Anyone working out of a cargo box trailer?

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Mule

Mule

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
I really like my van but dont like being on my knees. The older I get, I wish that I could just walk into my van and get my parts. I really dont want to pay big bucks for the new Dodge Sprint van, so Im thinking about a trailer and a short pickup....I see other crafts running around town with trailers, carpenters, plumbers and hvac guys...

Pro's, con's ??
 
Fulthrotl

Fulthrotl

~Autocorrect is My Worst Enema.~
Location
HB, CA (19 Hrs. 22 Min. from Winged Horses)
Occupation
E
Mule said:
I really like my van but dont like being on my knees. The older I get, I wish that I could just walk into my van and get my parts. I really dont want to pay big bucks for the new Dodge Sprint van, so Im thinking about a trailer and a short pickup....I see other crafts running around town with trailers, carpenters, plumbers and hvac guys...

Pro's, con's ??
Click to expand...

parking, bad weather, backing up, and have to stay in the slow lane in
calif., and i lost the whole trailer one night. < $22,000 in one lick.:mad:

lots of storage space, walk in and grab stuff, set up a threader, or stuff
easier.

look at zog's rigs.... yeah, you are right... you need one of *these*

http://photos.gcbsinventory.com/trailers/
 
J

JES2727

Senior Member
Location
NJ
Mule said:
I really like my van but dont like being on my knees. The older I get, I wish that I could just walk into my van and get my parts. I really dont want to pay big bucks for the new Dodge Sprint van, so Im thinking about a trailer and a short pickup....I see other crafts running around town with trailers, carpenters, plumbers and hvac guys...

Pro's, con's ??
Click to expand...

Welcome back, Mr. Mule. ( I knew you'd be back)
 
boyle78

boyle78

Senior Member
Location
new hampshire
electricmanscott said:
Skip the trailer and the sprinter.....

http://www.truckpaper.com/listings/...entCategoryID=209&catid=302&man=FORD&mdl=E350
Click to expand...

The last EC I worked for had two of those box vans and I loved working out of them. They were easy to wheel around into customers driveways and big enough to keep all your supplies inside at easy reach. Plenty of room for racks on the side if you want and you had a dry place to pre-fab. Heck, we even had room for a microwave on one of the shelves.

They also had a trailer for cell work, but it was more a hassle to transport, you have to worry about security for sure. It was handy in the fact that you could get 300' of 4'' pvc up a mountain....unless there was a foot of snow!
 
Mule

Mule

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
Always a possibility but theft isnt as bad here in a samller town. There is one of the E350's for sale down the street, but its got a gazillion miles on it, and the head room isnt any better than my van. I was thinking about a 7x10 or
7x12 cargo trailer with a 6.5ft ceiling. Long enough to keep all the ladders inside stored neatly along with bins for fittings and parts. Then pulling it with a short box pickup that could double as a personal vehicle. I'll keep my van, as we are thinking about hiring a Jman this spring.

Resi work seems to be only 25% of our work load, so while driveways would be a issue, it would be limited. But I agree, after a while, pulling a trailer is like dragging a chain tied around your foot....:smile:
 
Mule

Mule

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
ptonsparky said:
Every now & then I think about a Sprint but just don't think they would handle pivot tracks, sand, or bottomless mud very well.

Seriously leaning more to the trailer with room for a small 4 wheeler when needed.
Click to expand...

How would you get a trailer through bottomless mud? what are pivot tracks?
 
480sparky

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
Upside to trailers: Lots of room. You can stand up.

Downside to trailers: Back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward. Get out and lower tongue onto hitch. Hook up safety chains. Attach wiring harness. Check lights. NOW you can drive to work.

Get to job site. Back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward.

Going to lunch? Undo hitch and raise tongue. Undo safety chains and wiring harness. Don't forget to lock it up! Not only the doors, but the tongue as well!

Time to go home now...... Back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward, back up, pull forward. Get out and lower tongue onto hitch. Hook up safety chains. Attach wiring harness. Check lights. NOW you can go home.

I've seen guys spend a total of an hour a day.... ONE HOUR PER DAY..... monkeying with a trailer.

Oh, by the way, did I mention that it's pouring cats & dogs while you're doing this? Or it's 20 below? And the job site won't see a concrete truck for another 3 months?

Now, unless you're fortunate to have another vehicle to drive at home, you'll need to repeat the last two steps (again) if you use your truck to go to the grocery store or take the misses out for dinner .......

You also need additional insurance, license fees, etc. as it is a vehicle.
 
A

active1

Senior Member
Location
Las Vegas
Step vans are great to work out of. The cargo size come in 2' incraments between 8' and maybe 26'. I had a 12' and a 14'. The GVR's I had were 10k and 12K. The shelving / cabinets / drawers could be 2' deep on one side. Most are more than 6' tall inside. All the tools and material is accesable from the inside out of the weather. In bad weather you could do some work inside like assembly or pipe bending. The ladders would stay clean. The tools and material would not be as cold. You can pull up, grab your material, and put your tools on before you get out. For security concers the tools could be locked in steel cabnets inside the cargo area. They have a ton of room in the passenger area. Plenty of room to strech out and store items. In the summer open the side doors while driving for some fresh air. Many come with driver / cargo partitions such as alumimn. You can put a big lock on cargo to passenger campartment door, pluss the passenger doors are then locked. For the back they have different door combinations with some high security locking. As compaired to stock vans I believe many criminals have figured out how to get in most. For winter weather snow driving with the weight and duelies it would not have any problems as compaired to the vans that were hard to get going and worse to stop.

The negitives would be in height restricted areas like low bridges and parking garages (we were at 10' tall. Parking is ok as long as it's not too tight and overcrowded. You have to watch the weight limits. Fuel econimy would be about 12 MPG. There may be special licance plates or truck inspections to do in your state. Step vans can be difficult to find a good used one and are pricy new. Box trucks are more common but the cargo area is much higher.
 
augie47

augie47

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Tennessee
Occupation
State Electrical Inspector (Retired)
I agree with "active1".
Back in my contractor days I had regualr vans and cargo.
IMO, Crago paid for themselves with material avaialbilty, working room, etc.
 
Mule

Mule

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
Sparky....Do you really need to hook and un-hook multiple times per day? That would not be effecient at all...I was thinking a small trailer, and leaving it hitched up most of the time..

Looked at the box van down the road this morning....Its a Chevy 06 with a overhead box and and tool doors on the sides....nice, lots of room $7500....negatives where 140k miles and its dual wheels....might be nice for folks that carry more weight than I do.

Still looking and thinking..........
 
Mr.Sparkle

Mr.Sparkle

Senior Member
Location
Jersey Shore
I would say get a single axle cutaway van or sprinter before you get an enclosed trailer, I worked for an EC that had a trailer for a few years and overall it sucked. Just my opinion from my experience living in megaoverpopulatedandpoorlydeveloped NJ, I see you are from OK so YMMV.
 
480sparky

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
Mule said:
Sparky....Do you really need to hook and un-hook multiple times per day? That would not be effecient at all...I was thinking a small trailer, and leaving it hitched up most of the time..(snip) Still looking and thinking..........
Click to expand...

I don't hook and unhook anything as I don't have a trailer. This is just an observation of those who do have trailers... seems they are always hitching or unhitching.

Case in point (true story): Framer shows up on job site with pickup & trailer. He unhitches so he can go look at another job, leaving his crew on site. Comes back, gets a material list, hitches up and goes to supply house. Then returns with material, unloads, and unhitches to go to lunch. Then hitches back up at end of day. Ineffecient? Absolutely. Yes, he could maybe manage his time better (pick up material on way to first job, and unhitch for both going to the other job and grabbing lunch on the way back), but to me, that's far too much time wasted trying to save time. In short, spending a dollar to save a dime.

If you're going to leave a trailer on 95% of the time, why have a trailer at all? Get a step or cube van.
 
Mule

Mule

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
480sparky said:
I don't hook and unhook anything as I don't have a trailer. This is just an observation of those who do have trailers... seems they are always hitching or unhitching.

Case in point (true story): Framer shows up on job site with pickup & trailer. He unhitches so he can go look at another job, leaving his crew on site. Comes back, gets a material list, hitches up and goes to supply house. Then returns with material, unloads, and unhitches to go to lunch. Then hitches back up at end of day. Ineffecient? Absolutely. Yes, he could maybe manage his time better (pick up material on way to first job, and unhitch for both going to the other job and grabbing lunch on the way back), but to me, that's far too much time wasted trying to save time. In short, spending a dollar to save a dime.

If you're going to leave a trailer on 95% of the time, why have a trailer at all? Get a step or cube van.
Click to expand...


Good point....guess I was thinking "Cheap"...I really try to keep my overhead cost low.....

How about this?... looks good...not to bulky, but has headroom..........
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars...d=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65:-1|39:1|240:1318
 
480sparky

480sparky

Senior Member
Location
Iowegia
Mule said:
Good point....guess I was thinking "Cheap"...I really try to keep my overhead cost low.....

How about this?... looks good...not to bulky, but has headroom..........
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Cars-Trucks___2001-Chevy-3500-Express-10-Box-Van_W0QQitemZ110341689829QQddnZCarsQ20Q26Q20TrucksQQddiZ2282QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_Cars_Trucks?hash=item110341689829&_trksid=p4506.c0.m245&_trkparms=65%3A-1%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
Click to expand...

I got a nickel that says his reserve is $6900....:D

Only problem with big boxes like that is carrying tall ladders.
 
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