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If you owned a pickup truck, you might have been popular as the friend to call when someone needed help moving stuff!
Well, what if I tell you that you can earn money doing what you once did for free? Brian Scudamore, the founder of the multi-million dollar enterprise “The Rubbish Boys” (now 1-800-GOT-JUNK?), started his journey with just a pickup truck and a few bucks and you can too!
These are some of the best ways to make money with a truck with everything you need to start your business! I hope you find this helpful!
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1. Furniture and Appliance Delivery
A furniture and appliance delivery business is an age-old business where you use your Toyota Tacoma pickup truck to deliver goods from one point to another. Luckily, it’s still a profitable side hustle as people will always need items delivered, so you will never run out of work. Also, with the growth of eCommerce, the demand for drivers to deliver large items is higher than ever!
If you want a fixed income source, you can apply to FedEx, UPS, and DHL as bigger companies like these not only pay well but also provide regular work. However, if you’re inspired by Brian Scudamore and want to start your own business, here is what you do. You connect with local stores, use online platforms like Dolly and Roadie, and leverage delivery apps like GoShare to build a clientele and take delivery gigs. When working independently, you also must invest in moving equipment like blankets, dollies, and straps.
2. Small Moving Jobs
Clients like students and smaller families generally prefer small pickup trucks, possibly with a trailer, over big U-Haul trucks to help them move. Compared to professional movers that have high overhead costs, your costs are much lower. Instead of charging $800 to move a 1-bedroom worth of stuff, you can undercut your competitors by a couple of hundreds of dollars. It’s hard for customers to turn down a discount.
If you’ve helped your friends and families with moving in the past, half of your work is done! You can ask them to promote your business through word-of-mouth to get more jobs. A great weekend job is to list your moving services online to target people who are looking to move outside of the city. The further the destination, the higher you can charge per move.
3. Landscaping and Yard Cleanup
If continuously driving for long hours is not your thing, then landscaping and yard cleanup might be more your speed. It’s a profitable opportunity as homeowners and landscaping companies are always looking for help around the yard. If you own a Ford F150 or any truck, you can make money in different ways while working in the landscaping and cleanup industry. You can transport heavy equipment like mowers and leaf blowers and take the debris to disposal yards, or transport the crew.
A pickup truck gives you the flexibility to work as you like. For example, you might be looking for a side income or a seasonal side hustle and want to offer services like summer lawn care or leaf removal in the fall! There is no wrong way to start here and it’s completely up to you to learn by working in a landscaping company or building your confidence by experimenting alone!
4. Junk Removal
For new beginnings, you have to let go of the past. Not to get too philosophical on you, you can help people get rid of their junk and make money. In this case, someone else’s trash can literally be your treasure. You can use your Chevrolet Silverado to help remove junk like discarded furniture, broken electronics, or scrap metal and dispose of them at the junkyard for a fee. It’s one of the most profitable truck business ideas as people will always have junk, so much so that Mary Ellen Sheets built a million-dollar junk removal company called Two Men and A Truck.
You can gain an edge over your competitors by knowing your local disposal laws and what materials to carry. You can also only pick scrap metal and certain electronics, that fetch higher resell prices for profit, or list your services on Craigslist, Nextdoor, or Facebook Marketplace. Who knows, you might just be looking for a side hustle, yet there might be something bigger and better in the store for you.
5. Furniture Flipping
If you’re familiar with DIY and own a pickup truck, you might be in luck!
Furniture flipping is the newest trend where you refresh second-hand furniture with quick fixes like painting and polishing, and sell it to make a quick profit. You can easily get your hands on second-hand furniture at thrift stores, garage sales, and online marketplaces, refurbish them, and sell them at local markets and stores. If you want to focus on making deliveries with your truck you can also partner with someone skilled in woodworking, as it will help divide your responsibilities.
Pre-loved furniture is in high demand today because they are sustainable and has unique stories attached to it. Knowing what sells will also improve your chances of success. Vintage furniture, dressers, and coffee tables are always in demand. For free furniture refinishing tips and tricks, check out Furniture Flipping Teacher.
6. Delivery Apps
Black Friday Sales, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, and Fourth of July! I’m sure these words bring a vivid image of joy and shopping big boxes to mind. Today, you can even buy a television online and get it delivered to your home. Those giant 60” TVs aren’t fitting in a sedan anytime soon, but your truck can get the job done.
You can also deliver newspapers, groceries, or packages daily if that’s more of your preference. Dolly, Roadie, and Amazon Flex are some of the apps to make money with a pickup truck by leveraging your truck’s capacity for larger orders. You can make up to $25 an hour delivering with Amazon Flex using your truck.
7. Rent Out Your Truck
Got a truck just sitting in the garage while you’re off to work in the family car? You can still make money without lifting a finger by renting it out! You can use platforms like Turo and Getaround to rent out your vehicle. If you’re worried about damage to your GMC Sierra, you can decide to rent it for short-term to individuals or businesses, after vetting them. It’s a great way to earn passive income without having to drive or deliver anything using your truck.
You have complete freedom to choose who you rent to and for how long. Your truck, your rules! You can even set up your rental fees based on the condition of your truck. Generally, a pickup truck rents anywhere between $65 to $100 per day, but you can also get better rental returns by uploading high-quality pictures and maintaining your truck.
8. Boat or RV Towing
No doubt, using your truck to deliver packages or renting it out are easy and fun ways to make money. But, it’s always a good idea to explore simpler and less competitive pickup truck hauling jobs for boats or RVs as they generally pay more. If you live around trailer parks in Texas or Florida, you can use your Ford F-350 or RAM 2500 to help people transport their RVs, using apps like uShip. Maybe you live somewhere like California and can partner with a marina resort to help people in need of transport services for their boats by hooking up a trailer in the back.
Working as an independent contractor can also work in your favor since RV and boat owners tend to avoid bigger towing companies because of their high rates. To give your customers the confidence they need, it is imperative to obtain the required licenses and proper towing equipment, such as heavy-duty hitches and tow straps, to keep yourself and your cargo safe.
9. Scrap Metal Hauling
Remember Brian Scudamore? Yes, he built a million-dollar business just by hauling junk using a pickup truck! Construction sites, factories, and even residential neighborhoods require trucks for scrap metal hauling. Some of the items that you can haul are commonly used construction materials like heavy scrap metals – copper, steel, and aluminum. Scrapers can make hundreds of dollars every week by selling wiring, pipes, and appliances. Try leaving your old fridge on the curb, and it’ll be picked up by metal scrappers within an hour.
By building relationships with contractors, businesses, and demolition crews, you can guarantee steady scrap metal jobs. A good tip is to keep a magnet handy as non-magnetic materials like copper and aluminum sell for a higher price than steel. Also, as scrap metal prices can fluctuate, it’s a good habit to check local rates before hauling a big load.
10. Snow Plowing
No one likes snow on their driveway! If you live in an area with heavy winters, you can turn your pickup truck into a money-making machine by plowing snow. You can attach a plow in front of your ¾-ton truck and drive around plowing snow from driveways, figuratively speaking. The best way to make money is to work as an independent contractor, cleaning driveways in residential complexes or with parking lot clearing services.
You can easily make up to $150 per job, depending on the area you live in. When working independently, you have the option of flexible hours that you can leverage to build a steady income source. To start, advertise your services in advance so the client knows how to call in emergencies. Snow plowing is a seasonal job, but you also can take up landscaping jobs in the other half of the year and keep busy!
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