Opinions on hiring for a 6 month tradeshow circuit haul

######! Just my luck!!

 

I got a guy that can hook me up pretty cheap on this.

 

I worked for a trade show decorator from 1990 until 2000. My duties included set up and dismantle, supervision of such, and lastly "driving the truck". In the show circuit one spends little time driving so therefore maybe your efforts should be geared toward not so much looking for a driver but someone who could serve multiple functions in addition to driving. Somewhat like what the Nascar hauler do. This person could serve as a salesperson, demonstrator, greeter, etc. during show events. If this is just a 6 month schedule then maybe you could develop something else for them to do when not on tour such as;

Visiting prospective retailers
Exhibiting at smaller venues with smaller equipment (1 ton truck)
Doing something around the office
and on and on

Regarding what to do about a truck;

If it going to be part of the display then it should match the trailer and be painted accordingly. It should match the trailer so as to not be noticed nor take away from the marketing message presented by the trailer.
Remember, you're not selling tractor-trailers so it doesn't need to be flashy. The truck should also be fairly new and very clean so to not give the image that your company does not "pay attention to the details".
Buy one or lease one, it really depends on how long you decide to market this, one year or many years. If there will be a lot of effort applied towards a paint scheme and such than buying would probably be best since if your continously leased you would have to re-apply graphics. If the tractor will not be part of the display trailer then rent it.

Just some thoughts from experience, hope it helped.