Box trucks are the busy bees of the city.
In the trucking industry, box trucks are among some of the most popular types of trucks.
Box trucks, also known as small trucks, are used by local plumbers, land architecture providers, delivery service providers, and by other types of businesses.
Almost any other type of business operating within the city or local community can use box trucks to provide better quality services to their customers.
Characteristics such as a big enough cargo area, one-unit construction type, and good maneuverability within the city streets gives box trucks an edge over tractor-trailers on short distance deliveries.
Below, check out information about everything that you need to know about box trucks with links to in depth articles.
Let's start by defining what a box truck actually is.
How do you define a box truck?
A box truck is often called a straight truck or a dry van, which confuses people because they, actually, mean different things.
The best way to define what is a box truck is to understand how it differs from straight trucks and dry vans by comparing them to each other.
See below a short comparison of a box truck with a straight truck and a dry van.
- A straight truck is a phrase that is used to call all the trucks that have one common configuration. Their configuration consists of a tractor and a trailer that are both attached to one single frame. For example, according to that, a dump truck and a box truck are both straight trucks or also known as one-unit vehicles.
- A dry van is an articulated vehicle, which means that it consists of two separate units such as a tractor and a semi-trailer (cargo box). The main difference is that the cargo box of a dry van is longer (48" or 53" max) than that of a box truck (26" max).
- A box truck is a one-unit type of vehicle having the configuration of a straight truck and, at the same time, the physical exterior of box truck's cargo box looks similar to a dry van's cargo box.
What are the benefits of a box truck?
Here are the box truck benefits below:
- Safe storage space for the freight inside box.
- No need to manage trailer hookups and drop-offs.
- Promote your business on the box truck’s sides or provide advertising opportunities for other businesses and earn a little bit of side-hustle money.
- Due to its one-unit construction vehicle type, box trucks provide better maneuverability on city roads.
- Generally, you don 't need a CDL to drive a box truck but there are exceptions to this rule.
Do you need a CDL for a box truck
Box trucks can be used as non-commercial vehicles and, at the same time, as commercial vehicles.
That means that box trucks can be driven by drivers with a regular driver license and, at the same time, by drivers with a CDL.
The requirements are:
As long as the box truck doesn’t exceed the 26,000 lbs GVWR weight limit, it can be driven using a regular driver license. But, if it exceeds the 26,000 GVWR weight limit, then the driver needs a CDL to drive it.
If you still wonder about needing a CDL to drive a box truck click the link to find out detailed info about this.
26 feet box truck dimensions and weight capacity
Find below the breakdown of box truck dimensions.
Box truck inside dimensions
Length | 22-26 feet |
Width | 96-102 inches |
Height | 12.5-13.5 feet |
Box truck inside capacity
Max Weight | 14000 pounds |
Max Pallets | 12 |
Max Volume | 1700 cubic feet |
What brand of box truck is best?
Some box truck brands are better than others and vice-versa.
That’s why if one box truck manufacturer makes vehicles that work for you, they may still not work for others.
Choosing a box truck brand raises a lot of questions.
What is the specification of the load? How many deliveries do you need to make to achieve your financial business goal? What is the box truck engine power? Or what is your preferred box truck brand?
So, when choosing a small truck manufacturer, you should choose a box truck brand that most of your trucking business needs.
Making money with a box truck
When you own a small hauling vehicle, you may wonder how to make money with a box truck.
Day in and day out, then different business ideas may come into your head about putting your box truck at use.
You may think of doing business with Amazon, advertising on the sides of the truck, offering delivery services, etc.
If you are serious about making money, you should start a box truck business.
Check what type of insurance you need
If you plan to start a trucking business be aware that it’ll require insurance.
Insurance covers your business from financial losses caused by unpredictable or unexpected situations such accidents or lawsuits.
Check what type of insurance is needed for a box truck.
Choose the best truck for your business
When it comes to acquiring a box truck, there are mainly three options - to buy, rent, or lease it.
Whatever your option of securing the box truck is, choose one from the best box truck brands.
Consider the type of services you want to provide and choose the straight truck model that best suits your needs.