The Box Truck Service Vehicle Project – Extreme Upfit Edition

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Little Bill said:
Gonna be heck going through the restaurant drive-thru! :)
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Yes, I already have this issue with the van since the ladders are stored on their sides on the roof. When I was up on the box truck roof waterproofing I dropped a tape measure down to check clearance. I will be putting a sticker on the windshield that says CLEARANCE: 10' 4". I have been amazed at the number of places I have to navigate around low hanging tree branches. You would think with all the other box trucks running around (UPS, FedEx, Amazon, U-Haul) those would have been trimmed (or broken off) by now. I'm not sure how legal it is, but I figure I'll be using my Sawzall occasional to make a street accessible.
 
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Coppersmith said:
Yes, I already have this issue with the van since the ladders are stored on their sides on the roof. When I was up on the box truck roof waterproofing I dropped a tape measure down to check clearance. I will be putting a sticker on the windshield that says CLEARANCE: 10' 4". I have been amazed at the number of places I have to navigate around low hanging tree branches. You would think with all the other box trucks running around (UPS, FedEx, Amazon, U-Haul) those would have been trimmed (or broken off) by now. I'm not sure how legal it is, but I figure I'll be using my Sawzall occasional to make a street accessible.
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We have places around here you would need a chainsaw to make the very long driveways accessible to your truck.
 
Hv&Lv said:
We have places around here you would need a chainsaw to make the very long driveways accessible to your truck.
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Well, I do actually have enough room to carry a rolling cart for such situations. Of course, I would still probably need to visit the truck a dozen more times so maybe I need a bicycle too. A bicycle pulling a rolling cart--Genius!
 
We used step-vans and were pleased but our work was commercial/industrial so tree clearance wasn't a problem.
On ours the step ladders were where yours is sitting and we boxed them in giving us an additional shelf on that side.(we actually had a 2nd shelt above the ladders for conduit)
As you work with it eventually it will be like a submarine..no space unused :)
I have worked out of all sorts of trucks, vans, etc and my favorite was the step van. Tons of room and DRY :)
Once parked, we seldom had to leave the site. There was always enough material to work around the surprises and forgets,
 
drcampbell said:
Don't forget the two hardpoints for your hammock.
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Good point, although I'd have to (1) close the roll-up door, (2) Open the cab access door, (3) leave the truck running with A/C on full blast. The cargo box gets hot. And I'm not sure there wouldn't be a carbon monoxide problem.

And while I'm not forgetting things, adding a port-o-potty (bucket potty) is a real possibility. I had one when I built a mini-camper out of a van some years back. Five gallon bucket, trash can liner, toilet seat designed to sit on top of a five gallon bucket (buy them at boat stores), and a shower curtain for privacy.
 
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Coppersmith said:
... The cargo box gets hot. ...
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If it's not already, paint the roof with aluminum paint.

Seven-Delta-FortyOne said:
You’re gonna get tired of climbing up into that thing 50 times a day. 👍
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Put a few doors in the exterior wall and make some of the space accessible from both inside & outside.
(that, or plan ahead better ... Egad!!! What On Earth Am I Suggesting Now???)
 
Only concern is with the Dewalt tool storage. You might want to consider dividing that space up to keep them those nice tools from sliding around and crashing in each other.
Otherwise great job. I wish I could have got my service van that well organized. I had a 3/4 ton chevy van that was loaded to the nuts.
 
b1miller said:
Only concern is with the Dewalt tool storage. You might want to consider dividing that space up to keep them those nice tools from sliding around and crashing in each other.
Otherwise great job. I wish I could have got my service van that well organized. I had a 3/4 ton chevy van that was loaded to the nuts.
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Thanks. The power tools are resting on a non-slip rubber mat.
 
Progress report

I haven't yet gone through the first full tank, but gas mileage seems to be 10-11 MPG.

I need to go to the truck scale to verify I'm not overloaded. I'm waiting for my new ladder to arrive and perhaps after the installation of the conduit box. The truck doesn't feel wonky at all so I'm fairly sure I'm well under max load.

In housing developments I have to watch the side of the road for short trees that poke out (sometimes three feet!). I find myself driving down the center of the road to avoid them. Low hanging trees are less of a problem, but still happen. I haven't yet encountered a place where I had to back out because of tree blockage. As a fifth wheel RV'er, I'm used to thinking ahead to avoid getting into bad situations.

I'm parking on the street more than I planned. The turning radius and width of the truck make pulling into driveways harder when there is already a vehicle there.

There's not much rattling or banging going on. I really hate that. Nothing is on the floor when I arrive at jobs. Everything seems to be secured well. The plastic material bins dampen a lot of the noise. The metal shelf bottoms are resting on metal shelf sides, but there's enough weight on them to keep them from rattling.

Using the step platform (which is 14" off the ground) makes it easier to get in and out the truck. Not quite as easy as a stairway. Folding RV steps to be added in the future. I find I'm using the post of the shelf unit as a hand rail. The unit is tied down well, but I'm not putting too much weight on it. We'll see what happens if I trip.

It's so nice to look for material while standing up. I'm so over crawling into the van. Everything is so nice and organized. I'm able to find tools and material quickly. I'm being rather neat and putting things away where they belong when I finish jobs. I think I will get over that shortly.
 
Coppersmith said:
Progress report

I haven't yet gone through the first full tank, but gas mileage seems to be 10-11 MPG.

I need to go to the truck scale to verify I'm not overloaded. I'm waiting for my new ladder to arrive and perhaps after the installation of the conduit box. The truck doesn't feel wonky at all so I'm fairly sure I'm well under max load.

In housing developments I have to watch the side of the road for short trees that poke out (sometimes three feet!). I find myself driving down the center of the road to avoid them. Low hanging trees are less of a problem, but still happen. I haven't yet encountered a place where I had to back out because of tree blockage. As a fifth wheel RV'er, I'm used to thinking ahead to avoid getting into bad situations.

I'm parking on the street more than I planned. The turning radius and width of the truck make pulling into driveways harder when there is already a vehicle there.

There's not much rattling or banging going on. I really hate that. Nothing is on the floor when I arrive at jobs. Everything seems to be secured well. The plastic material bins dampen a lot of the noise. The metal shelf bottoms are resting on metal shelf sides, but there's enough weight on them to keep them from rattling.

Using the step platform (which is 14" off the ground) makes it easier to get in and out the truck. Not quite as easy as a stairway. Folding RV steps to be added in the future. I find I'm using the post of the shelf unit as a hand rail. The unit is tied down well, but I'm not putting too much weight on it. We'll see what happens if I trip.

It's so nice to look for material while standing up. I'm so over crawling into the van. Everything is so nice and organized. I'm able to find tools and material quickly. I'm being rather neat and putting things away where they belong when I finish jobs. I think I will get over that shortly.
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😅
The last two sentences got me..😅
It just sounds so familiar.
 
My favorite work truck was my 1987 Isuzu NPR with 12 foot box I bought it for $4300 with 220000 on it in 1999 sent to to the yard about 12 years later with 404000 miles averaged 14 mpg . It carried everything even got my 24 ext ladder on the inside (angled down the wall . It was perfect sized fit in normal parking spaces and amazing leg checks ;)
 
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