box truck setup

MARK W.

Member
Now that I got the floor taken care of. Thanks

I have looked at a lot of pictures of box truck set-ups on this bb but find myself wondering where to start. I'm not sure what's the best way to set this truck up. I have all the equipment I need, just not sure how to use my space wisely.
 
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The box is 14'. I have a 250gal tank, hotwater skid, cold water back up, 3 hose reels, deck sprayers, Ladders, tool box, ext. wands, ect.
 
Hello Mark,

You need to determine where to locate the largest pieces first! I my case the water storage tanks take up the most space. Before you can locate the tank or tanks you must determine the weight carrying capabilities of the truck (frame, axles, etc).

The reason I chose the chassis that I have is because they’re equipped with heavy front axles (11,000 pounds) and have reinforced frames!

The heavy front axles allowed me to locate our water storage right up front in the box allowing more uncluttered space for everything else. We use the free space to haul supplies for special projects.

I will post a picture of the back of our White truck. The open space on the right side is about 5 feet wide and almost 14 feet long. We have had it full of stuff from time to time.

Another thing to keep in mind is if you must locate heavy equipment on one side choose the left side rather than the right side. On 2 lane roads there is a crown in the center of the road. If you have more weight on the right side the vehicle will tend to pull to the right! You can have the rear springs beefed up on one side to help handle the extra weight and level the unit.

Dave Olson
 

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Our White truck carries a little over 8,000 pounds in the first 4 feet of the box and our Red truck has about 12,000 pounds on the frame in the first four feet of the box.

Besides having 1000 gallons of water storage in this 4-foot space our Red truck also has a 45 Kw Genset (about 1500 pounds) mounted on top of the water tank. Our Lp storage tanks (140 gallons usable Lp) are mounted to the chassis under the front of the box.

Dave Olson
 

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One more picture to give you ideas :)

This is a picture of the back of our Red truck. The box is only 14 feet long and the water tank takes 4 feet of that!

All of the supplies (shelves etc.) on the left side of this picture are removable (not bolted down). All of the other equipment is permanently mounted to the floor.

Dave Olson
 

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When David does this, I always feel like my equipment is so insignificant. It always amazes me at waht a great job he did inplanning everything out and implementing it.

Scott
 
Hello Scott,

Thanks for your kind words.

I guess looking at the pictures and listening to my descriptions it may seem that before hand I knew what and how I was going to have everything arranged and constructed. Believe me it was many hours, days, nights and years of planning, researching, and questioning! I’m glad that it worked out and works very well for my little business.

One day my wife commenting about the reconstruction of the Red truck, “Your going to end up with a Patchwork Quilt”! I worked with over 10 different vendors to put that unit together. I started the upgrade in 1996 and didn’t complete the project until 2001!

Dave Olson

PS: By the way, my wife thinks it turned out fine. But, of course there are always the comments “You spent How Much”!! :mad: "When are you going to write yourself another paycheck"? :(
 
Ige tthe first comment all the time. She writes the paychecks, so I never hear the second. She just gives me my allowance for the week and I merrily go off and do my thing.

Scott
 
Scott, you are right when it come to Daves set-ups and equipment, "one of the best out there".

Dave, thanks for the pictures!!
 
is there a problem with blowing your own trumpet? At least we know what we are blowing... right?

Oh here is a box van with 2 machines.
 

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When I purchased my new van, I layed out the size of the load area on my front room, using making tape. I then made cardboard patterns of my equipment, shelving and work bench. Then I ordered a larger van.

Douglas Hicks
General Fire Equipment Co of Eastern Oregon, Inc
 
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