work vehicle ideas

May 30, 2008 6:52 AM

Seeking recommendations for a work vehicle for a cabinet-maker. Is it a mini-van? Is it a station wagon? Whatever it is, it doesn't cost much...

I've been working as a freelance cabinetmaker/carpenter/commercial artist for almost a year now, driving my tiny Geo Metro 4-door and borrowing a friend's giant van (E-250) when it's time to move something big or heavy. While it's a workable solution, it's becoming pretty clear to me that a larger vehicle of my own would make a lot of sense. But what should it be?

I've been trying to think about my wants abstractly so that I don't become fixated on one particular vehicle and miss something obvious. So, now I have a list of desires, but no idea what would fill them best!

The list:
- Should be able to carry up to 5 4x8 sheets without dying (a roof rack might be OK)
- Should not look so crappy that clients question the quality of my work.
- Should not kill me on either maintenance or fuel (20mpg is my goal)
- I live in Chicago, and only have on street parking available (if the vehicle somehow enabled me to raise my standard of living, there is off-street available)
- A side effect of living in Chicago: a truck is sub-optimal, as there are a number of places that have restrictions on trucks, but vans are excepted.
- Used is always better than new. Period.

What say you? What do you drive? Is it awesome? Sucky? Why?

posted by schwap23 to travel & transportation (20 comments total)

If you can find a diesel Vanagon (ca. '82), I think you'd be happy. Payload is 1 ton with the proper tires, mpg is in the high 20s. Try looking on eBay, craigslist, and thesamba.com.
posted by bricoleur at 7:03 AM on May 30, 2008

I see a lot of handymen/cabinet makers/etc here driving minivans, probably because they are fuel efficient and you can buy them used really cheap. Pull all the rear seats out, and most will fit full sheets of plywood. And you can add a roofrack (like what you would use for skis or bicycles) and strap long pieces of lumber on top.

Adding magnetic or window signs with your business name makes it look more professional, and if they are magnetic you can remove them to maybe avoid some break-in risk.
posted by Forktine at 7:18 AM on May 30, 2008

Woodweb* discussion on the topic.

Additional searches there might be fruitful, too.


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* Many woodweb commenters are professional cabinetmakers, carpenters, furniture makers, and so on.
posted by notyou at 7:20 AM on May 30, 2008

I've seen a bunch of people with similar needs driving Dodge Sprinters. They seem to be a good match to city driving, because they are rather narrow. The fuel efficiency is pretty good, too, for such a vehicle-- 20 mpg.

Expensive new, though. Edmunds lists 2003s between $12-$15k.
posted by gregvr at 7:24 AM on May 30, 2008

Used Dodge Sprinter vans should be coming onto the market soon. Probably pricey, still, but what a van!
posted by notyou at 7:24 AM on May 30, 2008

My contractor friend traded in his truck for a van (sold me the truck, actually). He said the tradeoffs were: Truck was better for transporting sheet goods and in general throwing things in the back. Van was better for security purposes and parking on the street (we're in Chicago as well). If I were in your shoes I'd get a van that had a reputation for easily storing sheet goods.
posted by true at 7:36 AM on May 30, 2008

A friend of mine is a cabinet maker and has used Ford vans for 10+ years. That being said, with the fuel situation we are in these days, maybe a smaller ride for daily use that is capable of towing a trailer for the times when you need the extra space is an idea worth considering.
The other thing you might consider: Volvo station wagons. The 740/940's have a lot of room in them with the rear seats folded down. They are rear wheel drive, easy to work on, have tons of support forums. They have gutters so you can find the gutter Thule racks on the cheap and meet your MPG req's.
It should be noted I have a 740 wagon and love it and therefore biased.
posted by a3matrix at 7:36 AM on May 30, 2008

I'm not a woodworker myself, but I've been noodling over getting a transport vehicle of my own, and one idea I've toyed with is getting a used ambulance. Some of them are on ebay for about $5K.

They come with scads of storage bins already in place. You could build a small workshop inside of one (and even power it from an onboard generator). The drawback is that they're big, frequently built on F350 or F450 chassis with that big box in back, and wouldn't be easy on the diesel fuel.

The Dodge Sprinter has that 5-cylinder Mercedes diesel engine that gets 20+ mpg—pretty amazing.
posted by adamrice at 7:57 AM on May 30, 2008 [1 favorite]

If you can park it on the street - an enclosed trailer!
You can tow a small trailer with just about anything (except geo metros), and when you don't need the extra weight (and impact to your gas mileage), unhitch it and away you go! Check craigslist or your local papers for used trailers.
posted by terpia at 8:00 AM on May 30, 2008

Dodge Sprinters have some of the worst resale value out there. I think it's simply because it is not appropriate for anything other than a work van. Since that's what you're looking for, you win!

A Dodge Sprinter is really a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, rebadged for the North American market (remember when Dodge, a part of Chrysler, was partnered with DaimlerBenz? This was a result.) So here's your chance to own a cheap Mercedes.
posted by Doohickie at 8:00 AM on May 30, 2008

Seems to me an oldschool van (the very square kind) would be best because you have the most useful square space inside. But adamrice's ambulance suggestion is brilliant here and probably deserves the win.
posted by rokusan at 8:01 AM on May 30, 2008

Hey, I think a minivan is the way to go. Standard vans are shit for mileage, but a mini will do OK. I have a Chevy Venture that can hold 4x8 - you have to put them in on a slight angle though - but the V6 does fine hauling the weight. You can get the older GM platform minis like the Venture and Olds Silhouette for cheap these days, and they seem to be among the few decent vehicles to come out of the GM factories in early 2000's. Mine gets about 25 mpg highway, maybe 20 city, depending on load and traffic.

The Toyota and Honda minis are much bigger, though I believe the Toyota Sienna still gets low 20's in mileage. They will cost you a lot more though, even used.

Finally, the weak link on most minivans is the tranny, as they are big vehicles using sedan trannies. You will probably wind up replacing it at some point, but cost of ownership will still be lower than an E-150 or similar, I would think. Still, If you are always hauling 1000 pounds, get a full size van or pickup.
posted by Mister_A at 8:04 AM on May 30, 2008

As a daily driver vehicle, I think something like an E-250 would suck. A wagon is unlikely to hold larger cabinets and things. Maybe consider a pick-up. Full-size or mini, depending on your load requirements. I see plenty of pick-ups with racks for long items, and cabinets and things should fit in the bed no problem. I've had a couple of pick-ups, and far preferred them to vans I've had to drive.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 8:07 AM on May 30, 2008

Van rental places like uhaul often sell their used vans. They're beat up, but it may be worth investigating if cheap van + mechanical work is cheaper than a newer van. You should definitely check the size of anything carefully as it's not easy to get 4x8 sheets inside even a big car.
posted by GuyZero at 8:21 AM on May 30, 2008

Whatever vehicle you decide one, I can wholeheartedly recommend Yakima racks on top. I had a car wash job about 200 miles out of town, the last time gas prices spiked. I didn't want to take my pickup truck, so I loaded a ladder, about ten 10' lengths of pipe, and 20 5' pieces of unistrut on the rack mounted to the top of my CRX (and loaded the CRX with eight power tool boxes, a chop saw, four boxes of industrial parts, a hydraulic crimper, and four toolbags. Oh, and me.) The rack, despite being mounted with the supports much closer together than the designers intended, carried the weight - and the stress of catching the wind - admirably.
posted by notsnot at 8:29 AM on May 30, 2008

A 96-2000 Grand Caravan (grand=long wheel base) is a fairly good fit. Careful driving will get you 20MPG if you aren't hauling too much mass with the 3.3, the 3.8 will be about one mpg worse. Either have sufficient power for your needs, I routinely pull a 2000lb trailer with the 3L in my shorty. You can get a box approximately 8'lx48"wx36"h inside. You'd need a trailer for larger furniture. $1000 will get you a more than reasonable flat deck trailer. Of course you have a storage problem for the trailer if you own, depending on your need you might just want to rent one. Also because the trailer need isn't everyday you might be able to store the trailer off site, around here RV/Trailer storage is only a few dollars per foot per month.

The factory racks are only rated for 65lbs but you can get a dozen sheets of plywood in the back (the 8' capacity is to the bottom of the seats. because they are slightly reclined you have less than 8' once you get more than a foot or so deep).

The Sprinter is perfect (1/2 - heavy 1 ton capacities, square cross section gives you lots of capacity, it's little turbo desiel gets 25-27 mpg with more than decent power) but a lot more expensive. However I think there are tax benefits in the states to having a 6000lb+ GVW work truck so that would be something to consider. Also the large slab sides of the Sprinter allow it to be a rolling billboard, an appreciable benefit especially in residential areas.

Doing finish carpentry and custom furniture out of a pick up is a serious pain, literally. You'll need a cap to somewhat secure your tools and that means you'll have to crawl in and out with constant risk to your head. You can mitigate this with a service body for your truck but then you drop your mileage (twice. drag and weight) and increase your capital costs. Unless you have an overbearing need for 4WD I'd skip the pickup.
posted by Mitheral at 8:30 AM on May 30, 2008

I do this kind of work occasionally out of a Volvo 940 wagon, but it's not ideal. I've got yakima racks and have carried as many as 7 sheets of drywall, but I worried that a sudden stop might rip the gutters off. If I were in bad neighborhoods I would worry that all my tools were visible through the 360-degree windows. I would definitely go for a minivan or, if you can swing it, a Sprinter.
posted by jon1270 at 8:40 AM on May 30, 2008

Terpia, I think, really does have the best solution.

I bought a WRX wagon for my daily driver, and a small 5x8 trailer to tow motorcycles around, and I suspect that while you may need to tote heavy stuff a bit more often than I do a motorcycle, the ability to increase payload capacity on-demand is ideal. A small hatchback (xB? Fit? They're all super-reliable, cheap, and get 30+ MPG) will easily tow a small open or enclosed trailer. If you can't find somewhere to park and chain your trailer, storage facilities (y'know, those places where you can rent a storage shed room?) often allow for parking things like that.
posted by TheNewWazoo at 8:56 AM on May 30, 2008

My husband (similar work) drives an older Subaru Outback with a Yakima rack. He occassionally (couple times a year) rents a box van from Budget for large stuff. It's wayyy cheaper than driving a van around (which he used to do).
posted by miss tea at 9:06 AM on May 30, 2008

Thanks for the answers!

FWIW, the company I used to work for switched from a regular Ford van to a Sprinter while I was there, and I will add to the acclaim for them! Turbo Diesel, 14' floor space, tons of vertical space (couldn't hit my head if I tried), back doors that opened flat to the sides, tons of accelleration, comfortable seats... I love everything about them except the price...
posted by schwap23 at 4:42 AM on May 31, 2008