what car: work truck edition

So with the extra crappiness at work lately, it's reignited my fire to get my small business off the ground again. I'm committed to doing this debt free, and I'm still in the homework stage.

I've got little to no savings, but I wanted to ask the GRM brain trust what they thought about which work vehicle I should go with. For the uninitiated, what I'm trying to do is start a mobile oil change business. Many others are doing it, and I think I may have a niche market idea. Prior discussion on GRM was featured here.

However, this thread is not intended to discuss the merits for or against said business, this is to discuss the vehicle to be used for this business.

I'd really like to buy just one. Some companies, such as Lube N Go offer in-van kits, as well as setups to be installed in a trailer.

I'm leaning towards a pickup truck for a number of reasons. One, it's a truck, and no American driveway is complete without at least one pickup truck. It can be detached from the trailer, and used as a truck. Whereas the van would have the rear filled up with MOC equipment.

The biggest pros I can see towards the van are the maneuverability, having to do without backing a trailer and such in tight quarters. That and the side of a panel van is one giant moving billboard. Cargo vans are also usually quite cheap, but can be a pain to work on.

With a truck, I could avoid the trailer altogether by starting out small, draining it out the bottom and pouring oil from the jug. As well as the aforementioned using as a truck, hauling lumber or gravel or whatever we red blooded red meat eating men do with our trucks.

Again, these options are intended to be on the cheaper end. Most of my customers probably wouldn't see my rig anyway, so beater trucks and molesto vans are approved.

go GRM go!

A smokey diesel with stacks!

I'd go with truck and trailer. The truck stays usable as a truck, the potential mess stays in the trailer.

If you go with a van, even if you put a bulkhead in to separate the cargo area from the passenger area, it's still going to smell like waste oil after a while.

The other side of that is, my father used an old police brethalyser van as a work truck for a long time. It was a Ford 1-ton SRW van with a box on the back (think ambulance)

I think he paid a grand total of $500.00 for it at auction and he got at least 5 years of service out of it.

Apparently bread trucks and potato chip trucks are a good buy because they spend their lives hauling bags of air and don't get worked that hard as a result.

Shawn

Don't go looking for the perfect vehicle. Broaden your search parameters and see what falls cheaply to you. Auctions are a great place to start looking for cheap work trucks. Scour the paper and the internet looking for local personal property auctions and govt surplus auctions. For instance; local plumbing shop liquidating. Most people go to buy tools and plumbing supplies. The good deals are had on fully stocked work vans, office equipment, forklifts, etc.

A truck with a utility bed seems pretty perfect.

If you're going truck, search for an old Toyota T100. Sounds like it might fit your bill perfectly and they run forever.

Watch government surplus auctions. Sometimes ex-military airport rescue vehicles come up for sale. They are 1 ton GMC vans with a box on the back with side doors and rear barn doors and 6.2 diesel. They usually have less then 50k miles and go for under $2k.

E-Series Van. Cheaper than dirt, all your stuff doesn't sit out in the weather and built like a tank.

/thread.

Watch here for this kind of stuff.
http://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=2200&acctid=453
Former prisoner transport vehicle????

Service truck
http://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm?fa=Main.Item&itemid=561&acctid=250

+! for truck and trailer, Toyota T100 or "Pickup" (Hilux).

http://www.govliquidation.com/auction/view?id=5264224&convertTo=USD

Something like this.

There is a place near me that sells trucks like the above, plus used boom trucks and such. These are pretty cheap and usually fleet-maintained. They have high miles, but are in good overall shape. From a Marketing perspective, something that looks like a work truck will convey professionalism better than a trailer, which could scream fly-by night if not done right.

Personally, I can't wait to get one of these used:

I have not seen that Fed Ex truck, but I like!

That Fedex truck is pretty cool, I haven't seen any of those around here yet. Coincidentally, I just saw a van the other day with a sign for a mobile oil change company on the side - I'd think it would be better than a truck since all your tools and supplies would be inside out of the weather, and dealing with a trailer can be a pain if you're servicing cars in parking lots or congested areas. Plus, when you're not working the trailer is taking up space in your driveway.

Question, how much weight are we talking? Tools for an oil change can't weigh more than about 50 lbs with every contingency covered. Then you've got oil. Google tells me that oil weighs 1.8 lbs per quart, 5 quarts per vehicle, how many vehicles per day? 20 sounds like a busy day with travel between them. That's only 180 lbs of oil in/out per day. But say you need a selection of oils, so maybe 400 lbs of oil? Containers and such. Ramps? What you're hauling really matters. I don't think you need a 1 ton van to haul around 5-800 lbs in stuff. I do think the perception of professionalism is a really big thing.
Mostly I want all of this information so I can do it myself.

A couple of us were talking about this the other day.

Another point for the trailer, they can be had with a ramp-style door in the rear.

Makes rolling your floor jack and any other stuff in and out a whole lot easier.

You could get one of those wheeled oil drain tanks and keep all the mess pretty much contained that way.

Shawn

it's really hard to go wrong with a well cared for 88-95(bonus for 88-92 for the non electronic transmission) chevy or gmc 1500. the TBI is stupid simple as is the suspension, the body is classic and will never go out of style, and they are just good trucks in general. plus parts are just silly cheap and everywhere.

i still can't believe how many well maintained old guy trucks there are on the market. i bought my 90 c3500 dually in 2005 with only 73k on the clock, it was owned by an old guy who had storage facilities and he used it to work on the properties and kept the thing spotless. i would recommend a basic half ton 2wd for you with a small 5x8 enclosed trailer.

Since this thing is going to be your billboard and your storefront, it really needs to ooze professionalism. When people look at your rig they need to think that you must work for some big company. I think this would work best with a van or a truck w/ utility bed. You might also ask your insurance people if one option would be cheaper than the other. You will really want to keep costs low as you're starting out, trust me you will kick yourself down the road for some of the little recurring costs that pile up!

A box van would be professional, roomy and very capable of being a billboard. Diesels should be easy to find.

Iveco, Isuzu, IH, Chevy, Ford... they all have them in various sizes and they seem to go cheap whenever I do see them up for sale.

+2 on Professionalism.

You will NEVER keep a dual purpose pickup truck looking professional enough to show up at customer's places of business.

No matter how hard you try to do otherwise, the back will have trash, beer coolers, lawn clippings from the weekend, race tires, etc. etc.

The van will always look good, no matter how big a slob you are.

I have had dozens of utility trucks. They are great, but ONLY if they are dedicated to work.

Anything with an open back cargo area lends itself to unprofessionalism. Plus, you MUST have covered space for your primary work ( keeps rain out of oil, etc.)

Don't bother looking at a pickup truck. Go with a clean van, and plan on making the business succeed, so the cost of the dedicated vehicle will not be a concern.

Get the dedicated vehicle, and put your energy into building the business.

Have you looked into liability insurance and environmental disposal fees? If not, you are not ready yet.

Focus on the business aspects FIRST, not the vehicle. Once you have a decent business plan, you will have a clear picture of what you need for tools, vehicles, etc.

Thank you Mr. Rex, valid inputs as usual. They are noted and will be used wisely. Tomorrows agenda us to call my oil provider and get some prices. For now, more Shall Business for Dummies.

Very good.

Money and/or investors are not that hard to find with a good business model. Translation: you don't have to buy the cheapest vehicle out there because you are short on cash when there is a better one (or 2) that will build professionalism and business.

Good luck!