Contact commercial and specialty vehicle manufacturers that emphasize "special" in their product line. Anyone can buy a van or truck to haul stuff. Invest in a truly unique vehicle that not only efficiently does the transport work you need but also enhances your marketing efforts by letting the customer interact with your company in a unique way.

Make your business transportation do double duty by serving as a means to advertise your business, or take your business with you. You can even upgrade basic mass transit into employee “perk” status with the right touches. Consider these three areas for making the most of commercial and specialty vehicle manufacturers for your business:

1. Touch base with commercial van manufacturers who can outfit your van to take your business on the road.

2. Employ a special purpose vehicle to mix marketing with product delivery for an interactive customer experience.

3. Accommodate your employees’ transportation needs with specialty vehicles.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Make house calls with the right commercial van

Whether you're in the market for used specialty vehicles or you have a van you'd like to upgrade, contact specialty vehicle manufacturers that can add a new twist to interacting with customers as you bring product or service to their doorstep.

I recommend: Odyssey converts vans and trucks into anything from law enforcement and rescue vehicles to mobile pet grooming units. Mobile Advantage has manufactured special purpose vehicles since 1990, specializing in food delivery vehicles equipped with heating units that can reach temperatures of 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

Draw customers in with special purpose vehicles

Rather than just painting a sign on your commercial vans, consider incorporating the entire vehicle into the marketing effort. A specialty auto manufacturer can alter the body style to match your brand, or develop a vehicle that literally invites your customer in to interact with your company's products.

I recommend: Craftsman Industries bills itself as the industry leader in mobile marketing vehicles: from motorcycle to tractor trailer-size rolling ads to stage trailers and kitchen trailers for product demonstrations to training and command center trailers. Farber Specialty Vehicles produces bookmobiles with the E.L.F. (Extremely Low Floor) system for easy access into the interior for book carts and wheelchairs. Review Mobile Media Enterprises' (MME) case studies on how effective mobile marketing strategies are in creating brand awareness, driving retail traffic and more.

Get in touch with commercial vehicle manufacturers who provide a superior transportation experience

If you either haul people commercially or provide transport for employees, make the trip a unique experience. Employ a specialty vehicle that provides extra amenities to make passengers feel refreshed after the journey or enhance the traveling experience while on the road.

I recommend: Turtle Top manufactures limousine coaches, executive vans, mobile offices and specialty vehicles up to 30 feet long. Specialty Bus Manufacturing produces a line of double-decker city transit, commuter and “limbusine” buses.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Just like any automotive product, ask about alternatives to straight purchase of a new vehicle, such as used vehicles or leasing options. Or, use one of your current vehicles as a prototype or rolling lab to test marketing ideas before investing in a new fully customized vehicle.

Commercial and specialty vehicle manufacturers can produce custom transportation to serve most any need. If you require a bus or ambulance for your business, you should contact specialty vehicle manufacturers and provide the specs. Unlike mass-produced special purpose vehicles, these trucks and vans must adhere to your specs. You need to find commercial vehicle manufacturers who can provide that kind of product.

Other commercial and specialty vehicle manufacturers that offer assembly line products may serve you better in the long run if you can rig them after-market for your purposes. Step van manufacturers and makers of specialty cars and commercial vans may be able to provide the best solution to your transportation needs.

1. Contact custom specialty vehicle manufacturers when the need arises

2. Customize your stock inventory of commercial vans

3. Look for bargains in used specialty vehicles

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Imagine the perfect special purpose vehicle

Often a business has unique needs that can't be found in most commercial vehicles. You may need a large bus with refrigeration units or a command center for training purposes. You can design your own specialty vehicle with the assistance of specialty vehicle manufacturers that are willing to take on your project.

I recommend: Collins Industries, Inc. serves niche markets that are too difficult for assembly line shops to handle. They work to the customer’s specs to deliver the exact specialty vehicles to get the job done. LaBoit, Inc maintains a variety of basic chassis from which you can build your special purpose vehicle. They have the experience to take your needs and transform them into the right specialty vehicle for you.

Use the commercial van inventory on hand

Many commercial vehicle manufacturers and specialty vehicle manufacturers are keeping up with the market demands for innovation by offering upgrades and retro-fitting commercial vans to suit various special purposes. Save your resources and upgrade the commercial vans that are currently serving your company to meet your new requirements.

I recommend: Evolution Custom Coach can modernize and transform your commercial vans into specialty vehicles with technological upgrades and body renovations. Odyne adds plug-in hybrid electric systems to existing vehicles to make them more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly.

Save resources with used specialty vehicles

Often a business does not need the latest and greatest, but it does have special needs on a short-term or intermittent basis. The best way to handle these specialty vehicle needs may be to look for used commercial vehicle pricing that can save you a lot of capital. You may want to visit local special purpose vehicle dealerships or expand your options through an vendor online.

I recommend: Specialty Vehicles has a wide range of used commercial vans and special purpose vehicles such as trams and trolleys. They sell their specialty vehicles worldwide. Major Vehicle Exchange specializes in reconditioned senior and church mobility buses. They also carry other used specialty vehicles such as shuttle buses and mobile showrooms.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Check with the reconditioned specialty vehicles operators first before ordering a new custom commercial van; someone may already have had the same idea as you.

Commercial and specialty vehicle manufacturers make mass movers, helping you transport people or product. From small step vans to large tractor-trailers, you can match up a manufacturer to your transport needs.

Commercial vehicle manufacturers develop rugged vehicles to handle a variety of tasks from hauling crowds and cargo to transporting raw materials or moving the earth itself. You can easily grasp what specialty vehicle manufacturers produce based on three broad categories of special purpose vehicles.

1. Efficiently move the greatest number of people from students to seniors with school or commercial vans;

2. Provide your product cost-effective transport with commercial vans;

3. Match the most extraordinary jobs to specialty vehicles developed exclusively to handle them.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Turn to commercial vehicle manufacturers for any size bussing need

While all transport vehicles designated 'buses' carry over 10 passengers, specific bus types are size-based from smallest, labeled as type A (a bus body on a cut-away van frame) to largest (type D, flat-nose city transit buses). Invest in no more bus than what you need on a regular basis, as they are rugged enough to withstand heavy long-term use, but bring high fuel and maintenance costs.

I recommend: School Transportation News describes in detail the various bus types by body style and vehicle weight. Blue Bird is the best-known brand of school and transport buses.

Ship product safely with commercial vans

Contact a representative of commercial van manufacturers to upgrade from a converted passenger van or panel van, to take advantage of heavy-duty engineering and build quality for a longer-lasting vehicle to maximize return on investment.

I recommend: Peruse the Electrical Construction & Maintenance magazine, published by Penton Media, for a concise summary of all major manufacturer’s commercial vans and medium-duty trucks. Use the GM's Body Application Guide to narrow down the size and body type of medium-duty hauler for your business before visiting the dealer.

Employ special purpose vehicles for unique applications

Specialized jobs require specialty vehicles. Look for a manufacturer with experience and a solid support network to provide sales and service, as the jobs these vehicles do, from cement mixing to street plowing and sweeping, place a severe strain on the equipment.

I recommend: Oshkosh develops and produces trucks for applications in the military, emergency and concrete mixing. While Freightliner is North America’s largest producer of heavy-duty trucks, it also manufacturers a full range of medium-duty and specialty vehicles. Review the detailed specs on each type of heavy-duty hauler for more information.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Think through a typical business day for your company when considering a specialty vehicle: how far you travel overall, the mix of urban/highway traffic, who or what you convey, how and where it gets loaded and unloaded. Or, in the case of specialty vehicles, do you perform a variety of duties that one vehicle can handle with an assortment of accessories, or do you perform one unique function repeatedly, with little or no time between assignments?

Commercial and specialty vehicles have a language all their own and it pays to learn it before you buy your business vehicle. Do you need a coach or a bus? Know the difference or you may end up with the wrong application, thus hindering your business.

Manufacturers of commercial and specialty vehicles usually concentrate on either the commercial end or the specialty end. Some specialty vehicle manufactures may only manufacture one type of unit. Know the terms before you deal with specialty manufacturers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Buses

Buses are commercial vehicles that take many people from one location to another. They can follow a regular route or they can be chartered for an excursion. Specialty vehicle manufacturers make buses.

I recommend: Collins Bus Corporation makes school and commercial buses. Click on the picture of any bus shown to look at the specifications and information.

Coaches

Coach is another name people use when referring to buses. Coaches are usually more luxurious than regular buses and groups of people primarily use coaches for taking trips together. Only certain specialty manufacturers make coaches so know whether your business needs a bus or a coach.

I recommend: Coach Crafters provides information on refurbishing coaches and buying and leasing pre-owned coaches.

Dump trucks

Dump trucks are vehicles equipped with a special body that can dump the load they are carrying by lifting the body up on one end with hydraulic power. Commercial manufacturers make dump truck bodies that can be mounted on semis.

I recommend: JMH Trailers offers extensive information about dump trucks, including specifications and uses.

Flat bed

Flat bed trucks, as the name implies, are trucks with a flat bed body loaded on a pick up truck cab. The uses for these vehicles are endless. Specialty or commercial manufacturers make flat bed bodies and will either put this on your pick up or arrange for you to buy a pick up from a dealership.

I recommend: UTE offers ideas on how to use flat bed trucks and other information about flat beds.

All terrain vehicles (ATVs)

Specialty manufacturers make all terrain vehicles (ATVs) for off-road use. Activities may include riding on dirt trails or racing.

I recommend: Western ATV offers important safety tips for ATVs.

Catering trucks

Catering trucks are special vehicles that take food to industry workers so they do not have to leave the work site. Specialty manufactures build catering units to be mounted onto a pick up cab.

I recommend: Wyss offers information on manufacturing catering trucks along with detailed pictures of the process.