Help me pick a service vehicle

[333arod333]

Hello everyone. I recently opened a mobile mechanic business and have been working out the back of my 03 cobra for the last 6 months. I have proven to myself that the concept works, so I need a service vehicle of some sort because I'm pissed doing that to the mustang.

I used to work for Pirtek USA and my mobile hydraulic hose van was a Transit 250, it was tall enough to stand in etc but it was kinda goofy somehow, don't know quite how to describe it. I've been looking at the smaller city transit fords and also the chevy/gmc cargo van with diesel or 6.0 in it.

I'm working with like 12k or so budget to finance for 250 a month or so and I'm in South Florida. My buddy owns a dealership and said he can just hunt me down an auction car. Or, I could go to somewhere like Jumbo auto in my area, buy there and sign up for their warranty, that way I don't have to fix my van too along with losing business due to it.

So what do you guys think? Any suggestions or ideas? Thanks

 

[MG0h3]

How big do you plan to scale this business?

When I was a tech we had a few fleet contracts that required onsite service. We had a cube van; think like a uhaul type of vehicle. Really low deck so getting in and out was easy.


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[Great Asp]

333,

We work on overhead cranes (steel mills). My people really like the KUV (Knapheide) on an F450 platform. All of your tools are outside the truck so you are not climbing around inside the van (or whatever) to look for something.

This is the latest truck we bought:

Sometimes we send three or four techs on a job, hence the crew cab setup.

If you have questions on the KUV let me know.

Diesel is the way to go.

E

 

[JJackson515]

333,

We work on overhead cranes (steel mills). My people really like the KUV (Knapheide) on an F450 platform. All of your tools are outside the truck so you are not climbing around inside the van (or whatever) to look for something.

This is the latest truck we bought:
View attachment 1492113Sometimes we send three or four techs on a job, hence the crew cab setup.

If you have questions on the KUV let me know.

Diesel is the way to go.

E

Looks a tad above his 12k budget. cool set up though.

 

[Blk04L]

333,

We work on overhead cranes (steel mills). My people really like the KUV (Knapheide) on an F450 platform. All of your tools are outside the truck so you are not climbing around inside the van (or whatever) to look for something.

This is the latest truck we bought:
View attachment 1492113Sometimes we send three or four techs on a job, hence the crew cab setup.

If you have questions on the KUV let me know.

Diesel is the way to go.

E

Think that's a few pennies over $12k though.

 

[lOOKnGO]

I have a friend that works out of a 12' cube van. It's low to the ground and is like a mini work shop.


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[Great Asp]

Looks a tad above his 12k budget. cool set up though.

Think that's a few pennies over $12k though.

Yup, that is a new truck but you can find 6.0 diesels with a KUV body for $8-$12K. If you can't find a diesel, I would still get the KUV body.

E
NOTE: The author of this post is not a paid representative or pundant for Knapheide, Knapheide LLC, or KUV trademarks.

 

[jeffh81]

What about a used box truck like a used Uhaul?

 

[werstlna]

I like the used U-Haul idea. You don't need to tie yourself into huge payments where you end up reducing your hard earned profit to pay for your rig. You're going to probably put a ton of miles on a service vehicle anyway so get something that is already depreciated. And if it needs repair work along the way you've already got that covered with your skill set.

Learned a long time ago in any business do NOT take on unnecessary overhead.

 

[333arod333]

The box truck thing would be cool, but I think I'd need a dot permit or something to that effect. That was the case with the hydraulic companies that I have worked for in the past.

The utility body is good, don't get me wrong, but I'd need something that I can park without getting cited for commercial vehicle parking. I do use those when I go on crane moves though, and it really makes things easy.

I think I'm leaning towards the Chevy 1500 or 2500 passenger or even cargo van. Not diesel, probably a 6.0 or the smaller v8. Also, these ford transit city vans or the ram pro masters seem to be reasonably roomy and get twice as many miles per gallon.

So, its still a tough call....