Tool Truck Startup....

[KF7ELU]

Good morning everyone. I wanted to reach out and see if anyone could give me some advice or point me in the right direction. I am wanting to start a Tool Truck business with one the big franchises. Cornwell being my primary choice as there is not a dealer in this area and I have spoke with their Rep extensively for a while now.

My Question is does anyone know of someplace to help with the funding? Cornwell does do a in house finance program but they require $15-20k working capital in an account to get started and unfortunately I do not have access to that kind of funds at the moment Working an hourly job. My credit is decent and getting better everyday. Just need to find a way to or lender to fund the 15-20k operating capital. Western Wyoming NEEDS a tool truck! Can anyone help??

Thanks In advance

 

[Toyota mechanic]

Cornwell has become a Northern Tools, and Equipment on wheels. Most all is re-branded?????????????? Who knows, at Snap-on prices.

If you want to be a tool truck business, there is only one clear choice, and this board PROVES it! Snap-on is the big cheese, and most desired hands down.

MAC is mostly imported, so is Matco, and as mentioned above Cornwell!!!

The 'Snap-onites' are alive and well for good reason. The biggest reputation here in the states is clearly the big SO!

That is my 25 cents worth.

Who cares who thinks what it better... not arguing that, obvious to me, Snap-on reigns supreme among your future customers.

Good luck!

 

[JAKE-THE-TOOL-MAN]

Cornwell has become a Northern Tools, and Equipment on wheels. Most all is re-branded?????????????? Who knows, at Snap-on prices.

If you want to be a tool truck business, there is only one clear choice, and this board PROVES it! Snap-on is the big cheese, and most desired hands down.

MAC is mostly imported, so is Matco, and as mentioned above Cornwell!!!

The 'Snap-onites' are alive and well for good reason. The biggest reputation here in the states is clearly the big SO!

That is my 25 cents worth.

Who cares who thinks what it better... not arguing that, obvious to me, Snap-on reigns supreme among your future customers.

Good luck!

Although I agree with you I still think Cornwell would be a good choice for the OP. Many people don't buy cornwell because their trucks are like unicorns. Their hardline of tools are all USA and are great quality and affordable for a tool truck brand.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

Where do you live?

 

[Toyota mechanic]

Although I agree with you I still think Cornwell would be a good choice for the OP. Many people don't buy cornwell because their trucks are like unicorns. Their hardline of tools are all USA and are great quality and affordable for a tool truck brand.

I was a Cornwell customer, found the finish quality, mediocre at best, for the USA hardline. I also agree. I would be a Cornwell dealer before MAC or MATCO.

At the same prices as Snap-on could Cornwell go head to head with an established Snap-on dealer on the same route????????????????

I would think that would be tough!

 

[KF7ELU]

I live in Wyoming. Mountain View and would be operating in the Uinta and Sweetwater County areas. There is a Snapon and a Matco Dealer but the area is HUGE and has more shops than three trucks can service.

Not really wanting to discuss the pros and cons of each truck Each one has its benefits. I have used all of the brands and each has good points and bad. Turning wrenches everyday for a living you tend to find the good and bad.

Thanks for everyones input

 

[Toyota mechanic]

Keep in mind, I am not a die hard Snap-on guy... and I would choose Snap-on over the other 3, hands down!!!!!!!!!!!! I bought some Cornwell out of interest, but if I could afford all truck brand tools, Snap-on would trump the other if, IF available!

Big investment the OP is wanting to undertake. Hoping for his success. Lets see what the next pages of the thread unfold to be.

Being a SO dealer would give you an edge, and more sustainable income IMO...

BEING a great dealer is the most important, but a great dealer, and being a SNAP-ON dealer.... You should be very successful!

Back to work, good luck!

 

[MattPersman]

You need to have lots of money cause you more than likely are not going to make much for a long time if ever they want to make sure you can at least pay for the inventory you have on your truck. You need to show you have $ no one wants someone to open a franchise in there name with no money and poor spending and saving habits

You should find out about promo items say they have a $100 socket set on promo for $50 are they going to limit the amount available to the drivers ? If so its a plan for disaster. IMO anyways

 

[MattPersman]

Also to add the biggest thing is inventory and requires a lot of money if you have been on some tool trucks that don't have much you have the feeling that it's only a matter of time before they fail. But inventory costs money

 

[terryo1965]

I don't want this to sound like I'm trying to kill your dream, but if you don't have 20k cash to throw down on this you won't be in business very long. This is not a business you can go into undercapitalized and survive. Read over the franchise disclosure documents VERY carefully, if the guy you are talking to is telling you that you can get up and running for 15 - 20k out of pocket something doesn't seem right. There are always other sources of financing but nobody is going to finance it 100%, everybody is going to expect you to have some skin in the game.

 

[Tronyadorable]

I live in Wyoming. Mountain View and would be operating in the Uinta and Sweetwater County areas. There is a Snapon and a Matco Dealer but the area is HUGE and has more shops than three trucks can service.

Not really wanting to discuss the pros and cons of each truck Each one has its benefits. I have used all of the brands and each has good points and bad. Turning wrenches everyday for a living you tend to find the good and bad.

Thanks for everyones input

Why not sit down, write a proposal, and call SK about creating your own SK truck ?
You'll have to buy your own box body and rig the inside. I betcha if you have good credit SK might just hook you up.

Here's a 10,000 truck
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Workhorse-U...0b4717&item=351181424407&pt=Commercial_Trucks

 

[bodyguy16]

^^^ that is one of the best propositions ive read in this thread, the op doesnt want opinions on tjis though he seems set on cornwell which is fine. Best of luck to you. Hopefully you can find the capital to do such a venture.

 

[KF7ELU]

Not closed to any of the trucks and that is an excellent idea!

 

[NathanB]

Check this out
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=217037

 

[woody 73]

What about a place like this to start with your funding needs:

http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/loans-grants

 

[warmpancakes]

Im in south east michigan, we have a unicorn I mean cornwell truck, his route area is HUGE, he cant compete the snap on and MAC guy own this area (brighton milford)

 

[pl_silverado]

Snap-on. 20K for a Gateway Franchise, they'll finance the rest. Probably also your highest chance of success as opposed to the competition. They have every base covered, if you follow the program, you will succeed.

 

[pl_silverado]

What about a place like this to start with your funding needs:

http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/loans-grants

SBA will usually not finance tool franchises, at least Snap-on.

 

[Dust Devil]

Snap-on. 20K for a Gateway Franchise, they'll finance the rest. Probably also your highest chance of success as opposed to the competition. They have every base covered, if you follow the program, you will succeed.

Thats 20K cash to start and a loan for about another 205K ? Or am I way off? I thought it took minimum 250k to get started.

 

[mikehaugen]

Why not sit down, write a proposal, and call SK about creating your own SK truck ?
You'll have to buy your own box body and rig the inside. I betcha if you have good credit SK might just hook you up.

Here's a 10,000 truck
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Workhorse-U...0b4717&item=351181424407&pt=Commercial_Trucks

This was always one of my ideas, though I considered having a multi-brand truck... sk, armstrong, proto, etc. These are brands that people like and are reasonably priced but are not easy to get sometimes. The trouble I guess would be that you would be completely independent as none of the companies would probably help with financing.

 

[Tronyadorable]

This was always one of my ideas, though I considered having a multi-brand truck... sk, armstrong, proto, etc. These are brands that people like and are reasonably priced but are not easy to get sometimes. The trouble I guess would be that you would be completely independent as none of the companies would probably help with financing.

Exactly. You'll have to agree only to SK(or whoever) but you can still carry other tools and makes that they don't have an equivalent to. Other hammers, air tools, welding stuff,clamps, lubes, cleaners, loctite etc.
Epstein is looking for dealers too. He has some cool stuff to offer.

 

[pl_silverado]

Thats 20K cash to start and a loan for about another 205K ? Or am I way off? I thought it took minimum 250k to get started.

$ 250k is a loaded number, that includes the truck lease, financing the inventory, and other business related expenses. You basically end up that much in debt, with manageable weekly payments. You should be able to pay that off in 2-3 years if your frugal, or stretch is out and bank your cash.

 

[Dust Devil]

$ 250k is a loaded number, that includes the truck lease, financing the inventory, and other business related expenses. You basically end up that much in debt, with manageable weekly payments. You should be able to pay that off in 2-3 years if your frugal, or stretch is out and bank your cash.

Right............. Truck, inventory,buying franchise name ect.

I looked at it and came up with that number for what I thought I needed to do it right.

Thanks for sharing some reality! LOL.

 

[pl_silverado]

Right............. Truck, inventory,buying franchise name ect.

I looked at it and came up with that number for what I thought I needed to do it right.

Thanks for sharing some reality! LOL.

You only really need $ 20k and good credit, they give you the rest.


Seriously, borrow the $ 20k from friends and family. You should be able to have them paid back in full in less than 6 months.

 

[firebox40dash5]

I agree with terryo1965... I wouldn't want to try to start out by having to finance the down payment on my financing. Sorry to say it, but that sounds like a recipe for disaster starting a capital-intensive biz.

As for the Cornwell part, I'd take a good, hard, long, honest look at it. Just because SO and Matco have more area than they can handle doesn't mean a Corny truck is going to turn into a mint. TBH, Cornwell does about nothing for me. I don't say that to bash them ot their quality, they just have next to nothing that interests me at all, let alone at truck prices.

We just got a new Cornwell driver here, and I feel bad for the guy. He has a huge area (biweekly visits when SO and Matco are weekly) and even then he's struggling. It doesn't help him any that the last guy was notorious for all but disappearing in summer to do his bounce house business, and a couple years back just up and quit to do that. From what I've heard from a couple others who've been in that same business, leaving a tool truck to do that should make you raise an eyebrow at how good the tool biz must have been. He further screwed himself in my eyes when he warrantied one of my nice Channellock-rebrand pliers with a shiny new set of poorly-made Chinese ones. That's about the kiss of death for me, if I wanted my good US tools swapped out for mainland China **** I'd buy from Sears for a lot less. Gotta consider the company's rep, and how long it'll take you to build a personal rep that you're not going to up and disappear with no replacement in sight.

 

[BirdMobile]

Every tool truck guy in my area seems unhappy and stressed out, except for the Mac guy - and he's a raging surly condescending ******* who breaks his promises and alienates his customers.
Not a business I would want to get into, from what I've seen.

 

[wornoutoldman]

Why not sit down, write a proposal, and call SK about creating your own SK truck ?
You'll have to buy your own box body and rig the inside. I betcha if you have good credit SK might just hook you up.

I had this conversation with an SK rep at SEMA last year. SK will not even consider your proposal. They will tell you to purchase your inventory from an established distributer for "best pricing".

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I would take a look at why Snap On doesnt have a franchisee in your area; if they can't make it profitable the other guys definitely won't be able to. Selling Asian imports at a premium price to rural Americans isnt a business model that I want be invested in.

 

[jd_1138]

You can finance a truck and then get a reseller's permit and buy the tools from SK, Proto, etc. at wholesale, I guess. If you fill out a credit app, they might front you some inventory?

Also, if you decide to offer in truck financing, you could set up an arrangement with some financial/credit card company that would offer instant approval to the customer. So you'd get paid ahead of time instead of chasing payments. You'd have to have a laptop with a portable hotspot to get that up and running.

Be careful. Starting a business with no capital is tough.

 

[RedneckWelder]

No way in hell would I start a Cornwell franchise. The successful Cornwell man seems to be the exception, not the rule.

The tool truck biz looks to be cut throat and easy to lose your shirt in, and that seems to go doubly so for the smaller brands.

I have spoke with their Rep extensively for a while now.

Remember that recruiters/reps often have no scruples against lying or not telling the whole truth. Check whatever they are telling you...

SBA will usually not finance tool franchises, at least Snap-on.

Here's yer sign...

 

[Skin]

Snap-on. 20K for a Gateway Franchise, they'll finance the rest. Probably also your highest chance of success as opposed to the competition. They have every base covered, if you follow the program, you will succeed.

This is horrible advice. Tool truck franchises have extremely high turn-over rates. Unless you're gifted an awesome route its a sure fire way to go broke and they all want you to stay in debt. They don't want you banking cash, they want you buying inventory and product-period, and you'll be hounded to do just that. The guy who tells you all the fairy tales of success and recruits you just wants you to sign the paperwork for 200-250k of debt because you're just a commission and a tally to him. Its win/win for the company since they've got you suckered into a substantial loan so they're making money no matter what happens to you.

SBA loan assistance wont touch Snap-On because they don't consider it a personal small business. Snap-On controls so many aspects of your franchise they consider you a branch of their company instead of your own entity.


Despite all the dogging Cornwell seems to be the most up front about their business practices and they'll give you the largest route of any of them. Likewise you aren't competing with their own company online nearly to the extent that you do with the other three, and their monthly flier prices are far far better. Im not saying Cornwell is the best way to success, just like Snap-On, MAC, or Matco, its entirely dependent on having great clientele. Just to re-iterate the failure rates for a tool truck franchise are very high regardless of what brand you sign under.

 

[wild cowboy]

Cornwell 20 page monthly sales flyer - Oct. 2014

 

[mikehaugen]

Cornwell 20 page monthly sales flyer - Oct. 2014

Anyone else find it strange that there's a log splitter in there?

 

[Dubbydoo]

or how about the Combat Commander Gladiator Sword for 40$ haha

 

[tightwad_wrencher]

This is horrible advice. Tool truck franchises have extremely high turn-over rates. Unless you're gifted an awesome route its a sure fire way to go broke and they all want you to stay in debt. They don't want you banking cash, they want you buying inventory and product-period, and you'll be hounded to do just that. The guy who tells you all the fairy tales of success and recruits you just wants you to sign the paperwork for 200-250k of debt because you're just a commission and a tally to him. Its win/win for the company since they've got you suckered into a substantial loan so they're making money no matter what happens to you.

SBA loan assistance wont touch Snap-On because they don't consider it a personal small business. Snap-On controls so many aspects of your franchise they consider you a branch of their company instead of your own entity.


Despite all the dogging Cornwell seems to be the most up front about their business practices and they'll give you the largest route of any of them. Likewise you aren't competing with their own company online nearly to the extent that you do with the other three, and their monthly flier prices are far far better. Im not saying Cornwell is the best way to success, just like Snap-On, MAC, or Matco, its entirely dependent on having great clientele. Just to re-iterate the failure rates for a tool truck franchise are very high regardless of what brand you sign under.

With the high turn over rate for tool truck drivers, why do people support SO, Cornwell, Matco, and the like over their business practices and their treatment of their franchisees? Just a thought.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

This is horrible advice. Tool truck franchises have extremely high turn-over rates. Unless you're gifted an awesome route its a sure fire way to go broke and they all want you to stay in debt. They don't want you banking cash, they want you buying inventory and product-period, and you'll be hounded to do just that. The guy who tells you all the fairy tales of success and recruits you just wants you to sign the paperwork for 200-250k of debt because you're just a commission and a tally to him. Its win/win for the company since they've got you suckered into a substantial loan so they're making money no matter what happens to you.

SBA loan assistance wont touch Snap-On because they don't consider it a personal small business. Snap-On controls so many aspects of your franchise they consider you a branch of their company instead of your own entity.


Despite all the dogging Cornwell seems to be the most up front about their business practices and they'll give you the largest route of any of them. Likewise you aren't competing with their own company online nearly to the extent that you do with the other three, and their monthly flier prices are far far better. Im not saying Cornwell is the best way to success, just like Snap-On, MAC, or Matco, its entirely dependent on having great clientele. Just to re-iterate the failure rates for a tool truck franchise are very high regardless of what brand you sign under.

This ^is about what I think on this subject. I am far from an expert in the business, but working with tool truck guys since I started in 95 and seeing them come and go. Our area is supposed to be one of the busiest in the country - more shops (tool truck customers) per square mile than most areas of the country -- EVERY SINGLE BRAND has failed. The ONLY one who made it for 15 years was and old school DEALER (not a franchisee!) because he had more control over how he ran his business. Even at that, corporate demanded to "re-negotiate" his contract - that's when he told them to shove their truck where the sun doesn't shine and quit.

With the high turn over rate for tool truck drivers, why do people support SO, Cornwell, Matco, and the like over their business practices and their treatment of their franchisees? Just a thought.

I agree. It *****. Unfortunately, the tool-truck companies almost always have exactly what I need, when I need it, so I continue to buy....Ive said it before: Love the tools, HATE the company......

 

[tightwad_wrencher]

This ^is about what I think on this subject. I am far from an expert in the business, but working with tool truck guys since I started in 95 and seeing them come and go. Our area is supposed to be one of the busiest in the country - more shops (tool truck customers) per square mile than most areas of the country -- EVERY SINGLE BRAND has failed. The ONLY one who made it for 15 years was and old school DEALER (not a franchisee!) because he had more control over how he ran his business. Even at that, corporate demanded to "re-negotiate" his contract - that's when he told them to shove their truck where the sun doesn't shine and quit.




I agree. It *****. Unfortunately, the tool-truck companies almost always have exactly what I need, when I need it, so I continue to buy....Ive said it before: Love the tools, HATE the company......

Gotcha!

 

[Zeroek]

The cornwell dealer here does great. Prices are better than both Matco and Snap on. And he's there every week no matter what. May not be good in other places but here were I work Cornwell is the main guy I buy from.

 

[Fedwrench]

go online to readoz.com look up a magazine titled Professional Distributor. It's a tool dealer magazine. There are ads for ISN and others that serve as a suppler for independent tool trucks. Perhaps you can find something there.

However, being a tool truck dealer is cash intensive. If you can't afford the start up costs, plus have a large cushion for individual tool orders and mailing warranty items back to the factory, you'll fold quickly.

Competition is fierce. Not just from other trucks, but, online retailers, ebay, etc. I mean just look at the something for nothing group that lives in these pages.

I would also watch some of those tool dealer horror stories on youtube. it's not as easy life. I would find another career. The tools don't sell themselves despite what the kool aid drinkers would have you believe.

 

[sberry]

I don't want this to sound like I'm trying to kill your dream, but if you don't have 20k cash to throw down on this you won't be in business very long. This is not a business you can go into undercapitalized and survive. Read over the franchise disclosure documents VERY carefully, if the guy you are talking to is telling you that you can get up and running for 15 - 20k out of pocket something doesn't seem right. There are always other sources of financing but nobody is going to finance it 100%, everybody is going to expect you to have some skin in the game.

I got to go with this. If you got to borrow money to borrow money you are behind before you start.