Ram promaster 1500

[kwired]

Get you a bathroom scale and start weighing tools on your truck. That giant Roto Hammer that makes pound and ground rod so easy probably weighs 30 lbs or more, probably 60 by the time you include the case and a few bits. A Bosch bulldog with an SDS to SDS Max adapter on it and a ground rod driver bit is much easier to use on top of a ladder and weighs a good 20 pounds less. I'll accept the 15 extra seconds it might take over a giant Roto Hammer as infrequently as I drive ground rods. Any times there's no temporary power, I will take a 16 oz framing hammer and a scrap of wood to beat the ground rod in... Soil isn't too tough here


And ditch those 300 pound rated ladders... I swear I hated those things more than any other single thing on the work truck... Trying to wrestle a 10-foot plus one of these off the top of a van without a ladder assist is not only a waste of time, half the time it's dangerous standing on top of another ladder to get it off by yourself. Go to Lowe's, get an 8-foot blue frame Werner ladder, move that around all day versus one of those orange ones... You'll be surprised how much extra time it really takes moving around a heavy ladder all day... Or how much less wore out you are. Not saying you will be able to pair down 600 pounds, however I would be reasonably willing to bet you could easily remove 200 lb without noticing those tools or materials are even off the truck.

By the way, I really like your idea and use of wire basket shelves... Not only are they lightweight and strong, they are open and more easily rearranged to sizes you need then steel shelving units.

My roto hammer only goes on the truck when I plan to use it. Same with most ladders, there is a six foot step ladder that is in there nearly all the time. I don't care for how shaky lightweight ladders are, even when I was much lighter person. Medium grade ladders are fine for under ~8 foot. Longer then that I prefer heavy duty ladders even though there is some weight to them. If I wanted to do trampoline stuff I'd get a trampoline not a cheap ladder.

I can lose 10 or 20 pounds off the truck easily by just cleaning the stuff out that needs thrown away just about any given day. Old parts, wire, etc. that were taken out of service, packaging from new parts, empty food or drink packaging...

 

[JFletcher]

I am one of the few electricians that will carry and use an aluminum ladder for more than rough-in where nothing is energized. That said, aluminum ladders have to be in perfect condition, if there is so much as a dent in the rail, they are scrap... The two worst Falls I've had off of ladders were off of 2 foot aluminum ones that collapse under me due to damage I did not see... Once it threw me into sharp steel stud and cut the heck out of me, the other time I was holding open a fire door and the leg collapsed... The Closer on the fire door which probably weighed 300 pounds pull that fire door shut almost instantly and caught my arm in it and I slid down, only hitting the ground right before it broke every bone in my wrist. I will climb up a 225 lb rated grain frame fiberglass ladder if I have 230 lb of tools and me going up it... There is a margin of error there, no ladder manufacturer is going to make a 225 lb ladder that blows up under 226 or even 246 lb.

The only time I have ever used a class 1a was a combination a frame extension ladder with a 24-foot reach... And I hated the fact that had we done the work a week earlier we could have put a man lift there.

 

[Coppersmith]

My roto hammer only goes on the truck when I plan to use it. Same with most ladders

My ladder situation is actually worse than you guys are saying. I carry a 6, 8, and 12 foot A-frame and a 24 foot extension ladder on the truck. Why you ask? Because most of the time I'm doing random service calls where pre-planning what ladders you bring is not possible. I tried leaving the 12 footer home once. Two days later I went to replace a light fixture where the lady swore her ceiling was only 10 feet tall. It was 15. Back home I went to get the 12 footer.

A few years back I sent a crew to do a job. They were carrying a blue 16 foot extension ladder. I get a call "Boss, we can't reach the light. We need a longer ladder." So off they go to Home Depot to buy a bigger one. Would have been 45 minutes back to shop to pick up one.

I'll concede the macho-hammer. I know when we are doing panel jobs. So It could stay home.

 

[peter d]

I bought a Ram Promaster 1500 High Top about 2 years ago. It’s been a great truck, not a single breakdown. WE learned our lesson, as the previous truck was a 16’ Isuzu Box Truck

Don’t waste your money on the 2500. The difference in payload is @ 370 lbs. I couldn’t find any other difference at all between the 1500 and 2500, just the cost.

I worked for a company with the same 16' Isuzu box truck. I think it was an early 2000's model. At any rate, it was an absolute pile of junk. Having a Japanese pedigree meant nothing - this truck was complete garbage. I would never own one.

 

[peter d]

I am one of the few electricians that will carry and use an aluminum ladder for more than rough-in where nothing is energized. That said, aluminum ladders have to be in perfect condition, if there is so much as a dent in the rail, they are scrap...

Have you seen a painters ladders lately? :lol: