Benefits of Renting

Renting for your fleet can be the best option when projects are increasing. The many benefits of renting can help minimize the stress for your fleet managers. Let us break down the fleet rental benefits and how Summit Fleet can help build your fleet for the many projects coming up in the coming year.

No Long-Term Commitment

The first benefit of renting fleet trucks is that there is no long-term commitment. When you are buying a truck, you will know that you are committed to the truck for a period until you pay off the vehicle. Projects in the world of construction can vary from 4 months to years. The number of employees can vary on the project as well. Rentals provide you with the flexibility to get the right number of trucks for the job and confidence that you have enough trucks for the employees on the job.

Over the past year, we know that there can be unknown circumstances that could happen that could threaten your business and fleet. Leasing the trucks means you are committed to these trucks even if they are not getting used. That forces you to either try to sell the truck during a tough market or to keep the trucks on the lot not being used. If you are not using your trucks, then they sit there as a waste of funds.

The commitment can be made to buy trucks if you don’t have to hire employees based on the projects at hand. Companies will hire contractors to come in to do certain work during a specific project. That means these people will need trucks for the time they are working on the project. If you have a stable number of employees, then buying them a truck might be the best option. Renting will be good if you have a high turnover rate at your company or hire based on the project.

The key thing to look at here is the time that you need the truck. There are benefits on both sides but if you are always needing trucks for short projects then renting is the way to go. If you know you are going to be using the truck in the long term (5+ years), then buying will be a choice you would need to investigate.

Truck Availability

The next reason to rent your trucks is truck availability. It has been talked about all year that there is a truck shortage on the market right now. Truck suppliers have struggled to provide enough trucks to satisfy the public market. That makes it hard for companies to buy multiple trucks for their fleets. You may be able to buy a few trucks for your fleet but not all of them. That is where renting comes into play to help satisfy your fleet needs.

Renting your truck can guarantee you have trucks ready for your job instead of waiting for a microchip to be made or shipped. Rental companies get their truck order in early so they are not fighting the regular market so they can guarantee trucks for their customers. Rental companies can provide you with trucks that are just the same as buying new ones.

This reason does depend on the market during the current year. It is unclear how the market will change in the coming years. It will take time to recover from the recent shortage as companies and people are still waiting on trucks. The best thing will be to look at the market to determine if renting is a better option to secure trucks during a tough market.

Save on Maintenance Costs

The third reason to rent is to save money on maintenance costs. The life of the vehicle is key to what maintenance needs to be done for the life of the vehicle. The rental companies only keep the truck for a certain number of miles which is determined by each company. It can range anywhere from 35,000 miles to 50,000 miles. At those miles, you are not doing any big maintenance on the truck that can be overly expensive. The repairs that are needed are mostly covered under the initial warranty that comes with the vehicle. The other cost that may not be covered by the rental company is very minimal like oil changes and tires.

The maintenance that can make it more expensive comes after the truck hits certain milestones. The average cost of maintenance for a full-size truck can add up quickly the longer you keep the vehicle. The average maintenance cost for owning a truck for five years can be close to $15,000. If you only need a truck for half that time you can save money and only have to pay for the routine maintenance. Maintenance can be a big factor in your decision to either rent or buy your truck.

The example that will be used will be the maintenance plan for the Ford F-150. This is the most popular truck on the rental market. As stated above, most rental companies will not rent after 50,000 miles. The maintenance that will need to be done after that will be for companies that end up buying the truck instead of leasing it. The first maintenance that will need to be done will be at 60,000 miles. Maintenance needs include replacing the fuel filter, cleaning and repacking wheel bearings, transmission fluid service, and lubricating ball joints. The next big repair would be at 90000 miles where you must replace spark plugs. The cost will add up to the point of 15,000 dollars over 5 years of maintenance for owning a truck.

The maintenance might not seem like a big issue in some cases. If you think about it, the biggest issue would be out-of-pocket expenses which would be all on you when you buy your truck. Rental companies are willing to help with certain maintenance costs. It will depend on what each company is willing to cover because all are different.

Truck Delivery Directly to Your Jobsite 

The next point to look into would be how to acquire the truck for your project. Picking up trucks can be a hassle when there is low inventory. The other big issues are that you can be spending hours at the dealership figuring out everything you need to do to purchase the trucks. There’s also no guarantee that the trucks will be there for pick up that day. You could be waiting weeks or even months to get the trucks you need for the job.

Rental companies can deliver your trucks directly to your place of business or to your job site. That alone will save time to make sure your projects are not behind schedule and can help secure bids by knowing you have trucks on the site to make sure your workers are doing their job. That can save on fuel costs and save time by having the option, so you are not going out of your way to get the trucks you need. Rental companies will provide different delivery options from free delivery or a flat fee to get the trucks where they need to be.

This is based on what is better for you. Rental companies providing delivery options directly to your job site or place of business can help secure more projects and keep business booming in the right direction. Rental companies can also offer pick-up options if you are close to the hubs where the trucks are located.

Proper Registration and Apportioned Plates 

Registration costs can add up year after year. The state of Utah for example will cost you close to $200 per truck. That can total out to $1000 per year if you order 5 trucks. With already paying a monthly payment on the truck itself, the cost will continue to rise when you factor in registration and insurance costs. The overall registration price can vary from state to state. The registration could cost more or less depending on what state you are using the trucks in.

Rental Companies provide the initial plates for the state where the truck is located. You might have issues with bringing the trucks across state lines when it comes to the rental companies. There could be things in place to help you with that if you have projects in a different state but that does depend on the rental company. That means that the registration is solely for the company that you rent the truck from. There are a lot of states that don’t send out reminders via mail to make sure your truck stays registered. It can be a hassle trying to register a truck across state lines every time the truck is moved to different projects in the United States.

If you purchase your truck(s), apportioned plates can be equipped to your vehicle to help with fees crossing state lines if you must move your truck to another state. In the state of Utah, apportioned plates are described as “An owner or operator of a Utah-based fleet of commercial vehicles operating in two or more jurisdictions may apply for an apportioned registration. This registration allows commercial vehicles to comply with registration requirements of more than one authority and to pay registration fees based on the percentage of operation in those jurisdictions.” Apportioned plates can be costly but over time can help save money with future registration costs across multiple state lines. If you rent a truck, most rental companies do not provide apportioned plates. However, there is one company that provides apportioned plates on all of its vehicles – Summit Fleet.

All rental companies will take care of the registration of the trucks to help save you money and stress when it comes to the registration of the vehicle. Purchasing a vehicle will come with extra costs like taxes, dealer fees, and registration costs. That could be well over $4,000 that could be coming out of your pocket. The savings with renting can help provide for more opportunities instead of worrying about making sure you have enough trucks for your fleet.

Beyond the costs of proper registration is the burden of purchasing insurance for your fleet vehicles. This can be a real challenge if you’re trying to meet profit goals and have overwhelming expenses cutting into your progress. Insurance can typically range anywhere from $800 to $200 per vehicle per month depending on distance, state, and seasons purchased. A small fleet itself can cost as much as $5000 to $7000 per month. Thankfully, those costs are covered by most renting companies.

Get the Right Truck for the Job

The right truck may be hard to find for the specific project that you may have. The truck market that was mentioned above will make it tougher to get the perfect truck. Rental companies have the option in stock to provide the truck needed for the job. The sales teams are experts in knowing what will be the perfect truck that you will need. There is no need to settle for whatever is available at car lots.

Rental companies can have anywhere from small trucks like the Chevy Colorado to one and a half-ton flatbed. Some will have different options when it comes to these trucks like fitting the bed to have toolboxes or all-terrain tires to get around any job site. The truck will be more prepared to get started instead of sitting in the shop getting the upgrades you need for the job.

No Up-Front Capital 

There is another money saver if you rent your fleet. There is no up-front capital. What does no up-front capital mean? It means that you don’t have to provide a down payment to start renting trucks for your fleet. When renting your fleet, the price you get quoted is the price you pay. There is no need to put down a huge down payment to make your monthly payments manageable for your company. The addition of down payments per truck you buy can add up quickly and overall cost you more overall.

Rental companies will give you the up-front cost per month right from the beginning. The rates will be set in stone so there is no need to bargain for a good price. The overall time and stress saved will be key to focus on what matters most, securing the jobs needed to help your business grow.

No Need to Resell/Remarket Trucks 

The big worry most fleet managers have is what to do with the trucks once they are done. Fleet managers that have purchased their own inventory must make the decision of what to do with the trucks after they hit a certain mile limit or there is a need for a new truck. When buying your fleet, you must try to sell the truck in a market that is always changing. It is a tough time being able to manage your fleet and try to resell your fleet unless you have a remarketing employee on your staff. The added stress of trying to resell your fleet can cause fleet managers to keep trucks longer than needed.

When you rent your trucks, there is no need to worry about the reselling of your fleet. The majority of the rental companies will take care of the reselling after they have replaced your truck. In some cases, companies will easily trade out your truck if it goes past the mileage limit set forth by the rental companies and provide you with a brand-new top-tier truck. You can let the rental companies care about the market while you worry about adding to your fleet for the needed projects coming ahead.

Help Grow Your Business

The art of growing your business is to spend less than what the company is bringing in. It’s a goal for most businesses to profit in the first few years of existence. The expenses of buying a truck can put you on track to profit in a much longer time frame than what your original goal was. That’s where renting your truck can help. It’s easy to go into debt by buying your trucks upfront with all the cost that was stated early in the blog. Renting will keep the monthly payment low, and you don’t have to worry about keeping the truck and losing money toward your business.

Businesses can grow at an alarming rate depending on the industry and project market. Renting your trucks can help with that surge. The non-commitment approach of truck rental companies can provide the trucks for the projects and then help get rid of the trucks that are not being used once the project slows down or becomes constant.

It’s hard as a business in construction to help secure bids at the preliminary stages of the business. Renting your trucks can help build confidence in your bids so you know the cost of the trucks and how many trucks you will need exactly to complete the job. There are no big hoops to jump through and you will know what you are paying up front when it comes to renting.

How Does Summit Fleet Fit into the Equation?  

As we talked about in the beginning, renting might be the way to go for your business to help save some cost of owning your own fleet. Summit Fleet is one of the leaders in the industry to provide you with the best rental trucks for your business. Here is a list of perks that make Summit Fleet Rental the right company for you to rent from.

One of the reasons why Summit Fleet is regarded as the leading truck rental agency is its customer-centric approach. Prioritizing its customers, the company makes no compromises in meeting customer expectations. It’s known to exceed customer expectations rather than just meet them.

The next reason you should rent from Summit Fleet is that there is no long-term commitment required to rent from us. You can rent the trucks for 4 months to 4 years. The word Flex is what drives us to make sure the rental is flexible for you to help manage your fleet and provide the right truck for the job. We understand that jobs can range in time to be completed and that’s why we are ready to provide you a truck for the needed time of the job.

In addition to no long-term commitment, renting from Summit Fleet means driving trucks that are always up to date. We want to make sure you have the best quality truck. When you rent from Summit Fleet, you will never get a truck rented to you over 50,000 miles. This ensures that your truck will never have any high mileage issues and the maintenance will be at a minimum during the time of your rental. We offer the best that Ford and Chevy have to offer from the Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado to the F-350 Flatbed. If you rent the truck past the mileage, we will trade out the truck at no extra cost to ensure you have a quality truck throughout the life of your rental.

Another reason to rent from Summit Fleet is that we have plenty of trucks available for rent. The reason why we can provide trucks in this market is that we got our orders in early before the microchip shortage slowed the production of certain trucks and that we have great relationships with the manufacturers. There is no need to buy trucks that are not available when Summit Fleet has the same trucks available at a reasonable rental rate. We are consistently buying new trucks to make sure we have the best quality trucks for our customers year after year.

Our delivery option is the next valuable reason to rent from Summit Fleet. We provide trucks across the 48 mainland states with storage hubs in Ohio, Utah, Georgia, Texas, and Oklahoma. We can get trucks to you in as little as 3-5 business days. We deliver to job sites and places of business.

Further, Summit Fleet takes care of all the registration for the trucks. The apportioned plates that are on the trucks make it easy to go from state to state doing different projects. There is no need to keep up with the registration as Summit Fleet will make sure every truck you rent is up to date with its registration.