Post a Review on Your Service Vehicles... Past and Present

All the service vehicles I have used for locksmithing:

  1. 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit. I folded the back seat up and had all my tools and stock where the back seats and trunk were. Pros: Cheap. It's what I had at the time. Good on gas. Cons: Looked unprofessional. No space inside to work. Unreliable vehicle.

  1. 1986 GMC 2500 Cargo Van. I didn't have shelving at first, so all my tools were scattered on the floor. After a few years I finally bought Adrian Steel shelves and wished I had done that years earlier. I loved that truck. I put 2 extra leafs in each side of the rear and it held up to the weight. Pros: Space was ample. Looked professional. Cons: Couldn't get into underground parking garages due to height. Got into a few accidents. Couldn't see well backing up. Broke down a few times. Not tall enough to stand up in.

  2. 198? Ford Full Size Cargo Van. This was an employer's vehicle. It was okay. I didn't like the way it was laid out because I had to get out of the vehicle to get to the back side. Pros: Held a lot of weight. Could jump curbs to do U-turns (lots of ground clearance). Looked professional. Cons: No underground access due to height. Gas guzzler. Didn't like the interior layout. Not tall enough to stand up in.

  1. 198? Dodge Full Size Cargo Van This was an employer's vehicle. No shelves, except for some stock and the key machine. Pros: Looked somewhat professional. Cons: Tools, parts, stock, keys and everything was scattered all over the floor as it was a shared vehicle. Nobody really cared what shape they left the vehicle in for the next guy. Stock and keys were hard to find, if there was any left after the last guy. Big air gaps in the door seals. Propane powered was crappy to fill, especially in 40 below weather. Not tall enough to stand up in.

  2. 19?? Grumman? Used Postal Vehicle. Another employer's vehicle. Pros: Could stand up in it without breaking my back. Lots of room. Cons: Propane powered. Hard to fill in 40 below weather. Took about 3 minutes to get it up to 60 miles per hour (no joke). No stock, tools, keys.

  1. 1996 GMC Safari Used this in the city for several years. I put the Adrian shelves in the back. Pros: Could easily get into underground parking garages. Looked very professional. Fair on gas. Cons: It sagged with the weight. Blew a tire on the expressway due to factory crappy tires and the weight, resulting in a collision at about

80 miles per hour. Many, many accidents. Handled poorly. Not much space inside. Had to get out of the vehicle to get to the back section. The floor was always covered with boxes, tools, etc. because of lack of interior space. Not tall enough to stand up in.

  1. 19?? unknown body Box Van (delivery truck style). This was another employer's vehicle. Used this for about a month before it broke down. I loved the sliding doors on the sides and between the cab and cargo. Pros: Looked professional. Could stand up in it comfortably. Was fun to drive, especially with the doors open. It held a lot of stock, tools, etc. Cons: Very, very ugly. Very, very loud when driving. No air conditioning.

  2. 199? Dodge Full Size Van. This was another employer's vehicle. I hated the interior layout of this as well because I had to get out of the vehicle to access the back. Pros: Held sufficent stock, tools, etc. Looked professional. Fair on gas. Cons: Felt "light duty" compared to the Ford and GMC Full-Sized vans. Even felt light duty compared to the GMC Safari. Very unreliable vehicle. Not tall enough to stand up in.

  1. 2003 Ford E350 Full Size Van. This was another employer's vehicle. I laid out the interior. It was sweet. I had the keying bench on a sliding rail that could slide into the shelving to save on space. Pros: Very reliable. Very professional looking. Tall enough to hop curbs again. Plenty of space inside. Cons: Gas guzzler. Not tall enough to stand up in.

  2. 2004 Chevy Aveo. Yes, starting out on my own again at zero. Can't wait for a real vehicle. Pros: Good on gas. Cheap vehicle. Cons: Looks very unprofessional. No room inside to work, or for machinery, stock, etc.

My next vehicle... hmmm... I'm looking at vehicles I can stand up in. My back is getting old. I liked the full size box trucks for that.

Anybody ever own a Reading 72" tall van body?

Anybody ever own a big box truck?

Anybody ever own a van with an extended ceiling?

Reply to
MonkeyWithATypewriter.com
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"MonkeyWithATypewriter.com" snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...

7 Astro Vans (ok) 1 Dodge Ram (mini van) too weak. 1 GMC 1500 Savanna (lemon) 1 Chevy 3/4 Ton Express (best to date)

g'day

Reply to
"Key

gruman Olson apply? a step van? its bigger tho...78" inside.. 15 feet behind the seat and about

7 feet wide inside..

pros? ROOM..

cons? SIZE.. weighed 5 tons.. (aluminum body) gas milage? never mind-you dont want to go there.. cost of repairs? my particular chassie is a VERY high $ repair item.. and parts are very far away.. (Mercedes-diesel) air brakes, 0-60 in about 2 miles, BUT.. you get the best milage at that speed anyway.. sometimes hard to start COLD weather.. and right now, fuel would be a serious problem..$ wise

the Chevy chassie vans can be had cheap usually.. but, FWIK, they get worse milage than mine did.. I was getting 16.. --Shiva--

Reply to
--Shiva--

A step van is kinda what I'm looking for next. 15 feet is too much for me I think. I was thinking 8 to 12.

Reply to
MonkeyWithATypewriter.com

12's are, at least in my neighborhood, hard to find.. 15's and up are available.. the 'potato chip' trucks are sometimes 18' this is BEHIND the seat to the back.. overall can be 24 feet..

--Shiva--

Reply to
--Shiva--

I remember my first service vehicle was a four door Chevy Chevette. Very dependable vehicle, and standard shift. I had a battery and a Redi LIne generator on the back floor. Key machine, pinset, couple boxes of tools. I did a lot of good work out of that vehicle. Though it was rough to rekey in the rain.

Dodge van, half ton model, 6 cylinder. This one was getting a bit tired, though it did run about 13 MPG. Best thing I did was put in a hand choke. Dodge vans are useless in the winter, too front heavy. Enough room to sit in the back. Bitter cold in the winter. Very noisy to drive, no sound deadening. The magnet signs did get me some work, now and again. Also makes it easier to park in front of stores and malls.

Dodge van, one ton, 8 cylinder. This one also ran about 12 or so MPG, which wasn't too bad. Moved the work bench and key rack from the first van. Put down a wood floor, which helped with the cold. Very noisy to drive. No AC, cooks in the summer. Friend of mine put a trailer hitch on it, which was really nice. Used it to haul equipment, tow cars on a tow dolly, and some of that.

Dodge van, one ton, 8 cylinder. This used to be a phone company van. Run 7 to 8 MPG, really kills me for gas. I finally put in a hand choke pull off, and that helps some. I got 4 MPG at one point. Front heavy. Doesn't want to start. Carb model. Takes six seconds to get the gas up from the fuel tank. Came with a trailer hitch ball, which was nice. I was out on a master key job in the bitter cold of this winter. The heater blower blows air, but cool air. Doesn't really heat. I bought a 3,000 BTU propane heater off Ebay, and used that in the back of the van while rekeying. Used a piece of wire to hang the heater from the ceiling beam, and that really made a major difference when working in the back in winter. Shoulda bought that heater a couple vehicles ago.

Chevy S-10 Blazer. Drive that for lockouts, and simple rekeys when I know it's KW or Sch. Gets about 20 MPG, and more comfortable.

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

If you want to buy a new one, check out:

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Some things to consider about these, At 25 MPG, this goes a long way to make your car payment. The tall roof model a person 6' 1" tall can stand up, the short roof will fit in most parking garages.

The Mercedes 5 cyl turbo might be a little slow between the traffic lights when compared to a large V-8 but I have the older version of this engine in my car and it is approaching 300k miles with no signs of quitting.

The engine has a 100k warrantee and is designed for extended service intervals. You can have the van fully loaded and still tow a safe trailer.

Did I mention 25MPG?

Reply to
Roger Shoaf

Do you have one? If so, what kind of weight do you have in it?

Isn't it kinda gutless? I mean, we all know what kind of weight our vehicles haul.

I did look into these. They are a nice option, but as soon as I saw the 5 cylinder part I kind of said "no" in my head.

Reply to
MonkeyWithATypewriter.com

I never thought about tree limbs. Good point.

Reply to
MonkeyWithATypewriter.com

Anybody have a pickup with a gemtop or anything? Any good?

Reply to
MonkeyWithATypewriter.com

I don't have one but I have a simular engine in my 300SD.

Sure it is kind of gutless, but it is turbo charged. A six cylinder gas engine is gutless also. If you get the 3500, it has a payload of up top

4824 lbs.

It is a turbo charged diesel engine. It has 243 ft.lbs of torque and a 5 speed automatic transmission. Ford's big V8 has 255 ft.lbs of torque and a

4 speed automatic transmission. A semi truck has a 6 cylinder turbo charged diesel engine and those suckers can run 70 MPH with a total weight of 80.000 lbs on flat ground all day long and not complain a bit.

Did I say they get 25 MPG? If you run 20,000 miles a year you burn 800 gallons of fuel for the year. If you get 10 MPG, you burn 2000 gallons of gas to run the same number of service calls.

If you drive in city traffic, you will not get to 30 MPH as fast as a gas powered truck, but you will get to 30 MPH just a few seconds slower.

If you run a lot on the freeway you will get to 60 MPH a few seconds slower than a gas powered V8 van.

You will more than make up this time when the other truck is buying gas.

Reply to
Roger Shoaf

The web site says they have 158 HP. I think my Chevy Astro had 191 or something when I had it. So, I guess it's 3/4 the power of an Astro. My Astro did fine for my needs, except for the suspension.

Reply to
MonkeyWithATypewriter.com

Why don't you go to a dealer and test drive one. HP is only part of the equation. Torque and gears also play a big factor. Also at about half the fuel consumption of a Ford or Chevy with a V8 that is a strong reason to consider them even if they are a little less quick.

When I was an apprentice (1977) we had VW buses for service trucks. 4 cyl. stick shifts. The Sprinter has 5 cyl and a turbo charger and a 5 speed automatic.

Reply to
Roger Shoaf

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