Multi-Carrier, Freight volume, and selling advertisements on your truck/van

[Turtle]

I agree. I think it needs to be at least 25% better in order to run for multiple companies. I'm sure there are a couple of exceptions, but everyone I have talked to seriously about it is doing either just about as well, or worse than when running for a single carrier.

In theory it sounds like a great idea, more carriers mean loaded more often, but the reality is very different.

 

[BobWolf]

I think the O.P. missed my ealier point.
What I was trying to say that the contract being a written legal document. The SOP manual defines what the policies are and how they are followed, the Motor Carrier has final say on what you will and will not do with your own truck so long as you work for them as stated in your contract and SOP manual.The contract and S.O.P.s are written in the Carriers best intrest and in some cases yours. Regardless off whos authority you run under you will have to deal with D.O.T. and play thier game by thier rules If you are a professional on the road and you keep your truck in top shape and still get pulled in every day then its time to find annother carrier as thier safety score is high. I have my own authority and there are some pros and cons now, I dont recomend getting your own federral authority untill you have at least two years experiance, due to the investment and requirements.
I checked with my attorney abbout the advertisiing thing and found somthing out. lets say you have a wreck, you and your carrier, and thier brokers and so on, in fact if they want to they can go as far as the shippers, consignees, and businesses shown on your truck and name them in a lawsuit. If a business on your truck is named in a suit you and anyone connected to your truck can be named. Before exploring other ventures I recomend you cut your teeth and learn this business you have enough to deal with.

Hope this helps
Bob Wolf

 

[soundfx4]

You don't have to be technical liable they can still name the company in a suit. When that happens it costs money to prove your not liable so they still lose.

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That's why I'll have to check with a legal consultant. They can tell me if that will be an issue at all.

 

[Turtle]

As Bob noted, they'll name any and everybody they can in a suit. If you don't name them you have no shot at getting money out of them, but if you name them, you just might.

 

[Rocketman]

I looked at the advertising stuff when the links were posted. It wasnt enough to get me interested, especially when you consider the fact that it would limit the # of carriers who would sign the truck on with the advertising.

But, as pertains to the op's question, I doubt he cares who else might be sued if he were in an accident. Nothing in this decision (for or against) would make the op more (or less) likely to be sued. I understand that legal liabilty may keep some from paying for the service, but there are trucks on the road all over the nation with advertising on them and the billboard trucks are specificly designed for it. The question has nothing to do with the legal ramifications to the advertiser. The question here is whether or not it is a viable option for increased revenue on a truck/van.

 

[BobWolf]

I actualy considered the advertising idea about three ago and after talking with my lawyer I decided against it just the liability. Besides I dont want some douche calling up some business owner because they dont like my driving.
Hey, if you do it and it works, you have twenty years without any issues great. Just remember if the zhit hits the fan we tried to tell you. Remember you arent doing what you offered when posted in a truckstop, at home, or in the shop.

Bob Wolf.

 

[soundfx4]

At the very least, I'm not interested in running with multiple carriers anymore. It sounds like it's just not worth it.

As far as the advertisement, a lot of really good issues have been brought up. I still am very much interested in selling advertisements, but if it's going to cause as much trouble as has been mentioned, I may just scrap the idea.

I didn't realize or think about the fact that lamar would have certain types of legal protection against anything like that, but then again, I also would have never thought to sue lamar if I had a law suit against an advertiser. But I guess that's why I'm not a lawyer


Thank you all, again for shedding some light on this subject! I'll scrap the idea of running for multiple carriers, and look a bit more into the idea of selling advertisements but will likely scrap that as well

 

[zorry]

That's what we're here for; to talk you out of things.

Stop by next time you're thinking of getting married.

 

[billg27]

Just wondering what you thought that van advertising was worth? You thinking $100 a week, $1,000 a month? What were you thinking it was worth? If it is profitable enough, you could possibly get something added to your insurance just for that. With the amount of trucks running advertising and the billboard trucks something must be available as an insurance add on. My carrier doesn't require any permanent signage on my CV. I was also thinking about the advertising thing about a year ago, figured I was better off learning the ins and outs of this business before moving forward on that idea.

 

[Turtle]

Those large, full sized billboards with prime placement generally run in the $700-$2500 range, per month. The ones in large cities can be considerably more. Billboards the size of cargo vans with prime placement run $125-$350 range. Non-prime placement, which is what a mobile expediter van would be, at best, is a small fraction of that.

 

[geo]

before fedex took over roberts express i had ad on back door of my truck that paid .20 cents for every mile the truck rolled, it was for a non profit org and was a write off
the first year i was able to take $20,000 off my taxes before
makes a big differents at tax time
but congress did away with that program , i caught last 18 months of program
art work was neat to
biggest thing you have to look out for is something that doesn't up set people
there are companies that will put ad on your unit
go to mobile media and find something that will fit

 

[paullud]

before fedex took over roberts express i had ad on back door of my truck that paid .20 cents for every mile the truck rolled, it was for a non profit org and was a write off
the first year i was able to take $20,000 off my taxes before
makes a big differents at tax time
but congress did away with that program , i caught last 18 months of program
art work was neat to
biggest thing you have to look out for is something that doesn't up set people
there are companies that will put ad on your unit
go to mobile media and find something that will fit

$20k for a sign on your truck? Now you know why they did away with it. Greed cost everyone a program that could have been helpful to many non-profits and lost kids.

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[zorry]

Those large, full sized billboards with prime placement generally run in the $700-$2500 range, per month. The ones in large cities can be considerably more. Billboards the size of cargo vans with prime placement run $125-$350 range. Non-prime placement, which is what a mobile expediter van would be, at best, is a small fraction of that.

I own some prime property near Chicago. It has a large billboard on it. My multiyear ground lease is just $2200 per year.
Don't remember the count but maybe 21,000 cars per day about 12 years ago.
I can't see the value of a sign on a van being very much. A van that can't provide 24/7 exposure. May be in the shop for a week next month. That may leave my target audiance for a good load to Fargo ?
If I advertize on a vehicle it'll be a large company vehicle on a dedicated route and/or multiple drivers running more hours.

 

[soundfx4]

I own some prime property near Chicago. It has a large billboard on it. My multiyear ground lease is just $2200 per year.
Don't remember the count but maybe 21,000 cars per day about 12 years ago.
I can't see the value of a sign on a van being very much. A van that can't provide 24/7 exposure. May be in the shop for a week next month. That may leave my target audiance for a good load to Fargo ?
If I advertize on a vehicle it'll be a large company vehicle on a dedicated route and/or multiple drivers running more hours.

I actually would of thought that a mobile advertisement would be worth more. I mean...it's clearly not, but I'm almost surprised by this. Billboards are stationary and have many repeat viewers (not sure if that means anything though tbh) but a strait truck? It's a large advertisement that drives everywhere, all over the country, exposed to hundreds, maybe thousands of cars and people each day. And if you were to sit at a wal-mart (which I do often myself) that's even more exposure. Hell, even sitting at a truck stop (depending on the truck stop and location) will get it a lot of exposure. -shrugs- but I guess things like it being in the shop for a week, sitting in a remote area on home time, and truck stops where you're sandwiched in between two other trucks and nobody can see it, can really add up. grr...It's still worth looking into, but I'm pretty much getting discouraged about it haha. I'd rather be over informed though, than under informed and do something stupid

 

[xiggi]

I actually would of thought that a mobile advertisement would be worth more. I mean...it's clearly not, but I'm almost surprised by this. Billboards are stationary and have many repeat viewers (not sure if that means anything though tbh) but a strait truck? It's a large advertisement that drives everywhere, all over the country, exposed to hundreds, maybe thousands of cars and people each day. And if you were to sit at a wal-mart (which I do often myself) that's even more exposure. Hell, even sitting at a truck stop (depending on the truck stop and location) will get it a lot of exposure. -shrugs- but I guess things like it being in the shop for a week, sitting in a remote area on home time, and truck stops where you're sandwiched in between two other trucks and nobody can see it, can really add up. grr...It's still worth looking into, but I'm pretty much getting discouraged about it haha. I'd rather be over informed though, than under informed and do something stupid

Repeat exposure is huge. It is common fact in the advertising world it takes about 7 exposures before people tend to respond to an ad. That is one of the reasons chain restaurants do well in a tourist area people are used to the brand and are more comfortable with it than somewhere the locals may prefer.

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[jelliott]

Advertising companies have to sell the exposure and demographic numbers. We have been approached many times with offers of buying space on the side of our equipment. They are generally looking for units that stay in a defined region or preferably run a dedicated and scheduled route.

 

[adele421]

My thoughts, you can utilized the trucks to advertise your business services but I might sound rude but this is not impressive at all. I suggest you get this done by a proper group of professionals so that it lasts for a good time and stays delightful too.

 

[wvcourier]

How come EO dosent have any kind of advertisement on any truck? I would put an EO magnet on my van for some hotel vouchers, gas cards, ect...

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[xiggi]

How come EO dosent have any kind of advertisement on any truck? I would put an EO magnet on my van for some hotel vouchers, gas cards, ect...

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They do have bumper stickers. They really have no need to pay for ads on a truck just Google anything to do with expecting and see who pops up in the results.

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[wvcourier]

They do have bumper stickers. They really have no need to pay for ads on a truck just Google anything to do with expecting and see who pops up in the results.

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when you google anything about expedting, All Types Expediting is always the first website to show up. You literally have to type in Expediters Online for them to appear first.

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