Truck Windshields

[freightshaker]

Do insurance companies offer the same deal to individually owned big trucks that they do for cars? In other words, can I offer "Free" windshield repair to big truck owners (not fleets), too? I know a lot of truck owners who own only one truck and work for themselves.

[Brent Deines]

Sometimes, but often the insurance is much lower if truckers do not include glass coverage in their policy. My experience has been that most truckers will pay cash for windshield repairs, but others may have other experiences to relate.

[FREENCLEAR]

We staff the three Danny's Big Rig Resorts in AZ and it's 99% CASH and some Credit - if you find any Insurance Companies that do waive let us know FNC

[GlasWeldTech]

I have repaired many of these and never once have they been insurance. All CASH. Most private owners want to keep their trucks nice and several truckers passing through have called me to them. Our STATE DOT TROOPERS fine them for broken glass.

[freightshaker]

Thanks for the input guys.

Just trying to tie up lose ends. I lost my job so I'm about to jump in this with both feet and make a go of it. Kind of a now or never deal.

Signed up with ACT through Delta today, so hopefully the "Free windshield repair" gimmick can get some jobs coming in to get help get me rolling.

Independent truckers have it really tough here, so I was hoping to be able to offer them the free deal, but if I can't, so be it. Just gotta get out there and sell it anyway.

[ghost rider]

Shaker, I very seldom see over the road trucks with glass coverage, but it does happen, so it never hurts to ask. I found something in my area that surprised me. Small school bus fleets with full coverage. I service 5 school districts and 4 of them have comp. with deductibles waived. One school owns their own buses the other 3 are independant contractors. last stop was 10 buses at 70.00 per bus. Nice day!

[CV Windshield Repair]

Out of curiousity do those of you who work on Truck windshields charge more to repair them verses what you charge for a car windshield?

[GlassStarz]

Hard to get much $ from truckers they dont have much depending on which news source you believe as many as 30% will be out of buisness this year alone. When it cost $1800 for each fillup you dont last long.
As a side note those things are such a pain to get to there is a lot of easier work to be had

[Brent Deines]

I actually did a lot of truck fleets, and also had a lot of independent truckers that came to me for repairs. I liked fleets because I could often do several repairs at the same time, and there was work almost every week at each lot so the money was good. There are states that require inspections so even in the tough times truckers are going to have to either have their windshields repaired or replaced.

A lot of truckers are struggling right now, but as long as there is freight to move there will be people to move it. If fuel prices stay high or get higher the prices we pay for goods will continue to go up until truckers can afford to hit the roads again. The only way that will change is when we quit buying the goods they haul, which will then result in less need for truckers. That's over simplifying the issue of course, and only mho, but I'm old enough to remember the same argument back in the 70's and yet there are now more trucks on the road than ever before.

I think the key to being successful in the windshield repair business, or any business for that matter, is to find a niche that you are comfortable with and squeeze all the work out of it that you can. Perhaps more importantly, never get so comfortable with your niche that you cannot find a new one should things begin to slow down. I never liked doing car lots, but I also never closed that door in case my fleet business started to dry up. I loved insurance work, but was always ready to market a cash only plan in case insurance companies decided they did not want to pay for windshield repairs.

Every time a gloom and doomer throws in the towel an opportunity opens up for an optimistic entrepreneur.

Sorry, got off topic a bit here! Shaker, you'll have to keep us posted as to how well you do with the truckers.

[GlassStarz]

thats the beauty of this buisness tons of areas to work in if you want to do trucks and motorhomes at truck stops there are tons of em if you want to do car dealership bunches of those as well. Retail is a market others do well in find your nitch and go with it