What it is
Dispatch Mode is how a load gets to a driver’s phone. Tread supports three modes: Regular, Hot, and Direct. Each one routes through a different relationship in the Connected Ecosystem — your own company, a vendor, or an Owner-Operator (a single-truck hauler who owns and drives the truck).
Why it matters
This is the single most-repeated misconfiguration in Tread support. Pick the wrong mode and the driver never sees the dispatch, the wrong company gets billed, or the load shows up under the wrong vendor on the settlement run.
How Tread models it
| Dispatch mode | Driver belongs to | You dispatch through | Billing path | When to use | Setup requirement |
|---|
| Regular | Your own company | Direct to the driver | Customer pays you, you pay your driver | Your W-2 drivers, your trucks | Driver added under your company |
| Hot | An outside Vendor | The Vendor’s dispatcher | Customer pays you, you pay the Vendor | You hired a hauling company; their dispatcher decides which of their drivers takes the load | Vendor invited and connected |
| Direct | An Owner-Operator (one-truck Vendor) | Direct to the O&O driver | Customer pays you, you pay the O&O | You hired a single-truck hauler and you assign their truck yourself | O&O Vendor accepts the connection and shares their driver |
- Regular — Your driver, immediate. You assign, the load lands on their phone.
- Hot — You send the Vendor a load count or shift. Their dispatcher picks the driver. The driver name shows on your board after they accept.
- Direct — The O&O shared their driver with you, so you assign the load directly — same flow as Regular.
Common pitfalls
Picking the wrong mode is the most-repeated misconfiguration in Tread. Several customers — a regional broker, a Texas-based hauler, a Northeast contractor, and a multi-region producer — each opened tickets where loads weren’t reaching drivers. Root cause every time: Hot dispatch was used when Direct was needed, or vice versa. Confirm the relationship type before assigning a load.
Hot dispatch needs an active Vendor connection. If the Vendor has not accepted the connection invite, your dispatch will not send. Check Settings → Vendors for connection status before scheduling.
Direct dispatch needs the O&O to share the driver back to you. Without the share, the driver does not appear in your assignment list. The O&O Admin shares from their side under Settings → Drivers → Share.
