Going Mobile

This thread reminds me of an old saying from my Grandad ……

" A 1 ton truck is to big for small jobs and to small for big jobs " .

There are exceptions but have to agree with Grandad for the most part .

Just don't tell him I said that .. LOL !

Did most of my long ago work from 3/4 and ton SRW wheel pickups/ex-utility service trucks, tried a half ton once, that did not make it very long. Seemed a used service body worn slick truck could be nursed for a year to two before completely grenaded.

1. Service plumbers tell me to be successful in service work one has to be quite smart about not taking on jobs that are too involved otherwise you can't be available for the next customer's panic. Once I learned this, sometimes I break my project down into small bites to solicit some help from these folks - but that is just how I manage it to get those extra helpers from that 'service sector'.
2. At the local equipment dealer it is interesting how many medium duty trucks w welders and cranes and compressors and utility bodies zip into and out of the dealership to pick up a hand carried box of parts - sometimes makes me wonder how much that truck is costing them. Musing: Should they get a small truck w a towbar and lock their big rig while tbey are gone and zip to the dealer in a little truck to do these errands? Just a rhetorical question. I have a small pickup that I sometimes keep on a project just for this reason - when I need to do an errand, I dont worry about my tools as it remains on the job w folks watching over it. Toolls and truck go home to a locked alarmed garage and the little pickup stays at the jobsite.
3. "Lore" has comments: the best mechanics are mobile and the shop is where they learn. But sometimes that is irrelevant: the machine is broken and hauling to the shop is a big ordeal (which I am sure you know).
4. I accomplish my equip maintenance tasks (preventive, predictive, and corrective) with a smallish but packed mechanic's toolbox and some specialty hydraulic hose wrenches and another toolbox with a set of 3/4 drive sockets; sometimes I bring the gasoline contractor's air compressor or drag the little trailer with the engine welder if I need it .... similarly, in the construction business some of those big tools help one to get all the jobs offered but most jobs (statistically) don't need all those tools.
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These comments are just some observations and are not so much a recommendation because everyone has to determine how best to fit in to the economics/marketplace.

Hey,

ive been a field tech for two crane manufacturers for 5 years now, and about 8 years in a shop before that working on semi's, garbage trucks etc. I dont have a ton of experience but here are my thoughts on field service trucks. Ive had a '13 f750 with a stellar body, and now a '17 f750 with a palfinger body. Unless you absolutely need a crane, why not go with a box truck like an isuzu npr? You can find an npr hd for pretty cheap, and they have a 14,500 gvwr - should be good enough for a generator, compressor, welder, torches, tools etc etc. You can find the lower box truck bodies that are really easy to get in and out of. The issue I have with standard service body is the amount of usable room you loose. The big service truck I have - I bet I would have more room in a 14' box truck for storage.

I do understand you have to start somewhere though. Just my two cents.

Good luck.