Printer in Van

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tonyou812 said:
Dude youve got one of the coolest vans Ive seen. I would love to come up by you and have you hook my van up. What do you charge? What did you use on your shelves? is that felt?
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thanks Tony, it was a lot of work, but worth it in the end. I did all this stuff when I was just starting out on my own, and had a lot of free time. I couldn't even think about doing things like this now, with a 8 month old, and work, and other hobbies. The covering on everything is just black automotive grade carpet found at most auto parts stores, secured with 3M Super 77 spray adhesive.
 
Fulthrotl said:
another source of mounting brackets to hang anything off of
anything is http://www.ram-mount.com/

they make some pretty good mounting hardware.... i've used it
myself.
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like i said... hanging anything off of anything......

an umbrella mount for your bmw adventure series dual purpose bike....

bmw25.jpg
 
i tried this system for a few months and it didn't work out for me. What a pain in the butt having to fire up the computer, type the bill in the truck, and waste 20 minutes at the end of every job. You save a step for sure and for a 1 man show it may be fine. I was always worried about the laptop being stolen, it took up so much room, sometimes the printer had issues and with more than 1 truck on the road unless you synched up the computers at the end of the day you have to enter all the info into a central office computer anyway.

Now we use this system - it works well for us.
A 2 part invoice where the electrician writes in detail job, location, description of work, labor, material, total price, notes, etc.
Then has the customer sign the invoice, gives them a copy, collects a check, turns in to office at end of day the 2nd copy with check and material slip from supply house if has one, and any notes to follow up.
Then it goes into the computer system in the office.
A lot of larger jobs are billed from our office anyway, so the guy in the truck also has a daily log where he records times, addresses, notes, materals, etc which he turns in to office as well. He doesn't need a computer for that anyway.

But, you should be able to buy a small power inverter at radio shack or box store to plug into the cigarette lighter to power AC.
 
I completely agree CopperTone. Anything more than a one man band it would be hard. I am a one man band, so it works for me.
 
CopperTone said:
Now we use this system - it works well for us.
A 2 part invoice where the electrician writes in detail job, location, description of work, labor, material, total price, notes, etc.
Then has the customer sign the invoice, gives them a copy, collects a check, turns in to office at end of day the 2nd copy with check and material slip from supply house if has one, and any notes to follow up.
Then it goes into the computer system in the office.
A lot of larger jobs are billed from our office anyway, so the guy in the truck also has a daily log where he records times, addresses, notes, materals, etc which he turns in to office as well. He doesn't need a computer for that anyway.
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That's how we work it too.
 
StreamlineGT said:
I completely agree CopperTone. Anything more than a one man band it would be hard. I am a one man band, so it works for me.
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When it means getting paid 15 min is not that long to wait is it. Somehow it is easier to get paid the same day you finish the job in most cases. I vote for putting in the bill asap. I will wait while they find thier checkbook.
 
quogueelectric said:
When it means getting paid 15 min is not that long to wait is it. Somehow it is easier to get paid the same day you finish the job in most cases. I vote for putting in the bill asap. I will wait while they find thier checkbook.
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yep. i have discovered something by accident..... i printed out a bill
on photo paper one night by mistake, and decided to give it to the
customer anyway.

people go ooh.... and look at the glossy print, and then.....
they don't fold it, or stick it aside... they write a check right now.:D

it doesn't matter with large firms, but residential and small commercial
pay it immediately without asking..... don't ask me why...

all of my invoices are printed on glossy paper. sounds stupid, but it works.
 
JohnJ0906 said:
What do you guys with these laptop setups do about security?
I sometimes work in some BAD neighborhoods, and something like these setups might not last long.
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I put a large plano box between the seats of my chevy express van. The laptop and my printer fit nice inside and the top of it makes a pretty good desktop. Usually I do not keep it booted up all the time though, if I did nothing but service work I sure would however. Out of sight and out of mind....
 
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