van, box truck, or sprinter

[Jim Martin]

here is what I did....

the boom lift came from Harbor fright...hydraulic jack on it to lift it up and down....
I set the boom to swing out and just clear the top of the opening to the doors...
then I took a piece of EMT and cut it to length and set it on the neck of the jack and relieved all the pressure...that way I don't have to worry about it and it is not like I am going to raise or lower it anyway...

the boom came with a hand crank to lift and lower things..I took it off and bought a 12 volt lift and lower winch from...Northern tool and drilled and threaded new holes in the mounting plate and set the 12 volt hoist...

then I set a terminal block on the wall behind it and ran a #10 wire from the battery on the truck.. to the block and then just grounded the terminal to the truck box...then I just hooked the winch to the block..( I also use this for my inverter ).....

so when I use it I just pull the pin in the boom..hit the button and lift the Hoss or what ever...and just swing it out and drop it...

when I am done I have it set so the machine just swings right back into place and I just set the pin back and leave it machine connected to the hoist...

total cost......just a tad over $200.00

 

[joe harper]

Less the cost of the "Electrician"....lol.! eat shit!

BTW...mr. green emotioncon..Does NOT mean "eat shit"....

 

[Jim Martin]

Negative...positive....if you can jump start a car....you can do this....

 

[daniel@procarpet]

Jim what kind of adapters are those on your electrical cords? I see you have a short cord coming off the HOSS and then an extension cord. That makes a lot more sense than having a 50' cord from the rotary.

 

[Jim Martin]

No adaptors....the Hoss comes with a short cord about 6 to 8 inches long...and is wired into the machine...this allows you to use a extension cord what ever length your comfortable with....

For me.....I got a 12/2 cord that is 25 foot long...less of a pain to mess with...I also made sure that the cord was the type that when you plug it in the ends light up...this takes the guess work out of wondering if the outlet has power or not....


If you have a machine. ( like the 360i ). that has a long cord wired into it...you can cut the cord and just put a male and female cord cap on......saves a lot of headaches......

 

[Mardie]

Getting a new rig for mainly cleaning and some restoration and was wondering what was the way to go. Most likely going with an Everest. Right now I am thinking box truck but starting to second guess myself and starting to think Sprinter van. Any inputs on what works best. I have 3 vans now and would love the extra room.

I am also looking at getting a new truck and have explored many options.Here is what i think . The sprinter is just outright ugly and with image being so important i just don't like it for that reason. The box trucks like Jim's is a totally amazing looking looking rig and will allway's portray a highly proffesional image to everyone.Would love to have one. The main reason i am steering away from a box truck is that it is hard to go in and out of the box and it would be awkward in residential situations.

I am seriously thinking about getting a used ambulance with a van cab and cube box 2007 Ford E 450 diesel 16Ft.box 5000lbs.payload around $13-$14K with less than 200 thousand kilometers.

The maintenance done regularly on ambulances is second only to an airplane.Government vehicle means the best of the best when purchased.

Heavily insulated all aluminum box. Heat and air going to box,Lot's of interior lighting and outside work lights.Walk in and out of box through the side door,Walk in and out of the box from the cab. Size is ok for residential. Look's great when wrapped or lettered up professionally.Same length and pay load as a large sprinter and about 1.5Ft.wider which would be good for a center walk way like the box truck. Floor is anti static vinyl which can be power washed.Back up beeper. Would have to strip the interior and reline the walls and get rid of ambulance lights. IF ANY ONE HAS EXPERIENCE WITH THESE I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU. Thanks.
The siren would be good for guy's like Willy LOL

 

[daniel@procarpet]

I think the Sprinter looks great, but I like the Nissan UV even better.

If I was going to get a new truck, I would get the UV.

If I was going to install two machines, I would go with the box.

I saw an extended Mercedes Sprinter today all black. Yea I could work from one.

 

[Ron Werner]

I like the looks of a Sprinter, esp with its narrow box and good fuel economy
The narrow box can be detrimental as well since it reduces space, the box truck having much more.
Another factor is price. Brand new, the Sprinter is $20000+ more than a box truck.
If you're in an area thats flat and no big speed bumps check out the Aeromax.

 

[tmdry]

Aeromax body with 18-20MPG Ecomax engine. 12-16 footer, 12 being the norm. I wonder if you can put a roll up or side door on that FRP body. I haven't seen on.