# How organized is your work vehicle?



## Admin (Jan 4, 2010)

> An organized electrical van does more than save you valuable time and money. It shows your clients that you’re professional, detail oriented and can get the job done. That’s the image every business wants to convey. By investing a little time and money into organizing your electrical van, you can advertise your skilled demeanor every time you open the doors. *8 Tips for Organizing Your Electrician’s Van*


How organized is your work vehicle?

Do you have any tips on how to *keep* it organized?


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Cricket said:


> Do you have any tips on how to *keep* it organized?


Yes, don't be a slob like most of the lazy bums here :vs_mad:

At the end of the day the last thing I want to do is put everything back in it's place in the van, so I throw it all on the floor. But the next morning I spend 2-10 minutes putting everything back where it goes so that the floor is completely clean. Then I take the stuff I will be using that day and put it on the floor near the door.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

If this is one of those confession threads, let me be the first to say mine is a garbage dump.


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## B-Nabs (Jun 4, 2014)

It's... not. 

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## jw0445 (Oct 9, 2009)

Mine gets cleaned out when I don't have enough room to get the materials in for the next job.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

> *How organized is your work vehicle?*


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## five.five-six (Apr 9, 2013)

About like this:


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

On a good day, the material I need falls out when I open the door.


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## CoolWill (Jan 5, 2019)

Mine's pretty clean considering:


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## The_Modifier (Oct 24, 2009)

Cricket said:


> How organized is your work vehicle?


Define "organized". :vs_laugh:


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## MikeFL (Apr 16, 2016)

I once watched a YouTube video of a graduating state police academy class where the graduates were being assigned their cars. The head honcho was telling them "Now when a citizen looks into that car they expect to see a clean, well organized car for the tax money they paid for it. They don't want to look in there and see your lunch, personal items and trash."


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

MikeFL said:


> I once watched a YouTube video of a graduating state police academy class where the graduates were being assigned their cars. The head honcho was telling them "Now when a citizen looks into that car they expect to see a clean, well organized car for the tax money they paid for it. They don't want to look in there and see your lunch, personal items and trash."


It's even worse in our trade because we are in the customer's house. If you can't take care of your own property and work neatly, why would the customer expect you to do it in their house? When they see a messy van they think you do messy work and you sweep the garbage under the rug.


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## JoeSparky (Mar 25, 2010)

My truck is slightly more trashed then the inside of Mr Rewire's, but yet still upright. I just need a stop sign on the roof


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## CoolWill (Jan 5, 2019)

HackWork said:


> It's even worse in our trade because we are in the customer's house. If you can't take care of your own property and work neatly, why would the customer expect you to do it in their house? When they see a messy van they think you do messy work and you sweep the garbage under the rug.


I was once speaking with a customer about my dirty van. I said something similar to what you said. I was almost apologizing to her about the state my van was in. She said something like: "Nonsense. To me, your messy truck means you're too busy taking care of customers to worry about a little mess in your own space. I want the guy who is busy, not the guy who has so much free time he can wash his van every 5 minutes."

Point is, only anal pricks who you wouldn't want to work for anyway worry about such trivialities.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

CoolWill said:


> I was once speaking with a customer about my dirty van. I said something similar to what you said. I was almost apologizing to her about the state my van was in. She said something like: "Nonsense. To me, your messy truck means you're too busy taking care of customers to worry about a little mess in your own space. I want the guy who is busy, not the guy who has so much free time he can wash his van every 5 minutes."
> 
> Point is, only anal pricks who you wouldn't want to work for anyway worry about such trivialities.


I disagree, I think that lady is the exception not the rule. 

A normal person knows that it takes a few minutes for a serviceman to keep their van and work neat and clean. If they don't have time to keep their own van from looking like a bum ravaged it, what will they think of the way the inside of their panel looks like? 

You can't possibly think that more people would appreciate a messy van than a neat one. A neat, clean, and organized van is not only a benefit to you (so you can actually find what you need) but is part of selling yourself. I always take the garbage off the front seat before pulling up to a customer's house just so that they don't see it, since so many of them end up coming up to the van to admire it.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

My truck is usually a rolling dumpster. It does get treated to a detailing (exterior and front inside) once a year when its at the dealer for service, due soon. I keep my customers homes clean as much of what I do is service. I don't worry about the van that much.


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## CoolWill (Jan 5, 2019)

HackWork said:


> I disagree, I think that lady is the exception not the rule.
> 
> A normal person knows that it takes a few minutes for a serviceman to keep their van and work neat and clean. If they don't have time to keep their own van from looking like a bum ravaged it, what will they think of the way the inside of their panel looks like?


The same way they thought about the inside of their panel before: Nothing.



> You can't possibly think that more people would appreciate a messy van than a neat one. A neat, clean, and organized van is not only a benefit to you (so you can actually find what you need) but is part of selling yourself.


I'm sure most people think the way you're saying when waxing philosophical. But how many times have you had a customer run out to your van to inspect it? I have never had that happen. And any customer that has seen my messy van is still a customer. I had one guy that owns a few restaurants laugh at me once, saying it looked like I rolled my truck on the way over. Still my customer. I guess I'm just lucky to have such unpretentious customers.


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## WronGun (Oct 18, 2013)

OCD organized! 

Inspectors often ask for a tour! 


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## glen1971 (Oct 10, 2012)

My wife says the inside of my truck is a mess because you can't even see the back seat. There's a lot of stuff in it for sure, but I know where everything is, and everything has a place. Somedays there is more of a mess than other days, but it never lasts long.


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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

I personally have times when I'm fairly neatly squared away and times when I am pretty messy but I'm never at either extreme. Neatness and organization is a means to an end. If there's work to be done, and there always is, I will straighten up enough to stay efficient, but I won't be sorting and stacking junk in my trunk until everything's just so. 



Obviously if you let things get past a certain point it gets so it's hard to put your hands on what you need when you need it, that's no way to work. Occasionally when things get particularly messed up, I have to stop and tidy up some just so I can concentrate on what I'm doing. 



One of my customers at a county agency retired from the state police where he was some big deal investigator, he was a real sharp guy. He was fairly neat and tidy type but he told me if someone's desk was REALLY neat, like too neat, watch them! 



I have a customer who has a zero tolerance policy for untidiness. They have fired people more than once for violations like leaving the trash from their burger king lunch in their truck. But don't get the idea that they are just THAT super squared away, so perfect that they didn't tolerate even that slight infraction. Unfortunately nothing could be farther from the truth, they have one of the most incompetent crews I have ever seen, always getting sued, terrible turnover, very seldom get any repeat business - just a total bottomfeeder company - but the vans are neat. 



In the military and the police, keep in mind that for many there are long periods of time where there's nothing to do but wait for something to happen. Making people shine things is a good way to keep them out of trouble and somewhat engaged in the job in those intervals. I haven't had a time when I was waiting for something to happen in decades.


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## JoeSparky (Mar 25, 2010)

splatz said:


> I have a customer who has a zero tolerance policy for untidiness. They have fired people more than once for violations like leaving the trash from their burger king lunch in their truck.


Sounds like a customer that I would fire. If he flies off the handle for something that stupid, it's all downhill from there.


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

JoeSparky said:


> Sounds like a customer that I would fire. If he flies off the handle for something that stupid, it's all downhill from there.


:no::no:


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## TGGT (Oct 28, 2012)

splatz said:


> I personally have times when I'm fairly neatly squared away and times when I am pretty messy but I'm never at either extreme. Neatness and organization is a means to an end. If there's work to be done, and there always is, I will straighten up enough to stay efficient, but I won't be sorting and stacking junk in my trunk until everything's just so.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I am not neat, but I stay organized in my head.

I like to load my cart up with only what I need, but after that it quickly becomes chaos. If I'm not carrying material unrelated to my tasks I don't have to dig as much. And that fact I may switch between tasks so often is why I never get super organized. 

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## splatz (May 23, 2015)

JoeSparky said:


> Sounds like a customer that I would fire. If he flies off the handle for something that stupid, it's all downhill from there.



This is with his own employees, not his vendors / subcontractors, but you're still right, he's hanging by a thread as a customer for other reasons.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

I've found that greatly reducing stock carried greatly increases organization. 



If it doesn't fit in the parts bins I'm not keeping it on the trucks. :laughing:


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## Coppersmith (Aug 11, 2017)

I pay my service truck employees 40 hours regardless of how many hours they actually are doing service work so there is a lot of down time. I don't make them do busy work, but I do require that if they have nothing better to do, they clean and organize the truck, make a shopping list, and go buy material they are low on. 

My personal truck becomes a rolling disaster. I clean and organize it every couple of weeks, usually on a Sunday. It usually takes two or more hours.


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## joe-nwt (Mar 28, 2019)

The say there is a correlation between untidiness and genius.

I appear to be one of the smartest contractors out there......:wink:


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## Speedy Petey (Jan 10, 2007)

I consider my van my office, so......


*"If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?" 
- Albert Einstein
*


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## LibertyRising (Jan 2, 2018)

Personally I’m quite a bit untidy, but the hired help is responsible for keeping the vans organized. Every morning trash out, scrap wire in the bin, quick organize of tools and unused materials from previous day. 10 minutes tops. 

It wasn’t planned this way in the beginning, but found that it was really nice but Monday mornings I never schedule work until around 10:00 and that gives time for all the trucks to be washed, a thorough interior cleaning, and a quick inventory of truck stock stuff that needs to be replenished. Check oil, tire pressure, etc. trucks are assets that we do well to take care of.

2 hours fly by and the trucks look great all week. For me it gives me time in the office and not be rushing out first thing Monday, and it is a bit of an ease from weekend to the work week. Guys are working 10-11 hour days lately so I think it helps moral a bit.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

I was always OCD about what I worked out of as for interior organization. 

Make sit easier of you send someone out to get something if you can explain exactly where it is and also if you are going yourself when you don't feel like screwing around and wasting anytime.

Now as for washing the outside.....I was far from OCD!


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## Rfreddy (Jan 20, 2019)

WronGun said:


> OCD organized!
> 
> Inspectors often ask for a tour!
> 
> ...




I’m in the process of reorganizing our vans. 
Generally I’m pretty organized and tidy with my van and in clients homes. 
Still, things can get a bit messy in the van at times. 
It needs to be easy to find things AND keep clean, otherwise they guys won’t do it. 
How do you track van inventory and restocking?
Any tips or suggestions to set up ones van in the best way would be appreciated.


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## varmit (Apr 19, 2009)

I usually only do industrial service work. i receive a lot of " The sky is falling come now" work, so my truck has a lot of the materials and tools that i normally need. It looks like a disaster inside, but I know what I have and where it is. Sometimes it does require a little digging though. 

The worst hassle is storing wire. I keep the standard colors of 16 to 10 on the truck. So that is about 25 rolls of THHN plus some instrument cable and SO cord. I have tried multiple arraignments and nothing really works well, so i gave up and throw it in a pile in the floor.

Yes, I know that a person could drive a semi around and not have everything, but I like to show up and be able to accomplish something.


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## catsparky1 (Sep 24, 2013)

My truck gets detailed 4 times a year , washed once a week . Everything has a place and a home . Then we get busy and it becomes a mess so once a month it gets the go over and put stuff back in it's place and home . Repeat process until death .


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## Yianni (Jun 1, 2019)

joe-nwt said:


> The say there is a correlation between untidiness and genius.
> 
> I appear to be one of the smartest contractors out there......:wink:


:vs_laugh:


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## Zog (Apr 15, 2009)

Pretty organized


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## CoolWill (Jan 5, 2019)

Zog said:


> Pretty organized



All that just to gob a piece of MC on the wall for the light switches.:vs_whistle:


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

Zog said:


> Pretty organized



If only we could all be as great.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

MTW said:


> If only we could all be as great.


I'm sure Jesus is glad that you took time out of your day to make this negative post instead of doing something productive and in his image.


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## MTW (Aug 28, 2013)

HackWork said:


> I'm sure Jesus is glad that you took time out of your day to make this negative post instead of doing something productive and in his image.


Instead, you you ought to be concerned that you're still dead and lost in your sin.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

varmit said:


> I usually only do industrial service work. i receive a lot of " The sky is falling come now" work, so my truck has a lot of the materials and tools that i normally need. It looks like a disaster inside, but I know what I have and where it is. Sometimes it does require a little digging though.
> 
> The worst hassle is storing wire. I keep the standard colors of 16 to 10 on the truck. So that is about 25 rolls of THHN plus some instrument cable and SO cord. I have tried multiple arraignments and nothing really works well, so i gave up and throw it in a pile in the floor.
> 
> Yes, I know that a person could drive a semi around and not have everything, but I like to show up and be able to accomplish something.


We screwed up and cleaned the van a few weeks ago. 110 miles from home and the controller we needed is now neatly stacked in the storage shed. 

Nothing like a 12hr day where you work 5 minutes and spend the rest of the day driving.


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## JoeSparky (Mar 25, 2010)

gpop said:


> We screwed up and cleaned the van a few weeks ago. 110 miles from home and the controller we needed is now neatly stacked in the storage shed.
> 
> Nothing like a 12hr day where you work 5 minutes and spend the rest of the day driving.



Good thing my van is a $hithole :vs_laugh:


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

This electrician knows how to organize a van.


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## Coppersmith (Aug 11, 2017)

LawnGuyLandSparky said:


> This electrician knows how to organize a van.


Fancy, but way too small. I couldn't fit half the stuff I carry in my truck.

Everytime you find you are missing something you need and have to run to the store, you are losing money.


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## LGLS (Nov 10, 2007)

Coppersmith said:


> Fancy, but way too small. I couldn't fit half the stuff I carry in my truck.
> 
> Everytime you find you are missing something you need and have to run to the store, you are losing money.



It depends on the type of work you do. Hauling a supply house on wheels everywhere you go is also a money loser.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

LawnGuyLandSparky said:


> It depends on the type of work you do. Hauling a supply house on wheels everywhere you go is also a money loser.


Agreed. I make more money when I have to go out to the supply house. It’s the same as up selling more work on the job.


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

i want to get rid of my van and get a 4 door pick-up. Then i can remove the rear seats and make that a storage area for the expensive stuff and the cheap stuff can go in the rear. 

I average 400 miles a week and the van is a pain in the arse to drive in high wind. I figure a F150/250 with a pull out storage slide and a canopy on the rear will give me just about the same amount of storage as the current van does plus it will save me crawling on my knees to get to the shelf's inside.
Now the company figures that a taller van that i can stand in would be a better option but there not the ones that have to drive it. They also don't want us pulling the enclosed trailer with the van but there fine with us using a pick-up as a tow vehicle.


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## Wirenuting (Sep 12, 2010)

JoeSparky said:


> My truck is slightly more trashed then the inside of Mr Rewire's, but yet still upright. I just need a stop sign on the roof


I was thinking the same thing and couldn't find that picture.


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## Coppersmith (Aug 11, 2017)

gpop said:


> i want to get rid of my van and get a 4 door pick-up. Then i can remove the rear seats and make that a storage area for the expensive stuff and the cheap stuff can go in the rear.
> 
> I average 400 miles a week and the van is a pain in the arse to drive in high wind. I figure a F150/250 with a pull out storage slide and a canopy on the rear will give me just about the same amount of storage as the current van does plus it will save me crawling on my knees to get to the shelf's inside.
> Now the company figures that a taller van that i can stand in would be a better option but there not the ones that have to drive it. They also don't want us pulling the enclosed trailer with the van but there fine with us using a pick-up as a tow vehicle.


Like this? Don't make the same mistakes I did. F150 is not heavy duty enough to hold all the weight. I run overweight which is not very safe and have to keep the tranny out of overdrive to keep from shredding it. The bed slider comes out 70% which is a pain because it's hard to reach the stuff in the back without pulling stuff out that's in front of it. Get a 100% slider. They are more expensive. The rear doors fold flat against the truck.

The topper is a dream though. No crawling inside a truck to find stuff. The bin side is 24" deep with 24" bins. The tool side is 12" deep. Because of the weight and space limitations, I only carry about 70% of the stuff I carry in my E250 van.


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## zac (May 11, 2009)

Coppersmith said:


> Like this? Don't make the same mistakes I did. F150 is not heavy duty enough to hold all the weight. I run overweight which is not very safe and have to keep the tranny out of overdrive to keep from shredding it. The bed slider comes out 70% which is a pain because it's hard to reach the stuff in the back without pulling stuff out that's in front of it. Get a 100% slider. They are more expensive. The rear doors fold flat against the truck.
> 
> 
> 
> The topper is a dream though. No crawling inside a truck to find stuff. The bin side is 24" deep with 24" bins. The tool side is 12" deep. Because of the weight and space limitations, I only carry about 70% of the stuff I carry in my E250 van.


What's up with the rake? 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


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## gpop (May 14, 2018)

sounds like i need a f250 then


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## Coppersmith (Aug 11, 2017)

zac said:


> What's up with the rake?


It's the last tool you use when closing up a trench.

There's also a trenching shovel, post hole digger, three hand benders, a broom and dustpan, various pieces of firring and 2x4, a wire spinner, and all the short pieces of conduit in there.


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

You couldn't pay me enough to run a pickup with a cap for a full time service truck. Regular roof vans are bad enough with side door access and more height, let alone having to crawl from back to front with a topper. A utility body would is significantly better.

My van is actually in pretty good shape right now. I have some refining to do, but ever since I stopped carrying so much inventory and only use the shelves it's way better. We don't do residential service work, so I don't need all the random devices and plates I used to carry. Now I just plan ahead and get the stuff out of my shop or from the supply house on the way to the job, or order the stuff to be delivered. It's been working pretty well so far. I keep enough boxes and such to get me out of a bind if I forget to order something or run a little short, and have enough emt connectors and such to not have to buy those all the time. We inventory a pretty fair amount of stuff in the shop, so I just restock as needed, and then order another case of whatever when we get low. My truck basically now has my tools, power tools, a couple benders, hardware, fittings, and wire. Realistically if it wasn't for the ground clearance and traction issues for a few of our big customers I could fit everything into a baby van.


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## zac (May 11, 2009)

Coppersmith said:


> It's the last tool you use when closing up a trench.
> 
> There's also a trenching shovel, post hole digger, three hand benders, a broom and dustpan, various pieces of firring and 2x4, a wire spinner, and all the short pieces of conduit in there.


Yeah it's cleaner then using a flat nosed shovel. You must do a lot of trenching to carry it around. That's the thing about our trade it deals with all phases of construction. 

I need to get me some of those pvc benders . 

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## JoeSparky (Mar 25, 2010)

Wirenuting said:


> I was thinking the same thing and couldn't find that picture.


Ask and you shall receive :biggrin:


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

JoeSparky said:


> Ask and you shall receive :biggrin:


Now now, don't let this thread get off in the weeds...


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## JoeSparky (Mar 25, 2010)

Going_Commando said:


> Now now, don't let this thread get off in the weeds...



What is this Mike Holt's forums? Every thread here is derailed sooner or later. Happy to help


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## Coppersmith (Aug 11, 2017)

Going_Commando said:


> You couldn't pay me enough to run a pickup with a cap for a full time service truck. Regular roof vans are bad enough with side door access and more height, let alone having to crawl from back to front with a topper. A utility body would is significantly better.


I guess you missed the bed slider. There is no crawling into the truck bed.


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## sparkiez (Aug 1, 2015)

I work out of it. Every couple jobs, where I feel I need to I spend a few hours clearing it up, getting spare stuff I don't need into the shop, etc and loading up for the next one. It isn't organized, but I do periodically declutter it to make room for the next mess.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

sparkiez said:


> I work out of it. Every couple jobs, where I feel I need to *I spend a few hours clearing it up*, getting spare stuff I don't need into the shop, etc and loading up for the next one. It isn't organized, but I do periodically declutter it to make room for the next mess.


If it takes you *a few hours* to clean up your truck, you are doing something very, very, very wrong. 

It takes a few minutes every morning to clean out the garbage, the spare stuff you don't need, AND get the stuff you will need for that day ready.

And by doing that, you end up saving that time later in the day because everything is ready to go and you can find what you need easily without digging.


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## CoolWill (Jan 5, 2019)

HackWork said:


> If it takes you *a few hours* to clean up your truck, you are doing something very, very, very wrong.
> 
> It takes a few minutes every morning to clean out the garbage, the spare stuff you don't need, AND get the stuff you will need for that day ready.
> 
> And by doing that, you end up saving that time later in the day because everything is ready to go and you can find what you need easily without digging.


But lazy bastards like me don't want to get up one minute before we have to. Roll out of bed, splash some water on my face, brush my teeth and drive. Spending 15 minutes cleaning a truck at the crack of dawn kills the whole day:vs_laugh:


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

CoolWill said:


> But lazy bastards like me don't want to get up one minute before we have to. Roll out of bed, splash some water on my face, brush my teeth and drive. Spending 15 minutes cleaning a truck at the crack of dawn kills the whole day:vs_laugh:


Funny, I was just thinking to myself "_If these lazy bums can't spend 5-10 minutes cleaning up the truck in the morning, do they even brush their teeth or wash their face??_" :vs_laugh:

I'm a lazy bum myself, like REALLY lazy. But I spend the little bit of time organizing the truck in order to make life easier.


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## zac (May 11, 2009)

We're all wired differently. I have to do the same thing weekly. So you're the one that's got the problem Hacks.... you ocdeeeing guy you

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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

zac said:


> We're all wired differently. I have to do the same thing weekly. So you're the one that's got the problem Hacks.... you ocdeeeing guy you


I fail to see how doing something often is made easier by keeping your tools and material messy and unorganized. You can have your stuff neat and organized and still ready to go for frequent use.

My posts are about the vans with the pile of "stuff" taking up to entire floor space, making it so that you have to dig what you need out from under many other things.


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## sparkiez (Aug 1, 2015)

zac said:


> We're all wired differently. I have to do the same thing weekly. So you're the one that's got the problem Hacks.... you ocdeeeing guy you
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk



Here is just butthurt man. He is following me around on my posts talking that chit for whatever reason.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

sparkiez said:


> Here is just butthurt man. He is following me around on my posts talking that chit for whatever reason.


 Follow you around? I was saying the same thing in this thread long before you ever posted in it. Stop thinking you’re special :vs_laugh:


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## Coppersmith (Aug 11, 2017)

HackWork said:


> If it takes you *a few hours* to clean up your truck, you are doing something very, very, very wrong.


The way it should go when you finish a service call: You put all the extra material back where it belongs and add the few minutes it takes to the job cost.

The way it actually goes: You toss all the excess material into a bucket and every few weeks spend a few unpaid hours sorting it all out the bucket(s).

The way it should go when you buy material for inventory: You immediately put all the material away where it belongs.

The way it actually goes: You toss all the new material (still in its bags) into the back of the truck or onto the passenger seat and every few weeks spend a few unpaid hours sorting it all out and putting it away.


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## HackWork (Oct 2, 2009)

Coppersmith said:


> The way it should go when you finish a service call: You put all the extra material back where it belongs and add the few minutes it takes to the job cost.
> 
> The way it actually goes: You toss all the excess material into a bucket and every few weeks spend a few unpaid hours sorting it all out the bucket(s).
> 
> ...


There is middle ground.

I understand that when someone is done with each and every job that they don't want to put stuff back. I also understand that they don't want to do it at the end of the day.

But they can do it in the morning, along with getting what they will need for the day off of the shelves and ready to go. 5 minutes on average.


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## Mack Fisher (May 27, 2019)

*Clean van*

A while back I had a job at a fire department after checking and I was invited to pull my van into the engine bay.
Firefighters were cleaning their ambulance, as I greeted them I said jokingly if you have time my van is filthy could you clean for me please. When I came out of the basement where I was working to get tools I found a clean van. 
That’s a great customer, though I was embarrassed and on the way back from lunch stopped at the grocery store and bought a gallon of ice cream as a thank you.


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## flyboy (Jun 13, 2011)

Mack Fisher said:


> A while back I had a job at a fire department after checking and I was invited to pull my van into the engine bay.
> Firefighters were cleaning their ambulance, as I greeted them I said jokingly if you have time my van is filthy could you clean for me please. When I came out of the basement where I was working to get tools I found a clean van.
> That’s a great customer, though I was embarrassed and on the way back from lunch stopped at the grocery store and bought a gallon of ice cream as a thank you.


What no cannolis?! :biggrin:


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## Coppersmith (Aug 11, 2017)

Mack Fisher said:


> bought a gallon of ice cream as a thank you.


No chocolate sauce?
No whipped cream?
No strawberries?

Talk about a cheap gift. :smile:


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## Simpson Electric (May 22, 2012)

I usually have a clean, organized van. If the doors are open the customer/inspector/contractor always comments on it. I think it really sells you if you want to be the kind of contractor that people really respect and hire for high end work. It’s also a good distraction for the picky inspector who notices every detail. I’ve passed multiple inspections just due to neatness. I think it really says a lot.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

Even my loaner vehicle is a rolling mess after a couple of days. I still get people calling who I've taken care in the past who want what I have to offer as far as confidence in what I do. That said, if you have the drive to keep it all clean and organized, don't be me, be better than I am. Nothing wrong with that. I'm the boss and can take the good and bad with that title.


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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

Just cleaned up the pickup box. 













I try and tidy up whichever truck I ran that day when I get back at night, that way I'm ready to go in the AM or if I get called out I know everything is where it should be and I can just get in and go.


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## Coppersmith (Aug 11, 2017)

Jlarson said:


> I try and tidy up whichever truck I ran that day when I get back at night, that way I'm ready to go in the AM or if I get called out I know everything is where it should be and I can just get in and go.


That looks to be about 1/20th of what I carry in my truck. Your market segment must be very different.


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## zac (May 11, 2009)

Coppersmith said:


> That looks to be about 1/20th of what I carry in my truck. Your market segment must be very different.


Yeah he's not a trench grader or fence builder. 

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## Jlarson (Jun 28, 2009)

Yeah we're an industrial/utility contractor, mostly water and wastewater treatment. I don't stock much of anything, if we did we'd have trailers like Zog's just full of parts. 



I drive my pickup mostly for job walks, troubleshooting calls and going to calibrate an instrument or make a PLC change or something, keep my hand tools, meters and some basic stuff, sta-kons, wire connectors some misc. hardware and fittings, chemicals and rags for cleaning the always present crud. I have my 1 ton welding/mechanics rig too with more stuff, wire, cable, more fittings and hardware. 



Guys are the same way, mostly running trouble calls, pick up orders for projects.


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## Mack Fisher (May 27, 2019)

I mostly retired but occasionally help out a buddy his truck starts out neat and organized but as the workday progresses he throws his tools and materials from the job site into the vehicle. The next day the work takes twice as long because he can’t find anything. It drives me nuts because it’s my belief that the customer should pay me for putting my tools and materials away properly as that’s the way they were when I came to his job site. I always liked working alone especially now that I’m a crabby old man.


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## Easy (Oct 18, 2017)

I usually don't carry a large amount of materials but I keep what I have in my truck organized for the simple fact that it saves time. Same goes for tools.
I have a friend who is a plumber. Everything is just pilled into his truck. When he arrives at a job site he simply dumps everything out on the ground and sorts threw it to find what he needs. It's sad to hear the customer make fun of him behind his back. On time he was searching for something in his junk pile and found an un-cashed check from a job he had done 6 moths ago.


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## Easy (Oct 18, 2017)

HackWork said:


> Agreed. I make more money when I have to go out to the supply house. It’s the same as up selling more work on the job.


Not having the parts I need and having to go to the supply house works great for me because it gives me a chance to take a break and maybe get a cup of coffee.


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## paulengr (Oct 8, 2017)

Mack Fisher said:


> I mostly retired but occasionally help out a buddy his truck starts out neat and organized but as the workday progresses he throws his tools and materials from the job site into the vehicle. The next day the work takes twice as long because he can’t find anything. It drives me nuts because it’s my belief that the customer should pay me for putting my tools and materials away properly as that’s the way they were when I came to his job site. I always liked working alone especially now that I’m a crabby old man.




This is what I MOSTLY do. Then there are the days I’m on the plant site until 10 PM and I got a 3 hour ride home. Then as long as it’s back on the truck it doesn’t matter where it goes. Works OK the next day and usually a put some stuff away. But day after day of this with no breaks and the truck goes downhill quick. Then it takes 2 or 3 hours to get everything back to where it belongs.


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## Awg-Dawg (Jan 23, 2007)

paulengr said:


> This is what I MOSTLY do. Then there are the days I’m on the plant site until 10 PM and I got a 3 hour ride home. Then as long as it’s back on the truck it doesn’t matter where it goes. Works OK the next day and usually a put some stuff away. But day after day of this with no breaks and the truck goes downhill quick. Then it takes 2 or 3 hours to get everything back to where it belongs.


 That’s me sometimes. 

After a long day, I just throw them in the van and let gravity sort them out.


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## Going_Commando (Oct 1, 2011)

Mine's a ****hole from working late on Thursday and getting called out early on Friday. I'll deal with it on Monday maybe. It's funny how 20 minutes of load up after a long day turns into at least an hour putting everything back where it belongs.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

I’ll get around to it.


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## 99cents (Aug 20, 2012)

nrp3 said:


> I’ll get around to it.


I’ll get around to it today (maybe).

Winter comes next week.


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## nrp3 (Jan 24, 2009)

Still haven't had the lift put on or the extra shelving, but I'll get to that too...


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## zac (May 11, 2009)

Fritz Semos said:


> Yes, it's a good idea.


Your almost to 10!

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## Switched (Dec 23, 2012)

zac said:


> Your almost to 10!
> 
> Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


I see.


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