Hotshot Hauling

Hotshot hauling involves transporting smaller, more time-sensitive LTL loads within a specific time frame, and usually to a single customer or location. Hotshot loads are usually delivered using Dodge Ram 3500 or Ram 5500 trucks that pull flatbed trailers. 

Hotshot loads may need to be delivered locally, or they may need to be delivered across the province.  Customers sometimes request hotshot rigs because a larger truck and trailer rig would not be able to maneuver around the shipping or receiving location.

Payload is the weight of goods the truck can legally carry. There are maximum load limits set according to how many axles and tires the truck has, mostly to minimize road pavement damage and for safety. The payload = (legal maximum weight) – (tare (empty) weight).

Gross combined weight rating or GCWR is the maximum allowable weight of both the loaded tow vehicle and the loaded trailer that the tow vehicle can handle safely.

FTL refers to full truckload freight. FTL shipping is commonly used for large shipments that require taking up the entire truck, or at least close to it. With FTL, one shipper’s freight is the only freight moving on an individual truck so the shipper has exclusivity to the entire truck and is theoretically filling the truckload.

The truck can be reserved with its full capacity even if the load doesn’t require filling up the entire available space. Doing so would alleviate any worry the customer may have about the shipment changing hands at any time or being mixed in with other shipments. These shipments are sometimes just called “full loads.”

Less than load (LTL) freight is the transportation of products or goods that does not require a full truckload due to the smaller nature of the parcel. … LTL shipments are usually arranged on pallets and can range anywhere from 150 pounds to 10,000 pounds. 

These shipments are sometimes called “partials.” Freight from multiple shippers can be on the same trailer rather than having a single company’s freight exclusively on an individual trailer. Several LTL shipments can be combined into one truck to fill it as near to capacity as possible. 

A load board (sometimes referred to as a freight board) is an online marketplace where truck owner-operators, shippers, and freight brokers can post and search for loads to keep freight moving.  They also allow carriers to post their free equipment. These systems allow shippers and carriers to find each other and enter into agreements to move freight.

An itemized list of what a shipment contains. 

A POD is a signed document, usually the Bill of Landing, that documents the delivery of a load.