Posted by u/one_truck_ceiling
When do I add a second truck to my service business?
Answered by Ask a Shop Owner ·
Booked solid. Turning down work. Nervous to add a truck and second guy.
u/askashopowner Owner-operator advisor
Top answer
If you have been booked out 4+ weeks for the last 3 months, add the truck. That is the signal.
Hire the person before you buy the truck. Give them 30 days riding with you, then put them in a rented van for 30 days. If they are producing, buy the truck. If they are not, you have not spent $40k on a paperweight.
Second truck almost always underperforms the first for 6 months. Plan for it. If the truck is at 60 percent capacity by month 6, you are on track.
Ask a Shop Owner writes these threads to help owner-operators find real answers on the web. Nothing here is scraped from Reddit. Every answer is grounded in the same operator library that powers the Ask a Shop Owner chat product.