Pulling units, vacuum trucks and tool trailers are financed by equipment lenders, dealer finance arms, community banks and some online lenders, with the unit itself as the main security. The partner reads the unit, the company's operator work and its statements, and decides.
A Willowpeak Capital Group article on who finances oilfield service units in Williston, North Dakota, what each kind of partner looks at, and how to keep units, parts and repairs in separate requests.
Oil and Gas Business Loans When a Williston, ND Oilfield Service Company Needs Tool Trailers
The short answer: an equipment lender, a dealer's finance arm or a bank will finance a pulling unit, a vacuum truck or a tool trailer when the unit has a clear value and the company has work for it. Oil and gas business loans for units are equipment loans in practice; the unit secures the debt.
A tool trailer is the smallest of these purchases and the most straightforward to value: a titled trailer, a tool inventory and a dealer or builder invoice.
Illustration only, invented figures: a $64,000 tool trailer financed over 36 months at an annual rate of 12% would cost about $2,126 a month, $76,526 in total payments and $12,526 in interest.
Support activities for oil and gas operations had 137 employer establishments in Williams County, ND in 2023, with 4,440 paid employees (County Business Patterns). The oilfield services page covers service rigs and hot-oil trucks too.
Each kind of partner reads the same unit differently. A dealer knows what the unit cost new and what similar units have sold for. An equipment lender keeps its own resale data and may accept a unit a bank would not. A bank leans on the whole company: its deposits, its other debts and how long it has banked there.
The Paperwork File a Williams County, ND Oilfield Service Company Builds
A file that answers the partner's questions before they are asked moves further. For a Williams County, ND service company it has five parts:
- Business bank statements for the last six months, showing operator payments arriving
- Two years of business tax returns plus a current-year profit and loss
- Master service agreements with the operators the company works for
- A receivables aging by operator, with the oldest invoices marked
- For the unit: the listing or quote, year, make, model, hours, inspection and maintenance records
Add a short note on how the new unit will be used: which operator, which work, and how many days a month it should run.
Parts and Fluids: Where It Shows Up in an Oilfield Service Company's Funding File
Parts and fluids show up in a funding file as a cost the company carries before it bills. A company that stocks pump parts, hoses, chemicals or fluids ahead of jobs can carry that stock on inventory financing or a line of credit, separate from the unit.
Machinery, equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers, the suppliers of much of that stock, had 71 employer establishments in Williams County, ND in 2023, 56 of them industrial machinery and equipment wholesalers (County Business Patterns).
Truck Repairs: Where It Shows Up in an Oilfield Service Company's Funding File
Truck repairs show up in a funding file in two ways: as maintenance records that support the value of a unit, and as a separate cost when an engine or a pump fails. A major repair can be financed as a repair loan against the truck, or carried on a line of credit until the repaired truck is billing again.
Commercial and industrial machinery repair shops numbered 23 in Williams County, ND in 2023 (County Business Patterns). Their invoices and estimates are what a partner reads for a repair request.
How a Williston, ND Service Company Can Compare Three Unit Offers
Lay the offers side by side on one sheet: the amount financed, the down payment, the term, the payment and its frequency, the total of payments, every fee, the collateral named and any personal guarantee. The total of payments less the amount financed is the dollar cost of each offer.
Then check two things the totals do not show: whether the payment starts before the unit is earning, and what happens if the company pays off early. A unit that sits for a month while it is rigged up and inspected still owes its first payment.
Dealer Finance, Banks and Equipment Lenders Side by Side for a Used Pulling Unit
The same used pulling unit can be priced three ways. A dealer's finance arm knows the unit and may move on terms tied to the sale. A community bank may offer a lower rate to a company it already knows, with a shorter term. An equipment lender may accept an older unit or a smaller down payment, at a higher rate.
Illustration only, invented figures: a $310,000 used pulling unit with $62,000 down leaves $248,000 to finance. At a bank over 60 months at an annual rate of 9.75%: about $5,239 a month and $66,329 in interest. At an equipment lender over 48 months at 11.5%: about $6,470 a month and $62,564 in interest.
The bank's monthly figure is lower, but its longer term carries more interest ($66,329 against $62,564), and it may want more collateral or a longer relationship. Compare the total cost, the down payment and the collateral asked for. The equipment financing page, the working capital page for crew payroll, and the Williston, ND page for county figures go further.
A company that plans to buy more than one unit over the next year can ask each partner how it treats a second request. Some set an approval limit for the year; others price each unit on its own.
By Willowpeak Capital Group · Updated
