Table of Content
- Why hotshot loads are hard to find on any board
- DAT: flatbed hot shot and partial searches
- Truckstop: Hot Shot as an equipment type
- 123Loadboard: build the hotshot search from trailer types
- Hotshot Dispatch Where You Keep the Final Say
- Free boards: what they say and what they don’t
- Side by side
- Set up the search before you pay for any board
- What the boards don’t do for you
- Frequently asked questions
Short answer
Of the big boards, DAT, Truckstop and 123Loadboard each show, on their own sites, a way to search for hotshot freight: DAT with a “flatbed hot shot” equipment search plus partial loads, Truckstop with Hot Shot as an equipment type in its load search, and 123Loadboard with flatbed, step deck and gooseneck searches capped by your weight and length, plus an HS filter. None of them has a separate hotshot market. Hotshot loads sit inside the flatbed and partial listings, and brokers don’t always label them, so the search you build matters more than the name of the board.
If you run a pickup and a gooseneck, the question is not which load board is “best.” It is which board lets you pull out the loads your rig can actually take, without scrolling past full truckload flatbed freight all day. This guide goes board by board and sticks to what each company says on its own site, checked on November 2, 2026. For the wider choice between boards, brokers and a dispatcher, see our comparison of the three channels. If you are still deciding whether hotshot is the right business at all, start with what hotshot trucking is.
Why hotshot loads are hard to find on any board
A broker posting a load picks an equipment type, and that type does not have to say hot shot. DAT says this directly on its hot shot load board page: brokers don’t always label loads as hot shots even when a hotshot trailer can haul them.
That changes how you search. A filter that only shows loads tagged hotshot can miss freight that fits your trailer. What works on every board is the same idea: search the trailer types a hotshot can stand in for, then cut the results by the weight and length your truck can legally carry. The boards differ in how easy they make that second step.
DAT: flatbed hot shot and partial searches
DAT describes three ways to find hotshot loads on its board:
- Post your truck. Enter the details of your truck so brokers searching for capacity can find you.
- General equipment search. Choose “partial” load and the equipment types and filters that fit your operation. DAT says this may find more loads, because of the labeling problem above.
- Specific equipment search. Enter “flatbed hot shot” as the equipment type, for both full and partial loads.
Any of these can be saved and set to an alarm, so the app notifies you when a matching load is posted. On its load board plans page, DAT lists carrier plans from $59 to $339 a month and marks the $59 Standard plan as recommended for partial load owner-operators. The same table shows that average lane rates in the plans cover van, reefer and flatbed. It does not list a hotshot rate, so a flatbed lane average is the closest thing DAT shows you, and it describes a different truck.
Truckstop: Hot Shot as an equipment type
On the Truckstop home page, the public load search offers Hot Shot in its equipment type list, next to flatbed, van, reefer and specialized. That is the most direct hotshot filter of the three. The same page shows a hot and cool market map: a hot market means more loads and less capacity, so stronger negotiating power for the truck. This guide does not quote Truckstop’s plan prices, so check them on the site before you compare.
123Loadboard: build the hotshot search from trailer types
123Loadboard says it has hotshot loads and explains the search in its help center. The steps:
- Start a new load search on the website or the mobile app.
- Enter flatbed (F), step deck (SD) and removable gooseneck (RG) as trailer types.
- Set the load size to your maximum weight and maximum length.
- Exclude loads posted without a weight and without a length, so you are not calling on loads that need a semi.
- On the results page, use the filter for trailer specs and pick LTL or HS (hot shot).
The help article adds two warnings worth keeping. Some loads posted without weight or length may still be worth a call. And brokers sometimes write “HS” or the dimensions in the load notes rather than in the equipment field, so read the notes before you pass on a load.
Free boards: what they say and what they don’t
Two free boards are worth a test. PickaTruckLoad says on its home page that searching and posting are free and that it sends daily emails by destination and truck type. Trucker Path says its load board is free and lists 150,000 available loads posted daily. Neither home page says anything about hotshot equipment, so we can’t tell you how much of that freight fits a gooseneck. A free board costs nothing to test: run your usual lane for a week, count the loads you could legally take, and compare that count with what a paid board shows for the same lane.
Side by side
| Board | How it finds hotshot loads | Price (site, Nov 2) |
|---|---|---|
| DAT | “Flatbed hot shot” equipment, full and partial; general partial search; alarms | $59 to $339 a month |
| Truckstop | Hot Shot in the equipment type list | Not checked |
| 123Loadboard | F, SD, RG with max weight and length; HS filter | Not checked |
| PickaTruckLoad | Truck type emails; no hotshot mention | Free |
| Trucker Path | No hotshot mention on the home page | Free |
Set up the search before you pay for any board
Whichever board you try, the filter has to come from your own truck, not from the board’s defaults. Write these down first:
- Your real payload. The weight your truck and trailer can carry after the truck, the trailer, fuel, you and your straps are counted. This is the number you put in the max weight filter.
- Usable deck length. Not the trailer length on the title. The length you can actually load.
- Your trailer type. Gooseneck flatbed, dovetail, ramps. A load that needs a forklift drive-on works with ramps and not without them.
- The lanes you want to end up in. A board search starts from where you are. Your money is made on where the load leaves you. The trouble of keeping a hotshot lane full is its own subject, covered in why hotshot trucks sit too much.
Then save one search per board with those numbers and let the alarms run for a few days before you judge the board. A board that shows thousands of flatbed loads but only a handful under your weight and length is a smaller board for you than it looks.
What the boards don’t do for you
A board shows the load. It does not call the broker, negotiate the rate, fill out the broker packet or send the invoice. Partial and hotshot loads are smaller, so you repeat that work on more loads. It is the part a dispatcher takes over: searching several platforms, negotiating the rate and handling the paperwork.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a load board only for hotshot freight?
Not among the large boards checked here. DAT, Truckstop and 123Loadboard all carry hotshot loads inside their general listings and give you equipment and size filters to find them.
What equipment type should I search for hotshot loads on DAT?
DAT suggests entering “flatbed hot shot” as the equipment type for full and partial loads, or running a general partial search with your own equipment filters, because brokers don’t always label loads as hotshot.
How do I search for hotshot loads on 123Loadboard?
Its help center says to search flatbed, step deck and removable gooseneck, set your maximum weight and length, exclude loads with no weight or length, and use the HS (hot shot) or LTL trailer spec filter on the results page.
Are free load boards good enough for hotshot?
PickaTruckLoad and Trucker Path say their boards are free, but neither home page says anything about hotshot equipment. Test one on your own lane for a week and count the loads that fit your weight and length.
Why don’t I see many loads tagged hotshot?
Brokers choose the equipment type when they post, and DAT says they don’t always label loads as hot shots even when a hotshot trailer can haul them. Search by trailer type and size instead of by the tag.
