A contractor truck drives 10,000 to 20,000 miles a year in residential neighborhoods. At even modest traffic density, that’s tens of thousands of impressions per month from homeowners who live and work in your service area. Your truck is your cheapest billboard.
But a poorly designed wrap does the opposite: it looks cluttered, the phone number is unreadable from 30 feet, and the homeowner glances at it and moves on. Here’s what to put on and what to cut.
The 5 elements that must be on every truck
1. Your phone number, big
This is the conversion point. Every other element on the truck exists to support this number. It should be:
- The largest text on the truck, readable from 50 feet while driving
- High contrast (white or yellow on dark background, or dark on white)
- On both sides and the rear of the vehicle
- A local number, not an 800 number
Local area codes build trust. Homeowners know you’re from the area. An 800 number suggests a franchise or a national call center.
2. Your company name
Short names work better than long ones on vehicles. “Johnson HVAC” reads clean at speed. “Johnson Family Heating, Cooling, and Air Quality Services” doesn’t.
If your legal name is long, use the short version on the vehicle and match it on your Google Business Profile.
3. Your trade or service (one or two words max)
Not a paragraph. Not five bullet points. One line that tells the homeowner what you do:
- “Bathroom Remodeling”
- “Roofing & Gutters”
- “Plumbing”
- “HVAC Service & Install”
If you do 12 different things, pick the two highest-margin ones and leave the rest off the truck. Cluttered service lists make every claim weaker.
4. Your website
Shorter is better. If your URL is 30 characters long, consider a redirect: contractorjohnson.com is better than johnsonfamilycontractingservicesphoenix.com. The homeowner needs to type it or photograph your truck with their phone.
5. License number or “Licensed, Bonded, Insured”
One line. Builds immediate trust with homeowners who are screening out the unlicensed guys. If your state requires a license number on advertising, it goes here.
4 things to leave off
1. Your email address
No one types an email address from a moving vehicle. Your phone number and website cover inbound contact. Email on the truck wastes visual real estate.
2. Taglines and slogans
“Quality You Can Trust Since 1987” sounds good. It doesn’t book a single job. The homeowner driving past your truck has 2 seconds to read it. Spend those 2 seconds on a phone number, not a slogan.
The exception: if your brand has a short, memorable tagline that’s genuinely unique (“12-Hour Response or It’s Free”), it earns its place. Generic slogans don’t.
3. Clip art and stock images
Cartoon tools, clip art wrenches, generic house silhouettes. They read as low-budget because they are. If you’re going to use imagery, use a real photo of finished work, cleanly placed. Stock images signal amateur.
4. More than 2 fonts
Every font you add makes the truck harder to read and look cheaper. Pick one primary font for your company name and number. Optionally one secondary for supporting text. Two maximum. Your designer will want to get creative. Don’t let them.
Color and contrast basics
High contrast is the only metric that matters on a moving vehicle:
- White text on black, dark navy, or dark green: high readability
- Black text on white: high readability
- Yellow text on dark backgrounds: high readability
- Red on black: surprisingly hard to read
- Gray on gray: invisible at speed
Test your design at half-size on a piece of paper. If you can read it from across the room in 2 seconds, it works. If you have to squint, redesign.
Layout for different vehicle types
Full-size cargo van (high visibility): put the most important info on the sliding door (rear) and driver/passenger sides. The rear bumper gets your phone number big. You have the most real estate; don’t fill it all.
Pickup truck: the bed sides and tailgate are your billboard. Side panels behind the cab. Keep the cab area cleaner to avoid looking too busy.
Compact truck or company car: simpler is essential. Name, phone, trade. Three elements. You don’t have the surface area for more.
What a basic wrap actually costs
Budget for a full wrap: $2,000 to $5,000 depending on vehicle size and wrap quality. Partial wraps (sides and rear only) run $800 to $2,000. A simple magnetic sign is $150 to $400 if you need something immediate and lower-commitment.
Vinyl wraps typically last 5 to 7 years with basic care. Divide the cost by years and by impressions: most contractors are getting 50,000 to 200,000 relevant impressions per year in their service area. The cost per impression is fractions of a cent.
Before you go to the printer
Get a mock-up on the actual vehicle outline (most wrap shops provide this). Review it from 30 feet on your phone screen. Check:
- Phone number: readable at a glance?
- Company name: clear?
- Trade: obvious in 2 seconds?
- Total element count: if you’re at 8+ elements, cut until you’re at 5
Every element you remove makes the elements that stay more visible. When in doubt, cut.
Your truck is marketing that works while you’re working. Spend the 30 minutes to design it right and you’ll stop fighting for attention in a neighborhood you’re already driving through every day.