Car or Van - Poll

[Tronman 14]

When making the move to a trailer what do most of you use & why? (Truck or Van)?

[Mike 64]

I would say its slit 50 / 50.. alot of guys use trucks, alot of guys use vans. There are advantages and disadvantages for both. Personally I prefer a truck because I like to have 4 wheel drive for the winter time.

[Tronman 14]

Lord knows we need our trucks for the snow... I think we had all of 5 min. of it last winter and then it was back to shorts & T-shirts on Christmas day.

I thought about a truck for the construction cleans. Some of the work sites have mud, large pot holes, or very fine sandy dirt. I don't think a van would have the same traction in these cases.

I just though about the security of a van and the advertising possibilities of the side panels.

[R L S 14]

Truck for the functional aspect. Drop the trailer and zip around bidding and collecting. You can carry extra equipment or whatever you want for a special job. When not working you can haul stuff in the back like, mulch, seed, etc, And you can lay a tarp down in the bed and make a real big Beer cooler.

Richard

[John Orr 206]

I pulled a trailer with my truck for over 4 years, but replaced it with a van (E150) last year. I can honestly say it was the best move I could have made.

Because I sometimes need to carry the kids, I had a bench seat installed with the bulkhead behind. The rear is Line-X'd so that I can rinse it out as needed. I also installed a set of shelves/bins that allows me to carry almost everything I might need. The van holds more than my truck did, and looks more professional.

[Aplus 525]

One disadvantage to a van is fumes/odors can seep into passenger area, and another is that they can be noisy, and you hear things moving around and getting annoying.

A buddy of mine is a plumber, and after he switched to a van, he hated it, because after he built shelves and all, the loose pipes, fittings, nipples, etc, rattled around and drove him crazy. Needless to say, he went back to a pickup with a cap.

[John Doherty 126]

I have truck / trailer now, going to van next. I want everything contained in one unit. I'll keep my truck for non work transport, and the trailer as a back up.

[Tronman 14]

What about a box truck? We used them at a previous job. We ran electrical to the back for a small mobile work shop, we had a heater for jobs up north, It was a huge mobile billboard, and the box was secure with no windows.

If I'm going to spend the money for the long haul I want to make the most efficient decision.

[CLASSICPW 14]

I'm using a truck now, but looking for an e350 van to complete the biz. Unfortunately in my area these vans are hard to come by.

[tropical wave 22]

we use 4x4 pick up with open trailer.....the truck has a hard tonneau (spelling) which locks, which is nice.....the one change I want to make is an enclosed trailer.......any little puddles of sealer on the lids get blown all over (my oops, but happens none-the-less) and securing empty buckets and miscl. stuff with bungees is getting old....

[Crownroyal 14]

I have just bought a 351 ford ex fedex truck with shelves inside. I'm having It fiberglassed so no more problems with sodium hypclorite spills and easy to clean.

My other trucks were a ford ranger , and two dodge duellys. I have inherited the Bakery trucks from the bakery our family just sold. But I will be selling them as they our old eagle snack trucks and they are way to big. Plus I think we averaged around 8 mile to the gallon on them.

I am hoping I will get around 12-14 with the ex fedex truck. lol

[Cleveland Mobile 14]

problem with box trucks is the maintenance. Brakes are expensive....and if its a Dodge like mine....a tune up on the 360 is around 600. I've also torn down a few basketball hoops and phone wires through he years. Next time i'm going back to a maxi van.

Andy

[Crownroyal 14]

Ill agree on maintenance but if you (drive correctly) you should have your brakes last a while they are much bigger too. Remember box style types of trucks are much heavier and larger than your typical f150, more stopping distance. Better use those mirrors and so on and so on. I really hated buying tires for those trucks bfgoodies for 175.00 mounted. We went though tires like it was oil changes.

Yall would have loved driving with my father (god bless his sole)he would bring a egg (hardboiled) with him to train new drivers. He would leave it right on the dash.

I have had to take many of our old bakery drivers through driving school to keep the insurance low but the main thing was to show them how to drive. I cant belive people dont like to coast to the stop light. lol. If you pretend you vehicle was full of dynomite like you should you would drive much more correctly.

Next thing I will be buying is a enclosed trailer pulled by truck. Maybe a inline 6 for the truck better gas milage and good towing.