Dive Shop On Wheels Research

[tgalx3]

Most of the diving consists of shore diving in my area. With everything going on in the world, it seems more difficult to get the time or equipment needed for a safe weekend of diving.

I want to offer a dive shop on wheels. We would deliver air fills, equipment and rentals to your home, work or dive site. I also would want to partner with local dive shops so they can advertise classes. In the future, I would want to organize underwater clean ups to clean various marinas around the area.

I am conducting a survey to research the feasibility of the idea. If you want to share your diving habits with me, I would greatly appreciate it.

Survey: Startup Feasibility

facebook.com/diversmobilesupply

 

[lowwall]

I can see an equipment tech on wheels working out in an area where there is no convenient place to get fills.

You'd want to keep stock to basically save-a-dive items plus a few sets of stuff you can rent to people who forget or find out they have damaged gear.

But a whole dive shop?

 

[tgalx3]

You’re right just the emergency essentials.

Eventually get a bigger trailer for full sales.

 

[lowwall]

You’re right just the emergency essentials.

Eventually get a bigger trailer for full sales.

Are you thinking of only doing deliveries or putting a fill station in a van and parking at a dive site?

The latter is going to require an expensive insurance policy and lot of hoop jumping from some combination of DOT/OSHA/state and local agencies.

 

[runsongas]

this could work if you had some sites where there is interest in diving but no dive shop located nearby where there would be demand for rentals/air fills

 

[tgalx3]

Doing both deliveries by appointment and then sitting at sites if we don’t have appointments

 

[Sam Miller III]

This has been attempted on several times in SoCal each time it was a huge failure.
good luck
SDM

 

[tgalx3]

This has been attempted on several times in SoCal each time it was a huge failure.
good luck
SDM

do you know why they failed and at what point?

 

[MichaelMc]

A tank (or gear) kiosk van could be interesting. Reserve tank online for popular site. Shop drives van there in early morning and leaves it for the day (which requires a ride back to the shop...). Diver swipes card, bin opens, diver returns it after dive. Extra bins if some tank is not good. Shop picks up van at end of day and restocks with a fresh set of tanks for the next day. Lots of after hours work for the shop though.

Easier but riskier with a self driving van. Though either reduces shop traffic. But that is not an issue if the shop is just a resupply site for the van. Whether this is economical I do not know. Some possible issues with delivering services in a parking lot.

 

[tursiops]

Check with Joe DuBose, who used to run one in the West Virginia area. No compressor, just supplied tanks to oder; you'll call ahead. He would park his big rig at Mt Storm, now also defunct.

His email might be scuba(at)visuallink.com, or joecdiver2(at)gmail.com
He owned Scubaventures Dive Center, 8397 N Frederick Pike, Cross Junction, VA 22625
Phone was (540) 539-1615.
I don't know if the shop is still around. His website is dead. http://www.scubaventure.com/
He is on Facebook as Joe DuBose