Hi folks, first post here but I've been reading quite a bit the last few days. I used the word vehicle because honestly I don't really care at this point in my life what I drive, be it a car, truck, van, or whatever. The only caveat is that I work in construction and regularly have to carry a scaffold from job to job.
I don't have too much in the terms of regular payload, maybe 600 to 750 pounds including myself, but the scaffold takes up quite a bit of room. We use what's commonly known as a bakers scaffold, and taken apart roughly make a 6 feet long, 32 inch wide, 8 inch tall box (to make it easy to visualize).
Anyone have ideas on vehicles that might fit my needs while keeping the cost of getting to work minimal? I've been considering a ranger or similar small truck since I have a full size truck for larger projects that it can't handle.
My full size is a 93 F250 diesel that I usually get 15-17 mpg out of, although I admit after reading here and other places for the last few days I'm sure I could increase that a bit... Driving that truck wasn't too bad when we were always working in town but we've been doing a lot of work up to 75 miles one way the last year or so. The out of town jobs don't seem to be slowing down and I've decided that a dedicated work vehicle could pay itself off so I am in the market.
I've considered little trucks, minivans, wagons (I'd love to know if my scaffold would fit into a Jetta wagon) and even regular cars with a custom roof rack. lol I know anything on the roof would kill aerodynamics, but usually we are at a job for at least 2-3 days straight so it wouldn't be there every trip...
Anyway, great site you folks have here, and regardless of what I end up doing I'm sure with the info here I'll be able to keep some of the cash in my wallet while I'm on my way to earn some more.
