superdog
I Need A Drink
Premium,MVM
join:2001-07-13
Lebanon, PA
| Re: What should I be looking for in a onsite service vehicle? I drive what my kids call "The manly man 73 Chevy van", as my daughter felt that only construction guys with big muscles do the kind of work that I do?(She is a little off base, but.....  )
My 73 Chevy van cost an entire $300. It is a 3/4 ton unit and I built my own shelving using 1x2 wood lathing and plywood(It is much lighter than metal). I made a ladder rack out of uni-strut and bolted it right thru the roof. 
I used to have a 97 GMC Sonoma pickup, but it just was not enough space and I was getting really tired of spending more time driving back and forth to the shop for something that I forgot. That all ended with my van, as I put every single tool I own in it, along with all the hardware, mounts, masts and everything else that You would need. I put hooks in the back for my harness and rain gear and I bolted a vise on a metal table that just folds out the back for an instant work bench. This allows a very nice "L" shaped work area in the back along with a 110VAC outlet that is hooked up to an inverter. I can run every power tool I own off of it, although most of drills, saws and routers are cordless, and I would recommend that any tools You purchase be the same way. I also put a large medical kit in it for the day to day scratches and bruises You run into, along with a box full of spray paint with about 15 different colors to match almost every siding and house color there is. I now buy all my caulking, tape etc. in contractor boxes, as I have the room to store it and it is cheaper in bulk.
And last but not least, I built a console for between the seats up front that allows me to sit in the warm and use my laptop with a spot to hold my coffee cup. The stereo kicks butt too, as I have a 12 inch subwoofer powered by a 200 watt amp and a 300 watt head unit with 4 6x9 speakers. I LOVE to pull up at intersections and when the kids turn their booming stereos on, I answer right back with some good old rock and roll that blows their little Honda Civics with loud mufflers off of the street and on to the sidewalk. Their hair looks like the guy in the old Maxell commercials!, blown straight back. It seems to be the only way an old guy like me can get any respect from them?. 
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