Hotshot, Box Truck, or Short-Haul: Do You Need an ELD?

Let’s just agree that anyone moving freight that doesn’t belong to them is a trucker, ok?  Whether you’re hauling an oversized turbine blade or taking cinnamon rolls to grocery stores, you’re a trucker.  We’re grateful you’re hauling the materials that make our lives better.

Which makes all the smack talk about different classes of drivers and vehicles sound… well, we’ve heard (and laughed at) plenty of it ourselves.  The slang gets tossed around so loosely that truckers and civilians alike aren’t sure what the words mean.

Hotshot, light-duty, box truck, short haul: four terms, one big mix-up.  Of the four, only short haul describes a specific exception in the federal hours-of-service rules.  Here’s what each means, and whether your truck needs an ELD.

What Is an ELD?

Do hotshot and box truck drivers need an ELD? 

Sometimes. The truck’s weight, the combination’s weight, and how you operate all matter.

 If your operation requires daily HOS logs and you don’t qualify for an ELD exception, you generally need one.

Do you need one?  Read on to decide.

Truck Weight: The Numbers That Can Make Your Pickup a Commercial Vehicle

Weight is a big deal (yeah, pun intended) for truckers.  We have many weight-related abbreviations, so we’re starting with them. 

These numbers help determine how the government looks at your rig and which requirements apply.

• HOS and ELD (or Elog) requirements
• Apportioned plates (IRP)
• IFTA
• USDOT number
• DOT inspections
• Driver qualifications (Class A or Class B, driver medical card and drug/alcohol testing)

What Are We Weighing Here?

We are weighing vehicles.  I know this feels like I’m taking a detour to avoid driving through Washington DC, but small-truck truckers need to understand some key terms. 

When we’re talking about weight, don’t forget your tools, spare tire, laptop, and everything else you’ve brought along for the ride. They count, too, not just the freight you’re paid to haul.

What Do GVW, GVWR, GCW, and GCWR Mean?

Gross Abbreviations

There are four different abbreviations for truck weight.  In each, the letters mean the same thing:

G means Gross, which means Total.  Not whatever your teenager dislikes today.

W means Weight.  What does your vehicle or combination weigh?  

WR means Weight Rating.  What’s the maximum total loaded weight the vehicle or combination is rated for?

V means Vehicle.  That’s one vehicle – not your trailer.  If you have a trailer, it’s a separate vehicle.

C means Combination.  That’s your truck and trailer together.

We can break down these 4 into 2 categories:

• 🛻Actual weight – what the scale says – applies to GVW and GCW.
• 🛻Rating  – the maximum total loaded weight assigned to the vehicle or combination – applies to GVWR and GCWR.

In other words:

GVW is Gross Vehicle Weight.  It’s what the vehicle actually weighs, not its manufacturer’s weight rating.  This is the weight you get from the weigh station.

GCW is Gross Combination Weight:  The actual weight of your entire rig:  truck, trailer, freight, fuel, passengers, equipment, tomorrow’s lunch.  This is the weight you get from the weigh station when you have a trailer attached.

GVWR is Gross Vehicle Weight Rating:  It’s the maximum total weight the manufacturer says your truck can weigh when fully loaded.  It includes your truck, fuel, passengers, freight, equipment, and your coffee maker.  It’s a rating, not the actual weight.  

GCWR Gross Combination Weight Rating: It’s the maximum total loaded weight rating for your truck and trailer together. This is a rating, not what the rig actually weighs.

And here’s where FMCSA makes things interesting. The agency doesn’t always use the manufacturer’s combination rating. Depending on the circumstances, it can calculate GCWR using the truck’s weight rating and the trailer’s weight or weight rating.

Let’s talk Hotshots, Box Trucks, Light-Duty Rigs, and Short-Hauls.

Hotshots, box trucks, light-duty rigs, and short hauls are completely different things.  Sort of.  There’s some overlap.   Some people look at small trucks and assume they are “light-duty” or “short-hauls” without knowing anything about the driver or the job.  So let’s clear those misunderstandings up.

Sometimes, they get called mini-semis.  Lovingly, we’re sure.

In short, light-duty is a truck classification, not a specific style or type.  A light-duty pickup can pull a trailer that puts the entire combination over FMCSA’s 10,001-pound threshold.  A box truck delivering furniture can be light enough to have the light-duty truck classification.

So hotshot, box truck, and light-duty do NOT determine if you need an ELD.  What matters is whether FMCSA requires you to keep daily HOS logs, and whether you qualify for an exception.

Do I need an ELD?

Maybe.  It depends on your truck’s weight, whether you haul interstate commerce, and whether you’re required to keep daily Hours of Service (HOS) logs.

Hours of Service Regulations

The federal regulations regarding hours of service (HOS) control how many hours a commercial motor vehicle driver can drive and work before taking a mandated rest period.  These rules were created to reduce fatigue-related crashes.

Electronic logging devices (ELD or ELogs) were designed to track the hours that a trucker is on duty. 

If your vehicle

• Is designed or used to transport more than eight passengers for compensation, including the driver.
• Is designed or used to transport more than 15 passengers without compensation, including the driver.
• Transports hazardous materials requiring placards, regardless of vehicle weight.
• Has a GVWR, GVW, GCWR, or GCW of 10,001 pounds or more, using the applicable greater weight or rating.

If you meet any of these requirements, you might need an ELD.

For hotshot and box truck drivers, it’s usually that last one that matters.

Your pickup might be under 10,001 pounds, but hook up a trailer, and the combination can put you over the limit. 

What If You Don’t Need an ELD?

Do you need an ELD?  Not necessarily.

Do you qualify for an ELD exception?

(I’ll wait for you to get an aspirin.)

Short Haul Trucking Exception

If long-distance trucking is when the trucker is spending days at a time on the road, short-haul is its opposite.

• The trucker must stay within a 150-air-mile radius of their work base.  That’s their reporting location.  It’s a straight-line radius, not miles on your odometer.  So if you’re hauling goods in West Virginia or Idaho, those hills and mountains might not figure into the distance you can drive. 
• Short-haul truckers return to their work location and finish their shift within 14 consecutive hours. 
• There must be 10 consecutive hours off duty between shifts.  So if you’re released (signed out) at 8 PM after dropping off freight, you can’t get back on the road before 6 AM the next day.
• The employer must keep required time records.  If you’re an owner-operator, that’s you.

If you meet those conditions, you generally do not need an ELD.  Your company is keeping the time records instead of expecting you to maintain daily electronic logs. 

Not the Only Exception

Short-haul isn’t the only exception. 

• Non-CDL drivers fall under a separate version of the exception, so check which one applies.  According to FMCSA, qualifying non-CDL property-carrying drivers have different provisions, including a 14-hour driving cutoff on five days in seven and a 16-hour cutoff on two days in seven, subject to the other conditions. The 150-air-mile radius and required time records still matter.
• If you leave the 150-mile radius for a day,  then you don’t qualify for the short-haul exception for that day.  You’ll generally need daily HOS logs.  Whether you can use paper or need an ELD depends on the applicable exceptions.
• Drivers who need daily HOS logs no more than eight days in any rolling 30-day period generally don’t need an ELD.
• Intrastate and state rules may vary.  Contact your state’s DOT for clarification.

So, Do YOU Need an ELD?

You have to go through every one of these requirements and examine your own vehicle by weight.  If FMCSA’s HOS rules apply to your operation, you’re responsible for following them and keeping the required records, whether or not you need an ELD.