New To Me Truck

jtpro

On the short vs long question. IMO for me I'm not a fan of long beds. Length wise (again my opinion) with out checking true length and pulling tape you can get a single cab long bed OR an extended cab short bed and be close to equal.( Parking can be a bitch period!)

I viewed it as such. For construction purposes you can fold up the back seat put tool bags chargers etc. in the cab protected.( you could also get a storage box from Du Haust that when the seat is down it looks factory) or on the seat etc. Same with supplies like caulking fastners etc.

In the bed (preferably with a roll'n' lock) table saws,miters whatever. As far as materials you can load up with 2xs wedged under the tool box on top of the edge of the tailgate and or a few plus sheeting. You can fold the gate down and use straps too.

If you REALLY are going to haul ALOT of sheeting or lumber ALL the time for you or an employer you or they should be into owning a trailer for that. again IMO.

I hear what you are saying on the ABS but it was what the shop told me after running tests etc. They had the front wheels off (to rotate to the rear and replace bearing assembly) checked all things. The bearing was the FIRST thought after seeing how bad it was but once it was replaced it was ruled out as the only prob. The next day I took it back they scanned the 'puter checked things out and that was the conclusion something to do with tread depth.

What your saying does make more sense though.

Right now it's more of an annoyance when the idiot lights come on as it is mechanically sound.

Replacing the 2 sensors will be if and when I can get a deal on them or feel uncomfortable about it. They trip at around 40 MPH when I get on a bumpy road so not a HUGE prob as I see it.

Sunroofs are more of an ehh idea now. I know people who have had probs and people who have aftermarkets installed and no probs.

My first course of action will most likely be new shocks (for sure rear). and a roll 'n' lock. Followed by a complete bushing replacement front to back with polyurethanes. Then a Bully Dog(with the 3 way settigs I can switch between economy,average and performance modes) to help power/fuel usage.

ALL the rest can come with extra money as they are all un important in the grand scheme.

shesaremonclus

just a question for you guys who drive PU what percentage of the work day do you guys do actual work, or are you guys just bidding on work and subbing out. I ask this question because looking a the rides you guys have it looks like your more concerned of what you will drive this weekend than the actual practicality of the vehicle you use for work. I work out of a Chevy Express 3500 I have about 1/3 of the tools I own plus some supplies in racks inside all the time. I has gotten a little cramped inside and thought about a trailer but just seemed cumbersom pulling a trailer all the time specially since I do service calls about 50% of the time. I now have a Isuzu 16' box truck which I am preparing to roll out late winter early spring which will carry the rolling shop and use the van for trips to the suppliers and quick repairs. I just find it hard with the type of work I do to work out of a PU and will not feel comfortable leaving any of my tools at a work site overnite just dont know when I will need what tool and when.

Cole82

X2
I never understand how people drive a lifted truck you can't put anything in the bed with out a step ladder.
I personally have a PU with topper and a small enclosed trailer and wish I would have gone cube van. Maybe next year. I 100% hate going back to storage and getting a tool.

Tom R

I was just showing my Silverado (post #6) because that was the gist of the thread, - - this is my work truck . . .

Tom R

On the short vs. long bed subject, - - my last (2000) Silverado was a 2 X 4 long-bed, - - excellent truck to work out of (and looked decent on weekends too), - - but once I got the cutaway van, the pick-up was rarely getting used to work out of, it just became my regular ride.

It's so much easier to do a job when you bring the hardware store with you . . .

IHI

It's like that on forums across the board, not just here. Personally i use my trucks as tools, not as show pieces, i dont buy them to look cool, i buy them to generate money, and that is all a truck is to me, a tool/money generator. Someday i would love to be i the soccer dad catagory/paper pushing catagory so i could have a blinged out lifted truck, but the real life usage of them is a joke so i cant

I have never understood the short bed in construction personally, IMO a truck with a 8' bed is a minimum since that is what most product is and you can safely carry 10, 12,14, and upto 16' materials easily to work on a project since those aer standard common lengths...all these 6' and 4' beds...why??? what's the point, that is a car missing a trunk lid

Oh well, this is what makes the world so special, we all have opinions, though most are wrong...like the guys with lifted/blinged out trucks to be used in construction LOL!!

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TBFGhost

Its easy. I work out of my SMALL PU. I have two Kobolt side boxes that I keep most of my commonly used tools in. Then I have a Waterproof Stanley toolbox for my hand tools. The rack allows me to carry whatever b/c it is a very strong rack. Heavy gauge frame and angle iron running the length of the bed so the weight of whatever is not just bearing on two or four corners of the bed rails. I think about what I am doing during the next day at the end of the day and load the truck accordingly.
Rack loaded with Rock

Fully loaded, but also with a crossover box that I go rid of. And before I stripped and painted the rack.

Loaded with a few things

jtpro

I will sum up an answer for/to both of you. I don't have a lot of money to play with(NOT implying Ya'll do just saying) I can't/don't have the option for multiple vehicles. I haven't worked 100% for myself in a few years( I more than respect those of you who do) I feel that the truck as is will carry me and my PERSONAL tools to and from ANY jobsite. Even with tool storage bags saws etc I see no immediate need for anything else.

I feel an employer should have his own way of getting large ammounts of materials and such to the jobsites. If not how can he survive?( if bringing my own table saw,Miter saw, portable thickness planers,compressor etc. get's me more $$ or is required I have no gripes and can still accommadate ) a trailer can be an option if need be also.

I have worked out of 3 vans in the past(2 when in self employment with my brother and one for an employer) and 4 different trailer configurations for one partner and 3 employers.

If I was looking to leap back into self employment I would have SERIOUSLY looked at Tom's Bad A$$ set up or a rolling shop box truck.

ALL the trucks I was looking at were factory versions of this truck. Some even higher priced some lower priced all within a $1,500 dollar price range above and below.(several were regular cab and one lifted truck had a 3" body and 6" suspension custom paint job I didn't care for and a broken speedometer for about $3,000 more and only a factory alarm)

Seeing all the factory features this had over the others( I'm still finding more plus the replaced parts and rebuilds) let alone the $$$$ suspension lift and KILLER after market alarm system and $$$ bumper/brush gaurd I was sold. Although KBB isn't as accurate as it's suppose to be the step below this truck is within this price range.

Also with the flooding we get in some areas (even in the f'n city)and the fact I want to be available for storm work(GOD FORBID but just in case) my lift (although the pumpkins are still some what restricted in mud and rock) gets my floor boards above the water.

As far as the bed up high..I'm 6'3' and even though I'm (AHEM) getting up there in years my fat A$$ can still grab the side rail step on the tire and/or tail gate/bumper and get in the back for what I can't reach.

Besides when you move to Jax(as I did from Nebraska) along with saying Ya'll and Do What? you are required to listen to Skynyrd(at least 3 songs a day) and after 10 years you start getting notices in the mail as to why you haven't owned at least one lifted truck.

Which shortly there after you MUST put some kind of Confederate flag on.

jtpro

I do agree with you to a point. As far as "blinged out" to each his own as you said. Keeping the the browning off the tires and a coat of wax on the paint makes for easy cleanup.

If I lived back in the midwestern one horse town I grew up in I would most likely have been more inclined to go stock. (as I said the factory features alone on this for the price of others had me sold.) and been MORE than glad to.

As I see it someone going out spending $35,000-$40,000 on a new truck with little to no more factory features than mine is no different than me buying a "show truck" at a third to a quarter of the price.

Now (the truth of the matter) all the rhetoric aside I wasn't born well endowed like the rest of you so I have to make up for it.

IHI

jtpro- i was just flipp'n ya chit, it is a very nice lookin rig and the crew is a fantastic platform...the only gripe i have with the chebbie crews is the fuel tanks are too fricken small. I borrowed my BIL's '07 CC 4x duramax to tow my 28' hauler down to St. Louis last season to race and we literally had to stop every 60-70 minutes to refuel. We were very heavy since i was loaded to the gills in the trailer with all the gear, roughly close to 20,000 GCVW and i set the cruise at 75mph so the ole diesel was getting a work out, but i had a few heart racing times while in the middle of nowhere and it was time to fuel up and none of the stations carried diesel I've been considering getting a dedicated truck JUST for towing to the track, and installing a behind the cab aux fuel tank/tool box and plumbing it into the filler neck so i have 150 gallons of fuel on board to reduce pit stops and being caught like we were in the middle of nowhere with those tiny fuel tanks.

TBFghost, that is the same principal i used when i built the ladder rack i still have on the other truck, I made the base out of HD angle iron so it wrapped around the entire truck bed to disperse the weight, and i built in perches/platforms for the tool boxes to sit on...i did this so the entire thing, rack and tool boxes was a big modular unit so IF i wanted to use the truck it was on for a road trip or whatever, i remove the 8 bolts holding it onto the truck and slid it out as one unit...which we've done a few times when i send the guys out of state to pick up a new tool or whatever. I would like to build another soon for my other truck, it has a store boughten POS since i rarely use it, but they store bought/pre manufacturered ones are flimsey and good for nothing, i like making racks for guys because i can design and implement aspects for whatever job they do so it's user freindly, plus they look better and hold up longer.

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Tom R

And you best visit and hang out at that local graveyard on the anniversary of VZ's death with all the other local yokels, too . . .

jtpro

That's cool I took it as such. ( besides with the wax it'll just roll right off) My extended cab has a 26 gal tank and haven't took it on the road yet to tell ya how sh**ty it is on gas . I know the previous owner said a tank to Tampa and one back (empty of course) who knows. regular gas so plenty of pumps available(as I'm sure I'll find out)



funny thing is when I first moved to Jax and was told where he was buried I didn't beleive anybody( I was thinking like he was Elvis or something) Went once and haven't been back.(technically in Orange Park) on a VERY busy road(right next to the OP mall) and a PITA to get too. Although it's called Jacksonville Memorial Gardens

I was actually right next to it (last night)and going to take pics of it along with Scott Speicher's. but it was late with bad traffic and dark.

woodchuck2

WTF??????? Refueling every 60-70 minutes? Thats about 1 mile per minute so lets say 70 miles, that truck should have a 26 gallon tank so what your saying is you were getting 2.5-3 miles per gallon? Hell mine gets 11-12mpg towing 11k at 75mph. You better tell your BIL to rip off that DPF and retune it for milage. You can also buy a 52 gallon Titan fuel tank for it. Go to dieselplace.com for more info.

woodchuck2

jtpro, the only problem i would have with your truck is maybe the lift but with your hight stature and the possible need for ground clearance then it would be a benefit. As far as carrying tools and supplies i have become very reliant on my trailers. If i am on the job and need more supplies i dont have to reload to leave. I just unhook the trailer and go. I still have a nice looking truck for my weekend duties and with two trucks i just leave one hooked to the trailer and use the other for my running around to supply stores or to the banks. Nothing worse than having to unload the truck, unhook the trailer and clean the interior just so i can take the girlfriend out for dinner. I just park one and get in the other and go . One peice of advice is be careful on that tranny unless it has been upgraded. Those trannies are not noted for taking alot of abuse with larger tires and weekend wheeling. Shop around for tuners too. I have had great luck with my Diablo Sport tuner in my diesels. They are cheap and reliable.

IHI

He got rid of the truck about a month after we got back from st louis....he got tired of SES lights popping on for every little thing and spending more time driving loaners than his own truck....the SES light i got coming home with it, turned out to be a factory programmed light at a certain hour mark on the engine so folks will bring them in "just to see if there have been any updates" PITA if ya ask me. But it was a towing SOB, and i nicknamed it "The Locomotive" since the truck toting close to 20Klbs was peppier than my '00 F350 with the V10 all by itself LOL!!

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jtpro

On the heigth I can see where only a 6" lift would be more practical for getting in and out of the cab and bed but as I said it's how it came.(my GF is 5'2" and has figured out a trick for her, but helping her is still fun) If somewhere down the road I feel it's to much of a PITA I could lower it for less money then if I started low and lifted.

As for the tranny....one more selling point is it was rebuilt(Supposedly "bullet proof" with tires in mind and after mileage and they most likely took it's toll prematurely) by a certified Chevy mechanic. No matter with factory suspension/wheels or not I was looking at all the trucks that had 100,000 plus miles and what they had fixed/replaced that's known to go. Tranny being one.

I don't know if there is a way of telling how tough the tranny truely is without having someone tearing it down to see what was/wasn't beefed up.(or mud bogging trial and error style and I'm not young and or dumb enough to do that jack a$$ stuff again without thinking first and no $$$ set aside for "what ifs")

X2 on the programmers. I will look at your suggestion(thanks) I was also told on a truck forum Bully Dog's. The one I like has the three settings viewable screen and is mounted in the cab so you can easily switch between the fuel/power settings as needed. I'm wanting to have the option of getting the factory restrictions out of the way before exhaust swap and any engine upgrade(WAY down the road) besides I'd have to pay someone to reprogram or save the money and put it towards the programmer.

Krypes at the cost of replacing the 4 02 sensors (if need be) I could buy the programmer.

Five Star

For you JT Turn it up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIHmMPJ5tvI&feature=fvw

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skyhook

Nice yo. You got it all and a bag of chips.

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bconley

I agree. IMO a work truck should be as simple as possible I prefer stock white pickups or vans. No custom wheels or paint jobs.
You don't want your customers thinking that they are paying for all that crap.
You know what they say about guys who have to have big trucks!