Making money with a van or truck was never as easy as it is today, with a pool of opportunities available in just a few clicks. Whether you’ve recently bought a cargo van or have been driving one for a long time, it’s never too late to find ways to make money with your cargo van.
Here are some ways through which you can make money with a truck:
- Join a Van Food Delivery Service
- Join a Parcel Delivery Service
- Start a Snow Plow Service
- Offer Landscaping Services
- Join a Hauling Service
- Become an Amazon Flex Driver
- Rent Your Cargo Van
- Start Blogging About Trucks
- Provide Pet Cleaning and Grooming Services
- Become a Passenger Driver
- Start a Trash Pickup Service
- Start a Cloud Kitchen
- Flip Your Van
- Start a Moving Service
- Display Your Van On a Mobile Billboard
- Join a Pickup Service
- Provide Retail Delivery Service
- Partner With an Independent Uship Service Provider
- Become a Mobile Florist
- Provide Pressure Washing Service
The famous delivery platform GoShare makes up to approximately $63 to $71 per hour from their cargo vans, paying a reasonable sum of money to their drivers.
From partnering with food delivery services to renting a vehicle, there are multiple ways you can make money with your van — even without driving it yourself.
For your ease, I’ve compiled 20 different yet lucrative ways to make money with a van or truck and enjoy the ride. Let’s look at them one by one.
#1 Join a Van Food Delivery Service
Income Potential: $3,500/month
Initial Investment: $0
After the massive surge of lockdowns, a number of people have developed the habit of ordering food online, which calls for a reliable food delivery service.
With a van or truck, you can start small by delivering food in your locality for affordable charges to build a reputation.
As a good rule of thumb, choose packed dairy and grocery items to avoid the hassle of damage and expired items.
Here are a number of food delivery services you can join right away:
- UberEats
- DoorDash
- GoPuff
- Caviar
#2 Join a Parcel Delivery Service
Income Potential: $4,000/month
Initial Investment: $0
From FedEx, Roadie, Go share, to Lugg, all you’ve to do is contact the delivery service, pass the driving test, and start making money immediately.
Not only do these services allow you to earn but also learn a handful of things to get the know-how of the transportation industry.
Did you know? The trucking industry in America touched a whopping market cap of $732.3 billion in 2020.
» Read my blog post: Step-by-Step: How To Start a Box Truck Business
#3 Start a Snow Plow Service
Income Potential: $4,100/month
Initial Investment: $3000 — $10,000
This is a very lucrative business that can provide you with good cash flow and plenty of opportunity for growth.
There are several things that you need to keep in mind when starting this business:
- You’ll need to have a truck that’s large and strong enough to tow the plows.
- You’ll also need to have professional plowing equipment like blades, chippers, and snowblowers.
- You’ll also need to be able to handle the intense cold weather conditions (the coldest part of winter), and be able to stay on your route for long periods of time.
The biggest challenge will likely be finding enough customers who are willing to pay top dollar for snow removal services.
Depending on the size of your business and the amount of snow that you clear each year, a good snow plow service may charge anywhere from $500 to $5,000 per month.
With a bit of hard work and dedication, it’s definitely possible to make this business work for you!
#4 Offer Landscaping Services
Income Potential: $5,000/month
Initial Investment: $15,000 — $20,000
Landscaping services can be very lucrative, and there are multiple ways that you can approach them. You could offer a flat fee for every job that’s completed, or charge by the hour.
You could also offer special discounts to customers who book their services in advance or offer free consultations.
To get started, you’ll need to buy or lease some equipment like:
- Lawnmower
- Hedge trimmer
- Snowblower
You can also add extra services like shrub planting, sod installation, or fertilizer application to your repertoire — The sky’s the limit!
#5 Join a Hauling Service
Income Potential: $4,400/month
Initial Investment: $5,000 — $10,000
Needless to say, the moving and hauling industry continues to offer long-term employment to people, contributing to a payroll of approximately $3.6 billion per year.
If you have a van, starting an independent hauling service for residential and commercial moving doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
To stand out from the crowd, try to offer competitive charges compared to other hauling services in the neighborhood.
Not only can you use the van to move from one place to another, but you also clean up the clutter by loading heavy items and transporting them to the desired location.
» You can also read my post: Step-by-Step: How To Get MORE Box Truck Contracts
#6 Become an Amazon Flex Driver
Income Potential: $3,000/month
Initial Investment: $0
As the name says, becoming an Amazon Flex Driver is an excellent career option for professional drivers with quality experience and licenses. As a best practice, join the Amazon delivery service, register your van, and make the most of this opportunity.
As the largest online e-commerce hub, Amazon offers a large room for individuals to join the platform and work with the freedom of time and place.
On average, an Amazon flex driver can earn between $25-$50 an hour, depending on where you want to deliver the goods.
#7 Rent Your Cargo Van
Income Potential: $2,000/month
Initial Investment: $0
Another easy yet effortless way to make money through your cargo van is by renting out a reliable renting service.
Although giving your van to others can be risky, a small share of homework can help you find the best renting service.
#8 Start Blogging About Trucks
Income Potential: $5,000/month
Initial Investment: $50 — $500
One of the easiest ways to make money with trucks is by starting a blog about trucks — I would personally recommend it being a blog owner myself.
This will allow you to share your knowledge and experiences with other truckers, and it could also lead to opportunities for freelance writing or marketing work.
To get started, you first need to create a blog that is relevant to trucking. Next, find ways to promote your blog to get more traffic. This could involve writing articles that are related to trucking and promoting them through social media, email marketing campaigns, or other channels.
You should also consider monetizing your blog by:
- Selling advertising space
- Selling e-books
- Selling Info products related to trucking.
This will help you cover the costs of running your business and make some extra money too!
#9 Provide Pet Cleaning and Grooming Services
Income Potential: $3,000/month
Initial Investment: $1,000 — $10,000
If you’ve got a van with limited space, starting a pet grooming business doesn’t sound like a bad idea.
There’s a lot of money to be made providing pet cleaning and grooming services. Not only are people willing to pay for excellent service, but pets also tend to shed a lot!
First, all it requires is a cargo van, solid marketing, and some direct clients to kickstart the business.
There are a number of ways that you can market your pet cleaning and grooming service:
- Post ads in local newspapers or online classifieds websites
- Put up flyers in local businesses or community centers
- Run advertising campaigns on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter
- Hold promotional events at local festivals or sporting venues
By providing high-quality, accessible, and safe pet grooming service in the comfort of your client’s house, you can easily build a stable business and a consistent income stream.
#10 Become a Passenger Driver
Income Potential: $3500/month
Initial Investment: $1,000 — $3,000
From Uber to Careem, there is a multitude of online mobility service providers where you can join as a passenger driver.
If you’ve got a cargo van and good driving skills, you can easily pick and drop passengers in your van without facing the extra hassle of finding passengers on your own.
However, such driving companies require at least 1-year driving experience, an official driver’s license, and insurance to allow you to begin your driving career and earn.
#11 Start a Trash Pickup Service
Income Potential: $3500/month
Initial Investment: $600 — $2,000
As you know, cargo vans are widely used to pick up trash and unload it out of the city.
In simpler words, you can start a trash pickup service from your locality, including:
- Collecting trash from storage unit clearance
- Industrial waste
- Cleaning construction sites
- House clearance
- Garage cleaning services
The route that you choose for trash pickup service should be accessible both during the morning and the evening hours.
» Read my blog post: Start a Dumpster Rental Business for Cash
#12 Start a Cloud Kitchen
Income Potential: $5,000/month
Initial Investment: $1,000 — $4,000
For those who don’t know, a cloud kitchen is an arrangement of all the cooking facilities to prepare meals that are delivered door to door by the van driver.
With your cargo van, you can either rent your van for a cloud kitchen or start a cloud kitchen yourself with some cooking experts.
There are a few things that you need to consider when starting your cloud kitchen:
- The type of cuisine that you’ll be serving. You might want to specialize in Italian, Mexican, or Chinese food, for example.
- The size of your kitchen and the number of deliveries that you’ll be making each day.
- The cost of equipment and ingredients, as well as the cost of insurance and parking permits.
- How much money you’re willing to invest upfront and monthly overhead costs (like rent, salaries, etc).
» Here I have written a separate guide on Are Food Trucks a Good Investment?
#13 Flip Your Van
Income Potential: $50,000 (One-time)
Initial Investment: $0
Needless to say, the cost of heavy vehicles like cargo vans is touching the sky, which is why flipping them at the right time is a great way to earn hefty profits.
If you have a van in good condition, the best thing to do is list it on platforms like:
- eBay
- FlipRide
- FlipaCar
Next, capture some clear and attractive pictures of the cargo van, write a good description and set a price range you want to demand from the ideal buyer.
#14 Start a Moving Service
Income Potential: $3500/month
Initial Investment: $100 — $10,000
When it comes to moving services, there can be no other better option than using a cargo van to deliver goods from one place to the other.
However, you can either start an independent moving service or partner with an already-established moving business to assist with all the moving across the locality.
#15 Display Your Van On a Mobile Billboard
Income Potential: $9,000/month
Initial Investment: $100 — $500
Gone are the days when branding was limited to newspaper and tv channels. Today, it’s a lot more than that, especially when it comes to mobile billboards.
If you want to display advertisements on your van and earn money in return, you can start a mobile billboard business.
Before you go with this side hustle, make sure to clean and maintain your van, so it looks good on the screen and brings more offers for you to the table.
#16 Transport Firewood
Income Potential: $5,500/month
Initial Investment: $2,000 — $3,000
The first thing you’ll need to do is find a route that runs through areas with high concentrations of trees. You’ll also need to identify a reliable and safe vehicle to use in the transportation process.
And finally, you’ll need to find customers who are willing to pay your price for the wood.
There are several ways that you can make money from your firewood transportation business. You could charge your customers based on the distance they are from your truck or charge them based on the amount of wood that they purchase.
You could also offer discounts for bulk purchases.
If you’re able to secure good contracts from customers, a firewood transportation service may be the best option for you in terms of income potential
#17 Sell Scrap Metals
Income Potential: $6,000/month
Initial Investment: $2,000 — $10,000
Scrap metals and recyclables are materials that have been damaged or worn out in some way, and they can be sold to companies that process these materials into new products.
This means that you can find a lot of opportunities all over the world to sell your scrap metals and recyclables.
Some of the most common markets for scrap metals and recyclables include construction sites, industrial plants, automotive factories, and other processing facilities.
You can also sell your scrap metals or recyclables online through websites like eBay or Craigslist.
If you’re interested in making money with a truck, selling scrap metals and recyclables is an excellent option!
#18 Partner With an Independent Uship Service Provider
Income Potential: $3,000/month
Initial Investment: $0
If you don’t know, Uship is a well-known manufacturer of high-end cars, trucks, vans, and other smaller vehicles.
To provide service with Uship, the first step is to connect with the platform, load heavy items, and deliver to the assigned address.
An impressive thing that sets Uship apart from other service providers is the flexibility to choose the time and place you want to deliver.
Most of the time, Uship deliveries are in a specific county to save extra fuel charges.
#19 Become a Mobile Florist
Income Potential: $2,000/month
Initial Investment: $500 — $4,000
Have you ever come across a mobile van filled with many different kinds of flowers selling in the locality?
By starting a mobile florist business, you can earn some extra dollars by arranging flowers and delivering them to the desired location.
From large bouquets of individual flowers, take inspiration from other mobile florist business providers, and you’re all set to reap money out of this business.
» Read my blog post about: $5000 Per Month? Here’s How Much Ice Cream Trucks Make!
#20 Provide Pressure Washing Service
Income Potential: $4,500/month
Initial Investment: $2,000 — $10,000
As a matter of fact, pressure washing has an incredibly active market in the US, made possible by large trucks and vans.
To start an independent pressure washing business, it takes a small share of homework to target high-paying clients, buy a quality pressure washer and deliver clean clothes to clients.
Compared to cars, vans and trucks offer enough space to store all the piles of clothes and deliver them safely without exposing them to dust or damage.
5 Tips To Make Money With a Van or Truck
Whichever money-making method you choose, make sure you do your share of homework to be on the right track.
Fill Enough Fuel In The Tank
Nothing can be worse than running out of fuel when driving the van to make a delivery. To avoid this problem, a best practice is to fill the tank full and track the mileage every few meters.
However, you can use different fuel tracking apps to do this job, such as:
- Hurdlr
- MyCar
- MileLogger
- Fuelio
Get Free Fuel Refills
Thanks to a bevy of reward apps, you can now earn free fuel regions in the form of rewards and gifts. This way, you can save a significant amount of money spent on fuel refills in your van or truck.
Some of these apps include:
- Paypal
- GetUpside
- RecieptHog
- RecieptPal
Hire Employees
If you’re looking to start an independent business with your van, try not to underestimate the potential of hiring employees and outsourcing the extra work.
Not only will this help you save a big chunk of time, but it will also focus on more important things to grow your business.
Calculate Profits
Whichever option you choose to make money, make sure to track the profits every month and save a few hundred dollars from reinvesting later when needed.
Charge Premium At The Right Time
Once you’re done setting up your business, don’t hesitate to charge a premium price for your services.
Not only will this help you upsell your business but also retain high-paying clients ready to pay for your offerings.
» This could also be something for you: Step-by-Step Guide: How To Start a Transportation Business
Conclusion
Although buying a truck or van can be a significant investment, a wise move is to think of different ideas to make the most of this long-term investment.
No matter if you’ve not used your van for a long time, it’s high time to get it out of the driveway, give it a pressure wash and try different ways to make money out of it.
From creating different delivery gigs to starting your own independent business, you have many answers to the question ‘how to make money with my cargo van?’
