Team driver dispatch that keeps two drivers and one truck earning
You drove team for a carrier, and now the truck is yours. The miles still need two people, but the freight, the split and the paperwork are on you. Our team driver dispatch plans loads around both logs, so the wheels turn while one of you sleeps, and every load still comes to you to confirm or pass.
What changes when the team owns the truck
- Freight. No one assigns you loads. A team truck that sits half a day costs two people a day of pay.
- The split. Your carrier used to cut two checks. Now you decide how the money left after costs is divided.
- Each driver's file. Two logs, two medical cards and, on your own authority, two drivers in your random testing pool.
Source: 49 CFR 395.8(a) · checked Oct 2026
Run your team week, then split it your way
The scorecard starts with an EXAMPLE week: 5,200 team miles at $2.25 a mile. Change any number. It takes the dispatch fee and fuel off the top, then your fixed costs, and divides what's left by the split you choose. Gross means the rate on every rate con you hauled that week, before anything else comes out.
Fuel uses the EIA U.S. average diesel price, $6.382/gal (September 28, 2026). Everything else is an EXAMPLE: put in your own numbers.
- Gross
- $11,700
- Dispatch fee 5%
- −$585
- Fuel
- −$5,106
- Fixed costs
- −$1,450
- Left to split
- $4,559
Driver A · 50%
$2,280
Own ELD log, own medical card, own Clearinghouse record
Driver B · 50%
$2,280
Own ELD log, own medical card, own Clearinghouse record
Before taxes. How a team pays itself (one owner and a paid co-driver, or two partners) is a question for your tax professional.
The split is yours to set
We never touch your split. We calculate our fee on the gross and invoice the truck's business, the same way we would for a solo driver. How you divide the rest is between the two of you. If you want to test different splits with per-mile pay for a hired co-driver, the team driver pay split calculator does that.
Two drivers, two logs
Each driver gets their own 11 hours of driving in a 14-hour window and their own weekly limit. The truck can run close to 20 hours a day only because two separate clocks take turns. When we plan a load, we look at both clocks, not one.
Source: 49 CFR 395.3(a), (b), (c) · checked Oct 2026
Two of everything on paper
Both drivers need a current CDL for the truck, a medical card and a clean Clearinghouse record. If your team runs under your own USDOT number, both of you belong in a random drug and alcohol pool. See owner-operator drug testing rules.
Freight that pays a team, and freight that wastes one
A team earns its keep on distance and speed. A solo driver can legally drive 11 hours a day; a team truck can stay on the road most of the day and night. Loads that need that, and pay for it, look like this:
- Long-haul lanes, 1,000 miles and up. West Coast to Texas, Midwest to the Southeast, cross-country produce in a reefer. The longer the run, the more the team advantage counts.
- Expedited and time-critical freight. Parts for a plant that's waiting, retail freight on a launch date, loads a solo driver can't deliver on time. Brokers price that speed into the rate.
- Grocery and temperature-controlled freight. Shippers that need short transit times on long lanes often ask for teams by name.
- Freight a carrier used to give you. Many dedicated team lanes belong to large carriers. Brokers post the overflow, and that is where a small team truck finds its share.
And what wastes a team: 300-mile regional loads with live unloads. Two people sitting at a dock is the most expensive hour your truck has. We'd rather offer you a longer load at a slightly lower rate per mile that keeps both of you driving.
Reload planning, EXAMPLEExample
A team picks up in Fresno, California on Monday morning, 2,150 miles to Atlanta. Running team, they can deliver Wednesday afternoon. We start looking for the reload while they're still in Texas, so the next offer is on their phone before the trailer is empty, not after.
National spot rate context, June 2026
- Dry van
- $3.00/mi
- Reefer
- $3.39/mi
All-in averages including fuel, for all loads, not only team loads. Long hauls usually pay less per mile than short ones.
Source: DAT Freight & Analytics, national averages for June 2026 (released July 9, 2026) · checked Oct 2026
Your call on every load. We negotiate, then show you the load. You decide together; the broker sends the rate con to you, and a pass costs you nothing. No one gets forced onto a run neither of you wants.
Team dispatch questions
Team trucks pay the same fee as solo trucks, because the fee follows your authority age and fleet size, not how many drivers sit in the cab: 7% while your MC is under 6 months, 5% after, 4% when you run 2 or more trucks (limited time). Nothing to pay up front, no long contract, and 30 days notice ends it. Pricing and terms.
Still driving team for a carrier? Your carrier dispatches you, and we can't. We work with teams that own their truck and have their own authority. If you're weighing that move, start with team truck driving, then come back.
One more rule worth knowing: a driver can count at least 7 hours in the sleeper plus up to 3 hours in the passenger seat toward the 10-hour break.
Source: 49 CFR 395.1(g)(1)(i)(D) · checked Oct 2026
How do owner-operator teams split pay?
There's no standard. Couples often pool everything. Partners who co-own the truck usually split what's left after costs by ownership share or by miles each one drove. An owner with a hired co-driver pays the co-driver a set rate, often per mile, and keeps the rest along with the costs. Write the method down before the first load, and talk to a tax professional about how to set it up.
Do team trucks get better loads?
Some loads only make sense with a team: freight with tight transit times, long hauls that a solo driver can't finish on schedule under the 11-hour limit, and expedited runs. Brokers sometimes pay more per mile for that speed. Many team loads pay ordinary rates, though. The gain is mostly more miles a week, not a higher rate on every load.
What freight is best for teams?
Long lanes, usually 1,000 miles and up, where the truck can keep rolling while one driver rests. Coast-to-coast dry van and reefer, time-sensitive retail and grocery, and expedited freight with a hard delivery window all suit teams. Short regional loads waste a team, because the truck spends its time at docks instead of on the road.
How do teams handle hours of service?
Each driver keeps their own log on the ELD and has their own 11-hour driving limit, 14-hour window and 60 or 70-hour limit. Teams usually swap every 10 to 11 hours, with the off driver in the sleeper. Federal rules let a driver count up to 3 hours in the passenger seat with at least 7 in the sleeper toward the 10-hour break.
Two drivers, one truck, loads planned around both logs
Apply in about 2 minutes. Tell us your lanes, home time and the split you run. A dispatcher calls you back, not a bot.
- Gross booked
- $11,700
- Dispatch fee 5%
- −$585
- Fuel (EXAMPLE)
- −$5,100
- You keep
- $6,015
Fee is charged only on loads you haul. No haul, no fee.