The Lightning Rod Truck

A truck says a lot about a contractor's approach to business: the truck should be clean and in good condition, with tools and materials stowed neatly inside and ladders secured to the roof. The pride runs extra deep in firms that have built a multi-generation heritage of family or staff ownership and a commitment to leadership in the lightning protection industry.

Most lightning protection installers also use their trucks as mobile billboards. In addition to advertising the firm’s name, the graphics frequently contain messages reminding the public of the need for lightning protection. That’s important. A lightning rod truck on a construction site or parked in front of a house means another lightning protection system is being installed. In addition to protecting the building, its contents, and occupants, each lightning protection system makes your entire community more secure. After all, you or a loved one might be in the building when lightning strikes. And when bad weather hits, fire departments and other first responders may be needed all over the city, so protecting your building against lightning also makes the entire neighborhood safer and more resilient.

An early 20th Century Lightning Rod Truck served to educate about lightning protection and to carry product to customers.

In Ben Franklin’s time, most towns had their own smiths that could forge lightning rods and conductors for nearby buildings. In the 19th century, industrialization made it economical to produce components in mill towns and ship them via rail across the nation; horse-drawn wagons carried the products from the depot to a job site. The dray was quickly replaced once gas-powered vehicles made delivery trucks practical.

Today, East Coast Lightning Equipment, Inc. reaches throughout North America and beyond with just-in-time delivery systems, and our customers’ fleets of lightning rod trucks now rely on fuel-efficient pickups, vans, and panel trucks.

Lightning travels at about 220,000 miles per hour. Lightning rod trucks aren’t that fast; at least not yet. We do our best, however, to make sure that installers have the parts they need on their trucks when they need them, so your building can be protected before lightning strikes.