13 Best Side Hustles for Truck Drivers to Try

Many truck drivers have very busy schedules. The job often involves long hours and evenings away from home.

The schedule and lifestyle make it difficult to find realistic and practical ways to make extra money, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.

There are several side hustles for truck drivers, and we’ll look at the best options in this article.

Side Hustles for Truck Drivers

1. Deliveries on the Side

If you own your truck, you could provide delivery or transportation services on the side. A truck is a useful asset, and there are always people who need to have large items delivered or moved. Most people don’t have access to a truck, so you can make extra income by offering your truck driving services.

These driving jobs could involve any number of things, from picking up and delivering furniture to moving equipment for businesses. You could even start a delivery or transportation trucking business and hire other truck drivers to work for you.

There are a few things to keep in mind for truck owners who want to do delivery jobs on the side. First, you’ll need to know if your insurance policy covers you for commercial activity. Second, you’ll need to be careful about what you agree to transport. You don’t want to get into a situation where you’re transporting hazardous material or something dangerous.

To find clients, you could advertise your services online (Craigslist is a great resource) or on local bulletin boards. You could also talk to businesses in your area and see if they have any regular delivery or transportation needs that require a truck driver.

2. Rent Out Your Truck

If you don’t want to do deliveries yourself, you could rent out your truck (if you own it) when you’re not using it. This is a great way to earn passive income, and it requires very little effort.

There are a few different ways to go about renting out your truck. The first is to find someone who needs a truck for a one-time job or project. This could be somebody who’s moving, who needs to transport a large item, or who’s doing work that requires a truck.

You could also rent out your truck to businesses regularly. For example, you could rent it to a florist for weekly deliveries or to a construction company to transport materials. Of course, this would need to fit with your schedule, so you still have the truck when you need it.

If you own a pickup truck, box truck, or cargo van, you can make extra dollars by renting it out through Fetch. This peer-to-peer rental platform will market your truck or van to renters in your area, and they’ll handle everything related to collecting payment.

According to Fetch, you can make up to $1,800 per month per pickup truck on their platform. That’s not bad for passive income, and it’s one of the best ways to make money with a truck.

3. Rent Out Storage Space

Do you have extra space in your attic, basement, garage, shed, or anywhere else that could be used for storage? Or maybe you have some space that you could clear out so you could put it to good use for generating extra income.

Other people in your local area are looking for storage space, and you can make money by renting out your space to them. Neighbor.com is a peer-to-peer platform for storage rental. It’s similar to Airbnb, but for storage units instead of homes.

People in your area will be able to see the listing for your space on Neighbor, and they can book it for the dates that they need it. You’ll get paid through the platform, and you don’t have to do any work other than ensuring that the renter can access the space.

This could be an easy way to make some monthly passive income on the side.

4. Rent Out Your House

If you own your home, you could rent it out on Airbnb when you’re not using it. Airbnb is a platform that allows people to find rooms or entire homes to rent for short-term stays.

OTR truck drivers may be away from home frequently, so it’s possible that you could make extra money when you wouldn’t need your house anyway.

Renting out your house as a side hustle could be a great way to make extra passive income, especially if you live in a popular tourist destination or near a major city.

Of course, renting out your house involves some work related to cleaning between guests, so it’s not completely passive. However, you could hire someone to do the cleaning for you if your schedule as a truck driver doesn’t allow you to do the work yourself.

5. Start a Blog or Niche Website

If you’re looking for a way to make some extra money that you can do from anywhere, starting a blog or niche website could be a good option. You can work on your site whenever you have some free time, and you don’t need to be in any particular place to do it.

Of course, starting a blog takes some work up front, but once you’ve got a steady traffic flow, it can be an excellent way to make money. You could monetize your site with advertising, affiliate marketing, or selling products or services.

Your content-based website could be about trucking, one of your hobbies, or any topic you choose.

Thanks to the flexibility, you could work on your website whenever you’re off, or you could take a laptop on the road with you and work remotely whenever you have some downtime.

To learn more, see my Guide to Building a Profitable Niche Website.

6. Start a YouTube Channel

If you enjoy making videos, starting a YouTube channel could be a fun way to make some extra money.

You could film yourself talking about your trucking experiences, giving advice to other truck drivers, or reviewing products related to the trucking industry. You could also film vlogs of your travels and daily life on the road.

Of course, you’ll need a laptop or smartphone with a decent camera to get started. If you don’t have any gear, you could invest in some affordable equipment.

YouTube channels are free to start, and you can monetize them with ads once you reach certain thresholds for views and subscribers. You could also sell products or promote affiliate products through your channel. Direct sponsorships and brand partnerships are possible, too.

This is another type of side hustle that requires some time upfront before you start to see the payoff. But once your channel has grown and your videos are seen by more people, it’s an excellent way to earn extra income.

7. Start a Podcast

Podcasts are becoming increasingly popular, so now could be a great time to start your own.

Like starting a YouTube channel, you’ll need some basic equipment to get started. However, a simple laptop with a microphone is enough when you’re just starting. Once you’ve got everything set up, it’s relatively easy to produce a podcast episode. You could record yourself talking about your trucking experiences or interviewing other truck drivers.

Podcasts can be monetized in several ways, including ads, sponsorships, and affiliate marketing. You could also sell products through your podcast or charge for access to exclusive content.

This is another type of side hustle that requires some work upfront but has the potential to be very lucrative in the long run.

8. Create an Online Course

If you’re an experienced truck driver, you could create an online course teaching others how to enter the trucking industry.

You could cover topics like getting your CDL, passing the driving test, and finding a job. You could also include information on advanced topics like becoming an owner-operator or starting your own trucking company.

Creating a digital course requires some time and effort to put together. But once it’s complete, you can sell it repeatedly. It’s possible that your course could generate revenue for years to come.

This is a great option if you enjoy teaching and helping others learn new skills. It’s also a way to monetize your knowledge and experience in the trucking industry.

Building online courses may sound overwhelming, but it’s not that complicated. Platforms like Teachable and Podia make it simple to create a professional-looking website to promote your course. They also handle all of the payments from your customers, and each student will have a dashboard where they can log in to access the course material.

9. Print-on-Demand (Trucker Apparel)

Looking for a fun way to make some money on the side? You could start a print-on-demand business selling apparel and merchandise to truckers. You could sell t-shirts, hats, mugs, and other trucker-themed merchandise.

You could design these items yourself or hire a designer on Fiverr.

There are several print-on-demand platforms you can use to get started, including Printful and Merch by Amazon. All you need to do is design your products and upload them to the platform. Then when someone orders one of your products, the platform will print it and ship it directly to the customer. That means you don’t have to manage inventory or touch the products you sell.

This type of business is relatively easy to set up and run, and it’s a great way to tap into the trucking market. It’s also ideal for anyone with a hectic schedule because you can do the work whenever you have time. The print-on-demand supplier will handle everything related to printing and shipping the orders.

You could sell your products on a platform like Redbubble, or create your own online store using Shopify. Creating your store will take a little more work because you’ll need to market your products and get traffic to your site, but it also gives you much higher income potential.

10. Online Surveys

If you’re looking for an easy way to make a little extra money but don’t want to start your own business, you could sign up for online surveys. Sites like Swagbucks and InboxDollars will pay you for your opinion on various topics. It’s a great way to make extra cash in your spare time.

With online surveys, there’s no commitment. You can do as many or as few as you want, and you can stop at any time. It’s also flexible because you can take surveys on your schedule whenever you have a few minutes to spare. You don’t even need a computer since you can do everything on your phone.

Survey sites are free to join, giving you points for each survey you complete. Once you reach a certain number of points, you can redeem them for cash or gift cards.

Some of the best survey websites and apps include:

• Swagbucks
• InboxDollars
• Rakuten Insight
• Branded Surveys
• Survey Junkie

11. Write a Book or E-book

If you’re a good writer, you could write a book or e-book about your trucking experiences. This is a great way to share your knowledge with others and help them learn more about the trucking industry. It’s also a great way to make some extra passive income on the side.

There are several ways to publish your book or e-book. You could self-publish through Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform, or you could submit it to a traditional publishing house.

Self-publishing with Amazon is the most popular option today because you can sell your book in digital ebook format and as a paperback. You don’t need to deal with inventory or invest money to have hundreds of copies of your book printed. Amazon will print and ship the paperbacks as they’re ordered.

To self-publish your book, you’ll need to create an ebook file and a cover design. You can hire someone to help you with the cover design, or you can use Amazon’s free cover creator tool. Then you’ll upload your book file and cover design to Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing platform.

Of course, you could also sell your e-book on your own, which could be an excellent option if you have a website or YouTube channel. Podia and SendOwl are two options for easily selling digital downloads like e-books.

12. Small Engine Repair

You could start a small engine repair business if you’re mechanically inclined. This could involve lawnmowers, leaf blowers, snow blowers, and other small engines.

It’s a great way to make some extra money because people are always in need of small engine repair services. You can work on your schedule and set your prices.

To market your services, post an ad on Craigslist or local bulletin boards. There are always people in need of these services, so you should be able to find a few customers without too much trouble.

13. Referrals

If you’re happy with your current trucking company, you could start referring other drivers. Many trucking companies offer referral bonuses of $1,000 or more for each truck driver you refer.

This is an easy way to make some extra money because all you need to do is give the company the contact information of potential truck drivers. They’ll handle the rest.

Most trucking companies have a referral program, so ask your dispatcher or recruiter if they have any openings. Then start spreading the word to anyone looking for a trucking job.

The best thing about this is that it requires very little time.

Final Thoughts on Side Hustles for Truck Drivers

There are many different side hustles for truck drivers to make extra money. With a little effort, you can easily find one that fits your schedule and lifestyle.

So what are you waiting for? Start looking into these side hustles and start making some extra cash today!