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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 200
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Originally Posted by rcksmith127
It is the GMC Canyon. Seems about big enough to carry the daily necessary tools (pocket tools) and materials one would need and gets up to 20 miles on the highway, empty of course. So if I get 15 mpg I'm still amost twice my current situation.
Is anybody using this particular truck or own one and have any pros or cons? The commercial grade comes with the Z71 suspension and a utility body.
As always, thanks for the feed back.


Is that mileage figure based on *that* vehicle? Or is that the mileage spec for the bare-bones 4-banger std cab with stick shift? I'm amazed at how mfr's an spout off figures without any qualifiers.

BTW: In Canada we get higher MPG figures than the US. No, I'm not being snotty... they are falling back on the ancient Imperial measure in which a gallon is 4.55L vs. the 3.78L US gallon. What a way to skew the figures, eh?

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Joined: Jan 2008
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Originally Posted by rcksmith127
I may be asking a redundant question here, but as the cost of fuel is still climbing I am pondering supplementing the 3500 GMC Savannha I currently use. It is a diesel and gets about 8 miles to the gallon with the gear I carry. Of course the gear I carry is way more then anyone needs but since I provide emergency service I take pride in knowing that I have the tools at my ready to for just about anything.
I am looking at a considerable lighter duty truck for everyday use. It is the GMC Canyon. Seems about big enough to carry the daily necessary tools (pocket tools) and materials one would need and gets up to 20 miles on the highway, empty of course. So if I get 15 mpg I'm still amost twice my current situation.
Is anybody using this particular truck or own one and have any pros or cons? The commercial grade comes with the Z71 suspension and a utility body.
As always, thanks for the feed back.


What year is your van? I have an 06 Chevy diesel van and I get 17-18 mpg and I check everytank. It weighs just over 7500lbs according to the DOT scale on rt 93 in NH just over the boarder.
As far as getting a second vehicle, they don't make much "cents". Insurance and payments and excise taxes will eat up the savings.
Now if you think you can get away with having a small truck with limited stock to do calls with, your proving that having the big truck loaded with everything under the sun is not needed.

JoeyD #178447 05/31/08 08:39 AM
Joined: Jul 2002
Posts: 680
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Is any one using a Dodge Sprinter yet?? I hear mileage is in the mid 20s. Not sure if they tough enough but 4 cylinder diesel seems like the way to go. Wish I could get one in a pickup

Joined: Mar 2004
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Careful planning can save you a lot of fuel expense. My truck is a high top utility at 8 MPG. If I had a smaller truck I wouldn't be able to always have what I need, which would result in more miles driven. So in a way I am actually saving on fuel when you consider that.

I try to plan my calls, Northside one day, eastside the next etc. Also, think about charging extra for the farther out jobs.

BigB #178469 05/31/08 09:09 PM
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Posts: 947
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twh Offline
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I swapped trucks with another guy, last week, because he gets better mileage and I was going out of town. I drive a 3/4 ton van stocked to the roof. His is a 3/4 ton truck with a topper and boxes on the sides.

If I always drove his truck, I would turn my phone off. There would be no point taking a service call, unless they only wanted to see my pretty face. You just can't do service work with a little truck.

I get service calls from industrial to commercial to residential and my phone is never off. My co-worker gets his job list in the morning an goes home when he gets to the end of his list. We need different trucks.

So I wonder whether you can do one kind of job in a smaller truck and efficiently get to the other truck when you need it. Do you keep two cordless drills, etc or do you move everything between trucks. Do you have the time to stock both trucks, or will the stock always be on the wrong truck?

I couldn't do it.

twh #178565 06/04/08 07:38 PM
Joined: Sep 2007
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The stock is always in the wrong truck. I drive an E350 with a Stahl utility box. I get 10 MPG, loaded. My van is in the shop right now getting the paint touched up, so I've been riding with the guys in an E-150, 13.8 MPG. Never enough room for the tools and materials we need. I do residential new construction, remodels and service as well as commercial remodels and service. My truck is always loaded with everything, no choice. I could never go back to a smaller van and make multiple trips because I didn't have something I needed. I might not be right but its the way I do it.

Joined: Jan 2005
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Cat Servant
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I've been giving serious thought to changing the way I operate - and gas prices are only another reason.

Currently, I have a 1-ton truck, with a utility body. Large as it is, you still can't carry anything even close to a full inventory. Plus, that truck is not the most maneuverable vehicle.

I'm brainstorming a couple ideas. One is to have the truck for the actual job - but to use a (much smaller, more nimble) vehicle for scouting jobs, going to meetings, and quick runs to the parts store. Naturally, this plan runs into two problems: lack of parking at many sites, and the inability to drive two vehicles at once.

Another idea is to find a "mule." That is, a small vehicle with a huge towing capacity, and haul a trailer around for work. When the trailer isn't needed, the 'mule' would suffice to run me around town.


Joined: Mar 2005
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Just throw a Vespa in the back of your truck smile

SteveFehr #178612 06/06/08 12:56 PM
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 200
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Originally Posted by renosteinke

Currently, I have a 1-ton truck, with a utility body. Large as it is, you still can't carry anything even close to a full inventory. Plus, that truck is not the most maneuverable vehicle.


What is it exactly? Truck or van? What is the body like?

My rig (E350) is 20' long, 9'4" tall, 138" wheelbase, and the body is no wider than stock - just squared off. It is big, but because of the wheelbase and width, it drives small. Somewhere between a std. cab longbed and a supercab shortbed. (I don't think anybody considers those pickups large.)

Another electrical contractor acquaintance of mine got into one of the small cabovers (Isuzu or Mitsu-Fuso) with a narrow cube body. The have a really short wheelbase to help make it drive small.

Quote

Another idea is to find a "mule." That is, a small vehicle with a huge towing capacity, and haul a trailer around for work. When the trailer isn't needed, the 'mule' would suffice to run me around town.


I can't see that being effective for service work and <1-day jobs.

[/quote]
Originally Posted by SteveFehr
Just throw a Vespa in the back of your truck smile


Heh. I like that idea. Or a moped since they don't need registration, plates, or insurance.

u2slow #178624 06/06/08 09:07 PM
Joined: Jan 2005
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Cat Servant
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Since you asked:


[Linked Image]


OK, not the best pic .... but, let's look at my work.

Yesterday I was running phone lines. Today I was doing Explosion-proof pipe. I also do everything in-between. So, the variety of tasks leads to an overwhelming array of parts and tools.

That's why the trailer idea appeals to me. I could have several small trailers, outfitted for particular types of work. Say, one for lighting maintenance, and another for digging ditches / pouring cement.

While that truck is reasonable maneuverable, I do encounter plenty of spaces that are tighter than I like. Many places have overhangs low enough to cause me trouble. The final killer - yesterday almost literally - is that I have ZERO rear vision.

That's enough of a problem just changing lanes in traffic. Yesterday, a quick stop led to me beginning to back out of the parking space, unaware that some guy in a wheelchair, for Pete's sake, had decided to park himself in the sun, right behind my truck. He was completely invisible to me - and I had a hard time hearing him over the back-up alarm! No one got hurt, but a lesson was learned by all.

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