How to Make Quick Bucks with Pick-Up Trucks

Image Source: Shutterstock. Man unloading his pickup truck.

Once you own a pick-up truck, you may want to continue to own one for life. Pick-up trucks are versatile and can help you do so many things from hauling large Costco loads to your business or home, to towing an RV, and everything in between. As a bonus, if you own a truck, you can make quick bucks with pick-up trucks.

How to Make Quick Bucks with Pick-Up Trucks

You can earn money with your pick-up truck in many different ways, but these are some of the most popular.

Snow Plowing

If you live in a region that receives a fair amount of snow, you can make an impressive amount of money snow plowing. For example, if you live in Michigan, you can expect to charge $30 to $100 per visit to a customer’s house to clear the snow from his driveway. The specific rate depends on the length of the driveway and whether you’re also plowing turnarounds. The only downside of this job is that the income is unreliable—you only make money when the snow falls.

Snow plowing can be quite profitable. You can make between $100 to $10,000 per season, depending on the location, the work involved and the weather. Professional snow plowers make about $57,000 per year, but can make more or less based on pricing, and operating costs. Individual jobs can range from $75 to $200 for a residential driveway to thousands of dollars for larger commercial jobs.

Hauling

One of the advantages of owning a pick-up truck is that you can haul things easily. My dad used to own a pick-up, and he hauled cords of wood for us to use every winter. A neighbor asked my dad to haul cords of wood to him, and then another neighbor found out and asked. Soon, my dad had a side hustle hauling cords of wood to neighbors every winter.

You can make money hauling anything, from cords of wood to items to take to the junkyard. A good place to start would be to look on taskrabbit.com at pricing for hauling gigs, then apply if you wanted to get started.

Moving

Moving is expensive! Professional movers charge thousands of dollars. People may need professional moving services if they are moving several states away. However, if people are moving locally, they will likely welcome a more affordable option. That’s where you and your pick-up truck come in.

Determine how much the professionals charge for the services they provide. Then, determine what services you will provide. Will you just be moving the boxes with your truck? Will you help with unloading? Packing? Then, set your rates. Word of mouth should help your business grow.

Towing

Another option is to offer towing services. Most people who own boats and RVs already own the necessary vehicle to tow them. However, you can likely find work towing boats or RVs for a boat or RV company, moving their wares to different locations.

Boat towing is notorious expensive with professional companies charging between $900 per trip and between $10 and $20 per mile. If you truck is robust enough, you can offer to tow customers boats for less than the local market rate. Be forewarned, your trucks insurance polichy might not cover towed boats, so you’ll likely need a supplement to your policy.

Renting Out the Truck

If you feel comfortable letting others drive your truck, you can make money renting it out. A site like Turo can help you find customers who need a truck to haul things or want to rent out the model they’re considering buying to see how the vehicle feels. Turo also provides the owner with insurance when customers rent the truck.

Another option is to do the driving when you rent out the truck. You could join a site such as GoShare. You accept the jobs you want, help with loading, and deliver the items to an arranged location. Using GoShare, pick-up truck drivers can earn approximately $46 to $52 an hour.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are many ways you can make quick bucks with pick-up trucks. Simply decide on which method you would like to focus on. However, as long as your truck remains in good working order, rest assured that you can make a side hustle with it.