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I have worked out of trucks, vans and tow behind trailers. All of them have good & bad. And i think the deciding factor for most guys is what type of work they do.

Driving around in a truck is so much nicer, especially if its a crew cab. Trucks are ideal if you need 4x4 or mostly just haul around tools and not much materials. Great for install work.

Vans work best if your gotta carry around lots of materials. Service contractors always carry around alot of stuff. Lots of room for everything.

Trailers are nice. Difficult to maneuver in high traffic areas, tight streets, awkward driveways & alleys. But it’s nice to be able to drop off and drive off when you dont need it. A remodeling GC I work with will drop off a trailer at the job site and have his guys work out of that. This way he can handle multiple projects.
 
In fact, the idea of a using a truck with a work topper has obsessed me for a long time. The comfort of a truck, having the seating in the back for others, having a nice compact ride…..

But a van works really well. I can put a ton of materials in it and be good. Throw materials for Monday in it on a Friday night and not have to worry about it getting wet over the weekend.

If I didn’t need to carry so much stuff around, a truck would be sooo much nicer.
 
Same here, I have truck which will have the side boxes installed soon. Job box in the back.

Everything for the most part is hunkered down.

Worked out of vans it is nice to keep a lot of supplies and everything stays dry. But when racked like that they tend to be useless to carry much for materials.

When you do have the step ladders and boxes of client materials you have to keep stepping i we everything to get to the rear wall for your supplies.

With topside boxes or a utility box you don't need to step over things.

Trailers are nice and spacious but maneuvering can be a challenge.

There never seems to be a great solution.

If you're parked on a long duration project, like commercial, you just drop a job box or two or more and everything kinda stays there so you can ride the motorcycle back and fourth.
 
There never seems to be a great solution.
Soooo true!

The thing I tell myself so I dont waste to much time thinking about it is the fact that vans have been the standard for construction work for many decades now. Long before I was born.

If something has worked for this long, it does kind of seem silly to try and reinvent the wheel.

……. But I do love a truck!!!!
 
I learned to drive on a van.
My father always had a van. First one was a VW bus....then a flat nose Econoline 100.

He was a drywall guy, just hanging, later a union carpenter , so he never really had to carry a lot for tools, and many times it could stay on the job.

4' ladder, couple 100' cords, ceiling wire box of screws T square, tool belt, sometimes the baker and company laser.

So the van was always easily used for hauling anything.

The company vans I used, and the ones I had were always racked. So you were never carrying plywood or large items.

I like the trailers, it's like having a shop with you all the time. ( But they don't fit my life at this point) besides my home base usually under ten miles, and rarely ever gets to twenty five or more.

There was a time an easy thirty miles, many times well over 100 miles. So you needed to be prepared.
 
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This was my setup over half a decade ago, a shelf in each side like that to fit the Milwaukee boxes and hand tools & fasteners. Saws/compressors in the middle all HAD to have wheels on them but somehow actually fit together perfectly in the middle, and random small crap in organized buckets right by the tailgate. Worked great for me at the time

Tools were not accessible from the outside of the vent windows, pop open windows would have been cool


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Handymen trick out pick up trucks and lug their crap everywhere.
Carpenters use a trailer.
 
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Handymen trick out pick up trucks and lug their crap everywhere.
Carpenters use a trailer.
That makes zero sense. So anyone who works in the city or tight areas isn't a carpenter? I run out of a pickup and haven't used my 7x14 trailer in years because it doesn't fit on my sites.
 
Just picked this bad boy up cheap, got the desired price (3k lower than it should be) , and since I wasn't looking for a fourth box trailer I offered 500 less cash right now - yep took it. I counted my money clip and got in the safe in my office and said unhook that mf right there and give me the title.

Was going to outfit it for a personal tool trailer and take them dumb ass rims off and park it at my house next to the barn so my hands wouldn't mess with my tools. My brother hijacked it that afternoon and he loves the rims, I said that's my trailer, it's going to be my personal tool trailer. He said for what MF? I said that's my business. He shook his head and took it anyway. So I guess the hands are going to use it 😆

I think he just likes the way it looks, the rims are right up his alley 😆

So I guess the Jaws tool trailer thread is on hold 😆



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Just picked this bad boy up cheap, got the desired price (3k lower than it should be) , and since I wasn't looking for a fourth box trailer I offered 500 less cash right now - yep took it. I counted my money clip and got in the safe in my office and said unhook that mf right there and give me the title.

Was going to outfit it for a personal tool trailer and take them dumb ass rims off and park it at my house next to the barn so my hands wouldn't mess with my tools. My brother hijacked it that afternoon and he loves the rims, I said that's my trailer, it's going to be my personal tool trailer. He said for what MF? I said that's my business. He shook his head and took it anyway. So I guess the hands are going to use it [emoji38]

I think he just likes the way it looks, the rims are right up his alley [emoji38]

So I guess the Jaws tool trailer thread is on hold [emoji38]



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You got enough room to stand up straight in that thing?

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I actually have a part time handyman job. Work for a management company that emails me when they need something done. If I could get work from them 3 times a week, every week I could easily quit the woodworking business and just do that. But usually it's only one or two jobs a month.
 
It's a gift and a curse. Unfortunately the family knows I'm handy.
 
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