So I have been searching far and wide for a box truck to buy. Originally, I was going to buy a used 14' U-Haul. (The 10' would be better but are very rare.) I have a contractor friend who buys them and says they work out well. They are well maintained. And they are inexpensive. But none are available. U-Haul can't get new trucks because of the parts shortages so they stopped selling off older trucks. There are just none to buy until at least September.
The other rental places seem to use 16' and larger trucks. These are too big. I looked at the entire commercial used market and there really is nothing that is reasonably priced to buy.
I found a product that is interesting. Some companies (Supreme, Rockport, and probably others) are making light weight cargo boxes for cut-away vans made by the major auto manufacturers. The result are box trucks that are small (6x10) and less expensive than traditional box trucks. These seem perfect for service truck work. I found lots of new ones, but only a couple of used that are in far-flung cities.
So I had a thought. Tell me what you think. I can buy a used F-250/F-350 (or similar) at a reasonable price and remove the bed. Then I can install the box part of a brand new 6x10 enclosed cargo trailer. The new trailers are reasonable priced at $3000. The resulting box truck will have a payload capacity of about 2000 pounds or more. It will be higher off the ground than optimal, but some stairs will make it accessible.