Why You Should Start a Hydro Vac Business in 2026

This $500,000 truck could generate $1 million in revenue per year.In this episode of JackQuisitions, Jack Carr breaks down the business behind hydro excavation trucks, specialized equipment that uses high-pressure water and a powerful vacuum to safely expose underground utilities.Jack covers how hydro vac companies make money, why a single truck can generate $600K+ in annual revenue, the costs and risks that can crush the economics, and why recurring relationships with contractors make this business especially interesting.Most importantly, Jack explains the one thing he would do before spending $500,000 on a truck to prove the business can actually work.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━In this episode, Jack covers:• How a hydro excavation business actually works• Why one truck can generate $600K to $1M+ in revenue• How hydro vac companies charge $300 to $400+ per hour• The real costs of owning and operating a $500K truck• Why commercial customers create recurring revenue• The barriers to entry that keep competition lower• The biggest risks: downtime, maintenance, dumping, and utilization• Why Jack would sell the work before buying the truck━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Follow Jack for More Business & Acquisition Insights𝕏: https://x.com/thehvacjack━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Send us Fan MailJackquisitions Newsletter:Your favorite source for how to buy small businesses.🖊️ Sign up HERE for more insights 📢 Enjoyed the episode? ✅ Like, Comment & Subscribe for weekly insights on business acquisitions, deal flow, marketing, and growth strategies!📌 Disclaimer: Some links may include UTM parameters or affiliate relationships, meaning we may earn a commission if you make a purchase. Episodes may feature sponsors, but all opinions expressed are our own.