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Equipment (Trucks)

Trucks are the backbone of your fleet. The system tracks each truck's type, dimensions, carrier, driver, compliance dates, and real-time availability so dispatchers can match the right equipment to each load.

Overview

You create truck records, link them to a carrier and driver, enter specifications and compliance dates, and the system keeps them organized for dispatching. The Available Trucks view gives dispatchers a quick look at what is ready to roll.

Getting There

From the main menu, click Carriers in the top navigation bar, then click Equipment. The list opens showing non-archived trucks by default (this includes trucks in Pending, Active, and Inactive status -- only archived trucks are hidden).

You can also reach a carrier's trucks by opening the carrier record and clicking the Equipment smart button, or by going to the Equipment tab on the carrier form.

How It Works

Truck Types

The system supports the following truck types:

Type Common Use
Cargo Van Small deliveries, last-mile, lightweight freight
Sprinter Van Expedited freight, time-sensitive smaller loads
Small Straight Local and regional deliveries, lighter loads
Large Straight Larger regional deliveries, heavier freight
Reefer Temperature-controlled freight (food, pharmaceuticals)
Tractor Trailer Long-haul, full truckload shipments
Box Truck General freight, local and regional
Semi Truck Long-haul tractor unit (pairs with trailers)
Flatbed Oversized, heavy, or oddly shaped freight
Dry Van Standard enclosed trailer for general freight
Step Deck Tall or heavy equipment that won't fit in a standard trailer
Hotshot Expedited freight using medium-duty trucks with flatbed trailers

Select the truck type when creating a new truck. Dispatchers can filter the truck list by type to find the right equipment for a load.

Truck Statuses

Trucks have a simple three-step lifecycle:

Status What It Means
Pending New truck, still being onboarded. Cannot be dispatched.
Active Cleared for service and can be assigned to legs.
Inactive Removed from the active fleet.

Creating a New Truck

  1. Open Carriers > Equipment and click New.
  2. At the top of the form, enter:
  3. Plate Number (required)
  4. Truck Type (required) -- select from the dropdown
  5. In the Identification section:
  6. Truck Number (required) -- your internal fleet number, like "T-101"
  7. VIN -- the 17-character Vehicle Identification Number

Tip: The VIN must be exactly 17 characters and can only contain letters A-H, J-N, P, R-Z and digits 0-9. The letters I, O, and Q are not allowed (they are excluded from VINs to avoid confusion with the digits 1, 0, and 9). 4. In the Ownership section: - Associated Carrier (required) -- select the carrier that owns or operates this truck. Only active carriers are shown. - Assigned Driver -- select the primary driver for this truck. Only active drivers from the same carrier are shown. - Dispatcher -- the dispatch user responsible for this truck 5. Click Save.

The truck's display name is automatically built from the truck number and type (for example, "#T-101 (Dry Van)").

Truck Specifications

Open the Specifications & Equipment tab to enter the truck's physical details:

Physical Specifications: - Length, Width, Height (all in inches) -- the interior cargo area dimensions - Door Width and Door Height (in inches) - Door Type -- Swing or Roll Up

Capacity: - Payload (lbs) -- maximum cargo weight - Gross Weight (lbs) -- maximum gross vehicle weight rating (truck + fuel + driver + cargo) - Vehicle Weight (lbs) -- the truck's empty weight

Equipment Features: - Lift Gate -- hydraulic platform for ground-level loading - Dock High -- truck bed at standard dock height (48-52 inches) - Pallet Jack -- manual or electric pallet jack carried on the truck - Temperature Controlled -- refrigerated or heated cargo area - Company Signs -- whether the truck displays your company branding

Vehicle Details: - Make, Model, Year, Color - Fuel Type -- Diesel, Gasoline, Electric, Hybrid, or CNG - Suspension Type -- Spring, Air, or Leaf - Axle Count, Tire Size, Clearance (inches)

Tip: The Year must be between 1990 and two years from the current year. For example, in 2026 you can enter years from 1990 through 2028.

Truck Availability

Each truck has an Availability Status that reflects what it is doing right now:

Availability What It Means
Available Ready to be dispatched to a new load.
En Route Currently assigned to a leg and moving freight.
Maintenance In the shop for repairs or scheduled service.
Out of Service Cannot operate (breakdown, DOT hold, etc.).
Loading/Unloading At a stop, being loaded or unloaded.

These statuses are configurable -- your admin can add or change them to match your operations.

The availability updates automatically when a truck is dispatched to a leg (changes to En Route) and when released (changes to Available). Dispatchers can also update it manually from the truck form.

Pay Rate Configuration

In the Carrier Contact section on the main form, you can set up how the carrier is compensated for this truck:

  • Pay Rate Type: Flat Pay, Per Mile, or Percentage
  • Dispatch % (visible when type is Percentage) -- percentage of customer rate used to calculate service pay. Must be between 0 and 100.
  • Per Mile Rate (visible when type is Per Mile) -- dollar amount per mile. Must be greater than zero.
  • Contact Name and Contact Phone -- the carrier contact for this truck. Phone must follow the format +1 555-123-4567.

Compliance and Registration

Open the Compliance & Registration tab to track dates and documents:

  • Registration State and Registration Expiry -- when the vehicle registration expires
  • Insurance Expiry -- when the truck's own insurance expires
  • Inspection Expiry -- when the DOT safety inspection expires

Expired dates are highlighted in red with a warning banner. You can upload registration documents in the Registration Documents section below.

All three expiration dates are tracked by the Expiration Report (under Carriers > Expiration Report) so you can catch renewals before they lapse.

Linking Trucks to Carriers and Drivers

Every truck must belong to a carrier. When you select a carrier on the truck form:

  • If that carrier is marked as your company (the Is Company flag), the truck is automatically flagged as Company Owned
  • The Assigned Driver dropdown filters to show only active drivers from the same carrier

When you assign a driver on the truck form, the driver's Truck field updates automatically. If you later assign a different driver, the previous driver is unlinked.

You can see all drivers currently assigned to a truck in the Assignments & History tab under Assigned Drivers.

Truck Insurance and Documents

Insurance: Truck-level insurance expiry is tracked on the Compliance & Registration tab. For detailed insurance policies (coverage amounts, policy numbers, carrier-level tracking), use the carrier's insurance section instead.

Documents: Open the Documents tab to manage all files for this truck. You can upload: - Truck Photos -- also available on the dedicated Photos tab - Registration Documents -- also available on the Compliance & Registration tab - Other -- any other supporting documents

Each document shows the file name, category, upload date, and who uploaded it.

Smart Buttons

At the top of each truck form, you will see count buttons that link to related records:

  • Legs (number) -- Click to see all legs this truck has been assigned to. Always visible, showing the total count.

The truck form also includes a Recurring Deductions tab (after Assignments & History) that shows all deductions linked to this truck. These deductions are managed from the carrier's record and appear here in read-only mode for reference.

Photos

The Photos tab is a dedicated place to upload and manage pictures of the truck. These are useful for identifying equipment and verifying condition.

Performance and Maintenance

The Performance & Maintenance tab tracks:

  • Total Miles and Total Loads -- cumulative numbers updated when legs are completed
  • Last Maintenance Date and Next Maintenance Due -- upcoming maintenance shows a yellow warning, overdue shows red
  • Maintenance Overdue flag -- automatically set when the next maintenance date passes

The Available Trucks View

For quick dispatching, use the dedicated Available Trucks view:

  1. From the main menu, open Loads > Available Trucks. You can also use the Available filter on the Equipment list.
  2. This view defaults to showing only trucks that are Available or En Route, filtered to My Trucks (trucks assigned to you as dispatcher).
  3. The list shows essential dispatching info at a glance: Truck #, Plate, Location, Driver, Status, Dimensions, and Equipment features.

Quick Update (Bulk Action)

You can update the location and availability of multiple trucks at once using the Quick Update wizard:

  1. Open Carriers > Equipment (or Loads > Available Trucks).
  2. Select the checkboxes next to the trucks you want to update.
  3. Click the Actions dropdown menu above the list and select Quick Update.
  4. A popup appears showing the selected trucks. Fill in:
  5. Current Location -- select a location from the dropdown (US and Canada locations are available)
  6. Availability Status -- select the new availability (Available, En Route, Maintenance, etc.)
  7. Click Update to apply the changes to all selected trucks at once, or Cancel to close without changes.

You can fill in just one of the two fields if you only need to update the location or the availability, not both.

Activating a Truck

Click the Activate button in the header. The system checks that:

  • An Associated Carrier is selected and that carrier is in Active status
  • Length, Width, Height, and Payload are filled in
  • Suspension Type is selected
  • Registration Expiry and Inspection Expiry dates are filled in
  • An Assigned Driver is set, is in Active status, and belongs to the same carrier

If anything is missing, you see an error listing what needs to be fixed. Once all checks pass, the status changes to Active.

To take a truck out of service, click Deactivate. Its status changes to Inactive.

Tips & Common Questions

Q: I see "Company Owned" on some trucks but not others. What controls that? The Company Owned flag is set automatically based on the truck's carrier. If the carrier is marked with the Is Company flag (meaning it represents your own company), all its trucks show as Company Owned. You do not set this manually.

Q: Why can't I select a driver when creating a truck? The driver dropdown only shows active drivers that belong to the same carrier as the truck. Make sure the carrier is selected first, and that the driver you want is (1) linked to that same carrier and (2) in Active status. Also, drivers already assigned to another truck will not appear unless you unassign them first.

Q: How do I quickly find a truck with a lift gate that is available right now? On the Equipment list, use the search filters on the left: click Has Lift Gate and Available. You can also filter by truck type, temperature controlled, dock high, and other features.

Q: What is the difference between truck "Lifecycle" status and "Availability" status? Lifecycle (Pending, Active, Inactive) is whether the truck is onboarded and part of your active fleet. Availability (Available, En Route, Maintenance, etc.) is what the truck is doing right now. A truck must be Active in lifecycle to be dispatched, and its availability tells dispatchers whether it is free to take a new load.