Dump trucks
Dump truck dispatch that keeps the truck on paying jobs, with your yes on every one
Dump work doesn't live on the same load boards as van freight. It comes from contractors, pits, quarries, public jobs and haul brokers, and it's paid by the hour, the ton or the load. Your dispatcher works those sources, sends you each job with the rate and start time, and books it only when you confirm. 5% of gross with 6+ months of authority, no contract.
Load offer · Example
1 of 2
Quarry, Denver, CO to Job site, Aurora, CO
Tri-axle dump · Hourly, 10-hour day, base rock
- Haul
- 22 mi
- Deadhead
- 8 mi
- Rate
- $105/hr
- Gross
- $1,050
- Dispatch fee 5%
- -$53
- You keep
- +$997
Every load comes to you like this. You confirm or pass, and the rate con goes straight to you.
What dump work pays, honestly
There's no trustworthy national average for dump truck rates, and anyone quoting one is guessing. Pay is set locally by the market, the material, the truck size, the season and the job. A tri-axle hauling base rock to a highway job and a tandem hauling fill dirt to a house pad can be in the same county and paid completely differently.
The real benchmarks are local: published bid tabulations from your state DOT and county road departments show what contractors win public jobs for, and contractor and pit rate sheets show what the trucks under them are paid. For public projects, prevailing wage rules can also apply to haul drivers, depending on the job and the state.
That's why we work the numbers per job, not per average. The calculator below shows how the same job pays out hourly versus per ton, so you can tell which one a job offer should be, before you say yes.
Same job, paid two ways: which one should you take?
Enter the minutes on each leg of the cycle (load, haul, dump, return), the tons you legally carry, and the two rates you're offered. The math shows loads per day, the gross each way, our fee and what you keep.
Cycle 52 min · 11 loads in 10 hours · 176 tons hauled
Paid hourly
Example- Gross
- $1,050
- Fee 5%
- -$53
- You keep
- +$997
Paid per ton (pays more)
Example- Gross
- $1,144
- Fee 5%
- -$57
- You keep
- +$1,087
Per ton wins on this job: the cycle is short enough that tons stack up faster than the clock. Break-even per-ton rate here: $5.97/ton. Tons per load must stay within your truck's legal payload. Never load over.
Where a dump truck dispatcher finds the work
Different sources pay differently and want different things from a truck. A good desk works several at once so one slow source doesn't park you.
- 01
Contractors
Site work, paving and utility contractors who need trucks beyond their own fleet. Steady once they trust you, often hourly.
- 02
Pits and quarries
Material sellers who need trucks to deliver what they sell. Often per ton or per load, with fast loaders and short cycles.
- 03
Public and DOT jobs
Road and bridge work under public contracts. More paperwork, certified payroll on some jobs, prevailing wage rules where they apply.
- 04
Construction haul brokers
Brokers who match trucks to jobs for contractors. Useful for filling days, but read their pay terms closely.
- 05
Dump truck load boards
A handful of boards and apps carry dump work. Good for gaps, rarely enough to keep a truck busy by themselves.
Deeper reading: every load source, from boards to direct customers and how to choose a truck dispatcher.
Dump trucks we dispatch, from tandems to trailers
The truck decides which jobs it fits. We match each job to the body, axles and legal payload you actually have.
Tandems and tri-axles
The workhorses for contractor and pit work. Tri-axles and quads add legal payload where state rules allow.
Quints and super tens
More axles, more legal tons on state roads that permit them. Rules vary a lot by state, so we check before offering.
End dumps
Trailer end dumps for longer hauls of aggregate, sand and demolition material.
Belly and side dumps
Bottom dumps for spreading on road jobs; side dumps for fast unloads where the site allows it.
Transfers and pups
Truck and trailer combinations that move more tons per trip on the right jobs.
Single axles
Smaller jobs, garden and nursery supply runs, and tight residential sites.
Not sure which is which? See types of dump trucks.
Haul tickets, invoices and getting paid
Dump work runs on tickets. Every load gets a scale ticket or haul ticket showing material, tons, time and job, and those tickets are how you get paid. Lost tickets are lost money, so keep them, photograph them and match them to the job daily.
Contractors can pay slowly, sometimes 30 to 60 days or longer. If that squeezes your fuel and payroll, dump truck factoring can advance most of an invoice soon after the work is done. You can also grab our haul ticket template to keep your own daily log.
Rain days and the off-season
Dump work is weather work. When the pit closes for rain or the job shuts down for winter, the truck earns nothing, and with us you owe nothing either: no loads, no fee.
What we do about it: line up jobs across more than one contractor so one shutdown doesn't stop the week, look for work that runs in wet weather, and plan around the season you're in. If you have a trailer setup that can run road freight in the slow months, we can dispatch that too, under the same terms.
Dump truck dispatcher questions
How much does dump truck dispatch cost?
5% of the gross on jobs you haul once your authority is 6 months old, 7% before that, and 4% per truck for fleets of two or more. Hourly, per-ton and per-load jobs all work the same way: a percentage of what the job pays. No setup fee, no minimums.
How do dump truck dispatchers find work?
From contractors who need extra trucks, pits and quarries that deliver material, public and DOT jobs, construction haul brokers and a few dump-focused boards. Most good dump work comes from relationships and repeat customers, which is why a desk that already works these sources helps.
Do I have to take every job you find?
No. Each job comes to you with the rate, pay basis, start time, material and location. You confirm or pass. Nothing is booked without your yes, and passing costs you nothing.
Is hourly or per-ton pay better?
It depends on the cycle. Short hauls with fast loaders usually favor per-ton pay because loads stack up quickly. Long hauls or slow loaders usually favor hourly pay. The calculator on this page shows the break-even per-ton rate for any job.
Do I need my own authority for dump work?
It depends on where you haul. Interstate for-hire work needs federal registration and operating authority. Plenty of dump work is intrastate and runs on state registration and a USDOT number where the state requires one. Our new authority page walks through both paths.
Can you dispatch more than one dump truck?
Yes. Fleets of two or more pay 4% per truck, and each truck gets planned for its own jobs, with a weekly report that lists every job per truck.
What about prevailing wage jobs?
Some public projects require prevailing wages for haul drivers, depending on the contract and the state. We flag those jobs when we see them, and the contractor's paperwork tells you the rules that apply. Our prevailing wage guide links the official wage determinations.
Do you dispatch dump trucks in my state?
Apply with your home base and the area you want to work, and the setup call will tell you straight what we're seeing there. We won't promise steady work in a market we don't know.
Pricing for every tier is on the fee schedule.
Your truck, your jobs, your yes
No setup fee. Cancel with 30 days notice.
Load offer · Example
1 of 2
Quarry, Denver, CO to Job site, Aurora, CO
Tri-axle dump · Hourly, 10-hour day, base rock
- Haul
- 22 mi
- Deadhead
- 8 mi
- Rate
- $105/hr
- Gross
- $1,050
- Dispatch fee 5%
- -$53
- You keep
- +$997
Every load comes to you like this. You confirm or pass, and the rate con goes straight to you.