Silverado 2500hd Festool Upfit

[smartcarpie]

So I promised I would dig up some pics of how I have set my truck up to haul my tools to and from Jobs. I miss my van a lot when I work, but parking issues necessitated going to one vehicle. I have trailer but only hook up when needed as it eats fuel and makes parking a pain.

I ordered a fiberglass cap with side doors after confirming with the manufacturer that the openings was in fact tall enough for a sys 4 to slide in. Shelves accept four in a row, sortainer drawers still open from the side and there is room on the ends for odd ball items like a skill saw. I can also lay a few clamps or the like along side the boxes and easily shut the doors.

Underneath are two long cubbies Over the wheel wells. One is for a level bag, and the other holds things like the track saw rail bag, if wings, or other long items.

The lower bedslide, homebuilt of 80/20 and Lowe's aluminum stock speaks for itself. It runs on linear bearings and has support from rollers at bed end and a roller bolted in the tailgate edge. It's about 75% extension, but far enough to easily reach the back end.

Finally another small bedslide for an "attic space" holds two midis and two systainers, or just four systainers, Dewalt table saw, etc.  the Kapex on UG cart fits in the remaining space nicely.

I also built a deck in the rear of the cab that can take two mft tables or a lot of systainers too.

Thanks for looking.
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[rst]

Nice setup, but I would never give up my van.

 

[smartcarpie]

I wish I still had it all the time.  But I was also in the process of selling a house, and moving my shop with lots of trailers, to a location where 4wd is mandatory at times.  And in the summer I haul a sailboat and was never too keen on using that to launch it.  Always a compromise but I sure am thinking about a tall Euro style one at some point. I'd love to upfit one of those.

 

[rst]

I hear ya, I've burnt 1,250,000 miles in Ford vans and have 206,000 miles on my current 2001 Ford van and I definitely lust after the  the new extended top Transits.  $34,000 would mean that I couldn't afford the rest of the Festools (and the Hammer A3 41, bench mill and CNC router) I want.  This not being independently wealthy business sucks!!

 

[smartcarpie]

That's logging some miles, brother.

I'm amazed at how much time I've spent in 4wd in the last month. sure am glad fuel has come down.

I do like having a pickup to go to Maine for a week of camping though.

 

[Greg M]

I bought a used Sprinter, the high long one, for 10,700 about 5 years ago.  It was 5 years old and had 153K on it but that's nothing for a Mercedes Diesel.  Got it loaded down and still get 19+ mpg in the city.  I could never go back to a pickup as my sole work vehicle.  I'll add a pickup one day but I'm never giving up this huge van.

However, you've made very good use out of every inch of that pickup.

 

[smartcarpie]

Yup, the long body Sprinters are sweet. Can you get 16' material inside?

Material hauling is the trucks downfall. I did build the slide wide enough to take 49" sheets, but it's a fair weather system. Otherwise use the trailer.

I'll find another parking spot soon enough. My shop overhead door couldn't handle a tall boy can, otherwise I could overnight park there.

 

[wow]

Nice setup. If that's a Duramax Diesel I'm officially jealous!

 

[Greg M]

Yup, the long body Sprinters are sweet. Can you get 16' material inside?

A flower wholesaler owned it before me and had turned it into a refrigerated van.  When I got it I removed the refrigeration unit but left the rest of it alone.  The cab is walled off from the back.  In the back the sides, roof and floor have been lined with 2x2's and insulated with foam so it can sit in the sun on a 100 degree day and not get hot inside the back of it.  That along with the cabinets that I installed limit me to 12' boards laid down on the floor but I can get 14' if I prop them up on the cabinets that line the front behind the cab.  For longer pieces I've got a rack on the top but that almost never gets used.  Even with the floor and ceiling being insulated I still have 6' of headroom.

 

[Greg M]

Nice setup. If that's a Duramax Diesel I'm officially jealous!

Now if we're talking diesels I'd rather have a cummins but the duramax would still be much preferred over the powerstroke.

 

[smartcarpie]

Greg-

I dig the insulation.  Did my trailer and my van roof.  Make a big difference in the summer sun for sure.

Wow- No diesel for me.  I like the Duramax with the Allison tranny, but it's more than I'll ever need for now.  And the thought of repairs on a diesel are a little scary, unless I was hauling enough everyday to justify it.  As it is I feel like this truck would pull the house off the foundation if I asked it to.  Just had to spring for a new exhaust two weeks ago, went with stainless muffler and dual straights out the back.  Sounds good, still growls like a truck but much quieter at speed then the old setup.  Previous owner had put a new system on, salt did it in.  Hopefully I'll escape that. 

Aftermarket intake seems to help a bit with mileage too.

It's an O7, picked it up with about 60000 on it a year and a half ago.  I did look at a Duramax one ton with a single rear axle and a nine foot utility bed and system one rack with only 40000 on it,  but hated the box size and layout.  Maybe if I was a framer.  It was owned by a local guy who seems to get a new couple of trucks every year or two.  Keeps them mint and trades them in.  They sell fast.

 

[Greg M]

I like the diesel in a pickup for the mpg and the longevity.  The diesel ends up paying for itself.  Personal preference.

 

[smartcarpie]

My take was just that one big repair will cancel out any savings.  I suppose anyone who has had a big repair might confirm that, someone who hasn't likes the savings.  I'm no mechanic so it's hard for me to know.

I wish they had more offerings for small diesels in the vans they are offering over here though.  I dont really need 400 hp in a truck, it's not like I'm hauling an excavator in the hills, but good mileage in a loaded van would be terrific.  Seems like the Europeans have that all over us.

Nothing sounds as good as a diesel to me though.

 

[bigjonh]

That's really similar to my setup, I'm happy enough with it.  I have the cummins which I love. I wanted a euro style van, but I'm going to wait to see how they do over the next year or two, wait for them to work the kinks out.
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[smartcarpie]

Looks good!

 

[WastedP]

I own a Silverado long bed with the smaller 4.3L.  My father traded his Sprinter in on a new ProMaster last fall, the gasoline version.  He gets better gas mileage than I do, and I'm usually driving around empty.  His plumbing van is loaded with tools and fittings.  I first checked it out when we visited at New Years.  I crawled all over it with a tape measure.  There's 14' behind the seats.  He stores longer lengths of pipe in a rack strapped to the ceiling that utilizes the available space above the cab.  I could easily haul a full set of tools and still have a lot of room left to haul cabinets stacked up.

I used to own an Astro van for installs.  Even it was preferable to using the truck, and it wasn't AWD.  I use 4WD in the truck occasionally in the winter, but I think the front-wheel drive in the euro-vans would suffice.  If I had to work out of the truck on a daily basis, I'd think about swapping out for a canopy with side doors, but the bed slide would be a hard sell for me.

 

[Sparktrician]

I use 4WD in the truck occasionally in the winter, but I think the front-wheel drive in the euro-vans would suffice.

An acquaintance that has a Sprinter pointed out to me that the bulk of the weight is on the rear wheels, and when it's really slippery, the front (drive) end doesn't get the same relative traction that one expects on a passenger car.  The good news is that the '15 Sprinters have a 4WD option. 

 

[WastedP]

A diesel van with 4WD would sell real well around here, especially given how well the Ford and ProMaster euro-vans are selling.

The Sprinter was pretty expensive to work on.  A u-joint went out and it seems like the whole drive shaft assembly had to be replaced.  I was looking up the part for my father, and it was unavailable anywhere but a dealership.  To be fair, I think he bought the van new in 2006 and put close to 300,000 miles on it, and that was the only major repair.

 

[Greg M]

I think he bought the van new in 2006 and put close to 300,000 miles on it, and that was the only major repair.

That's the value in a Mercedes, it has a history of being able to get a lot of life out of it.  American made, not so much.  Based on history, Mercedes is much more expensive to repair but if you have fewer repairs and it lasts longer then overall it costs less per mile to own over the full life of the vehicle.  That's if you take care of it and hold onto it.

For me, buying it for only $10,700 puts me way ahead of the game.  Plus I only put 8-10k on it a year so this thing should last me an awful long time.

 

[WastedP]

It's an O7, picked it up with about 60000 on it a year and a half ago.  I did look at a Duramax one ton with a single rear axle and a nine foot utility bed and system one rack with only 40000 on it,  but hated the box size and layout.  Maybe if I was a framer.  It was owned by a local guy who seems to get a new couple of trucks every year or two.  Keeps them mint and trades them in.  They sell fast.

How do you keep a work truck mint and still perform work?  I'm all for maintenance and taking care of the stuff I own, but sometimes work stuff just gets worked.