Buying a new (to you) Tool Truck - so many choices Part 1

This is our first post on our new ToolTrucks.com Blog, Tool Truck Talk. As the name implies, we are going to mostly talk about tool trucks and tool trailers, although we will drift off to other areas if that's where your comments lead us. So let's get started and see where we end up.

This post is geared mostly toward tool dealers who have a truck now and are considering a different truck, maybe for more room, better fuel economy, greater reliability, or your current truck is too big. If you are new to the business and looking for your first truck, this info may still be helpful, so read on, although you are probably limited by your tool company as to what kind of trucks are acceptable for your new business. The good news is, if you are looking for a new-to-you tool truck, either used or brand new, you have a lot of good choices.

Each body style - step van or box truck/cab chassis - has its own advantages and drawbacks; each truck builder has their own look and specialty; each Make does some things well and others not as well. You will never find one single truck configuration that does everything the way you want it to do exactly the way you want it to, but with some thought and effort you can get very close to what you need in your truck for your area. That's the bottom line - what works best for you. One of your buddies may drive an 18' step van and swear by it, while another has a 24' Kenworth cab chassis stuffed with product and needs more room. And of course, your truck has to fit your budget.

There are many things to think about, so we are going to break this up into a series of topics, and our first topic is - Step Van or Box Truck?

The Step Van -it's a body built around and on a strip chassis. A strip chassis is a rolling frame that comes from the factory with 6 wheels, steering wheel, and powertrain. The Freightliner MT45 strip chassis, for example, is built in North Carolina and then shipped to Utilimaster body company in Indiana. From there it goes to a truck builder, who builds out the drivers area and installs an interior from the walls outward, the Liftgate, and Heat and AC. Step Vans are available in 16' - 24' lengths, the most popular sizes being 18' and 22', and most often built by Freightliner and Chevrolet.

Advantages - when you pull into a stop, it can be as easy to begin work as climbing out of the drivers seat. Stand up, turn right, and you are in your store. For customers, the first step up at the side entry door is low to the ground, as low as 14", so it's easy for them to climb aboard. That's nice for guys with bad knees or trick backs. Once on board, everyone can move about freely from front to rear - every step van is a "full walk through". If you need to move your truck, it's easy to get into the seat, and you don't have to ask people to get off the truck first, avoiding a possible awkward moment. When you are finished at a stop, just walk up to your seat and drive away. With their height and width, step vans are very easy to work out of. They cost less than the equivalent cab chassis and usually weigh less with the same GVW, which means more Payload capacity. Most are spring suspension and hydraulic brakes, but the bigger step vans like the MT 55 can have air ride and air brakes.

Drawbacks - going down the highway, because you are with your inventory, you will hear everything. Clinking, clacking, creaking, rattles - whatever happens, you hear it. If something falls back there, you hear it (if it's about to fall or come open, you might be able to put it in park and run back there and catch it). Unless you have some kind of security panels you won't be able to block off your inventory when the truck is being serviced. The floor has wheelwells sticking up, which restricts where the box openings can be. The engine is in the "doghouse" down at your feet, so you will hear it more and feel it on warm days. With the liftgate up, there is only one way in, so don't misplace your keys. There is one seat, so unless you add a jump seat, passengers have to stand. And you might have to crank that radio up a little more when on the highway.
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Box Truck - Also known as a cab chassis truck, its a cab sitting on a chassis with frame rails extending out the rear, and the body is installed on top of and bolted to the frame. Often - usually - there is an opening from the cab to the body, either a Pass-Thru/Crawl Thru, or Walk Thru. The truck builder installs the mobile sales interior in the body, and doesn't have to do much if anything to the cab. Cab chassis trucks like the International 4300 and GMC 6500 Topkick are familiar sights on the highways and in the tool business. Another form of Box Truck is the Cabover and Tilt Cab, like the Isuzu models.

Advantages - the cab interior is nicely finished by the manufacturer and has more driver comforts like power seat, power windows, power locks, dash AC, tilt/cruise, and intermittent wipers. Because air ride and air brakes are more likely in a cab chassis, the ride is fairly comfortable and quiet. They are good highway drivers, and with seating for two, you can have passengers. While working, you have 3 ways to get into the truck - the body side door, and the 2 cab doors; and 2 ways to enter the rear to work - from the cab opening, and through the side door. The body is separate, so you can block off your product area when having the truck serviced. And if you prefer a particular maker, like Ford or Kenworth, there are more makes available in cab chassis configuration than as a step van.

Drawbacks - because the body sits on the frame rails, it is higher from the ground. This means there are 2, 3, maybe 4 steps to get up inside. If there is an opening from cab to rear - this is a truck builder option - it is limited to about 72" height (full walk thru). In some trucks, the only available opening is a Pass Thru, also called a Crawl Thru, which is about 42 - 44" tall. Cab chassis trucks are more expensive and weigh more than step vans, which means a lower payload capacity for the equivalent GVW.
And you can't get any kind of cab opening in the tilt cab trucks like the Isuzu.

So, there you have it from my point of view. I like both styles of trucks for different reasons and would buy one or the other based on my territory (if I had a territory of course...). I'm sure I left something out and would like to hear of your experiences and preferences, so your comments are welcome and appreciated. Next time: Body Length.

Good selling...and collecting!

Tom