Disadvantages of a box truck?

[MnGreen]

Originally Posted by Buck_wheat

Box vans & panel trucks are for hacks. See them all the time, strugling with ramps, pulling off POS equipment 20 years old or from Sears & Home depot, hard to strap your gear down (law in most states), can't load debris, etc. Other guys come around with crap loaded into the beds of their Ford Ranger's, etc. They make a great presentation for quality work.

You may also want to take some space measurments before deciding and draw a schematic as to where everything should go, and remember it should be secured or everything will come adrift on your first turn. It sounds like you are putting a lot of stuff into the family van.

Better off with a trailer (even an open). If you want to be professional, look professional... be professional

They sure look unprofessional
http://www.supremecorp.com/supreme.p...suzu#vanscaper

[yardguy28]

Originally Posted by MnGreen

They sure look unprofessional
http://www.supremecorp.com/supreme.p...suzu#vanscaper

looks unprofessional to me..........

most guys purchasing a box truck aren't purchasing those nicer rigs. they are purchasing "uhaul" style box trucks.

either way a truck and trailer is what is best for this business. otherwise you'd hardly see truck and trailer rigs and everyone would be using box trucks. not even the large LCO's use them.

i can think of one outfit in my neck of the woods that uses those trucks with the flat beds. everyone else is using trucks and trailers.

[SNAPPER MAN]

Yardguy, the reason most people don't have the nice isuzus and fusos is because of the initial cost. You can buy a truck for $30k and a trailer for an additional $3k. A new isuzu NPR diesel with a landscape body is $45k. That is the reason you don't see many people using them.
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[sdk1959]

Originally Posted by yardguy28

you guys that say you can and do haul debris in a box truck. i don't see how it is efficient to load the debris in there.

for one thing i haven't seen a box truck that you can load while keeping your 2 feet on the ground. you have to climb up into the thing to load it up. unless your dumping it at the end of the truck. which isn't efficient either. especially if your hauling equipment as well.

you would seriously climb up into the truck with a grass catcher to dump it? another none efficient way if you ask me.

As far as a lot of grass clippings and leaves you may have a point, but for branches they can be thrown to the front of the box truck. This is not a issue for me because I don't collect leaves or grass clippings unless it can be dumped on site.

Trying to be all things to all customers all the time is not good business and not for me. If a customer insists on collecting grass clippings and leaves in the fall without a spot or area on-site for dumping well, I guess I'm not their guy, and they're not my target customer. No take with service except tree or hedge work and they pay extra for it.

Just like in any business you have to choose your market and target those customers. Buying all sizes of mowers, running all kinds of rigs to service all kinds of properties & jobs is the Achilles heel of many a LCO.

[yardguy28]

Originally Posted by SNAPPER MAN

Yardguy, the reason most people don't have the nice isuzus and fusos is because of the initial cost. You can buy a truck for $30k and a trailer for an additional $3k. A new isuzu NPR diesel with a landscape body is $45k. That is the reason you don't see many people using them.
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if you say so......

i'd never buy one even if i could afford one.......dispite how wonderful some people think they are i don't happen to agree. i'd take a truck and trailer over one of those any day. you couldn't give me one for free. very impratical for lawn maintenance crews if you ask me.

[yardguy28]

Originally Posted by sdk1959

As far as a lot of grass clippings and leaves you may have a point, but for branches they can be thrown to the front of the box truck. This is not a issue for me because I don't collect leaves or grass clippings unless it can be dumped on site.

Trying to be all things to all customers all the time is not good business and not for me. If a customer insists on collecting grass clippings and leaves in the fall without a spot or area on-site for dumping well, I guess I'm not their guy, and they're not my target customer. No take with service except tree or hedge work and they pay extra for it.

Just like in any business you have to choose your market and target those customers. Buying all sizes of mowers, running all kinds of rigs to service all kinds of properties & jobs is the Achilles heel of many a LCO.

i guess i'm much different than most.

my market and target is anyone willing to hire me and pay the price i quote them. there isn't a job i can't handle with my truck and trailer or the equipment i have.

i refuse to leave clippings and leaves on site. even when the client offers that i can leave them. everything gets hauled away in my truck bed.

[jeremy's lc]

My box truck was around $ 50,000 for diesel truck, vanscape, sideway dump that whole 9 yards of debris & all racks. One insurance, one tag & one set of tires to buy. I ran a truck & open trailer for 6 years. A truck & enclosed trailer for 5 years. But for the last 3 year the box truck have been the best. Have not lost equipment to thieves or do i have to load & unload twice a day.

[MnGreen]

Originally Posted by yardguy28

if you say so......

i'd never buy one even if i could afford one.......dispite how wonderful some people think they are i don't happen to agree. i'd take a truck and trailer over one of those any day. you couldn't give me one for free. very impratical for lawn maintenance crews if you ask me.

Impractical to your application and targeted market as you have made it very apparent.
Its all preference and duty specific so there is no right or wrong, my way or no way.
These vanscaper bodies & boxes are showing up everywhere and are "extremely" efficient and multifunctional.
Every business has to purchase equipment service specific to their needs.
A 1 ton van is a 3500 truck with a light duty box on it that replaces your trailer needs.
No different then a scaper body sitting on the frame
In your case you need to daily haul around 40' of truck/equipment to pick up debris apparently.
Again, that's specific to "your" business model and set up and not the "original posters" circumstances.
He encounters "zero" disadvantage wanting to add a cube van application and can use it year round for all his services. 6-8g you got the unit, paint the box and just have a ramp gate installed.
Even the ugly fleet units can be converted cheap and easy.

[The LawnRanger]

I wouldnt go back to truck and trailer now that I bought mine It fits my business perfect I didn't go with the closed box open landscaper bed better suited if your going to go the trailer less route

[Buck_wheat]

Originally Posted by sdk1959

Where do people get the idea you can't haul debris in a box van, cube van? I do it all the time, no problem. I do have a separate car for personal use, my cube van is strictly a work truck.

Only advantage for a truck and trailer is hauling unexpected small amounts of debris because you can haul your equipment in the trailor and take away a small amount of debris in your bed without sides. With sides more. Big loads of debris there is no advantage for a trailer over a box truck unless your trailer dumps.

Different region, different application, I'm in zone 9; 365 day growing season, maybe I can use the box truck to deliver refridgerators when I'm waiting to cut grass

My trailers have drop ramps and the gear just rolls off. My F350 & Ram 3500 have king cabs for the crew & extended beds for the occasional small debris. There is also a dump trailer, holds about 20yrds (I usually schedule major clean ups) it has a drop ramp so I can load from the back to the front, fill er up, pull the cover on and hit the hydrolics when I get to the dump.

Anyway, to each his own