John Timmins
Well-known member
A retired Snap On dealer said he figured there would be one some day.
Is there a Harbor Freight tool truck yet ?
- Thread starter John Timmins
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Meursault74
Well-known member
Sure, can you imagine the look on the driver's face after he makes a stop just for you to purchase a $9.99 ratchet then you hand him a 30% off coupon printed from the internet. 
2ndGearRubber
Well-known member
I don't think people, including that dealer, understand the tool truck model. No, you're not getting a HF truck to sell you stuff at store price. I have heard of truck dealers running an errand for a good customer, and conceivably that could be HF.
IMO the benefits of HF precludes a truck distribution model. Generally available and nearby, low prices, variety of products across industries.
IMO the benefits of HF precludes a truck distribution model. Generally available and nearby, low prices, variety of products across industries.
That's way too much for a HF ratchet. Wtf.Sure, can you imagine the look on the driver's face after he makes a stop just for you to purchase a $9.99 ratchet then you hand him a 30% off coupon printed from the internet.
Meursault74
Well-known member
if you complain, maybe he'll throw in a free flashlight or microfiber towels.
I should hope so.
milky2k
Well-known member
Maybe he meant more like a truck that shows up at events promoting Harbor Freight products. Maybe even something like an "ICON Experience" and tool demos.
However, if he meant a truck that goes around selling tools all day, isn't there already competition from the auto parts chains? I thought NAPA, Autozone, and O'Reilly etc delivered tools as well as parts to the shops in their service area?
However, if he meant a truck that goes around selling tools all day, isn't there already competition from the auto parts chains? I thought NAPA, Autozone, and O'Reilly etc delivered tools as well as parts to the shops in their service area?
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
Honestly, I could see an Icon truck in their own parking lot as a promotional "compare to..." stunt. In fact, now that I think about it, I'm surprised they haven't done this already.
However, I don't see them doing direct deliveries or full warranty service etc. That isn't free, and is a large part of why truck brand tools are so expensive. Snap-On can give you a full replacement warranty, because you already bought the replacements.
However, I don't see them doing direct deliveries or full warranty service etc. That isn't free, and is a large part of why truck brand tools are so expensive. Snap-On can give you a full replacement warranty, because you already bought the replacements.
jabberwoki
Well-known member
The truck fell apart just out of the depot driveway
working at a parts store part-time on the weekend, we do, but it's pretty rare. I've gone and gotten gas tanks filled for welding. sometimes a tech broke a specialty tool, or a floor jack just broke and they need one fast. but typically, no.
I've mentioned that concept before, and I still think it is a possibility. Since HF doesn't have to worry about competition with their stores (it's not a franchise), they have the freedom to do it. The trucks would belong to HF and the drivers would be HF employees, though dedicated to the truck and hired with experience as techs, etc. I'd expect that it would be based on using the stores as an inventory hub. They'd have to expand their product lines in various spots (which they have been doing over the last few years anyway), and they'd have to sell singles of just about everything. Have an app where you could add special orders or warranty requests. Sell the Icon and USG storage, have traditional financing at non-predatory rates, offer all truck customers the equivalent of Inside Track membership and have a reward program like Tektons.
I think it would work
I think it would work
I think you overestimate Harbor Freight.I've mentioned that concept before, and I still think it is a possibility. Since HF doesn't have to worry about competition with their stores (it's not a franchise), they have the freedom to do it. The trucks would belong to HF and the drivers would be HF employees, though dedicated to the truck and hired with experience as techs, etc. I'd expect that it would be based on using the stores as an inventory hub. They'd have to expand their product lines in various spots (which they have been doing over the last few years anyway), and they'd have to sell singles of just about everything. Have an app where you could add special orders or warranty requests. Sell the Icon and USG storage, have traditional financing at non-predatory rates, offer all truck customers the equivalent of Inside Track membership and have a reward program like Tektons.
I think it would work
KnurledNut
Well-known member
I knew a guy that would buy HF and resell it to shops on a route he established.
It worked for him.
He moved a lot of consumables, even with his markup.
It worked for him.
He moved a lot of consumables, even with his markup.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
Hell there's an Ace hardware not far from me that has a bunch of HF-sourced stuff. Warrior bits, etc.
Harbor Freight needs one here!Snap On never had a retail store, in every crappy shopping center In America.
Maybe they missed out
I don't think I do at all. But then, I'm not captive to the truck-loyalty thing. I have no issue with the tools overall (and SO generally being the best of them), but find the business model bizarre and borderline predatory (SO being the worst). I don't think it exists anywhere else in the world.
A big barrier is the cost of the truck and fuel to run it. They'd have to do something small and more efficient - If Rivian wins their freedom from Amazon exclusivity, an electric truck similar to a Sprinter might be a good fit. You have to sell a LOT of tools to generate enough profit to cover the truck - like $5K a month of gross profit for a $100K truck over a couple years. That probably means $5K a week in sales to just break even on the truck. Triple that (maybe quadruple it) to cover the guy on the truck and make back some money.
...aaaaaaaaand all that is probably why HF hasn't done it. It would be hugely capital-intensive and their profit model probably can't close the loop, even if they stuck to the Icon line.
bubinga
Well-known member
I would have liked to have a harbor freight truck 
come to the shops i worked at 
come to the shops i worked at Fedwrench
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Actually, Snap on had one retail store in the early 1990's. It was in Albuquerque, NM.Snap On never had a retail store, in every crappy shopping center In America.
Maybe they missed out
I'm waiting for the Toptul truck myself.
rooster59
Well-known member
Maybe order HF online along with some food and Doordash, Grubhub, or UberEats will deliver.
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I figured you'd talk it out and figure out why it's probably a bad idea.
It's not like HF can run a truck cheaper than SO. The fixed overhead would be the same for the truck itself. Except now they have a salaried or hourly employee (on your model anyway) with benefits that gets paid regardless.
The SO franchisee doesn't collect a paycheck. He pays himself from what he sells. His rig always looks sharp but sometimes he goes hungry.
It's also easier to make $5,000 a week when your ratchets are $100 than when they're $10.
Mikeske
Well-known member
I doubt it would ever happen. With the number of HF stores there really is no need for having the truck. Most techs I talk to say they just do their warranty and new tools when they go to buy consumables.
I think you’re right. No disrespect to anyone here, but I have never seen people talk up Dollar General the way they have it’s tool analogue.
If they had an HF truck, i would assume they would have to warranty parts more often. Most people will not return the tool to HF. ( I am not talking about you fine garage people who know what you are doing) That's even if they know they can return it. Some just buy another Tool from them, right after the one broke a year down the road.
So, if a truck went around then they would be swapping tools out left and right, not making any money. I would suspect having HF trucks would cost them more than its worth.
Plus the insurance, fuel, personal, training.
They make tons of money from customers not returning an item, and instead buying a new tool. I go to HF regularly, and almost never see someone returning something.
Now, they do have a returned area in my HF. and they sell it AS IS. I purchased a 9500kw predator generator that had a dent in the gas tank. Bought for $400. works great, i put a battery in it and now starts itself. Sometimes you can barter with them and get them to drop another 10-15% on the price.
I particularly will not buy anything in the electronic isle, it is all junk in my opinion.
I LOVE the baur 12" miter saw. I use and abuse that thing. i bought the Hercules stand with it.
I have yet to through money at the ICON items. " Wait, i did buy a stubby ratchet"
But, for the most part. I love that place.
"Bet that truck person would hate to see you drop a 25% coupon after they just drove 45 minutes to sell you a Pittsburgh 6 piece screwdriver set for $2.99."
So, if a truck went around then they would be swapping tools out left and right, not making any money. I would suspect having HF trucks would cost them more than its worth.
Plus the insurance, fuel, personal, training.
They make tons of money from customers not returning an item, and instead buying a new tool. I go to HF regularly, and almost never see someone returning something.
Now, they do have a returned area in my HF. and they sell it AS IS. I purchased a 9500kw predator generator that had a dent in the gas tank. Bought for $400. works great, i put a battery in it and now starts itself. Sometimes you can barter with them and get them to drop another 10-15% on the price.
I particularly will not buy anything in the electronic isle, it is all junk in my opinion.
I LOVE the baur 12" miter saw. I use and abuse that thing. i bought the Hercules stand with it.
I have yet to through money at the ICON items. " Wait, i did buy a stubby ratchet"
But, for the most part. I love that place.
"Bet that truck person would hate to see you drop a 25% coupon after they just drove 45 minutes to sell you a Pittsburgh 6 piece screwdriver set for $2.99."
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That's not the same thing as overestimating HF...
The employee is the single biggest cost of the truck, so having regular employee in the seat and removing the middle-man represents a significant reduction in overall operating cost. There's also probably some efficiency in having the trucks be a corporate thing too.
I'm aware of the model. This is why it so often winds up being a bit slippery. SO is pretty demanding of the franchisees in terms of minimum buys, trucks, etc. so they're on the hook to cover a pretty big nut all the time.
There are guys who run trucks of entirely non-truck-brand tools and seem to do OK, so the model is possible. They're marking up from list price, but HF doesn't have a middle-man to deal with beyond the factory.
It's more like $15K+ a week (napking-math - $5K in revenue is probably just covering the truck). And while the truck would almost certainly be focused on the (higher-priced and presumably higher-total-profit) Icon and similar lines, it's still a good rule of thumb that Icon is likely to cost about 1/3 what the SO equivalent does. That's means there would need to be a lot of stuff going through that truck.
So net: I do think the model is possible, but I think the up-front capital is high enough that they wouldn't take their eye off expansion of stores.
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You want it to be possible more than the reality.
The 5k was just a random *** number. Point being the margins on HF stuff doesn't support running it around on a truck with a guaranteed income employee all else being equal.
15k for SO is probably 5k to HF if you're buying the same tools anyway. So you'd have to do FAR more volume. Shops simply aren't going to buy that much HF stuff.
Your overestimation is in how much HF stuff the shops would actually buy. HF is a consumer grade store, not a professional one. The truck would have to target personal homes, and that entire concept is absolutely absurd.
Dakotadadv8
Well-known member
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- May 30, 2021
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Maybe in the PRC first before in the US.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
If there were a HF truck, you would be able to smell the cosmoline coming for a mile..lol
My thoughts exactly, like the schwan's man " or women" coming down the road to a residential house
senlow
Well-known member
Uh, that's not cosmoline. It's the stench of prematurely rotting screwdriver handles.
BlakeTheCarGuy
ALLIANCE MEMBER
At my first job we had this guy who would come by in a plain white van and he was loaded with HF tools and any tools from the stores that he got cheap. Would sell for a profit. I never bought anything but I knew some who did lol. I was not going anywhere near a white van in the hood even with tools lol. I don’t trust people like that.
Old Man Roger
Well-known member
That's the Craftsman truck.
good idea, unless he tells you he has Candy.... then get in the van
senlow
Well-known member
My mistake.That's the Craftsman truck.