diff --git a/hack/preload-images/preload_images.go b/hack/preload-images/preload_images.go
index 60b6bc9e2a..928cd44821 100644
--- a/hack/preload-images/preload_images.go
+++ b/hack/preload-images/preload_images.go
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import (
 	"os/exec"
 	"strings"
 
+	"github.com/spf13/viper"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/download"
 	"k8s.io/minikube/pkg/minikube/exit"
 )
@@ -45,6 +46,7 @@ func init() {
 	if k8sVersion != "" {
 		k8sVersions = append(k8sVersions, k8sVersion)
 	}
+	viper.Set("preload", "true")
 }
 
 func main() {
@@ -62,7 +64,7 @@ func main() {
 	for _, kv := range k8sVersions {
 		for _, cr := range containerRuntimes {
 			tf := download.TarballName(kv)
-			if tarballExists(tf) {
+			if download.PreloadExists(kv, cr) {
 				fmt.Printf("A preloaded tarball for k8s version %s already exists, skipping generation.\n", kv)
 				continue
 			}
@@ -77,13 +79,6 @@ func main() {
 	}
 }
 
-func tarballExists(tarballFilename string) bool {
-	fmt.Println("Checking if tarball already exists...")
-	gcsPath := fmt.Sprintf("gs://%s/%s", download.PreloadBucket, tarballFilename)
-	cmd := exec.Command("gsutil", "stat", gcsPath)
-	return cmd.Run() == nil
-}
-
 func verifyDockerStorage() error {
 	cmd := exec.Command("docker", "info", "-f", "{{.Info.Driver}}")
 	var stderr bytes.Buffer
diff --git a/hack/preload-images/upload.go b/hack/preload-images/upload.go
index a2181294e6..89bbd8004b 100644
--- a/hack/preload-images/upload.go
+++ b/hack/preload-images/upload.go
@@ -30,13 +30,22 @@ func uploadTarball(tarballFilename string) error {
 	hostPath := path.Join("out/", tarballFilename)
 	gcsDest := fmt.Sprintf("gs://%s", download.PreloadBucket)
 	cmd := exec.Command("gsutil", "cp", hostPath, gcsDest)
-	if output, err := cmd.Output(); err != nil {
+	fmt.Printf("Running: %v\n", cmd.Args)
+	if output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
 		return errors.Wrapf(err, "uploading %s to GCS bucket: %v\n%s", hostPath, err, string(output))
 	}
 	// Make tarball public to all users
 	gcsPath := fmt.Sprintf("%s/%s", gcsDest, tarballFilename)
 	cmd = exec.Command("gsutil", "acl", "ch", "-u", "AllUsers:R", gcsPath)
-	if output, err := cmd.Output(); err != nil {
+	fmt.Printf("Running: %v\n", cmd.Args)
+	if output, err := cmd.CombinedOutput(); err != nil {
+		fmt.Printf(`Failed to update ACLs on this tarball in GCS. Please run
+		
+gsutil acl ch -u AllUsers:R %s
+
+manually to make this link public, or rerun this script to rebuild and reupload the tarball.
+		
+		`, gcsPath)
 		return errors.Wrapf(err, "uploading %s to GCS bucket: %v\n%s", hostPath, err, string(output))
 	}
 	return nil
diff --git a/pkg/minikube/download/preload.go b/pkg/minikube/download/preload.go
index 44b2f81749..dc834fb7f0 100644
--- a/pkg/minikube/download/preload.go
+++ b/pkg/minikube/download/preload.go
@@ -77,6 +77,7 @@ func remoteTarballURL(k8sVersion string) string {
 
 // PreloadExists returns true if there is a preloaded tarball that can be used
 func PreloadExists(k8sVersion, containerRuntime string) bool {
+	glog.Infof("Checking if preload exists for k8s version %s and runtime %s", k8sVersion, containerRuntime)
 	if !viper.GetBool("preload") {
 		return false
 	}
@@ -85,6 +86,7 @@ func PreloadExists(k8sVersion, containerRuntime string) bool {
 	// and https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/6934
 	// to track status of adding containerd & crio
 	if containerRuntime != "docker" {
+		glog.Info("Container runtime isn't docker, skipping preload")
 		return false
 	}