what van to buy?

[victorylocksmith]

well guys, im yet again self employed and have some money save up. what van should i look into buying? realistically i want to be doing light-medium commercial work, with mostly residential as my focus. would love to carry my fair share of inventory and looking to break into the access control/cctv market. i have about 10k i can get my hands on to buy a van.

personally, i am looking to either go big and get the Nissan NV series but i am very worried about the gas consumption. the idea has crossed my mind to go tiny but i used to drive a tiny transit while doing HVAC and there is barely any room to even slide in the back with any type of storage racks and a work bench. any suggestion would be nice.

ive been looking at buying used work vans but they all have a crapload of miles on them already and are for sale at around 22k which doesnt really make sense. the key machines themselves are worth quite a bit but i already have key machines and am not looking to have to fix up a beater van or rip everything out and put it into a new van. i suppose, i am asking a bit much because i understand that realistically most locksmiths just are not willing to part with their vehicles at a cheap price or low mileage because there is quite a bit of money still left to be made.

[MatrixBlackRock]

personally, i am looking to either go big and get the Nissan NV series but i am very worried about the gas consumption. the idea has crossed my mind to go tiny but i used to drive a tiny transit while doing HVAC and there is barely any room to even slide in the back with any type of storage racks and a work bench. any suggestion would be nice.

You have a number of considerations to ponder.

The volume of the cargo you wish to carry and it's weight. A properly or slightly under-loaded full size van will in many cases get equal to or better gas mileage then an overloaded econo-van and the drive train will last longer too.

Cooling and electrical, generally speaking full size vans have more robust cooling systems and alternators that can provide a higher level of amperage at idle, which is important if you are considering using the vehicle as a mobile shop versus a mobile warehouse.

Inside height, if you are more than 4 foot tall and want to use the van as a mobile shop then you need space to work without being hunched over or crawling through.

As for new or used, I cannot recommend buying a used work van unless you know it's history, too many work vans are assigned to drivers who are non-owners and are driven into the ground, another problem with used work vans is hidden mileage resulting from long hours of idling.

Wayne

[Sinifar]

Your choice. A lot of trucks out there, but which one will make a good work truck? What are you looking for exactly in a work truck? There is no simple answer. Everyone needs to find a way to fill their own needs.

Nissan has problems. The NV van has a small heater, and steel wheels with passenger car tires. Find Eric Peters Autos review on this unit.

The newer army looking trucks maybe your ticket, if you like those kind of things, but they are gas hogs, especially when loaded up.

Last year we bought a Ford Transit Connect. It is small tight and can be hard to work in until you get used to it. Over a year now, and I have no problem working inside. I can pin locks, cut keys and everything is at hand.



One of many I posted back then - This is the steel out of our old Aerostar, stuffed into the Transit. It works - I can't complain after a year of being in the thing. You will have to get used to the tight quarters. It will work.

Buying used is iffy at best. One never knows what the unit has been thru - Carfax or not. If you want to go the used route, I would suggest buying a lease turn in. Most of these have been serviced on time, and not beat to Hades. Up till this last unit I bought lot of lease turn ins and I was not unhappy with them. They gave good long reliable service.

Sinifar

[victorylocksmith]

i would really prefer to get one of the bigger vans seeing as i am essentially permanently limiting my shop and inventory capabilities with a smaller van. however, i am deeply concerned about the gas usage of the big boy vans and i fear that i may never make enough money or do big enough jobs to make it all that worth it.

i have come to the point, that i realize while i may not know everything, as billdeserthills states, these other guys that know more sure as hell are not smarter than me and if they can figure it out, so can i. so at this point, i would have to say, i am looking to buy a bigger van because i would rather go down swinging trying to get big accounts and do big jobs than just skimming it with small jobs out of a smaller van. to each their own but at this point, this is how i feel and i very well understand with a bigger van and more overhead comes bigger issues and greater outcomes of failure and success.

[MatrixBlackRock]

i would really prefer to get one of the bigger vans seeing as i am essentially permanently limiting my shop and inventory capabilities with a smaller van. however, i am deeply concerned about the gas usage of the big boy vans and i fear that i may never make enough money or do big enough jobs to make it all that worth it.

If your van will be your primary storage facility, then I would say go the full size van route, but that has to weighed off the size of your turf and the per month cost of a location to store what you might need, if considering a smaller van.

If your turf is small, then it makes sense to store off the road and return to storage for what is needed, in this case a econo-van may be the way to go, but if your turf is spread out and round trip mileage and windshield time could be large, it makes sense to have as much inventory on the road as possible to reduce both deadheading for parts and for a minimum MTTR.

Wayne

[MatrixBlackRock]

I am looking to buy a bigger van because i would rather go down swinging trying to get big accounts and do big jobs than just skimming it with small jobs out of a smaller van. to each their own but at this point, this is how i feel and i very well understand with a bigger van and more overhead comes bigger issues and greater outcomes of failure and success.

The size of your vehicle has no relationship to the size of the jobs you are capable of bidding upon or servicing.

Big accounts are a tough nut to crack, if they don't know you they have no reason to know you, but I can tell you with total honestly, small accounts well serviced, can open doors to large accounts.

Wayne

[Sinifar]

Let me add this to your deliberations. Inventory.

How much to carry? Good question. There is no easy answer. The best I can give you is this - look to your books, and what you have sold in the past. How much was sales off the wagon on site, v/s jobs you went out to, wrote up the estimate / figured in what you had on hand and what you had to order, v/s what you needed to make quick repairs to stuff which died, or was damaged in a burglary.

That will give you an answer. Mostly it is ones and twos. Big items like group 1 locks, maybe -- one of those, or two at best. Deadbolts? How many will you sell in a given time frame, say a month or quarter. In what finishes? Other locks are a catch as catch can.

For example, I carry a full set of locks, well lock gangs for hollow metal doors. 31/31, and 1 1/8 -- with a push paddle and a handle mainly in 26D, but more today I also packing in a pair in duro (brown). Things like Don Jo plates, there are a few out there, again only one in 1 3/8, but more in 1 3/4, and in that both 2 3/8 and 2 3/4 BS, in 32D. Nothing like having a repair plate for a kicked in door. Latch guards by the handful, one of several types. One needs to match the guard to the door and the way it latches. Other items like mortise locks, rim locks, and KIK cylinders I have tons of them, as one never knows when you will need it - or run into a heavily glued up one, or one which has been damaged by some goof trying to force it.

Other locks as your sales show. Don't carry stuff hoping it will sell. This is foolish as it is a waste of cash which could be used for items which move faster. Buy slow stuff as it is needed, even if it means running for it same day - or - next day.

Yes I do have my small van packed full, but it turns at least twice a year. This is important, as you will pay tax on your inventory. Always remember that - let your inventory run down before it is time to take the "tax inventory" then build it back up again afterwards.

AS far as what keys to carry, there is no good answer. I have a "Kee Kan" made my American Lock, you can find them on the internet. This unit has pull up "plates" which have about 40 hooks on each plate. Depending on how big of a unit you buy, will tell you how much key inventory you can carry, and if you put on it or buy the seat cover, you can use it as the van seat, and sit on your inventory. Big moving keys like SC-1, SC4, IN-8 KW10 and other like it are kept in a drawer in full boxes, not the Kee Kan. There is nothing like having an odd ball key with you when an industrial client asks for one. That has made clients rely on you!

Then there are service kits. Those "tackle boxes" full of parts for some specific lock or manufacturer. Those are money in the bank as you can repair almost any of the locks they service on the spot, make a good billing and move on. The job gets done right the first time, and best the client knows that you are not trying to make a fortune off them - just repairing the thing.

If you want to carry more than what you feel will move on the road, store it back at the shop or down in the bunker like I do.

Just a few more things to think about.

Sinifar

[victorylocksmith]

It's been a while guys and let me say this, INVEST in a GOOD AND STRONG VAN. Yesterday I almost got killed because my old E150 wheel bearing gave out and my entire front right wheel almost came off. I lost almost all steering and breaking at once while on the highway going 70 in the left lane and was lucky enough to get to the right lane and pull over while ripping the E brake. So all you people thinking you can do work with these small new vans rolling out better start thinking about your safety. I don't even carry that much weight in the van either, I have a work bench with drawers and racks and they were all loaded up with, inventory, power tools, cables, key machines, etc., but let me just say this, you CANNOT just load your van up with a bunch of stuff, just break a little earlier, and expect to not have major issues. Not only did I almost get killed but, on the way back with the tow truck, my wheel seriously almost came off and we could have very easily been wrecked in the tow truck because the van is too heavy. As my mechanic said, we are trying to do work out of these vans, not sell cookies. After this experience, I no longer believe in buying a small van or even an Astro van, we have to buy at least medium duty vans.

[billdeserthills]

I agree, I started out with a half-ton van myself. I put 1 ton van springs on the rear along with some 2,500 pound helper springs and proceeded to load that thing up with lots of heavy tools and inventory. I been in plenty of accidents myself and it isn't funny how all that stuff starts pulling off of the sides, when a little inertia is applied like in a wreck.

That is why a couple of years ago, after finally wrecking the half-ton van for the last time, I went to Nissan and bought a high top, 3500 one-ton van. Funny thing is, it had been sitting at the dealership for over a year, cause nobody wanted a one ton van. I wound up paying about $30,000, which was less than a half-ton chevy van would have cost me and my new van has power everything, as well as heavy duty rear end, frame and Brakes. It stops very quickly, much faster than the old half-ton van used to. My payments are $390 a month, which sucks, but I just started doing a couple more jobs every month to cover that. I drove & fixed that old van for over 15 years and believe me, I got my moneys worth out of it. It went through 3 transmissions, 3 engines and at least 3 rear ends. I haven't done any work on the new van, which I have had for a couple of years and that is so nice.

Unfortunately it isn't easy to cough up all that money, which is why you have to save. The next emergency is always right around the corner, and you better have some money to cover it

[cledry]

We use 1/2 ton Chevy pickups and have no issues. I prefer a pickup after working from vans, mainly because I don't have to here things banging together behind my head when I drive on the crappy brick roads we have. My ideal vehicle would be an extended cab pickup with a high top utility box but the gas mileage would really be poor. Only bad thing is that parking it is like berthing the Titanic.

We also have 3 Ford Rangers and those really cannot handle the weight.

A friend in the UK has one of those front wheel drive Fiat vans that Dodge rebadges; he gets great fuel economy but he has a small turbo diesel and manual transmission. I don't think that powertrain is an option here.