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How to Make Money With a Box Truck

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A box truck, also known as a straight truck, is a medium-sized truck with a 14- to 24-foot cargo "box" on the back. This cargo area is separate from the cab, and usually has an overhead roll-up door at the rear for access to the cargo, although some also have a curbside door. A commercial driver's license is not required to drive a box truck, so anyone with a standard driver's license and some creativity can make money with one.

Move furniture and household items for people in your area. If you have some help and plenty of muscle, you can make money lifting, moving and delivering items for people moving in and around your town. If physical strength is not one of your attributes, drive your box truck to the home from which they are moving, allow them to load their belongings, and then deliver the truck to the new home for them to unload. Charge a specific mileage rate or by the hour.

Contract your services to a furniture consignment store or a thrift store that accepts donations. The retailer will find home furnishings it wishes to purchase on consignment or household items from donors, and you can make money by picking the items up and delivering them to the store.

Take big, bulky items to a local landfill or recycling center. When homeowners clean out their garages or cut down trees and other brush, they often have more trash than they can handle. Municipal trash and recyclable collectors often limit the size of trash they will pick up. Charge a fair but profitable fee to haul off these items.

Deliver instruments and other gear for local musicians. Visit nightclubs and other venues in your area that offer live music and leave business cards or fliers describing your services.

Contact a local advertising firm to see if it is looking for mobile marketing. Many companies use box trucks as moving billboards by placing vinyl banners on the sides of the trucks' cargo cubes. Make even more money by combining this type of advertising with any of the other ideas listed.

Tip

Contact your current automobile insurance provider to inquire about getting commercial insurance on your box truck.

References
Resources
Tips
  • Contact your current automobile insurance provider to inquire about getting commercial insurance on your box truck.
Writer

Tricia Goss' credits include Fitness Plus, Good News Tucson and Layover Magazine. She is certified in Microsoft application and served as the newsletter editor for OfficeUsers.org. She has also contributed to The Dollar Stretcher, Life Tips and Childcare Magazine.

Photo Credits

OLI SCARFF/AFP/GettyImages