starting a truck shop

One of my neighbors was doing this(diesel mechanic) and for awhile before the meltdown was fulltime at it w/ helpers,had a fleet maintenance account,plus O/OP customers.He lost the big account and when gas went to $4 + gal,business dropped.Now he's back at a fulltime position at R&L and does limited work weekends.He pays no rent on the garage w/ parking for 4 rigs cause his dad owns it so little overhead.There's money to be made, but it seems to be feast or famine and it can eat up all of your free time all work no play.

 

I highly suggest you do everything on a cash or credit/debit card deal from the beginning. No credit accounts or checks. I know of at least 5 companies that got hit hard by no payment accounts. Also if you plan on doing any work for the big companies you will wait months before getting paid.

 

You could probably do fairly well. I would try to find local owner operators or smaller trucking companies that you could work with. I prefer dealing with local independent shops when possible. If you have the capability to do road service you might contact some of the major carriers or advertise with NTTS or similar internet referral services. There are a lot of trucks that travel through Huntsville. You could contact some of the manufacturers in the area and let them know that you offer road service. Truckers will often ask shippers where they can get a tire changes or other service work.

 

Most carriers pay as they go with a Comcheck or similar payment.

 

Not many of them pay on the spot if they have setup accounts with rthe epair companies. Like the mobile trailer repair my brother manages gets paid from Werner, Schneider, Swift, and a couple others about 30-60 days after the paperwork is recieved in their office. If its a shop that the carriers normally don't do business with, then yes they pay with a Comcheck. Usually though they try to use shops that they are setup with.

 

My local truck shop did a service call on a YRC tractor last week after 3PM... no one in the office after 2PM to issue a PO or a Comchek...WTF?

If he had know that he would have let the truck sit on the highway. The big guys are bigger deadbeats then the small operators... IMHO of course.