truck — and the answer is the same each time, from Amazon's own equipment list. If your power unit is a pickup, there is no Relay work for it, whatever your authority, insurance or record looks like.

How long does my authority have to be active for Amazon Relay?

A minimum of 180 days. Relay's own requirements call for a DOT number with interstate authority active for at least 180 days and a valid MC number. For a hotshot rig this is moot — the equipment rule closes the door before the authority rule is ever reached — but it matters if you ever run eligible equipment: a brand-new authority cannot start on Relay even with the right truck.

What insurance does Amazon Relay require?

Relay's own site lists: commercial general liability of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in total, auto liability of $1,000,000 including $50,000 of trailer replacement cover, and cargo cover of at least $100,000. Again, moot for a pickup and gooseneck — no insurance package makes ineligible equipment eligible.

Can I book Amazon loads on DAT or Truckstop instead?

No. Amazon states that it does not tender loads through any third-party load boards, and that Amazon loads go only to approved, onboarded carriers through the Relay portal or app. An 'Amazon load' posted on a public board is not a back door into Relay — treat it as a warning sign, not an opportunity.

Does Amazon Relay pay weekly?

For its own carriers, yes: Relay's payment cycle runs Sunday to Saturday, and work completed before Saturday night is paid the following Friday. This is one of the Relay questions that is simply moot for a hotshot rig — the pay schedule of a system your truck cannot join does not change your week.

Does Relay pay detention and TONU when it cancels?

Drivers' reports are mixed and disputed, which is the honest answer. TONU — truck ordered, not used, the fee owed when a load is cancelled after you were ordered in — is reported at usually around $175 when the cancellation lands within about two hours of pickup, but carriers report cancelled blocks going unpaid and having to dispute to get anything. Detention — pay for waiting at a facility — is reported as hard to collect when the facility never logged the driver's check-in, because the system never starts the clock. Every one of these disputes must be filed within 30 days; miss the window and the payment is gone for good. All of it is moot for a hotshot rig, and it is worth knowing anyway: even inside the door, the pay fights are real.

Why was my Relay application denied with no reason — and can Relay suspend me?

Relay applicants report a form rejection that says, in effect, that Amazon has decided not to move forward, that details will not be shared, and that there is no way to discuss or dispute it. Carriers inside report a performance score graded over a rolling six weeks, from F to A+, and suspensions tied to late arrivals, cancellations and safety scores. One point surprises drivers: Amazon's safety cut-offs are stricter than the federal ones — its listed BASIC score limits include Unsafe Driving below 60%, hours-of-service below 60% and Vehicle Maintenance below 75% — so a carrier can be perfectly legal to run on the highway and still be shut out of Amazon facilities. Drivers also report being marked down for refusing loads while out of hours. Moot for a hotshot rig — but if you ever run a tractor under Relay, know the house rules are tougher than the government's.

Why is Amazon Relay withholding my payments?

Carriers report payments held for weeks after bank or email changes, disputes denied, and small offers in place of cancelled-load pay. The practical rules from Relay's own payment guidance: disputes have a 30-day window, and late disputes are lost. For a hotshot driver the whole heading is moot — there are no Relay payments to withhold from a rig Relay will not load.

Uber Freight: built around tractors

Uber Freight's own carrier help pages state what it works with: 53-foot dry van, refrigerated or flatbed trailers — semi equipment. There is no hotshot category on its official signup, no gooseneck option, and no way to register a pickup as the power unit. One blog on the internet claims an 'Uber Freight Hotshot' service exists; Uber Freight's own equipment rules say otherwise, and the company's own words are the ones that decide who gets loaded. That door is closed to a hotshot rig.

Can you do Uber Freight with a pickup or a gooseneck?

No, in both forms of the question. Uber Freight requires a commercial semi tractor paired with a 53-foot trailer. A pickup with a gooseneck is not a smaller version of that in Uber Freight's system — it is simply not equipment the platform books.

What insurance does Uber Freight require?

At least $1,000,000 in auto liability and $100,000 in cargo cover, reefer breakdown cover for reefer carriers, a valid insurance certificate, DOT and MC numbers, and no Conditional or Unsatisfactory safety rating. Moot for a hotshot rig, for the same equipment reason as Relay.

How fast does Uber Freight pay, and does it pay detention?

Reviews credit Uber Freight with paying within about seven days most of the time, with a no-fee quick-pay option praised by carriers. Detention is the disputed part: some carriers report detention and layover going unpaid, others report detention denials blamed on app tracking even when the driver had tracking on and called in at check-in and check-out. Carriers also report loads cancelled hours before pickup — in one report after waiting all day for a morning appointment — and freight described as cheap and heavy, including a load listed at 40,000 pounds that arrived at 45,000. All moot for a pickup rig, and all useful to know before assuming the big apps treat their own carriers gently.

Convoy: gone, not an option

Convoy shut down on October 19, 2023. Its chief executive's memo ended operations, 533 employees were laid off, and Flexport later bought Convoy's technology — not its debts. Any site, app or person offering you Convoy work today is not Convoy. The harder lesson sits in what happened to its carriers: drivers who hauled Convoy's final loads while payment was promised were left chasing settlements for a fraction of what they were owed, months later. When any platform or broker wobbles, the carrier who hauled last gets paid last, if at all. That is a reason to watch a broker's credit on every board, not just this one.

uShip: open to pickups, thin by design

uShip is the exception on this page: it does take pickup-and-gooseneck carriers, because it is a public bidding market where anyone with a truck and trailer can bid on posted moves. But know what it is. uShip banned heavy equipment hauling in 2019, which cut out a large share of classic hotshot freight. What remains leans consumer — household moves, single cars, furniture, boats — and consumers shop on price. Drivers on forums report uShip trips going as low as 44 cents a mile and bidding against operators running with no DOT number, no MC authority and no commercial insurance. You cannot out-bid a man who is skipping the costs you are legally carrying, and you should not try.

Does uShip hold my money until delivery?

Yes — that is its payment model, and customers praise it when it works: the customer's payment is held and released when the delivery is confirmed. For the carrier it means your money rides on the customer's release, and when a job goes wrong the support is thin. In one reported case a driver never showed and never called, the customer was made whole, and uShip treated the rest as a dispute between private parties because the driver is an independent contractor. uShip can fill an empty backhaul at a price you choose with open eyes. As a foundation for a hotshot business, the rates and the fee taken off them rarely carry the costs of running legal.

Landstar: a semi carrier

Landstar is a genuine, large carrier — and its owner-operators run semi tractors pulling company and leased trailers. Drivers ask directly whether Landstar has loads for duallys pulling flatbed trailers, and the shape of its fleet is the answer: it is not built around dually rigs. Large brokerages of Landstar's tier also sit at the slow end of the new-authority scale, commonly asking six to twelve months of active authority before booking a carrier. Do not plan a hotshot business around a Landstar lease.

Brokers who post 'no hotshots'

Sooner or later you will read it in a load's comments: the load would fit your deck, your weight and your day — 'no hotshots.' It happens for reasons that have little to do with your driving. Some shippers and receivers write equipment rules into their contracts. Some brokers were burned by a hotshot rig that arrived with too little deck, too little insurance or freight hanging off the back, and banned the class instead of checking the truck. Some loads need a full 48-foot deck for load planning even when today's freight is short. And some of it is plain habit: flatbed means semi in the broker's mind.

What actually works is not arguing on the phone. Call with your exact facts ready — deck length, deck height, weight ratings, insurance limits — because a broker who can picture your real trailer sometimes makes an exception for a load that truly fits. Run the partial and smaller flatbed freight where hotshot rigs are wanted, not tolerated. And build direct doors: the rental yard that has watched your rig load does not post 'no hotshots' on anything. The board comment is a closed door. The yard counter is not.