Jeff, about 4 years ago my husband and I purchased a small motor home with the intention of using it for my business. We had signs made for both sides and the back, so it is a traveling billboard.
The gas station/convenience store where we buy a lot of our gas said it was okay with them if we wanted to set up there and put out our banners and do repairs (no charge... his theory was that having me there would be mutually beneficial). So I did on weekends, and was doing very well, even though that part of town is on the border between good and bad elements. One day I stopped in to get gas, and he greeted me from behind a plate glass window with a little 'talk hole' in it. He had been robbed at gun-point. My husband and I decided that it wasnt really good for me to be there any more, especially by myself.
I have done a local flea market several times, and will resume in the spring when the flea market starts up again. At this venue I paid 10 cents a square foot, which included space for clients to pull up next to me for their repairs.
The best locations would be any place where people are going to stop anyway: restaurant, store, automotive store, service station, strip mall... just about any place you can get permission to be there... it should be a well-trafficed area, and the ideal place would be at an intersection with a traffic light. Price is set by the property owner. It may be free. It may be by percentage of your daily receipts. It may be so much per day/week/month, as determined by the property owner.
Whether using a tent, or RV or just working out of your vehicle, it is important to have bold, easy to read, professional quality signs and/or banners. Avoid appearing 'fly-by-night'. If you accept credit cards, advertise it ... people may not always have cash with them, and if they dont have comprehensive insurance, they will appreciate knowing you take plastic. In addition, accepting plastic adds to your credibility in a very powerful way.
I also accept personal checks. I joke with the people, saying "If this bounces, I'll just come and put a new star on your windshield" ... then we laugh. There is a company here that assists merchants in collecting on bounced checks. The merchant receives the full amount of the check; the company collects all their fees from the offending account. The way it works is if a check doesnt clear, the company does an ATF (automatic funds transfer) as soon as there are funds in the account to cover the combined cost of the check and fees, and automatically transfers the face amount of the check into the merchant's account. There is no sign-up or maintance fees, and no minimum usage.
I think what is charges goes according to what the local market will bear. I charge $45 + $15 for those who dont have insurance. When I go through insurance, I get whatever the insurance pays, which is seldom less.
I have been told by price shoppers that I am 'too high', but that's just their opinion. I tell them there are 2 kinds of repairs "cheap and good; mine are good, and are covered by a full money-back guarantee." I win some, I lose some.


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