Service truck set up?

[marslawn]

I am wondering who out there in the GJ world has a service truck. I am thinking of getting a service body for my 3/4 ton truck. I would like to see some of the different ways that guys have organized their service boxes and set them up. Pictures would be great.

Thanks

 

[crewchief888]

my f-550 has an 11ft 'glass body, with a sectional sliding top cover.
left front compartment
CM top box, 26" wide x 18" deep, holds basic hand tools from 1/4" - 1 5/8" 3/8" dr & 1/2" dr. cordless impact, along side of the box, large channellocks, torque mutiplier, long 3/8" dr ext, long 1/2" dr breaker bar
2nd left compartment
mac side box, with air tools, grinding/cutoff wheels, large snap ring pliers upright next to the box, i keep hammers, prybars, 3/4" dr handle
3rd left compartment
3/4" dr sockets, ratchet & breakerbar heads, 1/4"dr socket set, "electrical box" DVM, test lights, drills, taps, dies, extractors, seal and bushing drivers,
right front compartment
vaccuum pump, a/c guages, HVAC dye kit, a/c thermometer, temp gun.
bed of the truck
air compressor, porta torch set, grease gun, drain pan, hitch mounted vise

both the toolboxes are secured to the body so they cant move, 3/4" dr sockets are in 4" x18" deep acrobins.

if i was to do it over again, i'd replace the top box with 2 & 3 drawer center boxes for more storage. any heavily loaded toolbox in a service truck isnt going to last long before they start breaking apart at the seams.

 

[marslawn]

my f-550 has an 11ft 'glass body, with a sectional sliding top cover.
left front compartment
CM top box, 26" wide x 18" deep, holds basic hand tools from 1/4" - 1 5/8" 3/8" dr & 1/2" dr. cordless impact, along side of the box, large channellocks, torque mutiplier, long 3/8" dr ext, long 1/2" dr breaker bar
2nd left compartment
mac side box, with air tools, grinding/cutoff wheels, large snap ring pliers upright next to the box, i keep hammers, prybars, 3/4" dr handle
3rd left compartment
3/4" dr sockets, ratchet & breakerbar heads, 1/4"dr socket set, "electrical box" DVM, test lights, drills, taps, dies, extractors, seal and bushing drivers,
right front compartment
vaccuum pump, a/c guages, HVAC dye kit, a/c thermometer, temp gun.
bed of the truck
air compressor, porta torch set, grease gun, drain pan, hitch mounted vise

both the toolboxes are secured to the body so they cant move, 3/4" dr sockets are in 4" x18" deep acrobins.

if i was to do it over again, i'd replace the top box with 2 & 3 drawer center boxes for more storage. any heavily loaded toolbox in a service truck isnt going to last long before they start breaking apart at the seams.

Great! What kind of work do you do? I saw the John deere sticker, so Equipment?

Do your boxes sweat?

 

[crewchief888]

Great! What kind of work do you do? I saw the John deere sticker, so Equipment?

Do your boxes sweat?

i've been working on const eq for 25+ years at various dealerships.
bobcat, JD construction/utility, new holland skid steer.
been everything from a lowly shop mechanic, field service, welder, rebuild room, shop supervisor/ lead mechanic and service manager.

the biggest problem i have with "sweat" is in the cold weather, if i pull my truck inside the shop for more than 30 minutes or so, everything starts to thaw. if stuff is wiped down, oil and grease free, it seems to do ok, or if it's covered in oil, same result.

some of the body manufaturers make HD drawer compartments for the bodies. if it was my personal truck thats the route i'd go.

 

[bobcatdan]

My truck is a 2008 F350 with an 8 ft enclosed service body. The body works very good for me. I have a 26" Craftsman top and middle in the front right side. I keep my common used boxed tool in the middle side compartment and used the fold down door as work surface, this is a very nice set-up. I have a the matching bottom box inside the body with the lesser used tools. For me, my truck is a mini parts department, I keep filters, fluid, starters, alternators, batteries, full assortment of hyd fittings and hose. I have to do invetory once a year. Unless you are thinking of putting a crane on the truck, I would recommand the fully enclosed body, it just adds so much storage. One thing, I'm guessing your truck is single rear wheel, the side compartments are pretty shallow, might not be able to put a fullsize chest in the side.

 

[Lt CHEG]

I am wondering who out there in the GJ world has a service truck. I am thinking of getting a service body for my 3/4 ton truck. I would like to see some of the different ways that guys have organized their service boxes and set them up. Pictures would be great.

Thanks

I'd be really careful adding a service body to a 3/4 ton truck. The bodies can be heavy in and of themselves and eat up a lot of your legal payload before you even put anything in them. When you start loading them up you can end up overweight pretty easily. Before I left the engineering field I was in charge of a municipal utility. We had GM trucks and for a few years you couldn't get a 1 ton GM with single rear wheels. So for about 4 years we ended up with some 3/4 ton utility trucks because we could not use dually's. The 3/4 tons loaded up with tools, fittings, etc. took a pretty good beating. The suspension components definitely wore out more quickly than the 1 ton single rear wheel trucks which came before them and after them.

 

[crewchief888]

i'm in the same "situation" as bobcatdan, most of my truck is filled with fluids, filters and parts.
i'e been trying to get our dealership to get rid of the f550 PS service body/crane and get 14'-17' gasser box vans. i think i'm fighting a loosing battle tho, i'm figuring they'll go back to regular vans, even tho the box trucks are about the same price as a cargo van, and much cheaper than a cab & chassis alone.
most of our service trucks are '06 f550, one truck is an '04 f450, and we have one van, all ranging in mileage from 110,000 to 185,000 miles.

of course all the sales trucks are much newer, nicer, and much lower mileage and a couple are 4x4's.

 

[sberry]

I have a full service truck but could almost do without it anymore, my pickup is really jammed though. If I didn't have a flat bed with knuckle boom on it I would probably have a crane on this one.

 

[marslawn]

Thanks guys for the all the input. You guys are real service people!! I finally picked up a Knaphiede service box that was on another chevy truck. My truck is a 1978 Chevy and the gas tanks are on the side so the front two boxes are stepped inside. The boxes are only 12" deep, but it will work for my needs. I tend to do allot of different tasks during the day. Like monday I could be putting a dishwasher in and then later in the day trying to get a Massey Ferguson loader started. So I think I will call me boxes survial boxes

Again thanks for all the Input. I will post some pics when the boxes are on the truck and set.

 

[binkcat16]

my personal truck is a 1979 for f350 camper special with a 1950 hogan body that was my gradpaws when he logged in the 50's its not to pretty but it gets the job done

 

[cundifc]

The great thing about shop trucks are no 2 will ever be set up the same and you can put everything you want in it for what you need. Have fun with it and enjoy. There very handy to have.

 

[sberry]

I went back to my pickup more, the advent of inverter and good battery tools really lighten things up and the older I get the less I need. I still drag out the beast, mostly for heavy air comp or the occasional weld where there is no power but its a pretty rare day anymore and I really could go back to a trailer. When I was in it daily I liked the big truck, could carry 2 of a lot of things and lot of stock where weight was not an issue. Changed work styles over the years too.

 

[littletoes]

They forced me to buy a van....and I hate it.

You have to climb in the durn thing every time you need something. Stock won't stay on the shelves....Told the boss I was going to limit it to carrying Tools only. If I need parts, I'll go for a drive.
Tired of cleaning stuff off the floor.

 

[05CarbonDRZ]

i've been working on const eq for 25+ years at various dealerships.
bobcat, JD construction/utility, new holland skid steer.
been everything from a lowly shop mechanic, field service, welder, rebuild room, shop supervisor/ lead mechanic and service manager.

the biggest problem i have with "sweat" is in the cold weather, if i pull my truck inside the shop for more than 30 minutes or so, everything starts to thaw. if stuff is wiped down, oil and grease free, it seems to do ok, or if it's covered in oil, same result.

some of the body manufaturers make HD drawer compartments for the bodies. if it was my personal truck thats the route i'd go.

Have you tried puttin silica gel packs in each of the drawers to absorb moisture?

 

[tkonetzke]

I never really understood the enclosed service bodies. I guess if you planned to have alot of inventory in hand and didn't plan to haul anything bigger it could be good. I work for a truck equipment company, one of the various things we do is install service bodies. Probably 90 to 95%the are standard non enclosed bodies.

 

[crewchief888]

I never really understood the enclosed service bodies. I guess if you planned to have alot of inventory in hand and didn't plan to haul anything bigger it could be good. I work for a truck equipment company, one of the various things we do is install service bodies. Probably 90 to 95%the are standard non enclosed bodies.

when our company switched from vans to service bodies, they wanted to keep everything out of sight, reasonably dry, and lockable.
we dont have problems with contaminated oil, "trash" stays in the truck where it belongs, air compressor isnt covered with rain and snow. if i move stuff around, i can get 4 mounted 12/16.5 tires in the back with the top closed

edit: our trucks are outside all the time, a lot of dealers and contractors have room to keep vehicles inside overnight at their location, all our service trucks are driven home every day

 

[toolmaker1]

@crewchief888 can we get a picture of the roll up door on the back of your service truck.I have been curious about this style. I was thinking if you had the proper roll up door you could have a crane on the back corner to lift things into the bed and still be able to roll the door down to keep things out of the weather.