August 11, 2021
1 min read

How to Start a Rental Business with Commercial Vehicles

The potential return on investment for commercial vehicle rentals is impressive. Maybe you have a driver shortage, and look to diversify your business’ fleet to get higher utilization. Or maybe you are a natural entrepreneur, and want to enter the lucrative transportation industry. If you’re looking for scalability, commercial vehicles are a better investment than starting a car rental business. Unmatched flexibility is just one of the reasons that when you execute a commercial vehicle rental business plan it will be worth it. Weighing the costs and benefits is a key step to become a commercial fleet Owner. That’s where we come in.  

COOP by Ryder is a vehicle-sharing platform that connects businesses who have trucks, tractors, and trailers with other trusted companies that need additional fleet capacity. We provide an online marketplace that you can leverage to rent commercial vehicles out and make money.

From the very start our team can help you make the most profit on the platform by listing your vehicles full-time. With our Fortune 500 company connections we expand your business’s reach and drive demand to your new rental fleet. One recently-joined fleet entrepreneur generated $3,562 in revenue with just one trailer in a single month. In regard to commercial fleet return on investment, Owners on the platform get 20% or more within their first year. Start your own rental business with COOP, then just sit back and earn.

Start A Commercial Truck Rental Business

It’s really easy to get started with COOP, once you have a business you are nearly there. You can either create a new business or leverage a company that you already have. Got the basics of your business foundation covered? Great! Now that you’ve managed the startup of your commercial vehicle rental company, you’re ready to fleet up. Vehicles from 2011 or newer should be your target purchases. From here it’s as straightforward as talking to our team and getting them staged on the platform. Renter requests to pay a per day rate with mileage will start coming in for your businesses offerings right away!

Consider which vehicles you can start making money with through the platform. If you’re looking to buy, rent out dry van trailers as a lower level of investment. Lately, they cost $30-40k on average to purchase. They are a great starting point due to ease of management, and many businesses exclusively rent out trailers. Especially now, they see consistent demand as the market for over the road capacity is at an all-time high. Each month a trailer is rented out on COOP it can earn over $1,200 including mileage, which means it pays for itself within a little over a year and a half. 

A higher level of investment is to rent out automatic tandem day cab tractors, which will run your business between $45-70k on average to purchase. If you can afford it, they are worth the price as they are the vehicles that bring $5,000 a month, including mileage, through the platform. They also regularly go out long-term, which means more days out on rentals and more money to add to your bottom line.

Insuring the vehicles is the last significant expense, and this can run between $3,000-$6,500 a year depending on the vehicle that is being insured and the risk determined by the insurance company. Be sure to get quotes from multiple insurance companies to get the best possible price. COOP has standard insurance requirements for Owners. For vehicles above 26, 000 GVW, you need at least $750,000 in auto liability coverage. For vehicles under 26, 000 GVW, you need the minimum liability coverage required in the state your vehicle is registered in.

It could take a couple days to get this all sorted, but once you are set up you can see steady revenue through the platform. Our team of experts can help you every step of the way. We demonstrate the right vehicles to purchase, get them put on the platform, and promote your business’s listings to Renters.

Sit Back and Earn with COOP

We make management of your vehicles as simple as possible. Our team will help you sort out vehicle parking, key management, maintenance and more to manage your fleet with ease wherever you may be. In select markets, we can take care of all of these things for a fee paid to local vendors that we have partnered with. If you have questions about any of these additional details, reach out to us to discuss. 

You can be as active a member on the platform as you would like to be. If you would like to be more involved, managing, approving, and curating your reservations can be done with ease from our COOP mobile app. If you want to be less involved, our expert team will handle your assets to bring the rentals and the revenue right to your doorstep. You don’t have to be a logistics expert, we will be with you every step of the way.

There’s no better way to start a rental business with confidence than with COOP. We give you the competitive edge by showing you powerful insights including data on utilization and rental trends to understand the right vehicles to list in your market. Get a return on your investment through consistent revenue earned by renting out to trusted businesses.


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