I am looking for a used service truck or van. Consideration is roof ladder
 

I am what is called a Low voltage/Data com technician. I can go to a site, tear down the network, replace the 6.5 foot call rack 1 inches wide. Inside of truck can contain 2-3 boxes of network cable boxes and stock.

I have looked at used vans...every one in the 2000's is v6 and do not need that pulling power or less then desirable fuel economy. 4 cylinder would be fine. A truck has more options to create a canopy that can cuve to a wedge, if needed. Has anyone had more luck making a truck more fuel efficient then a van? I would like to some how put the six foot ladder in the truck. Make a cheap duel deck rack and slide ladder under neath deck and have stock and supplies on top of deck. Something lighter then plywood would work. Keep cost of van down so it would be a 2000 van or truck

I was in a similar situation as you when I signed up here. I happen to install acoustical drop ceilings so I'm quite familiar with you data cable installers. :p

Regarding your question, yes, it is possible to make a truck more economical than a van, but it depends on which truck and van we are discussing. I'd say with 99% certainty that you don't need a truck for your job.

Assuming you work solo and this is a work only vehicle, I would be looking at hatchbacks or the smaller station wagon type vehicles. With very little ingenuity, a 6 ft ladder and your stock (unless you keep a lot more on hand than they guys around here) will safely fit inside a whole lot of vehicles, where my scaffold was a bit more of a challenge.

If you have a helper at times or you just can't see fitting your stock inside a car/suv, move up to a minivan search and just remove the rear seats. You'll be better off economically than any full size truck.

downside with vans, almost all are v6 engines
 

I personally like vans. But if the item is really large, then they can fit in the back of a truck. A Van can work but...I would love to see a boat tail and I would suspect the amount of work to make that happen, would be easier with a truck. BTW, do most trucks have side bed outside sidewalls that can be removed? Fitting a fiberglass mold where the outside bed walls are formed to form a boat tail would dramatically decrease drag.

If you are set on a truck, it's research time. I would start with a list like this chart, or this that will tell you if your ladder will fit inside the bed of a certain truck in a certain configuration. Then head over to fuelly or truedelta to get an idea of what kind of realistic MPGs to expect. Keep in mind just because a particular truck gets good mileage, the MPG can drastically change between year models, not to mention different configurations.

If you want to see what a particular truck can achieve, ecomodder has a list of vehicles that members drive. There is a truck section, by gas and diesel, about halfway down the page. You can also visit Fuel Economy which can be useful for comparing vehicles according to EPA estimates, but take those with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Finally, visit this thread by aerohead and this thread by bamzippow for ideas and inspiration.


Good Luck! :thumbup:

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