Signage for the new truck

I am gradually getting all the boxes checked for my full-time launch on April 15 and one of those boxes has to do with signage for my box truck. This one, I could use some ideas on.

As you may recall, it is a former beverage truck with roll-up side doors, which is part of the problem. I was thinking of vinyl wrapping the box, but they would have to cut the vinyl at every slat of the roll-up doors to make it work.......they tell me that it would "add some cost" and that they would not guarantee against it pealing up on those doors due to the grease involved.

So, I am thinking now that I could vinyl wrap all except the doors and just paint them a solid color or maybe use some traditional painted signage on those doors...really not sure how best to tackle this. Maybe list services on each roll-up door?

Any creative ideas?

Yeah, I would use bullet points of services you do on the roll up doors, that way it doesn't have to reach the edge where it bends, avoiding grease seeping into the vinyl.
April 15th huh ? Your boss already know he's going to lose his mvp employee ?

He doesn't know it yet, but I found myself giving that date out during some contract discussions. I was actually thinking about my taxes, so the date just jumped out, but it seems like a good choice.

Business is picking up rapidly with over 4 large buildings on the schedule middle of next week and some residential this weekend, so I don't feel so worried about the jump any longer.

Make sure your getting a good vinyl. 3m, arlon are top of line.
Keep it simple yet bold!
My personal feeling.... People don't really remember very well what the company was.
Think about it? Over the last few days, do you remember any mobile service van/trucks that you thought "that's who I should call if/when I need that service".
On my van I have huge name and logo. I don't get any calls that start with, " I saw your van today..…".
Now if I had a muscular stud with a tight shirt and... The lady's might respond more?!?

Do the magnetic cards on back door with a "take one" sign.

I do the magnetic cards already and it does get depleted quickly.

You are also correct about customer memory involving your signage. A guy I worked for in Jacksonville, NC used to say that if a customer starts out saying that they saw your van, it means you almost hit them or cut them off. Those vans they remember.

Bold and simple....I like it. Can't help with the stud in the tight shirt....they are stuck with me.

Lol, that reminds me of a few times customers called me and had told me that they saw one of my vans driven like a bat out of hell, those few times were all different techs cause I warned every single one of them if I get one more call like that, they will be gone the next day, and also one time I got a call at 7 pm and he said the same thing, one of your driver was driving too fast, I was like wth, they should be done by now, I called one guy and he said that the other guy decided to bring the van home and that he's on his way home now to clean his carpets, I was pissed, called him up and told him if he doesn't turn around now, he will not have a job tomorrow, he turned around quick, lol.
I also happened to cut someone off and gotten a phone call really quick, lol. That's one of the reason why I hate those wraps.
And while I had them down in central california, I've gotten one job from 2 vans wrapped in 2 years time, I'm sure down in your areas might very well be different.

I never had much luck getting jobs when I had my name and number on the van, just a couple job in a several year period.

So I decided to lower my liability and theft risk and have just gone stealth since then.

I can see merit in the stealth approach and I can also merit in lots of script.

I will probably fall somewhere in the middle.  I have re-visited my old plan of painting the whole thing in woodland camouflage with the logo in black....just like the Budweiser trucks that deliver on military bases.  That thing draws a lot of attention and doesn't need to be washed as much.



(Boy hosting an image sure changed....yikes)

I don't think Bud draws attention on a military base because of the camo wrap.
But it is a cool wrap.
I've always wanted a pearl white on my van.

signage on vans/trucks has to be laid out well or its just a waste.

needs to be really clear and really clean, also the truck itself needs to look good.

I think you could come up with a pretty nice design for your truck Rob, mine has much smaller slits and recessed doors so I wont be wrapping over the top.

Im having a sign company make 2 long sign boards out of aluminum to mount on each side which will be hinged at the top. They will flip up and then get supported like an awning.

for rainy days it will keep me dry when Im close to the truck but also give a really clean pallet for a wrap.

another bonus is it will be tough to figure out how to get into the box

most of the jobs youll get from a really nice professional wrap will be neighbors, and people passing by while your cleaning... not as much from sitting in traffic or driving by.

really helps with brand recognition though. Quite a few times just from family friends and people I know from other hobbies Ive heard "Oh thats your company, I see your trucks all over the place" but really its just 1 very bright van that stands out

Thanks for the insight AC, I like your aluminum panel idea...pretty smart.

I will met up with the sign guys in a couple of weeks to see what they come up with. I will just be studying other vehicles on the road to tips.

Yes, hosting an image has changed, lol. I was doing it from my phone and I almost gave up, ha..ha..ha....

dp1 wrote:Yes, hosting an image has changed, lol. I was doing it from my phone and I almost gave up, ha..ha..ha....

Its a lot quicker on the desktop

Signage is a good move...I get calls weekly from mine alone.

I wish I'm in areas where signs on your van work, it's the cheapest advertisement if it works and you get customers from it.
I know what some of you are saying, van has to be clean and sign has to be attention grabber, which we did all of that, oh well.

DP...I think when you are in the area you are in you need a sign that is EXTREMELY unique and something to remember.

In my area the fact I have a nice clean professional sign speaks volumes

Devon07 wrote:Signage is a good move...I get calls weekly from mine alone.

That's great,
It doesn't seem to work quite the same here.

I think it might be that there are a million service vans running around here, that are just covered with lettering and wraps. So maybe people are now basically just immune to them, and just don't pay any attention anymore, really.

I could be very wrong, it's just a thought I had.

DP, what is your thought?........I know we both have the same thoughts/reasons to not have our vans covered in advo, because of the added liability risk. But why do you think we don't get much if any response with them lettered in the LA area?

May be true Davey! I do know if I was in the area (I once was) I would sure try! Friday I was in a postal store sending a package and the guy that was ahead of me said hi as he left....the minute he went out my phone rang and he said he seen my van parked in this center (where the postal store was) and wanted us to clean his Tile, Grout seal and carpet $750 this Thursday. I get calls all the time while driving and hear something like....Im the white car in front of you. lol

I once was going to have a van lettered with the name RED DOT and have a huge GREEN DOT put on it. my thought was they would remember or at least call to find out why. lol

what did your lettering or wrap look like before Davey or Dp?

That is sweet!!

If I had any type of response like that when I had my van lettered, trust me, I still would have it on there!!

I don't think I ever had a (or maybe just one), person call me from it, but in the 3-4 years it was lettered I do remember having two different guys yelling at me out their car windows that they could use some cleaning help........I think one actually turned into a small job, after stopping and giving him a card. LOL

ACpower1 wrote:what did your lettering or wrap look like before Davey or Dp?    

It was on my last/older van, and I don't have any pics of it.  But I did make it a priority to have the words Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning and my phone number big and easy to read.  Because I know from seeing many vans around here with a huge name and logo, and then with small hard to read work description and/or phone number to know that wasn't the plan.

To me...less is more and very creative and legible.

People have gold fish attention spans these days with smart phones providing plenty of distraction. Anything more than a name, number, and single line of text might be all the public can handle.

I do like those little emblems that people can scan with their phones when next to your van. I think that is a pretty good idea