As a former founder of a truck wash company, many people email me, call me and ask for advice on setting up their own truck wash. Not long ago, someone emailed me from the Great State of Mississippi, which is located along I-59. Apparently, he had been watching one of the Discovery Channel specials on trucks and noticed that truckers need more places to park at night and that there are more rules and regulations about their hours of service.
So, he was wondering why he found a great location along that highway if he thought it would be a good idea to install a truck wash. Yes and no, I told him, as I have traveled I-59 numerous times myself. Let me explain some of my thoughts on this, and maybe it will help if you are considering setting up a truck wash somewhere in the United States.
Yes, due to new DOT hours of operation rules, there are challenges for places for truckers to stop and rest, states are closing many rest stops to save money, and there are now anti-idling laws to reduce the pollution, defying the climate. control problems in the cabin: too hot in summer, too cold in winter. So the systems that they can plug into become very valuable, add WiFi, showers, parking, they would stop and engage, however the truck wash business is obviously very labor intensive.
When I checked out their location, I noticed that there was another freeway that ran into I-59 right where he planned to put his truck wash, however there was some competition in Meridian, Mississippi which has a truck wash and truck stop downstairs. . road which is pretty close to the Space Way Truck Stop and Travel Center and is huge and also on I-20. You know that’s the right location, too bad someone has already built one there.
So I told the man interested in building his own truck wash; “Sure you’ll have local traffic but you’ll have to compete with your level of traffic flow. Hard to say sir, I mean you could make it work but you’re talking big cash outlay for not so stellar a location. Yes, there are strategies that you could do to make it viable, but it’s not like you were going to go in and kill him, it would be a bit of work.”
In fact, it’s also a matter of having a good business plan, getting a good deal on a property, and having all the financing in place to build a truck wash, plus the cash flow for 6 to 10 months from the super. going. If you are also considering building a truck wash somewhere in the United States, please let me know your thoughts on this and we can discuss more. Please consider all of this. Thanks.