Starting a small business is not for the faint of heart or small of wallet. The list of to-dos can be dizzying—from locating space to investing in equipment to hiring staff and everything in between. And for contractors, tradespeople, and other service or delivery-based businesses that travel to their customer's location, that list is often weighed down by one of the biggest expenses of them all: company vehicles.
According to Joseph Fiore, co-founder of the new Wappingers Falls-based business Res/Comm Truck & Van Rental, business owners are often faced with two choices when it comes to transportation. They can lease their vehicles, which requires large down payments and long-term commitments to financing and maintenance. Or they can rent their vehicles from a national chain such as Penske, Enterprise, or U-Haul, which can be less reliable in terms of pricing and availability, and whose national branding sticks out like a sore thumb.
"A lot of business owners don't like bringing these national rental trucks to their job site because it appears less professional," Fiore says. "It makes it look like they can't afford a truck and that they have to rent everything."
The conundrum is one that Fiore and his business partner, Michael Delforno knew all too well. As co-owners of the Poughkeepsie-based construction company Delforno Fiore Holdings, the two have gotten to know many other small business owners in the community who all have the same frustration: finding quality high-roof cargo vans. The high-roof style is one that started in Europe and has since been adopted in the US by everyone from painters and caterers to families setting out on long roadtrips.
After researching options for renting high-roof vans locally, Fiore and Delforno realized that there was an opportunity to provide both commercial and residential customers in the Hudson Valley with long-term cargo van rentals that were safer, more modern, and easier to drive than the majority of those currently available from rental companies.
The two got to work acquiring a small fleet of brand new Dodge Ram cargo vans. This spring, they began offering cargo van rentals by the day, week, and month, with pay per mile rates and unlimited miles starting around $100 a day.
"Our vans have the same capacity as a traditional box truck, but they're much easier to drive and have all the modern safety elements included," says Fiore. The vans are known for being easily maneuverable in city environments and fit inside a standard size parking space, which makes them especially good for residential needs. They also have features like drowsy driver detection, forward collision warning, and rear cross path detection for blind spots. The clean white vans are also minimally branded, so businesses can add their own custom logo magnets to the side for visible company branding.
And as their name implies, it's not just businesses that will find value in working with Res/Comm Truck & Van Rental. Residential Customers looking for a clean, modern van to pack up their own apartment or home for a big move, move their kids to college, or just hit the open road for a few weeks can head to the company's new Wappingers Falls office in person or call (914) 703-9100 to get all set up with their own cargo van rental close to home.
