Power Only Dispatch for carriers who bring the tractor
You supply the power unit. The trailer belongs to the shipper, the broker, or the pool. MetaSys confirms the trailer is loaded and waiting before your driver leaves, keeps the interchange paperwork current, and plans the next hook so the tractor is never sitting in a yard with nothing to pull.
A power only load does not start at a dock. It starts at a trailer.
Talk to a dispatcher30-minute call. No commitment.
Power only goes wrong in the yard, not on the road.
The trailer is not ready
You send a driver for a preloaded trailer and it is still on a dock door, or it is not in the yard at all. The appointment slips and nobody pays for the wait.
Bobtail miles nobody pays for
Dropping an empty and hunting the next loaded trailer burns fuel and hours against no linehaul. Power only economics live or die on how short that gap is.
Paperwork that stops you at the gate
Trailer owners want a signed interchange agreement and a certificate showing trailer interchange coverage. A missing endorsement turns your driver around at the guard shack.
Their trailer, your DOT number
Bald tires, a dead marker light, a bad ABS lamp. The trailer belongs to the shipper, but the roadside inspection is written against your authority and follows your CSA score.
Stranded where the pool is empty
Trailer networks fall out of balance. Drop an empty in a market nobody is refilling and the truck sits until it deadheads somewhere with freight.
A trailer you forgot you had
Owners cap how long you can hold their equipment. Lose track of the days on a unit and free capital quietly turns into a usage charge on your settlement.
A brand new authority never gets a trailer
Interchange agreements run the same check a broker's rate request does: an established DOT history before anyone hands over equipment. A new MC number with no lane history behind it gets filtered out of the pool the same way it gets filtered out of the freight.
The work that happens before the hook.
Trailer confirmed before you roll
We call the yard and confirm the trailer number, that it is loaded, that it is sealed, and where it is parked. Your driver leaves for a hook that exists.
Trailer number | seal | slotInterchange agreements and certificates
We keep a signed interchange agreement on file with every trailer owner you pull for and send the certificate with the right endorsement and holder named. Gate refusals stop being a surprise.
Interchange | COI | additional insuredYard access sorted in advance
Gate codes, appointment numbers, guard shack requirements, the check-in app, and which row to pull into. The driver arrives with the detail instead of a phone call to make.
Gate | appointment | check-inNext hook planned against the empty
Where the empty goes decides what the truck pulls next. We plan the drop and the following hook together so the tractor moves loaded again instead of crossing a market bobtail.
Empty drop | next hookCondition recorded at both ends
Photos and an equipment interchange receipt at hook and at drop, with tires, lights, doors, and body damage logged. When a damage claim lands weeks later, the file already exists.
EIR | photos | timestampsTrailer days tracked, not guessed
We track how long each unit has been on your truck against the terms its owner set, then return it or get the window extended before it becomes a line item.
Days on trailer | usage termsEverything else on our truck dispatch service applies here too: rate negotiation on every load, check calls, accessorial billing, and a dispatcher who is reachable seven days a week. Power only adds the trailer to all of it.
Power only pays less per mile. That is the wrong number to compare.
What you give up
- The trailer margin. Freight that includes a trailer pays more on paper, because that trailer is capital somebody had to buy and maintain.
- Control of the equipment. You inspect it, you get inspected on it, and you cannot fix what the owner will not authorize.
- Your own schedule. Trailer pools run on the owner's free time windows and the network's balance, not on yours.
What you get back
- The hours. A preloaded trailer means hooking and rolling instead of burning the 14 on a dock waiting out a live load.
- The capital. No trailer note, no trailer tires, no annual trailer inspection, no reefer unit to service or fuel.
- The turns. More loaded moves inside the same week is what moves a weekly number, not a headline rate per mile.
Compare revenue per working day, not revenue per mile. A power only week built on short hooks and no dock time can beat a van week with better paper rates and two half days lost to live loading. The weekly report breaks out per-mile and per-load numbers so the comparison is on paper rather than in your head. When cash flow between hooks is the constraint, freight factoring funds the invoice off the delivered BOL instead of the payment terms.
Where power only loads actually come from.
Retail and grocery DC replenishment
Distribution centers preload trailers overnight for morning pulls. Appointment windows are tight, the yard is busy before dawn, and the same lanes repeat week after week.
E-commerce and parcel linehaul
Sort center to sort center runs that move at night and are graded on schedule adherence more than on rate. Volume climbs hard from late summer through December.
Beverage, paper, and packaging
Plants that keep loaded trailers staged around the clock. The freight is dense and heavy, so axle weight matters more than cube and a scale ticket can end a load.
Dedicated shuttle and plant to warehouse
Short round trips between a plant and a nearby warehouse, sometimes several turns in one shift. Predictable, low variance, and usually home every night.
Trailer pool repositioning
Networks fall out of balance and pay to move empties and light loads back toward demand. It is not glamorous freight and it keeps a tractor earning between hooks.
Broker and 3PL trailer programs
Brokers and 3PLs that own or lease trailer fleets post power only capacity to keep those assets turning. We work your trucks into that freight through relationships the dispatch team already holds.
Power only volume follows the retail calendar. Trailer pools expand from late summer into December while distribution centers and sort centers stage more preloaded freight, then contract in January and February when the same networks pull that capacity back. We plan lane commitments against that curve instead of reacting to it after the pool thins out. Operators who would rather have that curve read by a system can look at MetaSys AI Dispatch, which is in early access and built on the same AI and intelligent automation work MetaSys does outside freight.
Tractor only, all 48 states, seven days a week.
From your MC number to your first hook.
Send your paperwork
MC number, DOT number, W-9, and a certificate of insurance that shows trailer interchange coverage. If the endorsement is missing, we tell you before you lose a day at a gate.
Interchange agreements filed
We set you up in our broker network and get a signed interchange agreement on file with each trailer owner you will pull for. Nothing is dispatched until those are in place.
First hook
Most carriers get their first dispatched load within one to two business days of finishing onboarding. The trailer number, seal, and yard slot come with the dispatch, not after it.
Weekly review
We review loaded miles against bobtail miles, dwell at each yard, and which trailer owners actually have equipment ready. Lanes that waste your day get dropped.
The documents power only actually runs on.
Before you can hook
- Trailer interchange agreement, signed per trailer owner
- Certificate of insurance showing trailer interchange coverage
- Trailer owner named as certificate holder or additional insured
- Auto liability and cargo coverage running under your own authority
- Active MC and DOT authority, W-9 on file
At the yard
- Equipment interchange receipt at hook and at drop
- Trailer number, seal number, and gate in and out times
- Photos of tires, lights, doors, and body at both ends
- Pre-trip inspection on equipment you do not own
- Empty drop location and slot confirmed in writing
After the run
- Signed bill of lading with the seal intact at delivery
- Detention, TONU, and layover documented the day it happens
- Damage claims answered out of the interchange file
- Days on trailer tracked against the owner's usage terms
- Invoice packet built for factoring or direct billing
Funding works the same on power only as on any other freight, because the invoice funds off the delivered bill of lading. MetaSys is an authorized partner of Riviera Finance, OTR Solutions, and RTS Financial, so factoring is set up alongside dispatch rather than bolted on later. For carriers pulling for licensed brokerages, MetaSys operates as a broker agent under contract with those brokerages, which is how trailer programs reach your trucks in the first place.
Power only is one of the equipment types MetaSys dispatches. Carriers who own a trailer as well, or who switch between the two depending on the season, are covered by the same dispatch team on dry van, reefer, flatbed, hotshot, and box truck freight.
Questions carriers ask about running power only
What is power only trucking?
Power only means the carrier supplies the tractor and the driver and pulls a trailer that belongs to somebody else, usually a shipper, a broker, or a trailer pool. Most of that freight is preloaded, so the driver hooks and rolls instead of waiting out a live load. MetaSys dispatches power only carriers across all 48 continental states.
Do I need trailer interchange insurance to run power only?
Yes, in almost every case. Trailer owners want a signed interchange agreement and a certificate of insurance showing trailer interchange coverage before they release equipment to your driver. The limit is set by the trailer owner's contract, not by one industry standard. MetaSys checks your certificate during onboarding so a missing endorsement does not turn your driver away at a guard shack.
Does MetaSys dispatch power only loads for owner-operators with one truck?
Yes. A single tractor is the most common power only setup we dispatch, because it lets a carrier run without buying a trailer. Onboarding takes about 24 hours once you send your MC number, DOT number, W-9, and certificate of insurance. Most carriers get their first dispatched load within 24 to 48 hours after that.
Who is responsible if the trailer I am pulling fails a DOT inspection?
The trailer owner maintains the equipment, but the roadside inspection is written against your DOT number and follows your CSA score. That makes the pre-trip on somebody else's trailer non-negotiable. MetaSys records tires, lights, doors, and body damage in photos at hook and at drop, so a defect you refused is documented and a claim you did not cause is answerable.
Does power only pay less than pulling my own trailer?
Usually less per mile, because the trailer is capital that somebody else supplied. The number that matters is revenue per working day. Preloaded trailers cut dock time, which puts more loaded moves inside the same hours of service. MetaSys reports loaded miles against bobtail miles every week so you can see which side of that trade you are on.
What happens if the trailer is not ready when I get to the yard?
It should not get that far. A MetaSys dispatcher confirms the trailer number, load status, seal, and yard slot with the shipper or trailer owner before the driver leaves for the pickup. When a yard misses anyway, the dispatcher works the detention or TONU claim and finds the next hook while the driver still has hours left.
How much does power only dispatch cost?
We charge a percentage of gross load revenue, from 5 percent depending on fleet size and freight type. There are no monthly fees, no setup costs, and no long-term contracts. Power only is dispatched on the same terms as every other freight type MetaSys handles, so you can move between equipment types without renegotiating anything.
Can a brand new authority run power-only loads?
Yes. Trailer pools and shipper interchange programs favor an established DOT history the same way brokers favor authority age, which is the main reason a new power-only authority gets turned away at the gate instead of handed a trailer. MetaSys builds your carrier packet, gets you approved with brokers and trailer pools that onboard new authorities, and works your first weeks toward the history that opens up the rest.
What are the requirements to run power only freight?
You need your own tractor with active MC and DOT authority, a certificate of insurance that includes trailer interchange coverage, and a signed interchange agreement with whoever owns the trailer, usually a shipper, broker, or trailer pool. Established DOT history also matters: trailer pools and shipper programs tend to favor carriers with a track record the same way brokers favor authority age.
Do I need my own trailer to meet power only requirements?
No, that is the point of power only: you supply the tractor and driver, and the trailer belongs to the shipper, broker, or trailer pool you are working with. What you do need is the paperwork that lets someone hand you their trailer: interchange insurance, a signed interchange agreement, and a clean enough DOT record that a trailer pool is willing to trust you with equipment they do not control.
Related Pages
Other Equipment We Dispatch
Ready to put your tractor under a loaded trailer?
Send your MC number and a certificate showing trailer interchange coverage. A MetaSys dispatcher confirms which trailer owners will take you and follows up within one business day.