What to Look for When Buying a Vehicle for Your Cleaning Company
Your cleaning clients' locations are spread out across town and possibly into the next county. It's your responsibility to get your equipment, supplies, and sometimes even your employees, to your customer's buildings in the most cost-effective and safe manner possible. Most service professionals rely on a cargo van, a minivan or pick-up truck for their company needs.
What to look for when buying a vehicle for your cleaning company
First off, consider the equipment and supplies you need to move from location to location. A standard minivan or SUV might suit you well if you just have basics; cleaning chemicals, brooms, mops and a vacuum to transport. But if you have heavy equipment such as floor machines you may need a vehicle that can not only hold more weight but is equipped with ramps or a tailgate lift to get the equipment loaded onto the vehicle.
If you need a cargo van to move heavy equipment such as carpet cleaning machines, auto scrubbers and other floor machines, you'll need to decide how to load the equipment into the van. Ramps are commonly used to load equipment or you can invest in a platform that uses a hydraulic arm to raise and lower equipment. Make sure you are aware of any weight limit on the platform as well as any safety devices such as chains that will help keep the equipment secure as it is being raised and lowered.
Safety concerns when choosing a vehicle
Vans are preferable to pickups since they are enclosed and can protect expensive equipment from bad weather and deter theft. Vans also have a lower tailgate than a pickup allowing you to move equipment in and out of the vehicle much easier. Remember, vehicles have weight limits, so research each vehicle thoroughly before making your selection. You don't want to purchase a vehicle that is undersized and incapable of hauling your required weight loads.
Driver safety should also be a concern when deciding on a vehicle. Once the vehicle is loaded, employees should have a way of securing the chemicals and equipment so that it doesn't roll around or get pushed forward toward the driver. Most vans have steel safety partitions or bulkheads available that offer increased security by separating the vehicles cab from the cargo area. This helps keep equipment, tools, and supplies from shifting during transport.
If you've never driven a larger vehicle like a cargo van, you should do a test drive to get a feel for it because you'll have more blind spots and will need to use your side mirrors to navigate the roads. This is because most commercial cargo vans have limited windows both on the sides and rear.
What else to consider when shopping for a new vehicle
When choosing a vehicle for your cleaning business, talk to your insurance agent about insurance costs. Commercial insurance is typically more expensive than personal vehicle insurance so you don't want any surprises once you've made your decision.
Do you provide green cleaning services? If so, you'll want to "walk your talk" and choose a vehicle that gets better gas mileage or uses more efficient fuel. You may even want to consider buying a hybrid vehicle.
Think about the color choice. If you add more vehicles to your fleet later, it would be best to choose a common color that you can easily find down the road when you're ready to expand. White is a color that is commonly chosen for commercial vehicles. Advertising your cleaning company on a white vehicle makes the colors stand more prominently with the white background.
A member of ours, who owns a residential cleaning company, posted a picture of her new company vehicle and custom paint job. Edith wrote “I have a Kia Soul. The seats go down for additional space. I also built a shelf in the back for extra room. But what sold me on this car were the compartments under the floor board of the truck. I said SOLD!”
What may work for one company, may not work for another. Make sure that you select a vehicle that works best for your cleaning company. Make a list of the features and options you need and take your list along while shopping for a truck or van. Spend plenty of time looking around and test driving different makes and models. If you can easily and safely transport your equipment in the back of a minivan as opposed to a larger cargo van, why pay for extras you don't need?
Now that you've bought a new vehicle…
And finally, once you've purchased your new vehicle, keep in mind that it's not only a traveling billboard for your company, but can be a very costly liability should someone get into an accident. Establish a policy for safety, maintenance and cleanliness for all your company vehicles (i.e. no smoking, no cell phone use). You or someone within your company should be authorized to manage the company fleet. They will be required to keep each company vehicle license, insurance and registration up to date, maintain safety records, assigning vehicle use, and authorizing and issue fuel cards/purchases and inspect mileage logs for accuracy. They will also be responsible for making sure all company vehicle drivers have a safe driving record. Make sure each employee who is allowed to drive company vehicles follow the rules and policies. They need to realize that their actions reflect on the reputation and public image of your cleaning company.
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