Our Story

Our Story

The Vacuum Truck Rentals story begins in 1997 over lunch.

Payton Lockey and B.T. Steadman became friends and knew each other through their shared sport of archery and while Payton was working at an archery store.

One day, over lunch, Payton said “We need to buy a vac truck.”

“Great. What's a vacuum truck?,” B.T. asked.

At the time, B.T.'s real estate business was sharing office space with PPM Consultants, and he introduced Payton to the owners. Payton, who holds a degree in geology, joined the PPM team and started working on environmental remediation sites for cleanup and observed that no one in Mississippi had the type of vacuum truck he needed to best perform the cleanups.

The early days in front of a second truck
Vacuum Truck First two trucks
Remediation Cleanup

The two traveled to Gulfport, Miss. to Keith Huber and ordered a 22-wheeled vacuum truck and trailer specifically designed for what they needed while knowing nothing about the vacuum truck business. They hired their first employee and began Vacuum Truck Services. They soon began getting calls for other types of jobs like oil spills, train derailments and other industrial cleaning jobs.

As the business grew, they found themselves in need of more trucks, but couldn't find anyone who rented the type of truck they needed.

That's when the Vacuum Truck Rentals vision began.

They soon placed an ad in an industry trade magazine that said “We Rent Vac Trucks,” and the phones lit up.

As the business grew, they found themselves in need of more trucks, but couldn't find anyone who rented the type of truck they needed.

That's when the Vacuum Truck Rentals vision began.

Payton left his job and B.T. sold his real estate business. Over the next 18 months, they ran their service business while raising money to buy more trucks to start Vacuum Truck Rentals.

They purchased eight new trucks and began renting out of Jackson, Mississippi. Within a few years, they made the decision to sell the assets of the service business to focus on the rental market.

The demand for rental trucks grew, and they opened an office in Houston in 2001 followed by Ama, Louisiana the next year.

Over the years, the business weathered hardships like 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the 2008 economic downturn and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, a family of companies grew as additional business needs have been identified.

Today, Vacuum Truck Rentals is proud to operate 17 locations with more than 800 pieces of equipment and over $3 million in parts inventory.

Early Vacuum Truck Building
Unloading a vacuum truck

At Vacuum Truck Rentals, we have built our business from our relationships with our customers and by providing the best service around along with our 24/7 service guarantee. That's why, after 20 years, we still say “You Might as Well Rent from the Best!”

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