Whether you've recently transitioned from a company driver to an owner operator or have owned and driven your own rig for years, you may be looking for ways to pad your bottom line without requiring you to spend even more time away from your family. One way a number of enterprising truckers have taken advantage of an increasingly mobile society is by leasing out the sides of their trucks to advertising firms. Read on to learn more about truck side advertising to help you decide whether this is a good financial move for you to make.

What truck side advertisement arrangements are available?

Because semi trucks spend so much of their time on the road (or parked in highly-visible lots), their broad sides can serve as the ideal moving billboard. While road side billboards can be overlooked by busy travelers, trucks traveling the same stretch of highway as commuters or vacationers can get minutes -- even hours -- of "air time." 

Although each truck side advertiser's rates and terms differ somewhat, in most cases the advertising company will pay you a specified weekly or monthly lease fee in exchange for the ability to place a decal or banner on the sides of your truck. These decals should be able to be easily removed at the termination of the advertising contract without damaging your truck's paint job, allowing an advertiser to use your truck for several different campaigns without incurring repainting expenses. 

Depending upon the terms of your contract, you may be held responsible for maintenance of these decals or signs, and allowing the sign to become damaged could suspend your advertising payments until repairs are made. You may also be required to document the amount of time you spend driving or parked (as well as the routes you travel) to reach a threshold number of miles specified by the advertiser. 

How can you determine whether this type of advertising is a good financial move?

Before delving into truck side advertising, you'll want to determine whether any state or local ordinances might prohibit you from driving or parking a truck with large advertisements emblazoned on each side. For example, New York City has a long-standing ban against "mobile billboards," a category that encompasses both trucks with actual billboards mounted to the back and vehicles with large advertising banners or decals on the sides. Often, in order to sign a contract with a truck side advertising company, you'll need to affirm that there are no laws or ordinances prohibiting you from operating a truck with advertisements or parking it at your home (or a shipping yard). 

Once you've evaluated the legality of advertising on your specific truck, it's time to shop around for rates. The amount you'll be able to fetch for your truck will largely depend upon your regular routes and the "viewership" encountered on these routes. For example, a truck driver who regularly travels a desolate stretch of highway in Montana may find much lower advertising rates than a truck driver who spends most of his or her time shipping items into Los Angeles or Chicago. You may be able to improve your quoted rates by requesting a route change from your dispatcher or even soliciting your own clients in an urban center. 

Even if you've not been able to garner the highest ad revenue rates, deciding to participate in a truck side advertising program can often be a win-win situation. Because the decals applied won't damage your truck and you're free to decline a new contract once yours expires, you won't be liable for many (if any) costs and can generate a side income stream independent of any additional work. 

For more information on obtaining a semi truck, contact a company like Arrow Truck Sales

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