Are you an electrician or an owner of another type of service business that involves transporting merchandise and equipment to customers? If so, how do you carry your equipment? More and more owners of service businesses are discovering the many advantages of using box trucks. Here are four basic benefits of box trucks for service businesses, along with a few considerations and warnings.
What Is a Box Truck?
Obviously, a box truck is so-named for its box-like shape. Also known as a cube van, cube truck, box van or a rolling toaster, a box truck is a basically a cabin truck that has an enclosed area for storing cargo. The cabin is usually separated from the cargo area, although some models have a door separating the cabin from the cargo component.
Box trucks, which come in various sizes, are used for several types of tasks. In addition to delivering services and products to clients, they're also used to bring equipment to job sites and transport inventory from warehouses to retail stores.
1. Free Advertising
One of the main perks of having a box truck for your service business is that you can have free advertising on wheels. Consider how you can use your truck to promote your brand and how the details of your business are much more visible to the public than what's seen on the tiny door decals of a pickup truck.
2. Not Having to Hook Up and Pull a Trailer
Do spend a lot of time each day hooking up a trailer? Besides being time-consuming, pulling a trailer is also expensive as it can mean paying more for fuel. Fortunately, when you drive a box truck, you don't have to worry about hauling all the extra weight of a trailer.
As result, your deliveries can be quicker, and you can give more attention to traveling to a job site and providing high-quality service to your customers. Furthermore, you can save time by not having to disconnect a trailer at end of the day as well as unload your equipment.
3. Safe Storage Container
Another huge reason for using a box truck is that it provides a secure, safe place for storing tools and equipment. When your merchandise and tools are stored in a box truck, it's highly unlikely vandals will be able break in and steal your stuff. Moreover, your goods and tools aren't affected by inclement weather, such as wind and rain.
4. Easier to Maneuver and Better Gas Mileage
Box trucks are mainly used for doing local runs since they're easier to maneuver than large semi-trucks. In most cases, a box truck has better gas mileage than larger trucks. Because of their ideal size and fuel consumption, box trucks can be the perfect solution for driving in tight areas and congested traffic.
Other Considerations and Warnings
- While smaller trucks are easier to drive and cheaper, they lack the capacity needed for most businesses.
- The most common type of truck is a medium-duty truck. Other body types include flatbed trucks, refrigerated trucks, utility trucks and landscape trucks.
- Box trucks come in a wide range of sizes and are typically measured by cargo area length.
- Consider the height of a box truck. If you have a habit of grabbing lunch at fast-food drive-throughs, a tall truck isn't an option.
- Nearly all models contain roll-up gates, which work similarly to a garage door. Another choice is a liftgate for raising and lowering cargo from the street to the truck. It's primarily used for on-street deliveries and not for loading docks.
- Be sure your box truck complies with weight limits to avoid having to pay steep scale penalties for an overweight truck. Thus, if your cargo exceeds the weight limit, you'll have to either get a larger truck or divide up your load.
- For an exceptionally large load, a full semi may be needed.
- Determine the most important features that you'll need in a truck.
Questions? When it comes to vehicle selection and fleet solutions, you can depend on Wilmar. Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, we are the Southeast's largest independent fleet leasing and management company. Please contact us and learn more about our high-quality services.
