Ads on trucks: five ways to put your business on a truck

Can you put ads on trucks?

Yes, and there is more than one way to do it. The right one depends on a few plain questions. Do you already own trucks? Do you want to control the streets, or are you happy riding along on someone else's routes? Do you need a weekend, or a year?

Most guides on this topic pick one format and sell it. This one maps all five so you can see who drives, where the truck goes, how long the ad stays up, and what you actually pay for. Then each section goes deeper, and we close with how to pick.

One note before the table. Where we quote a price, it comes from a seller's or shop's own page, linked in the sources at the bottom. We did not test any of them, and prices change by market and date.

1. Wrap or letter your own vehicles

If your business already runs trucks or vans, this is the obvious first step. A wrap is printed vinyl that covers part or all of the vehicle. Lettering is cut vinyl: your name, phone number, license number and logo on the doors and tailgate.

The big difference from every other way on this list: you pay for production once, and there is no monthly fee for the space. The truck is yours. Chicago Fleet Wraps calls a wrap a one-time investment, compared with advertising you pay for every month.

Here is what three wrap shops publish for the vehicles most people ask about.

• Box trucks. Full wrap: $4,000 to $8,000 at Hyperformance Graphics in North Carolina. $4,500 to $8,500 for 10- to 28-foot boxes at Identity Graphx in Salt Lake City. Chicago Fleet Wraps lists $5,300 for a 16-foot box truck and $9,200 for a 26-foot.
• Pickups and vans. Hyperformance lists $3,000 to $6,000 for a pickup and $3,500 to $6,500 for a cargo van. Chicago Fleet Wraps lists $3,500 for a pickup and $4,200 for a cargo van.
• Partial wraps and lettering. Hyperformance puts partial wraps and decals at about $800 to $2,500. Identity Graphx lists lettering and decals from $350 up to about $1,500.

How long does it last? Hyperformance says cast vinyl generally lasts five to seven years and economy calendered vinyl three to five. Chicago Fleet Wraps rates its cast vinyl at five to seven years.

The trade-off is reach. Your wrap only goes where your trucks already go. If your crews work the same few towns, that may be exactly right. If you want to be seen somewhere your trucks never drive, you need one of the next four ways. More on this format: vehicle wrap advertising.

2. Rent a mobile billboard truck

A mobile billboard truck is a vehicle built only to carry an ad. You rent it by the hour or the day, and the seller's driver runs a route you plan together. Static trucks carry printed vinyl. LED trucks carry a screen that can rotate several ads.

This is the way that gives you the most control. You pick the streets, the dates and the hours. That makes it a good fit for a store opening, an event, a game day or a short push into one part of town.

The cost is per day, and it adds up. Seller pages we checked list $500 to $900 a day for a static truck and $800 to $1,500 for LED at The Rolling Ads, and up to $2,500 to $5,000+ a day for a dual- or triple-sided LED truck at LED Truck Media. A static truck also needs its vinyl printed first, which The Rolling Ads prices at $300 to $800.

Rules matter too. In California, cities can regulate mobile billboards, and Los Angeles bars parking them on public streets. Our billboard truck rental guide covers how a rental works step by step, static vs LED, route planning and the local rules. For every published rate, see mobile billboard advertising.

3. Buy space on a freight fleet (truckside)

Freight trucks and trailers already cover a lot of road. Truckside advertising puts your ad on them. Searchers call it a lot of things: advertising on trucks and trailers, semi truck advertising, trailer advertising, fleet advertising. It is the same idea.

The Outdoor Advertising Association of America describes truckside displays as adhesive films or stretched vinyl banners on special frames on the sides and rear of trucks. According to that page:

• Programs run from one truck to as many as 1,000 trucks on established routes, bought in one- to 52-week blocks.
• Straight trucks offer sign space of 16 to 26 feet long by 7 to 8 feet high. Trailer vans run 28 to 53 feet long by about 8 feet high.
• Banners can be removed and reused in as little as 30 minutes.
• It is sold nationwide through brokers who work with trucking and installation companies.

The thing to understand is that the trucks run their own routes. A long-haul trailer is on the interstate. A regional delivery truck runs its own loop. You buy space on the trucks whose routes fit your market, and the fleet keeps doing its job.

From the fleet's side, a June 2026 article in Millennials Trucking says advertising networks pay fleets $300 to $600 per truck per month, depending on campaign length. That is what the owner earns, not what the advertiser pays, so ask the network for its own advertiser quote. More on this format: truck side advertising.

4. Box trucks and owner-operator programs

Box trucks sit in the middle. They are smaller than semis and work local streets: moving companies, delivery fleets, rental trucks, contractors. That puts them on the same roads as local customers, which is why "box truck advertising" gets searched on its own.

The phrase means different things to different people. Some own a box truck and want it wrapped. Some want to rent space on someone else's box truck. And some own a box truck and want to get paid to carry an ad. Each has a different answer.

What box truck advertising costs

• Wrap your own box truck. A one-time production cost. Published full-wrap ranges run $4,000 to $8,000 (Hyperformance Graphics) and $4,500 to $8,500 (Identity Graphx), with Chicago Fleet Wraps at $5,300 for a 16-foot box and $9,200 for a 26-foot. Chicago Fleet Wraps lists partial wraps on a 16-foot box from $2,600.
• Rent space on someone else's box truck. Networks and local owner programs quote per truck per month, and we did not find a published advertiser rate we could confirm. Ask for a written quote that names the trucks, the area they work, the months, and who pays for the graphic.
• Earn from your own box truck. Programs exist that pay owners to carry ads, and the trucking publication above puts network pay at $300 to $600 per truck per month. We don't run one and don't recommend any, so read the terms before you sign.

If you are the advertiser, the questions are the same as for freight fleets. Where do these trucks actually drive? For how many months? Who prints and installs the graphic, and who takes it off at the end? Get each answer in writing.

5. A panel on a city garbage truck

Cities have put ads on their refuse trucks. Columbus, Georgia's council approved a contract for it in 2021. The council minutes record Resolution 111-21, which approved a contract to find clients to place body wrap ads on city-owned refuse trucks. Back in 2013, Waste Dive reported that Santa Monica, California had ads on its recycling trucks. These are things cities did, not Roadway results.

Here is what makes a garbage truck different from the other four. It works residential streets on a schedule the city sets. It is not rented for a day, and it is not on the interstate. A refuse truck belongs to the city, so the city has to approve ads before anyone can sell the space. Read more in can you advertise on garbage trucks.

This is the format we build. Roadway has built sign frames for refuse and recycling trucks since 1987. Here is how it works:

• A framed sign, not a wrap. The printed panel slides out of the frame.
• Two sides per truck. The panel's live area is 91 x 27 in. Full sizes and file rules are on the specs page.
• Fast swaps. The printed panel swaps in under 30 seconds. A new message still goes through design, review and printing first.
• Checked first. In each city, every ad will be checked against that city's written ad policy before it runs.
• On assigned routes. Trucks rotate through the city's collection routes. You don't choose the route, and there is no route guarantee.

No city is open yet. Refuse trucks are not part of the industry's audited audience ratings (Geopath), so any reach figure we show will be labeled as an estimate, with how we got it. Add a tracking number to your panel and count your own calls. See how it works, or see your ad on a garbage truck.

How much does it cost to put an ad on a truck?

Each way is priced differently, so compare them as a monthly number. Here is one figure per way, from the sources above.

• Your own vehicles. Paid once. A full box truck wrap runs $4,000 to $8,000 at Hyperformance Graphics. Spread it over the years the vinyl lasts.
• Mobile billboard truck. Paid per day. $500 to $900 a day for a static truck at The Rolling Ads, and more for LED.
• Freight fleet space. Paid per truck per month. Networks pay fleets $300 to $600 per truck per month, per Millennials Trucking. Your price as the advertiser is quoted by the network.
• Box truck programs. Quoted per truck per month. Ask for a written quote.
• City garbage truck. Talk to us for pricing. No city is open yet, and pricing is set city by city.

Watch for print and install. On fleets and rentals, the graphic is often billed on top of the space. Full comparison with bus ads and car wraps: truck advertising cost.

Which way fits your business?

Start from your situation, not the format.

• You already run trucks or vans. Wrap or letter them first. You pay once and the ad works every day your crews drive.
• You have one event, opening or weekend. Rent a mobile billboard truck. You control the streets and hours, and you stop paying when it ends.
• You want regional reach on highways. Buy truckside space on a freight fleet whose routes run through your market.
• You want local streets without owning trucks. Ask box truck programs in your area for a written quote with the trucks and months named.
• You want residential neighborhoods on a schedule, month after month. A panel on a city garbage truck. No city is open yet; join the list for yours.

All five are part of what the industry calls out-of-home advertising: anything people see outside the home, from billboards to bus shelters to trucks. Many businesses use more than one. A wrap on your own vans plus a rented truck for your grand opening is a common pair. See every type of outdoor advertising to compare the rest.