HOW WE FIND LOADS ON TRUCKSTOP: A DISPATCHER’S WALKTHROUGH

Comparing load boards is one job. Using one well is another. We ran a team of dispatchers at American Truckers LLC, and most of our day was spent on load boards. This post is not a price comparison (we have one of those). It's how we actually work Truckstop: the search we set up, the filters we use, how we check a broker before we call, and what we say once we're on the phone.

Before you search: know your numbers

The board shows you the rate. It does not show you your cost. Before we searched for a carrier, we knew three things: their cost per mile, the lowest rate per mile they would take (their floor), and where the truck needed to end up by the end of the week. Without those, every load looks either great or terrible and you can't tell which.

If you don't have those numbers yet, run them through our cost per mile guide or check a single load in Load IQ first.

Step 1: Set up the search

We start every search with the same four inputs:

• Origin and pickup radius. Start tight around where the truck is empty. If nothing worth calling on shows up, widen it. Deadhead to a better load can beat a short empty move to a bad one, but count those empty miles in your rate.
• Destination. Pick a region or state the carrier wants to end up in, or leave it open and judge by where each load drops.
• Equipment type. Match the trailer exactly. Flatbed, step deck and hot shot freight is where we found Truckstop strongest.
• Pickup date. Search the day the truck is empty and the day after. A lot of good freight is posted for the next day.

Save the searches you run every day so you aren't re-typing them. On Truckstop's Pro plan you can also set load alerts so new postings come to you instead of you refreshing the page.

Step 2: Filter and sort the results

A search in a busy lane can return more loads than you can call. We cut the list down fast:

• Drop loads that don't fit the truck. Wrong weight, wrong length, or a pickup window you can't make. Don't call on them hoping it works out.
• Look at the posted rate per mile, but don't trust it alone. Add the deadhead miles and work out the rate on all miles. A high rate with a long deadhead can lose to a lower rate close by. Our load evaluation guide walks through the math.
• Check the age of the posting. A load posted hours ago in a busy lane may already be covered. Newer postings are worth calling first.
• Read the comments. Tarps, straps, team, appointment times, and anything else that changes your cost is often in the notes.

Step 3: Check the broker before you call

This is where Truckstop earns its place on our screen. One broker who takes your load and never pays can cost more than months of subscription fees, so we checked every broker before we dialed.

• Factorability. Every Truckstop plan shows broker factorability data. If your factoring company won't buy that broker's invoices, that's a strong reason to pass.
• Broker ratings. On the Advanced plan and up, you can see how other carriers rate the broker on payment, and you can report a broker.
• Your factoring company's credit check. If you factor, run the broker through your factor's credit check too. They're the ones paying you, so their answer counts.
• FMCSA authority. Make sure the broker's authority is active and the name and MC number match the posting.

If anything looks off, move on. See our freight broker red flags for what we watched for.

Step 4: Call on the load

Speed matters, but so does sounding ready. Before we picked up the phone, we had the load ID, the truck's location and empty time, the equipment details, and the carrier's floor rate in front of us. Then the call went like this:

1. Confirm the load is still open and give the load ID or reference.
2. Give the truck: where it is, when it's empty, and the equipment.
3. Ask the questions the posting didn't answer: weight, commodity, pickup and delivery appointments, and any detention or tarp pay.
4. Talk rate. If the posted rate is below the floor, counter with your number and a reason. If they won't come up to the floor, thank them and move on.
5. Get it in writing. Nothing moves until you have a rate confirmation that matches what you agreed on the phone.

Some loads on Truckstop carry Book It Now (on the Advanced plan and up), which lets you book at the posted rate without a call. It's quick, but run the same broker check and rate math first.

For full call scripts, see how to negotiate freight rates. If you dispatch for other carriers, the Dispatcher's Broker Desk has the tools we used to keep broker calls organized.

Step 5: Plan the backhaul before you book

Before we booked an outbound load, we searched the delivery area for freight back out. A strong rate into a market with nothing coming out can turn into a long empty run. Truckstop includes backhaul search and a route map on every plan, so this check takes a minute. If the outbound only works with a reload you can't find, it probably doesn't work.

Which Truckstop plan we'd use for this

Per Truckstop's pricing page (checked October 8, 2026): Basic is $42/month with unlimited load search, backhaul search, a route map and broker factorability data. Advanced is $135/month and adds broker ratings, report a broker and Book It Now. Pro is $159/month and adds Rate Insights and load alerts. Prices are per user and exclude taxes and fees, so check current pricing before you sign up. For the workflow above, we think the broker ratings in Advanced are worth the most. The full breakdown is in our Truckstop vs 123Loadboard comparison. DAT is the other big name, but it's a higher-priced board and we don't use it as our starting point.

New dispatcher? Start on 123Loadboard

Truckstop sells load board access to carriers, and a dispatcher works under a carrier's MC number. If you're just starting out and don't have a carrier yet, here's the path we'd take:

1. Start on 123Loadboard. You don't need an MC number, and code 82330 gets you 30 days free. After that, plans are $39, $59 or $79 a month. Use it to learn lanes, rates and how loads are posted.
2. Sign your first carrier. See how to start a dispatch business.
3. Move to Truckstop once a carrier lets you work under its MC number, and use the steps above.

Related Guides

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you check a broker on Truckstop? Which Truckstop plan is best for finding loads? Can a new dispatcher use Truckstop without an MC number? Should I use Book It Now?