Make Money

How to Make Money With My Cargo Van (20 Best Ways & Tips)

July 24, 2023

Yes, there are lots of easy ways to make money with your Cargo van!

This article shows up to 20 best ways and tips to really earning good money with any Cargo van, including secret tips you probably didn’t know.

Importance

Variety is the spice of life and there is an assortment of products and services that are similar to Forest Gump’s box of chocolates.

There is always something for somebody.

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Nowhere is this made more evident than by observing all of the vehicles that are on America’s roadways.

There are vehicles in different sizes, different colors, different features, etc.

For the sporty individual, there is the sports car, for the transporting of a large family there is the minivan, or for the naturalist, there is a hybrid or electric car, or for the individual with heavy-duty needs, there is the pickup truck, etc.

Also, on America’s roads is the workhorse of vehicles known as the cargo van.

A cargo van is a service vehicle that can be utilized for a variety of tasks.

It can best be defined as a cross between a pickup truck and a passenger car or minivan.

A cargo van has the typical passenger seats in front, one for the driver and one for the individual riding shotgun, and then generally the backspace is open and has no seating or other built-in features.

Additionally, the open space behind the driver’s and passenger’s area is enclosed with side paneling and a back service door.

If you have a cargo vehicle you have a multi-service vehicle that can provide a multi-number of services.

20 Ways & Tips to Money With Cargo Vans

1. Retail Deliveries

A way to make money utilizing your cargo van is by providing your van service to various companies to make deliveries.

Often retailers, to keep their customers happy and satisfied, commit to making last-minute and expedited delivery of services or products.

Therefore, if you are thinking about a small business that might help retailers provide this service your cargo van would be an excellent way to make that happen.

The individual can advertise their delivery service as an ongoing and scheduled opportunity or also offer to retailers any last-minute deliveries that need to happen.

Ways that you can advertise your service include being listed on Yelp, word-of-mouth, or visiting retailers and making them aware of what you are offering.

2. Food Deliveries

Food delivery services have come into their own in these past couple of years.

The reality is, however, that for restaurants and other services to utilize these food delivery businesses there is a significant percentage of money taken from the restaurant’s profit and paid to the food delivery companies.

With your cargo van you can, because of your minimal overhead, compete with these companies and offer the restaurants or other foodservice needs at a lower cost and rate.

3. Billboard

Because your cargo van is enclosed with side panels, it would be an optimum location to place advertising for companies who need advertising placed on vehicles.

This would be a great way to earn extra income and is dependent upon your demographic area, the appearance of your vehicle, and whether the company wishes to agree with you.

One such company that is looking for vehicles to use as mobile advertisement billboards includes Wrapify.

4. Rent

A way that you can earn income off of your cargo van is by renting it out to others.

People are always looking for trucks or vehicles that are conducive to transporting items from one location to another location.

This could be a local company move or it could be a private individual wishing to move items from one residence to another.

You could rent the vehicle out for the day and charge by the mileage or just include everything into one set fee.

Also, some websites will facilitate this option to help you rent out your vehicle. Those websites include Turo and Getaround.

5. Towing

Cargo vans are a little bit more on the heavy-duty side and are built for service projects.

One of those service projects that can help you earn money with your cargo vans is by offering towing services.

Of course, you would need a hitch welded to the back of your vehicle but once this is in place you would be able to recoup the cost for that and more.

Typical towing jobs could include the transportation of a boat to a summer cabin, transportation of trailers to a different location, moving of lawn equipment, etc.

One important tip is to make sure that you check in to any licensing or permit requirements in the towing of vehicles.

6. Moving

People are always on the move and as such are looking for vehicles to help them facilitate those moves within their community.

With your cargo van, you could help individuals move their items from one location to another.

This would be especially helpful to an individual who doesn’t have much to move and can fit the majority of their items into the space of your cargo van.

As usual, it is important to check to make sure with your state of residency that no special permits or licenses are required to make this happen.

And, if so, if it is worth your while to follow through and secure those needed requirements.

7. Hauling

Many individuals do a significant amount of work on the weekends in cleaning up their backyards or garages or spare bedrooms, etc.

Often, they need a vehicle to haul away those items that they are looking to get rid of.

These items can be transported for the individual to the local landfill or according to the wishes of the owner; the items could be transported to a local thrift shop.

Also, utilizing your cargo van to haul items doesn’t necessarily need to be restricted to individuals living in a home.

You could offer this same service to businesses.

8. Amazon

A perfect opportunity if you own a cargo van is to develop a partnership with Amazon.

Amazon has such a program in which an individual who wishes to make deliveries to customers can use their vehicle and utilize their smartphone.

This program is called Amazon Flex and is an opportunity for individuals to deliver, as a contractor, with Amazon and utilize their vehicle.

This opportunity may not yet be available in your area but the program is expanding.

The drivers can earn anywhere from $18-$25 per hour delivering packages.

The purchase of gasoline is up to the individual.

9. GoShare

If earning $42-$67 per hour plus possible tips is of interest to you then perhaps looking into GoShare may be of interest to you.

Go share, for the use of an individual’s privately owned vehicle, offers insurance and liability under their umbrella of insurance.

Also, GoShare facilitates the delivery details and the payment by the customer so that is one less thing that you as the driver would need to be concerned about.

To be a driver for GoShare the individual must be at least 18 years old have a valid driver’s license, insurance, and registration within the state of residency.

Also, the cargo van needs to be a model that was built in 2001 or later.

GoShare will also require a safety inspection of the vehicle.

Again, this company has paid $25+ million to members:

10. Uship

Another way to utilize your cargo van to earn money is through a service provider by the name of Uship.

This involves you being an independent worker with Uship and the process connects drivers and their vehicles with individuals or businesses that need services delivered.

This company provides services such as the delivery of household goods, transporting heavy vehicles or equipment, livestock, etc.

If interested, as a driver you register with Uship driver online and where you would like to operate.

Those choices would include nationally, certain states, or local.

The process is also facilitated through the use of a mobile app which allows the deliveries to be done easily and expeditiously as well as the company paying as soon as the order is successfully delivered.

11. Pet Grooming

A great mobile business opportunity with a cargo van is to convert this van into a pet grooming salon.

People love their pets and love caring for them and treating them as members of the family.

If you have a talent and a skill for grooming pets this is a perfect blend of taking a pet grooming business to the customer.

With a cargo van, you combine the convenience of getting the pet groomed as well as the convenience of being mobile where you drive to the customer rather than vice versa.

12. Florist

Because of the cargo van being enclosed it is the perfect transportation method for transporting flowers around the community.

The delivering of flowers or being a florist business that delivers will provide the delicate transportation needs of providing flowers for individuals that are remembered on special occasions or even in the most tragic occasions of providing flowers for a funeral.

13. Pressure Washing

Another convenient and needed service that can be a perfect opportunity for a cargo van owner is a mobile washing business.

The equipment can be loaded into the cargo van and through an appointment system; you would go to the customer and provide the pressure washing service to the customer’s vehicle or a small businesses fleet.

Because a cargo van is a utility vehicle it is the perfect match for utilizing power washing equipment without damaging the inside of a regular vehicle.

14. Home Improvement

Due to the back of the cargo van is a large open space, this would be a perfect mobile workshop in which you could provide home-improvement services to individuals.

All of the equipment and tools could be organized in the back of the cargo van either by setting up the items on a pegboard system mounted on the sides of the cargo van or stored in large bins.

With your traveling workshop, you go to people’s homes and work on the renovations that they want to have accomplished in their homes.

Depending upon your talent and skill, your range of services could focus on flooring, kitchens, working on cabinets, painting, etc.

15. Landscape

If you have a flair for landscaping, a perfect vehicle to carry all of the landscaping tools needed could be stored in your cargo van.

Also, rather than providing generic landscaping services, you could focus on specific areas of landscaping.

Some examples of those specifics could include xeriscaping, trimming hedges, working on irrigation systems, etc.

The cargo van would accommodate all of your supply and tool needs to provide this service to individuals.

16. Housekeeping

Another business opportunity that is conducive to owning a cargo van is the enterprise of providing housekeeping services.

The space of the cargo van would be conducive to mop buckets, mops, brooms, a buffer, etc.

This may be an especially useful startup business as well due to the aging population and individuals needing help with their housekeeping chores.

Also, you could expand from homes to small businesses and meet their cleaning needs.

17. Carpet Layer

A great vehicle is a cargo van as it relates to transporting carpet to an individual’s home or small business.

The length of a roll of carpet is 12 feet and would accommodate perfectly in a cargo van even if you had to extend the carpet out from the door.

The length of a cargo van can range up to 9 feet.

Also, the cargo van would be able to accommodate the tools necessary to lay the carpet.

18. Handyman

A business that is in demand is for an individual who does repair work around the home.

This business is known as a handyman business and can be a positive entrepreneurship opportunity for an individual who can do minor repairs around a home.

Some of those minor repairs could include the fixing of a squeaking door, minor plumbing issues, leaking faucet, woodworking, etc.

If you have the skills, then a perfect vehicle to transport all of your tools and handyman needs would be with a cargo van.

A cargo van would also provide an extra layer of security as it relates to keeping your tools and equipment safe.

A cargo van would easily facilitate the transportation of sawhorses, toolboxes, power tools, compartmentalized storage units for nuts and bolts, and more.

19. Insurance

As with all things, it is important to make sure that you have the proper insurance for not only your business but also for your vehicle as well.

There may be a separate type of insurance required by your provider and by your state of residence to ensure that your liability is covered as well as operating a cargo van as a business vehicle.

Therefore, it is important to check with your insurance carrier as well as the state to find out what the requirements are.

20. Permits

Permits are another legality that needs to be addressed.

Certain permits are required as it relates to the use of the cargo van and what it will be transporting.

Therefore, you must check with your states to make sure that the proper permits are applied for and received as it relates to the line of business or the use of your cargo van.

Check out the following related articles for more on making money with your vehicle:

Personal Story

The church that I worked with had an all-purpose vehicle that was a 16 passenger van.

In the van, we could transport not only a passenger on the passenger side and of course the driver but also be able to utilize the van to pick up 14 children which came in handy when transporting them to Sunday services.

The beauty of the van was that it was multi-purpose.

In other words, the seats in the back of the driving area could accommodate passengers and yet if other things need to be transported, the seats could be easily removed by unlatching the strong latching system that held the seats to the frame of the van.

This made it extremely easy to accomplish several things and derive full benefit from the higher than average cost for this type of vehicle.

Making Money with Cargo Vans FAQs

Do I Need a Special License to Drive a Cargo Van?

The licensing as it relates to driving a cargo van may vary from state to state.

Other variables, as it relates to licensing, may include whether you are transporting passengers or not.

Does a Cargo Van Have a Different Chassis?

The panel van or cargo van can come in a variety of sizes but in either case, the same chassis that is used on pickup trucks is the same chassis that cargo vans utilize.

You Can Do It

Whether you bought a cargo van for a particular reason as it relates to earning some money with this service vehicle or not, the opportunities abound.

With a little planning, assessing the needs in your community, and gathering all of the important documentation and other business requirements, owning a cargo van will serve you and your customers well.

Conclusion

The cargo van is designed to be a utility vehicle.

There are a variety of services that can be rendered by utilizing the van and the successful owner is only limited by his or her aggressiveness in maximizing the full potential of this workhorse.

Again, this company has paid $25+ million to members: