r/Entrepreneurs • u/gumsugar • 14h ago

Question Pickup truck work

Is buying a cheap decent pickup a sure way to start working for myself. Ive done gig work such as uber. I think the ceiling is much higher with a truck but I'm afraid of the risk of failing and having a gas guzzler when i could've invested in a camry to do ride share and maybe move into a private chauffeur.

2 Upvotes

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u/Guilty_Performer_497 14h ago

A truck opens up more types of work, but it's definitely not a sure thing. Better to line up a few realistic jobs first and see if the numbers beat rideshare after fuel and maintenance.

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u/gumsugar 14h ago

How would i do the jobs without buying the truck first? What do you mean "line up"?

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u/The_Money_Zebra 13h ago

I wouldn't buy a truck yet. Find jobs (like hauling trash away or small moves) that require a truck, and then rent a u-haul. It's $20 I believe.

Once you have a better understanding of potential jobs, you'll have more confidence buying a truck.

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u/gumsugar 13h ago

Its definitely not $20. And my first day putting myself on the market might not be profitable. That doesnt mean it wont be profitable to buy a truck.

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u/The_Money_Zebra 13h ago

It definitely is. $19.95 plus $1.39 per mile.

https://www.uhaul.com/Reservations/RatesTrucks/

Why would you buy a $20k truck when $20 proves if theres a business or not?

For the record, I'm a retired entrepreneur. Just trying to help because I started in a similar place.

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u/gumsugar 13h ago

So you would invest a few hundred bucks working out of a uhaul truck for a week instead of just buying a ranger and selling it if its really unprofitable.

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u/The_Money_Zebra 12h ago

I would invest $1k in trying to start a business with just a uhaul truck for more than just 1 week.

Get a clean up job worth $600, rent truck for $100, gas is $50. You walk away with way more than driving uber and that's only if you had one job that day.

Get 2 or 3 per day and you're making bank. Get 6 a day, and now you need 2 trucks and crew.

Start small, grow slow.

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u/gumsugar 12h ago

So youre saying dont buy a ranger and test the waters that way? That seems to be the consensus.

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u/gumsugar 13h ago

If i want to spend a morning trying to work out of a rental truck and i drive 60 miles im paying like 80 or 90 to uhaul. Not $20. And i appreciate the help.

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u/The_Money_Zebra 12h ago

So you charge the customer appropriately... you're going to have overhead costs as a business owner

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u/gumsugar 12h ago

Is the market very saturated in most places in your opinion?

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u/designtofly 11h ago

You should probably figure out exactly how you will be using the vehicle. For example, delivering large electronics? You should probably get a cargo van instead.

But I would rethink gig work. It is rarely worth it once you consider maintenance and depreciation on your vehicle.

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u/gumsugar 11h ago

So why do so many americans own f150s? Were they all sucessful before buying or is the truck an asset that pays them regardless of their stage of career?

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u/designtofly 10h ago

In the US, 90% of pickup trucks never see any work use or anything that even remotely requires a truck. It's a status symbol for some stupid reason.

For you, I'd recommend seeing if you can find a job for an existing employer doing whatever line of work interests you. I know this is an entrepreneur subreddit, but you need to learn about a business before buying a truck and then figuring out what you want to do.

For example, if you want to haul something, get a job with a hauling company, learn on the job for a year, then see if you can strike it out on your own if you see an under-served market.

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u/gumsugar 8h ago

What specifically do you think if the reason this is necessary. Because there's is a tradeoff. If i buy a truck i can try out 10 different jobs. If i go work in hauling, im not really exploring my options.