For dry van
Dry van is easy to book and easy to under-bill
A dry van load looks simple on the rate con, so the small extras get missed: an hour at a busy dock, a lumper receipt, a second stop the driver made on a phone call. Those add up faster than a cent on the linehaul rate.
Where it leaks on dry van
Six things worth checking on every load
Live-load dock time
Live loading and unloading at busy distribution centers is where hours disappear. The clock only pays if the arrival and departure times are written down and the rate con has detention terms.
Lumper and unload fees
Some receivers require a lumper service. The receipt is the proof, and the rate con usually says whether the broker reimburses it and how. A missing receipt is a common reason it is not paid.
TONU and cancellations
A load cancelled after the truck is dispatched may carry a truck-ordered-not-used amount if the rate con says so. You need the cancellation message with its time.
Extra stops
A second pickup or drop that is not on the rate con needs a revised rate con or a written approval before the driver leaves, not a verbal yes.
Layover
If a delivery appointment slips a day, the driver waits. Layover only exists if your agreement defines it, so read the rate con before you count it.
Invoice differences
An invoice a few dollars under the rate con, or missing a fuel surcharge line, is invisible until someone lines the two documents up.
Why dock time matters more than it looks
A driver's day is capped by federal hours-of-service rules, including a 14-hour window that keeps running while the truck waits. An hour of detention is not only money you may be owed. It is an hour the truck cannot run. That is why free time and the detention rate in your rate con deserve a close read.
The detention calculator turns arrival and departure times into billable hours. The detention evidence guide lists what brokers actually accept.
Free tools for dry van owners
- Cost per mile: what a mile costs you, loaded and empty.
- Minimum rate: the lowest rate per loaded mile worth taking on a specific load.
- Deadhead: what the empty miles to a pickup cost.
- Lumper: the gap between the receipt and what you were reimbursed.
- Invoice aging: what is past 30 days.
We do not publish market rates or live freight rates. The audit uses your own loads only.
Questions
Do you have dry van rate benchmarks?
No. We do not publish market rates, live rates or lane averages. The audit compares your loads with your own file.
What if my broker never pays detention?
The audit shows how often it happened on your loads and with which broker (labeled with your own names, in your report only). Whether to keep hauling for a broker that does not pay is your decision.
Do you book loads for dry van carriers?
No. We are not a broker and not a dispatcher.
Deeper guides: all billing guides, detention pay, short pay, broker payment delay, true RPM. Other segments: flatbed, drayage, hotshot, brokers who pay late.
Related: lumper fees, POD and BOL errors, TONU.
See what your last 20 loads show.
One short form. We reply by email with the next step, and a one-page report follows. Free, no obligation.
Mon-Fri, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (Raleigh, NC). Voicemail is answered the next business day.