About us
We have built sign frames for city trucks since 1987.
We make sign frames for refuse and recycling trucks, and we print the panels that go in them. Now we are opening ad space on city trucks, one city at a time.
Real install, city messageSince 1987
Roadway has built sign frames for refuse and recycling trucks since 1987.
Made in-house
We make the frames and print the panels ourselves.
Under 30 seconds
The printed panel swaps in under 30 seconds.
On the trucks cities buy
Frames for Labrie, McNeilus, Heil and Amrep truck bodies.
How it started
- 1
1987
A city asks a sign builder a question
Could you make a smaller sign that mounts to the side of a refuse or recycling truck? The first answer was not yet, give us a few days.
- 2
1987
The frame
The answer was a frame that holds a printed panel with spring tension, so the panel slides in and out. Roadway Displays was founded that May.
- 3
2000
Dennis Barrett takes the wheel
Dennis helped design the first frame as a high schooler and started as the shop janitor. He joined full time in 2000 and runs the company today.
- 4
Along the way
Tested in the field
The extrusion was reshaped so tree branches roll off instead of denting it, and screws that shook loose were replaced. The idea never changed.
- 5
Today
Ad space on city trucks
The same frames can carry a local business's ad, with the city's approval. We are opening city by city.
“We treat each and every customer as if they were our only customer.”
How we work
That is the rule here, and it is the reason customers stay. A few times a year, a customer calls with a deadline less than a week out. They ask if there is any way we can help. They ask because they already know it will get done.
“We take the challenge head on and figure out a solution.” Dennis Barrett
Why we are opening ad space
Cities already own trucks that work routes. A frame on that truck can carry more than the city's own message. So we started Roadway Ad Network. A local business pays for space on a city refuse truck, with the city's approval.
We are opening city by city. No city is open yet. Cities have to approve ads on their trucks before we can sell any. In each city, every ad will be checked against that city's written ad policy before it runs.
Frame customers are not the ad program
Cities that use our frames include San Diego, our first customer, in 1987, and Burbank. These are frame customers; the ad program is separate.
That separation matters to us. The frame business has a long record. The ad program is new, and we will not borrow the first to describe the second. When we have something to show for the ad program, we will show it.
Roadway Displays is a private company. Read the ad policy to see what can run.
About Roadway, in short
Who is Roadway Ad Network?
Roadway Ad Network sells advertising space on city garbage and recycling trucks to local businesses and agencies. It is a business line of Roadway Displays, which has built sign frames for refuse and recycling trucks since 1987. We make the frames and print the panels ourselves.
Where is Roadway Displays based?
Temecula, California. We are opening ad space city by city, starting in Southern California.
Is Roadway Ad Network part of the city?
No. Roadway Displays is a private company, and ads on city trucks are paid ads from private businesses. Each city decides whether to allow ads on its trucks, and every ad will be checked against that city's written ad policy before it runs. Approval means an ad meets the policy; it does not mean the city endorses the business. Read the ad policy.
How long has Roadway made garbage truck sign frames?
Since 1987. The design is a frame that holds a printed panel with spring tension, so the panel slides in and out. A framed sign, not a wrap. See how it works.
Which cities use Roadway frames?
Cities that use our frames include San Diego, our first customer, in 1987, and Burbank. These are frame customers; the ad program is separate. No city is open for ads yet.
Which trucks do the frames fit?
We build frames for refuse and recycling trucks, including Labrie, McNeilus, Heil and Amrep bodies. Panel sizes are set by each city; see the panel specs.
Can I talk to a person?
Yes. We call within 1 business hour, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm Pacific. Book a call or join the list for your city.
Want your city on the list?
Join the list for your city and we will write when it opens.
Dennis Barrett, Roadway Displays