The process
Application to first load, step by step.
No mystery steps, and a lease agreement you're encouraged to read slowly. Here's exactly what happens, in order — and who moves at each step.
01
About 10 minutes
Apply
Fill out the lease-on application online or call the desk and do it by phone. We ask about you, your truck and trailer, your experience, and how you want to run — lanes, home time, how many weeks you stay out. Applying commits you to nothing.
What we're looking at: does your setup match freight we can keep busy? If it doesn't, we'll tell you that instead of wasting your week.
02
Same day, if you have them handy
Send your documents
Three things: your license (CDL-A both sides, or your non-CDL medical card), your truck registration — cab card or vehicle title — and photos of all four sides of the truck. Phone photos are fine; we're checking condition, not photography.
Why the photos: your truck's condition tells us which brokers and freight tiers it qualifies for. Honest photos now mean no surprises at onboarding.
03
Our move — we keep you posted
MVR check & verification
With your authorization, we pull your motor vehicle record and verify your experience against FMCSA and insurer standards. A clean record is simplest — but a mark on your MVR isn't an automatic no. If something needs context, we ask you about it.
We check because our insurance, our safety rating, and the reputation of every driver already in the fleet ride on who we bring on.
04
At your pace — we mean it
Read and sign the lease agreement
You get the full lease agreement in writing: your compensation, every fee and service charge, escrow terms and their return schedule, insurance responsibilities, and how either side ends the agreement. Federal Truth-in-Leasing rules (49 CFR Part 376) require all of it on paper. Read it. Take it to a lawyer. Ask us anything.
A carrier that rushes you through the lease is telling you something. We'd rather lose a week than have you sign something you didn't read.
05
Signs, ELD, cards — then dispatch
Onboard and take your first load
We issue company signs for your truck, install the ELD, set up PrePass, and hand you fuel cards. The onboarding kit starts from $1,200 and is itemized in your agreement — you'll know the exact figure before you sign. Then dispatch books your first load.
From that first load on: weekly itemized settlements by direct deposit, and a dispatcher who learns how you like to run.
Before you apply
What it takes to qualify.
If you clear these, your application will move fast. If you’re close but not sure, apply anyway and say so — a person reads every application.
The driver
- The right license for your division — CDL-A for the semi side; the hotshot division runs non-CDL under 26,001 lbs GCWR
- Verifiable driving experience — insurer minimums apply, and they differ by division
- MVR that meets FMCSA and insurer standards
- Straight answers on the application — context beats surprises
The truck
- Roadworthy, DOT-inspection ready
- Current registration or title in your name
- Photos of all four sides at application
- Newer equipment gets better freight — condition matters most
The documents
- Your license — CDL-A both sides, or your non-CDL medical card
- Truck registration / cab card / vehicle title
- Photos of the truck (all four sides)
- MVR authorization (we send the form)
The fine print, out loud
Truth in Leasing isn’t a slogan. It’s a federal rule.
49 CFR Part 376 requires every lease between a carrier and an owner-operator to state — in writing — the compensation, every deduction, escrow terms and how they’re returned, and who pays for what. Not in a rate sheet, not verbally on the phone. In the lease you sign.
We build our agreements to that standard and then hold ourselves to the harder one: if you can’t find a charge in your lease, it can’t appear on your settlement.
Read more under Safety & Compliance