Mobile billboard trucks, by the month

A mobile billboard truck is a truck that carries an ad on its sides through a market, so the ad goes to where people are instead of waiting on one roadside spot. People also call it a billboard truck, a moving billboard or an ad truck.

The outdoor ad industry treats it as its own format. The OAAA, the trade group for out-of-home advertising, describes truckside programs bought in runs of 1 to 52 weeks, from one truck to a thousand. Inside that format there are two business models, and they solve different problems.

A dedicated billboard truck is driven only to show your ad and is rented by the day or the hour. A working truck carries your banner while it does its normal job, and the space on its side is sold by the month.

• Dedicated billboard truck: the truck has no other job. A driver takes it along the streets you choose, at the hours you choose. The sides are printed panels or LED screens. When the rental ends, the ad leaves the road.
• Working truck: a box truck or 53-foot trailer that already runs deliveries, freight or service calls. Your banner rides along on its regular lanes, every working day, for as many months as you book.

The day rates come from Dash Two and LED Truck Media. For every option side by side, see our mobile billboard cost guide.

No. Pass By Media puts printed static banners on working trucks. We do not run LED screen trucks, and if LED is what your campaign needs, we will say so on the call.

An LED billboard truck carries large video screens. It makes sense when you need motion or video, when the ad has to stand out after dark, or when you want to change the message during the day. It also costs more: public ranges run about $1,200 to $3,600 a day, against $800 to $2,400 for a static billboard truck.

A printed banner does one job. It shows one clear message every day the truck works. For a name, a phone number and a reason to call, that is often all an ad needs.

A mobile billboard truck rental is the better buy when the date matters more than the repetition. If your goal fits in one day or one weekend, a day rate for a truck that drives only your ad is the right tool.

• A trade show, concert, game or festival where you want a truck parked or circling outside the venue.
• A grand opening or a product launch day.
• The last days before an election. One political mobile billboard vendor says the ten days before Election Day are its most requested dates of the year.
• You need to be on the street this week. A working-truck banner has to be printed and installed first.
• You want video, or a message that changes by the hour. That calls for an LED truck.

Choose a working truck when you want the same people to see your name again and again, for months, in the market where you sell.

This is where the math changes. A month of a dedicated static truck, on the road 20 days, would cost $16,000 to $48,000 at the public day rates above. That is math on published ranges, not a quote. A working truck is on the road anyway for its own job, so you buy the space on its side, not a driver's whole day.

• Local services that need their name and number known in town: law firms, HVAC and plumbing companies, clinics and dental offices.
• Brands that want a steady presence in a region, not a one-day stunt.
• Advertisers who want a box truck on city streets, or a 53-foot trailer on the interstates between cities.

We bolt a frame to the side of a working truck, print your banner and slide it in. The truck keeps its normal routes, and your ad rides along every working day.

1. 01

   Pick trucks and routes

   Tell us your market and what you sell. We show you box trucks and trailers whose regular routes cover it, with a flat monthly price per truck.

2. 02

   Approve the proof

   You approve the banner proof before anything is printed. The trucker approves every ad on the truck, and each truck carries one business per category.

3. 03

   Install

   We install the frame and banner at the trucker's yard, usually within three weeks of approved artwork. It is a frame, not a wrap, so nothing touches the paint.

4. 04

   Proof every month

   You get install photos on day one, dated check-in photos every month and a route log. A new banner later is a print charge, not a new install.

Read why we use frames instead of wraps.

A dedicated billboard truck costs about $800 to $2,400 a day with static panels and $1,200 to $3,600 a day with LED screens, according to Dash Two and LED Truck Media. Pass By Media charges a flat monthly price per truck, plus a one-time production charge for the frame and the first banner.

Our price depends on your market, the truck type, the number of trucks and the number of months. You get the number on a 15-minute call, and the first ten advertisers get pilot pricing. See how our pricing works.