Business question

[houstondallas]

I'm thinking about starting a business and have a logistics problem maybe this board can help with ideas.

I'm looking to start a bounce house/water slide company. The ones that inflate and are large. Problem is they are really heavy. I'm going to get a dolly to move it around but if I just use a pickup truck, any ideas how I can get the rolled up bounce house back in the truck after the party? They weigh like 5-600 pounds wet after event. I've looked into a small lift or something I could use or manual pulley system.

Any ideas? I'm trying to avoid buying a large delivery truck with built in lift. Most likely id have to do some deliveries and pick ups myself due to lack of help

[Sleeper]

Truck with hydraulic lift gate. They made them for 1500/2500 trucks

[Ruffdaddy]

You can get a truck crane for a few hundred.

http://m.northerntool.com/categories/shop~tools~category_material-handling+hoists-lifts-cranes+truck-cranes/products?hotline=false

[mk5.0]

Tommy gate

[LANTIRN]

Two mexicans.

[bonnie&clyde]

everyone that I have rented from uses a little trailer, they can just dolly it up and down from the towable trailer

[mustang1200]

I'd say a trailer then you don't have to unload them at the end of the weekend. Just back the trailer inside of a storage unit.

[YALE]

Rent one from another bounce house company and see what they show up with.

[Sgt Beavis]

Rent one from another bounce house company and see what they show up with.

THIS!

If you can afford to do it, rent bounce houses from multiple companies over a few weeks. Look at everything they do and find where they screw up. Find all the pain points they create for their customers and figure out how you can do it better.

They way to win here is to find a way to differentiate yourself from the competition.

[blownaltered]

everyone that I have rented from uses a little trailer, they can just dolly it up and down from the towable trailer

This I have never had one delivered without it being in a trailer.

[Big A]

Another vote for getting a trailer. You can leave it loaded and parked as mentioned (presuming you have a secure location for it), and you can put your logo on the side. It'll be a lot more professional looking than Joe Schmo rolling shit out the back of his pick-em-up.

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[ceyko]

The companies I've seen usually have 2-3 people show on site with a trailer and just roll it on/off the trailer . In our case we also helped just to make it easier but they had it all under control.

Also with a trailer, you can have more than one on it. So go make your deliveries then go make you pick-ups all in on one route.

[AnthonyS]

Gooseneck and you can look and you can load two or three of them easy.

[jammeejamm]

Covered trailer with a solid loading ramp.

cheap way is take the gate off the truck, but you have to have a receiver style hitch. Buy a large step or even one of those basket/trays that go in the receiver. dolly the rolled up game to the step or basket and use it to flip it into the bed. strap it down or don't. a wet game is not really going to move.

also, you will learn that the tighter you roll those games, the easier your life will be.

[houstondallas]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Even the two Mexicans idea. Made me laugh.