From application to first load
How reefer dispatch works with us, step by step
Here is how reefer dispatch works from the day you apply to the day your first load delivers: a call, a short agreement, broker packets, your lanes and minimum rate, then loads you approve one at a time. If it isn't working for you, you leave with 30 days notice.
The route
Five stops between applying and rolling
Stop 1
Apply
1 minute
Quick apply in the header or the full form. Trailer, truck count, MC status and a phone number is all we need to start.
Stop 2
First call
Soon after you apply
A dispatcher calls to learn your operation: where you're based, the lanes you like, home time, reefer unit, and the freight you won't haul.
Stop 3
Agreement
Before any booking
A plain dispatch agreement: 6% of gross for one truck, 5% per truck for 2+ trucks, month-to-month, 30 days notice. You sign it before we book anything.
Stop 4
Broker setup
As packets clear
We complete carrier packets with brokers you'll likely haul for, using your MC, insurance certificate and W-9. Some brokers approve in hours, others take days.
Stop 5
First load
When the right load posts
We bring you a load that fits your lanes and floor rate. You approve it, we book it, and the routine starts.
Documents
What to have ready before the first call
Tick them off as you gather them. Having all six ready is the biggest thing you can do to speed up broker setup.
Your ticks stay in this browser only. Nothing is sent to us.
Your preferences
Lanes, home time and the rate you won't go under
These four answers drive every load we pitch you. Get the minimum rate right and the rest gets easier: it has to cover reefer fuel, which doesn't appear on any rate con. Our guide to reefer rates per mile shows current public numbers, and the rate per mile calculator does the math on any load.
- Lanes
- Where you want to run, where you won't go, and whether you'll take the long haul out of California or Florida in season.
- Home time
- Which days you need at home and how far out you'll run between resets.
- Minimum rate
- Your floor in dollars per loaded mile, with reefer fuel and deadhead counted. We don't book below it.
- Freight
- Produce, frozen, dairy, meat. Multi-stops or not. Driver unload or not. Pharma only if your equipment and records qualify.
How you approve every load
Nothing gets booked until you say yes
Each offer comes to you with the numbers you need to decide in a minute: pickup and delivery windows, loaded miles and deadhead, the rate and what it works out to per mile, the setpoint and mode, and anything odd on the rate con like a lumper or a driver-assist unload.
Say no and we keep looking. Say yes and we book it, send you the rate con and handle the broker from there. Settings like setpoint and mode come from the shipper; our guide to reefer temperature settings and pre-cooling explains what each instruction means.
Load for Thu: Greeley, CO to Kansas City, MO
PU Thu 06:00-08:00 · DEL Fri 07:00 appt
610 loaded · 60 deadhead
$2,000 all-in = $3.28/loaded mi
Frozen beef, -10°F continuous, pre-cool
No lumper, live unload
Want it?
Daily contact and the weekly report
What your weekly earnings report looks like
During the week you hear from us by phone and text when there's something to decide or do. Once a week you get the summary: every load, the miles, the gross and our fee, so you can check our math against your settlements.
| Day | Lane | Loaded mi | Deadhead | Gross | $/loaded mi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | Visalia, CA to Las Vegas, NV | 410 | 35 | $1,650 | $4.02 |
| Tue | Las Vegas, NV to Salt Lake City, UT | 420 | 20 | $1,350 | $3.21 |
| Wed | Salt Lake City, UT to Denver, CO | 520 | 15 | $1,700 | $3.27 |
| Thu | Greeley, CO to Kansas City, MO | 610 | 60 | $2,000 | $3.28 |
| Week total | 1960 | 130 | $6,700 | $3.42 | |
| Dispatch fee at 6% | $402 | ||||
Leaving
Cancel with 30 days notice
The agreement is month-to-month. Send written notice and we stop 30 days later. Loads booked before then are run and billed as usual. No cancellation fee, and your broker setups stay yours because they're under your own MC.
Want the price details first? The pricing page has the fee calculator. New to reefers? Start with what a reefer truck is and how the unit works, or go back to the reefer dispatch service overview.
Onboarding questions
How long until my first load is booked?
It depends on how fast broker packets clear and whether a load that fits your lanes and floor rate is posted. Carriers with established authority and a clean insurance certificate usually move fastest. We won't promise a date, and we won't book a bad load to hit one.
Do I need factoring to work with you?
No. Plenty of carriers get paid directly by brokers. If you already factor, send us the notice of assignment so it goes in every packet and the broker pays the right party.
How do we talk day to day?
Phone and text for anything about a live load, email for paperwork. You'll get load offers with the numbers spelled out, check-in reminders, and one weekly report. Dispatchers are on the desk nights and weekends.
Can I take time off?
Yes. Tell us the dates and we stop booking. You don't pay anything for weeks you don't haul.
What do brokers need from me during a load?
Most want check calls or a tracking app, pickup and delivery photos of the bill of lading, and the seal number. Reefer brokers often ask for pulp temps at pickup and a temperature download if there's a claim. We handle the calls; the photos and readings come from you.
Doors open
Start at stop one: apply in about a minute
6% of gross for one truck, 5% per truck for 2+ trucks (limited-time fleet rate). No setup fee, no contract, cancel with 30 days notice. You approve every load.