Truck vs. Van: Which is Better for Your Business?

We’re settling the ultimate debate for tradespeople: do you actually need a truck for the job site, or are you just buying into the hype when a work van would make you way more efficient?

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Transcript

Vans, Trucks, And Hot Takes

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Sam would live in a van if his fiancee would down by the river. Just driving around in an Astro van. Just a roving car. Every working man or woman should drive a truck, right? Well, obviously there's multiple opinions on the topic. So today we're diving into it. Are you a truck person? Are you a van person? Are you in the trades? Which one are you driving? Are you accessorizing? Are you going nude with it? What do you need? Who knows? We do. I guess we kind of don't. Whatever it is, we're getting into it today because we do have opinions that are slightly in the realm of professionalism. But before we do any of that, Sam, my stomach has been growling uh for a week now. Oh, this is actually good then. Yeah, this is a good one. This is actually great. This will heal it. So we're gonna get into Sam's snack segment here for the people at home. Sam, bless us with something delicious, please.

SPEAKER_02 0:56

This is a special day. This is uh, I think in the history of this podcast, this is our first liquefied snack. It's a beverage, actually. Wise. This is my favorite ginger ale ever made. This is a Verners Joe. There's one right under your couch there. Oh wow, really? Uh it's a brief history on this Verners here. I I got into this initially. There's uh there's this guy on TikTok, he does those videos where he's like, hey, buddy. Yeah. Old time hockey. Oh yeah. He introduced me to Verners. I watch a lot of Tim Robinson stuff, and he's always pulling out Verners, and then I was like, why is Tim Robinson always pulling out these Verners? Turns out it's a Detroit beverage. It is the United States' oldest surviving ginger ale invented in 1866 by pharmacist James Verner. It's got an oak-aged flavor. Uh Aretha Franklin used to make her hams with this. Hams? Hams. She glaze her ham with some Verners. And it's a it's a home remedy to cure stomach aches when mixed with lemon juice, served hot uh to soothe a sore throat. And it's by far, I love ginger ale. I'm like a ginger ale enthusiast. This is the world's greatest ginger ale. It's out of this world. I don't know. Yeah, I mean, I'm gonna I'm gonna backhand you right now.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

What are you talking about? As an Italian American family living in Pittsburgh and in Pennsylvania, warm Canada dry is the only option. No. It's on the floor, in the basement, in the pantry. That's the cure-all. You don't go anywhere else for your ginger ale. I I don't give a shit what old-time hockey says in his his his Canadian tower up there.

SPEAKER_02 2:29

I wish I could be in your shoes again where I get to. I used to think Canada Dry was like, oh, this is ginger ale. Don't mean I'm wrong. Then you try this, you try anything else. It's not about the taste. Joe.

SPEAKER_01 2:41

You don't want my opinion. I think Canada Dry is the most elite ginger ale. I like Verners. When I was a kid, I used to think we were poor because all we ever had was Verners. And like I'm like, I hate this shit. Why can't we have the Canada Dry? And then I came to sell it at the grocery store locally. It's so funny. I've literally never seen a cannabis in a store around here ever. I do love Verners, though.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

It's great. I just like Canada drying. You may collect your things and leave the potatoes.

SPEAKER_02 3:06

I don't drink pop, period. Like I don't drink much, but a burners.

SPEAKER_00 3:11

140 calories, which I think is on the lower. 38 grams of sugar, baby. We're gonna be kicking. Yeah. Okay. So, well, cheers to Sam for this.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

Sorry I put it like that.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

I just that no, yeah, that no What are you doing, dude? It tastes like sugar water. No, John. With a little bit of ginger. Dan and I talk. Not enough zzz. No, you need more pop. I want so much fizz, my eyes are watering.

SPEAKER_01 3:38

Yeah, it's straight gas. You drink it and you can barely talk about now. That's where the healing happens.

SPEAKER_02 3:44

Well, now that's like a ginger beer, which I do like from time to time.

SPEAKER_00 3:47

It's Canada Dry warm off the floor of your Italian grandmother's basement.

SPEAKER_02 3:50

Canada Dry does not have the bite of like a true ginger ale or a ginger beer. It just doesn't. It doesn't have that bite. I'm not saying this has the bite. This is like an easy going, like you could enjoy this, but this, come on now. Let me give you one more. It's a vanilla ginger ale.

SPEAKER_00 4:06

It's a complete nutter lockdown, is what it is, if you ask me. I mean, I've never been more disappointed. Come on. In putting something in my mouth that gets as much clout as that gets.

SPEAKER_02 4:16

That this is undeserved, or this is well-deserved clout.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

Ah, Verner's is great. I'm not bashing it. I just think Canada, if I like went into a store and they had both, I'm taking Canada Dry.

SPEAKER_00 4:26

If I'm not crying drinking ginger ale, it's not ginger ale. I you cry from Canada.

SPEAKER_02 4:30

Canada dry does not have that bite. It does. Maybe if you get the bold, Canada dry bold.

SPEAKER_00 4:37

What do you know, dude? This the 90s Canada Dry is the standard for ginger ale.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

You gotta you gotta drink that shit when it's been sitting in the like John said, it's in the basement, it's warm. You don't even put it on ice. You just crack it because you want it that bad.

SPEAKER_00 4:49

It could be a a year, three years expired. You don't know. You have when you're like none of my tummy hurts. Oh yeah, get the ginger ale. This does this does cure a lot of things. You know what's coming right after the ginger ale? Clove of garlic. This I so I I I think old time old timey hockey, he's got a great account. Oh, so good. He's always made some good stuff. Great content. Hello, buddy. Been cracking Verners forever. I just then it it is tasty, it's smooth, but if I'm drinking pop, I wanna I want it to punch me just in the back of the throat. This doesn't do it. It's a waste of calories, if you ask me. And it's not gonna give me that gingery benefit in my gut. It's it will give you a definitely it's all sugar, man. That's just pure sugar. Tastes like 77% added sugars. That's what that is. It's so much sugar. Maybe it's because I haven't had a full gasoline pop in like decades.

SPEAKER_02 5:49

It's like a Coke, isn't it? How many grams of sugar is in a Coke? Probably similar.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

I thought it was Man, I haven't had a full gas Coke in a long, long time. Since I was telling you guys about the college heydays when we had the fountain cokes.

SPEAKER_02 6:00

Now the fountain cokes, you have to go full gas for the fountain cokes. I I also I rarely drink soda. So you're seven, man.

SPEAKER_00 6:06

I don't I don't drink pop. Well, once in a while.

SPEAKER_02 6:09

39 grams in a Coke. 39. Okay, so it's right on par with it. I will say I'm glad we got the Diet Cokes out of the building. That was a problem for a while. That one summer we had all those diet cokes here. I was drinking like I said, I I genuinely don't drink that much soda. Like at home, like I rarely have it. When we have those diet cokes here, I'd have like three a day. You just have no self-control. Well, I just was like, oh, they're like, I'm around you guys are like, oh, it's like zero sugar, zero calories. These things are great for you. And then I started thinking about No one said they're great for you. Well, they just said they're bad for you. I'm saying, not even just myself, all of us. We were we were killing those cases. That was when there were only three of us here, too.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

And it was just like this was literally like six months ago. Yeah, wasn't that like No, we didn't even start doing team orders until six months ago.

SPEAKER_02 6:51

No, it wasn't a team order. I'm telling you, it was you, me, and John. It was like a year or two ago.

SPEAKER_00 6:56

It was probably diet coke because Sarah was working from here and she wanted because she's been pregnant from it. I'm saying they were getting good to us. I'm just glad they didn't. They do. They they creep up on you. I mean, I had four of them over the weekend because I needed little nibs of caffeine. And I mean they don't they didn't serve anything at the masters but coffee and pop. Really? So I it's like I could grab an energy drink. I thought they had like specialty cocktails there because there was like a No, they just serve beer on the course and then they serve the cocktails are served like uh at the places outside of it.

SPEAKER_02 7:25

Oh, okay. Because we wanted to get Kristen's grandpa this box they were selling. It's like the master's cocktail box, right?

SPEAKER_00 7:33

Yeah, but anyway, so I was like, I need some caffeine. I didn't feel like drinking a hot coffee because it was warm down there. Yeah. Had to drink a diet coke. Yeah. Or three.

SPEAKER_02 7:41

I mean, John Daly pounds his Diet Cokes. He's still doing well. There's a there's a lot of people that just drink diet cokes.

Judging Tradespeople By Their Vehicle

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Define doing well. Financially, maybe. Yeah. Uh physically, I don't know if that would be the embodiment of health, but he's getting after it and having a good time, so can't judge him there. Anyway, speaking of judgment, an area of contention and judgment that I feel like consistently pops up in the world of the trades is judgment on the vehicle that the tradesperson is driving. And this is this is an area for me that like I honestly don't like to admit this, but if I hire someone to do work for me and they show up in a busted ass vehicle that looks like shit, that's not like prim proper clean and has everything they need on it, I'm not paying premium pricings. Like I can't do it. I want I want the cleanest, I want, I want decals, logos on it.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

I couldn't disagree more. The worst thing is you get an estimate from someone, and this this nice clean cut guy he rolls up in a stickered up truck just like that. Oh, let me come in, quote your stuff. Okay, yeah, great, great, great. The homeowners shake off on it. This is great. I've got this nice clean cut guy, his nice, clean cut truck. He disappears two weeks later. That's when the janky stuff rolls up. I literally could, I won't name them. I could name like three companies in the Pittsburgh area. Name them. No, I won't put them on blast. I could just name them, but I'm just saying, like, I don't know. The stick. I think you have to have that. I want that happy middle ground. I don't want it to be like a completely like beat up jalopy like a bomb went off, but I don't want it stickered up. I want somewhere in the middle. Like, I want like So you want like a magnet on the door. Exactly. A little bit of disorganization. Yes, I will honestly, genuinely, I want to know that the person.

SPEAKER_00 9:27

Yes, exactly. Jason's at that standard for me. He's got badges and tags on his on his trailer. Yeah, but he doesn't overdo it, like I said. Sometimes yeah. Okay, okay. I'm I'm not saying you need to overdo it, but I'm saying like I need a little bit of professionalism in what's going on. Yeah, that's fair.

SPEAKER_02 9:43

Sometimes it is fun to get that wild card though, the busted.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

I feel like you get that wild card, you're getting you're getting wild returns inside of the house, too. Yeah, it could be good or bad. And like back in the day, that guy was me. I'm like, I'm showing up at a jacked up F-250, like we're delivering your custom piece of furniture with a dude that looks like my brother on the truck. You know, like we don't know what you're getting in there. We're banging out shit in the basement for like four hours. Turn around, it looks awesome. You don't know how it got there. I feel like I judge the tools more than the truck.

SPEAKER_01 10:11

I can give you that. I can give you that. It depends on what tools they pull out. If they show up in something busted and they're pulling out all Milwaukee, alright, I think we're gonna be okay potentially.

SPEAKER_00 10:22

I look at it and I'm like, if you're not taking care of your truck, you're not taking care of your.

SPEAKER_02 10:25

But what if all their money's in the tools? It depends on the trade, too. Like I will say with like concrete workers, I see some busted up trucks, painters, you see some like just disheveled vans. And tolls. Yeah. I yeah.

The Three Categories That Matter

SPEAKER_00 10:37

Electricians and plumbers, usually everything's pretty tight, but I I think a big a big thing for me is are they driving a truck or a van? Like, is a truck appropriate for the trade that they're in? Or should they be driving a van? We all should be driving. And that's the that's the question of the day. We all should be driving a van, but we can we're forced to be a very good thing. Get out of here with that shit. I am not anti-van, but I'm not gonna I'm not gonna jump on all team all van. What can a van do that a truck can't a lot. I mean, thing a trance, okay. Well, hold on. Hold on. Before we get into it, let's throw some categories out there, okay? Okay. There's a few things that I think are vastly important. Now, Joe is prolifically opinionated in this regard. It's because his dad has been in business for like 40 some years, right? Uh, since 1932. Okay, so the family business has been around for 90 years, uh-ish math. And uh they drive they're they're in the the well drilling industry. Yeah, 1928. It's a hundred years in uh 2028. That's sick. Um so anyway, they have trucks that are outfitted custom for the jobs, right? So Joe's big on the on the truck side. And then Sam Sam would live in a van if his fiance would die. Down by the river. Wherever he could. I think I float on the between. So I'm gonna actually mitigate this argument here. We're gonna I want to talk about when it comes to van or truck, a couple things. One, organization, right? You have to I I feel like a good trade and a good work vehicle thing has to have some organization. Two is towing. Now, this throws it in heavily into one category versus another, which is where I lean. Um and then I would I think job site access has to be up there in that category as well, because some of those vehicles just can't get to certain areas. And I think the trade specifically is gonna require certain access for certain things. Two of those don't bode well for the van, Sam.

SPEAKER_02 12:34

I yeah, it can't be great at everything, but it's good at everything.

Cargo Organization And Weather Protection

SPEAKER_00 12:38

But but there is some perks to it. So getting into it, cargo and organization. Give your argument, Sam.

SPEAKER_02 12:48

Van all day long, literally all day long for a number of reasons. Uh I I literally worked out of my ranger when I was contracting, and anytime I would go to a job, you'd have to have like a ton of modular storage, like, okay, pack out, pack out, pack out, throw it all in there, unload everything. If it's raining, that's a whole ordeal. You know, in a van, you're it's enclosed, so weather is not going to be a factor. Rain, snow, shine, all your stuff's dry. You could organize it. You could have thick shelving within that van. And it's got enough headroom that you could actually get up in there, crawl in, grab some stuff, leave, where a truck, you're hopping up on the bed to get in. Even the the smaller trucks, it's still like, you know, you only have so much room. And you also only have that four by you don't even have that four by eight section anymore. There's no more eight-foot beds. They they outlawed them. So you have like that. Outlawed? Well, may as well be. Uh father-in-law just bought one. Good for you. Mother-in-law has one. That's actually. I just got quoted on one. All right. All right. Well, they're still out there. They're out there, not outlawed. They're dying. Yeah. If you go to a dealer's dealership, if you want an eight-foot bed, they're going to be like, you need a fleet model. Well, you want it in a white or black.

SPEAKER_01 14:00

If you go to Ford, you have to get it through the actual Ford, you have to put in a custom order to get the eight-foot bed.

SPEAKER_02 14:05

But that's they're available though.

SPEAKER_01 14:07

They're around the country. You just got to order them in. Arguably you get it faster. I mean, Ford, they don't they don't piss around with those orders, man. You have it a month or two.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

Regardless, let's let's even say we're living in the eight-foot bed world. That's only that eight-foot bed, and you have like a few feet of storage above that, and anything else, it's going to be exposed to the elements, stacked, and even if you get a cap on it. Let's say you try to make your truck a van and you throw a cap on it, you have to be my size to dive in there, crawl it, and pull everything out.

SPEAKER_00 14:35

Unless you accessorize with a sliding cargo.

SPEAKER_02 14:41

Then it only takes up half of your storage space. Oh, no. They're pretty thin.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

And I just got one, it's three inches tall. Slide the whole deck slides out from the back of the truck. You're just living in the old times. And if you put a cap on, you can get steel on the top, so you can you can run long pieces of material on the top, and then on top of that, a lot of those caps nowadays have side units. You either have a window to access on the side so you don't have to crawl back in there, or you have storage. You can have a locking box on the side of your truck.

SPEAKER_02 15:10

All I heard was there's this point where stuff could leak, and then there's this point where stuff could leak, and then it could leak over here. It's not gonna leak. They're waterproofed. Everyone I know that has a cap at some point in their life with that cap and got water coming in.

SPEAKER_00 15:25

You got one person here with a cap.

SPEAKER_02 15:27

Who? Me. Yeah, well, you've only had that cap for like a couple years now. The water will come in. You can't the water will come back. You're like, well, if you have a cap for 17 years, it's gonna leak, right? It's like no shit. Well, also, like, I'm even thinking about like let me just give one example that's more kind of like uh I have experience with like cabinets, for example. Yeah. It's way easier to load up. You can't load up uh a cabinet in a truck with a cap. You barely have enough like hazardous.

Sponsorship Break

Towing, Access, Resale, And Branding

SPEAKER_00 15:57

As someone who's to build and sell custom furniture, I gotta agree with Sam here. I take that trade specifically, but I'm not gonna give you the rest of the bullshit you were just flailing on there because it's all true. It's complete crud. Throwing it out the window. But is I do love the idea of having a van outfit for specific, repeatable, consistent things that you just always got stuff in there. I think that's an elite option for a van. You can have if you're doing general work and you're different every single day, van actually makes it more difficult. Fake news. Hey, real quick, this episode is brought to you by First Form, a brand that I personally use and love, and the boys feel the exact same way. One thing that's been a part of my routine lately is their megawatt pre-workout, which I've got for you right here, especially on those days where I just know that I've got a pretty extensive workout ahead of me, and then I know I'm gonna have to be in the shop working or building and filming, whatever that might be. I like to have that little bit more of an edge. So I'll mix a scoop before I get started with my day. Get in the gym, I'm staying alert, the energy feels phenomenal, and then it carries over and they're the rest of my afternoon. I don't get any jitters that you get for some of those pre-workouts, and that's because first form literally puts way more emphasis, work, and energy into researching and testing their products. Everything is third-party tested and certified, so you know you're getting exactly what it says here on the container. And right now, I want you guys to try it out. And if you do that, you can get a free five-pack of their protein sticks with your order. It's super easy. All you have to do is go to firstform.com forward slash slightly above average. Put whatever products you want in your cart and it'll automatically add that five pack of sticks. They're phenomenal. If you're gonna be eating any sort of like jerky or supplement stick, why not get the benefits of something that tastes great and has great macros and protein in it? Along with that, first form's so awesome that they're gonna give you guys a 30-day money-back guarantee with 110% of your money back if you don't like any of their products. So you literally have nothing to lose here. So check them out, check out the megawatt, first form.com forward slash slightly above average. Grab something for yourself, enjoy the rest of your day. Now let's get back to the show. What do you mean fake news? You gotta get like a whole aesthetic kitchen cabinets, you gotta remove everything.

SPEAKER_02 18:11

I think that most of these trades, I guess we'll get to it, most of these trades I feel like are van first. Some of them there are some where a truck is better, but the majority van.

SPEAKER_00 18:21

I think one main reason, while Joe Joe says this, I don't have the computer. Damn it, I can't actually be Joe because Joe's too good. All right, so Joe, go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 18:28

I was just gonna say you could custom build a lot of these trucks out nowadays. It gets more expensive, but it all it literally is preference to how much money you put into your business, right? Like, you know, are you gonna invest in a vehicle and build it out custom to your work? You can do that with a van, but vans are less customizable. You you can't take the whole bed off and replace it or truck swap it and keep the same bed or vice versa. So you have more you know variance there when it comes to it. But yeah, you're buying bigger trucks and the price goes up. So it just honestly, you're probably right with the electricians of the world, the cabinet makers of the world. Yeah, get a van. It probably makes sense for them.

SPEAKER_00 19:02

But probably there's actually one better option than uh both box truck. We'll get box truck. Yes. But no, so here's your question. Look up the cheapest uh let's let's say the cheapest F-150 you can get and a Ford Transit. I'm pretty sure you're getting into a van for like 20 grand cheaper than you were getting into used or new, because I mean new, new.

SPEAKER_01 19:29

I will say I forty five probably prices in a while.

SPEAKER_02 19:32

The the truck truck might have it beat. The transits are expensive.

SPEAKER_00 19:36

They've because I think you're looking at 4550 for a transit. They're about the same. I thought it was like 60 for a spec bones truck, probably 40 to 45 for either or bit. So the problem with the van, here's another thing is like you can't be anything over the size of a hobbit and then function in that. Like you would be fine. I am cracking my forehead on the back of that van 100% of the time, every time. I have yeah, unless you get the extended roof line.

SPEAKER_02 20:01

No, my dad's 6'4 and over 70 years old, he could still get in his van.

SPEAKER_00 20:05

They're not made for tall people. I tell you, it's it that is a that is a downside to it. But uh, I like the versatility of a van as a second option. I like if you could have both, that's ideal. I'm I'm if you're just getting into business and you're and you're just getting started and you're looking at uh a work vehicle, I I'm I'm almost I'm 99% truck because of the other variables. And those two variables are gonna be towing and accessibility.

SPEAKER_02 20:38

Yeah, I mean the towing's great. Most a lot of contractors I know, they'll do like a truck with a trailer, and their trailer will be like outfitted.

SPEAKER_00 20:47

Don't you bring in the God variable?

SPEAKER_01 20:49

This is exactly what I was telling you about earlier.

SPEAKER_00 20:51

We know what you're talking about, Joe. You're talking about 150,000 350, custom loaded out with a with like a service bed. Look at the bed. Actually, yeah, I didn't even look at the writing, and that's exactly what that is. That's not but look at the bed, right? Custom F350 with a service bed on it. It's only$66,000. There's no way. Yeah. Actually, is it used? Slack that to me. We didn't need to buy that. Is that used? There's no way that's new. 26 it says new. Unless it was like driven around a couple times around.

SPEAKER_01 21:18

That's what I'm saying. Like you can you can buy and then you can build off of these.

SPEAKER_00 21:23

Is that real? Is it four-wheel? Yeah. So that's a big thing for me with the vans. Because a lot of vans are you're looking at all-wheel or front wheel. You don't really have a lot of rear wheel, right? They used to make four-wheel drive vans back in the day. They make they do now. They do, they still do, because I've I've looked into you, like if you're if you're in our area though, you've got to be thinking about all wheel, four-wheel drive. Like you can't you can't f around with front wheel drive. But that's our area though. There's a lot of America that lives, you know, in snow, multi-seasonal climate.

SPEAKER_02 21:54

Also a lot that doesn't, though. Just saying. There's also you didn't bring it up.

SPEAKER_01 21:59

The one argument. You'd probably get me on is gas mileage. It's not as it's not like a minivan.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

It's not that much better. I've never had nothing.

SPEAKER_00 22:08

There's smaller engines in the in the four-cylinder, six-cylinder options. Like you don't want a four-cylinder truck.

SPEAKER_01 22:13

Yeah, but you start loading up a truck and you start getting into the bigger 350s, 450s from Ford, you start you're getting six miles to the gallon. Like it's it's it's a very big expense off of the PL.

SPEAKER_02 22:24

Yeah. And to be clear, I'm not as much, even though I in a lot of ways they're better. Like my ideal vans, like the older, like boxy style. I'm not in the transit ones, it makes so much more sense in a number of ways. I just don't like the look of them as much, though. I just want that old square look.

SPEAKER_00 22:40

They don't look as good. Like there's a big reason we don't have one, is because I really don't like the look.

SPEAKER_01 22:44

I think it's the look that you have whenever you're driving one, too. I don't like driving vans.

SPEAKER_00 22:49

No, it's the looks you get like driving one. I personally despise driving vans of all like I don't give a shit if it's a minivan, yeah, a full-size van, but like because you're sitting straight up and down, right? And you're on the ground, but you're like you're in this giant box. And I disp if I I need to be on a truck frame, like I'm I'm a I'm a big advocate for for you know hire the truck closer to God, and and and I'm and I'm just I'm not into sitting on the ground with a giant ass on my.

SPEAKER_02 23:20

You're not on the ground with those, man. You're still up.

SPEAKER_00 23:23

I'm on the ground. My knees are above my hips when I'm sitting in a van.

SPEAKER_02 23:26

It's it's like a uh it's nice though. It has a shorter front, too. It's easier to maneuver around, maneuverability. That was one of the categories.

SPEAKER_01 23:34

Yeah, that is right. Like if you're in Pittsburgh, I mean So that is a big perk. You're not taking a uh bigger 250 everywhere.

SPEAKER_02 23:41

Another one, uh it's all come it's all coming back now. It's all coming back to me. Another major advantage with the van, especially talking about in our area, you go on a job somewhere, you have to park on the street or something in your truck. All of your tools, like your most expensive assets, are all just sitting out there in the open. Unless you have a cap, but um assuming you don't a van, you can just lock it. You lock it, you're good to go.

SPEAKER_00 24:06

I gotta give him that. I've been on so many like deliveries back in the day where I'd be parked in like the worst possible place. And I'm like terrified that not only is my truck gonna get stolen, but everything inside of it. And so all I'm doing all day is just having anxiety attack after anxiety attack, running out to the truck, running back, running out, and running back. So I I will give you that there. I think I think it has to go back to though, like all three factors. So if you've got cargo and organization, you gotta wash them across the board because you can get that option nowadays with trucks. Like back in the day, maybe not so much, but you've got things like like companies like decked, like I have one of those in mine. If you're on a job site all day, massive drawer slide-outs, you've got entire bed sliders now, like those options exist. Joe pulled up a photo of like the um the toolbox truck bed um options that exist now, where you still have like a bed, but you have toolboxes that are lockable on the outside. The van, that was that was the ticket. Now, a lot of people argue you can get an eight-foot sheet of plywood inside of a van while still having that access, but that's only if you have nothing on the floor. You could go vertical, but now you're talking about you need to create a some way, shape, or form in vertical to keep them from flopping around in the back of the van. But the other part of that too is now you're doing extra labor to then stand every piece of sheet good you put in the truck on a vertical once you put it into the van, instead of just putting it into the van as it lays flat, coming off of your cart at whatever store you bought it on or however it shows up. Because they're not sheet good's not showing up vertical. I'll say a nod has to go to, and you've got to admit here overhead storage, like vertical like uh storage on top of a van, not not the best. Oh, I'm you're not putting any you're not putting any weight up there. Best you're doing is a ladder. You don't want to throw any weight. Yeah, you're not gonna put a ton of weight, but I mean you go cap on a truck or you get a truck with uh what are they called, a sissy bar on the back or whatever they are? You can even custom weld some, whatever you need, John. You uh you're you're you're you're increasing your vertical storage a lot. Because you're going straight down into the frame. Yeah. That's what I like. We got that thing we got in the 250, where we can go pick up 20 foot long pieces of metal, throw them on the roof. You can do that. You can't really do that on a van.

SPEAKER_02 26:22

No, but I you you you get enough on a van. Like you say, you get ladders on there, you go get a bunch of two by fours, you don't even need to throw them on the top because you got enough clearance in the van itself, especially between the seats, too.

SPEAKER_01 26:33

Well, you got clearance in the truck bed, you just can't fit your scaffolding or whatever you need for that job, you just gotta go run another truck, and then the biggest job is true. And then you gotta tow whatever it is to the other job.

SPEAKER_02 26:42

I I I promise you, Joe, if you drove a van for a week, it would get so good to you. You would come in the office one morning, you'd say, Sam, I'm so sorry for every negative thing I said about it.

SPEAKER_01 26:53

I don't hate vans. I just think do it all with a truck. Maybe not for certain instances that you said, like certain jobs. But I job site access is probably the biggest thing you you got, and I'd agree there. This should be.

SPEAKER_00 27:05

Well, here's the thing though. You have job site access in one context, but you get on a dirt road at a job site that requires anything, anything that may need a truck, four-wheel drive, or or or a suspension built for not being on pavement. You're screwed in a van.

SPEAKER_02 27:24

No, there's plenty of vans, as you said, with four-wheel drive. Even if we go back in time, I will say the Chevy Astro van, my goodness, there's no no surface it can't conquer, all-wheel drive. I literally I got a call from my dad like a couple months ago. He was like, on this job site, there were these mud pits that were guys with their trucks spun out. He's like, My little Astro van, it was just chugged right up the road. I said, Of course it did.

SPEAKER_00 27:46

That's what it was built for. You had a bunch of teenagers who probably didn't know you need to turn the truck too four-wheel high. Probably.

SPEAKER_01 27:52

Do vans hold value when you sell them?

SPEAKER_00 27:54

Of course they do.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

Are you lying? Or are they I mean it depends on the van. Because you can put 100,000 miles on a truck and still get a pretty penny out of it.

SPEAKER_00 28:01

I would depend on just like the truck, it's gonna be the brand of the van. Okay. Yeah. Get into those sprinters, those Mercedes sprinters. Yeah, those are those are those are just great vehicles.

SPEAKER_01 28:12

Like I will say, if someone pulled up to do a job when they're in a Mercedes Sprinter van, you can do whatever you want to my my home. Yeah, they're they're putting booties on, right? They're hand sanitizing. That's that ASMR TikTok videos.

SPEAKER_00 28:26

If your dog has any allergies before they give it treats, unlike everyone else, who just gives it milk bone so it can shit all over the place? Yeah, that's what it that's what someone tried to get. We can't gloss over that. Where are they getting the milk bone?

SPEAKER_01 28:38

I feel like that was like you that you related to that one right there. 100%. Did that happen recently?

SPEAKER_00 28:42

All the time I get people that give the dogs shit that they shouldn't, and then my old ass dogs are just pissing out their ass then. Uh-cause they got some some stranger was trying to be nice, and I'm grateful for it. Yeah. But they just give them a milk bone, and a milk bone might as well just be like compacted cardboard with a bunch of poop juice or something in it. I don't even know. If you need Queen over there, show eat that cardboard. Then she'll she'll crap all over the place too. Yeah, no, I mean I the you show up in a sprinter van, though. I think you're you're bringing a different vibe to the job site.

SPEAKER_01 29:10

What do you guys think about those people that own sprinter vans that over-decal them? I think having, like you said, your signage on it is great. I've seen sprinter vans, people just I mean, if the whole thing's wrapped in like marketing.

SPEAKER_00 29:21

I I I like it. I think it's a good asset for the business. So I I saw this hack online, it was probably a year or two ago. But it's like if you are in the cer if you're in the trades um and you don't want to pay for like billboarding, like that's a great way to get your business out there, right? If you're using that van for work, but also you can go park that at Costco. Yeah, park it at Home Depot. It'll sit outside, people will see it, they'll come to recognize it. You can actually just leave it there all day long. They're not gonna tell you, like, it can't do anything about you being parked in that lot. Trailer, they might come, hey, don't park a trailer in our lot. They don't know that you're not in the store all day, right? And so, like, it's good advertising for your company. It's just basically like a rolling billboard, and you don't really get that option except with a trailer, which I do think a trailer is actually the best answer to all of these problems. Yeah, I there's a lot of advantages with the trailer, but it was not in the discussion. I know that the disadvantages of a trailer though is like knowing how to drive it and knowing how to manage it.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Well, you can build that thing out to however you see fit.

SPEAKER_00 30:19

Like they're great, but there's also like that it's a pain in the ass to drive. I I hate driving a trailer.

SPEAKER_02 30:23

Yeah, there's definitely pros and cons to them all because like the maneuverability, especially like you do like some jobs like in the city where you're like I've been to places where it's like you have to go to a parking garage, and it's like if I had a trailer, I couldn't do it. I genuinely just couldn't.

SPEAKER_00 30:35

We've got a we've got a customer we used to do a lot of work with here. You've been there. We did the lifting. Yeah. Beautiful house, very expensive. The driveway is is as as as it's it's tighter than your butthole. Like it is no options, and not only because of the fences of it, but it's an old house with paver treads for the vehicle with grass growing around them. So you you you you come off that shit, you're effing that stuff up. I'm talking like a five, six million dollar house, easy all day, low end, probably don't mean to be insulting there. Trailer sucks to get back there. Yeah. I remember when Jason and I did that delivery. So you need someone who's professionally trained, like a Jason. Yeah. Who's like who can drive a trailer blindfolded?

SPEAKER_01 31:26

Yeah, if you could drive a trailer, man, you can do anything in life. Joe's eyes. The way I've Jason, the way he drives a trailer, I've never seen anything. Oh, it's poetry. It is. Because he can drive big trailers too.

SPEAKER_00 31:38

So big trailers are actually way easier to drive and maneuver. I've never even specifically backwards. Because you they don't move as fast when you do like little adjustments. Like our little box trailer. Yeah, like if you're driving a, if you have a tractor and you're driving like a little trailer, yeah. You turn the wheel and you just jack knife immediately. We got a big ass long trailer, it's way it's a little easier to drive. So without trailers being in the conversation, I gotta give the nod to cargo and organization is gonna be a wash. Towing wise, you can't really tow shit with a with it with a with a no.

SPEAKER_02 32:08

I mean, it depends on the there's some vans that they're not gonna compare to a truck, but there's vans that you you could tow with it, light, lighter shit. And honestly, they make some. I would be curious to see. Can you look it up, Joe? I know the transits, they make some diesel ones. I'd be interested to do that. They're diesel vans, yeah. I'd be interested to see what the towing specs are like on that.

SPEAKER_00 32:29

The other the accessibility, I think it's also a wash because there's a time and a place for a big ass truck with a trailer and and oh yeah, just for a cool price of$70,000.

SPEAKER_01 32:39

That's how much the other one was you showed us. The service truck.

SPEAKER_02 32:42

Look at that.

SPEAKER_00 32:42

Whoa. Yeah, that service truck is all right. I'd like to see the receipt of that.

SPEAKER_01 32:50

It's in our wow, hold on, hold on. Look at that.

SPEAKER_00 32:52

You can that's a family van. That's a transfer.

SPEAKER_01 32:55

You got a screen in there, man.

SPEAKER_02 32:56

All right, yeah, that'll be your family vehicle there. Oh, we already got I got one on order right now. There you go. See what the towing specs are on that thing. There's no way.

SPEAKER_01 33:07

Uh no, it's gasoline. I lied to you. Where's the diesel one? I don't know. But still, that's the same 3.5 3.2 diesel. Because if it's on a I was removed after 2019 from Ford. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 33:19

I was just gonna say, I mean, if it's on that 350 frame, I'm not saying it's gonna compare with the truck, but it's still gotta be able to Let me just see if they may other brands make them.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

So accessibility, I also feel like it's a wash, because like if you're if you're working in the city and you need like ease of jumping in the van and getting somewhere, like a great option. If you're working not in the city, you need to like, I don't know, go places and haul things, the truck.

SPEAKER_02 33:49

I think it I think it I think the accessibility leans a little bit more in the van. Really there. What about you, Joe? Accessibility. I'm not saying a lot, but I'm saying come on now, a little truck. Trucks taking towing, obviously.

SPEAKER_01 34:01

The van probably has it just in the simplicity of like I said, you have to really build something out. You there's added expenses. Just if you're buying one off a lot, you have to go get everything else. You could throw everything in a van and kind of just chuck it in there. Yeah, I'll give it to the van for that one as much as I hate that.

SPEAKER_00 34:17

Alright, so we're we're we're even on wash on the cargo, tone goes to truck, accessibility for job sites is going to the van by slight nod. Cost of ownership, I feel like you can't really accessorize a van and get into like anything that's like comedic, like you can, like a like a like a high-end King Ranch platinum kind of like a truck side of things. Um so your cost of ownership is is gonna be dramatically higher in the truck side if you want it to be. Um, and then like there's a there's the the tax benefit side of that, which we won't get into also the resale side of things though, and fleet value, um, I think once again, depending on like the quality of the van that you get, you can get some good resale value out of it. Now, you're not looking at like I think trucks will always be better. 100,000 mile on a van that people someone's gonna be willing to pay 20, 30, 30 grand for it, like you would with a 250 diesel.

SPEAKER_02 35:14

I will say there's probably more people that even if you're not in a trade or you need it for work, there's more people willing to buy a truck. Yeah. It's like, oh, I just want it for the look of it, or this and that.

SPEAKER_01 35:24

Maybe if it was like a Mercedes van, a lot of people buy those with a lot of miles because they last. Because they sell those with a diesel.

SPEAKER_00 35:32

Correct. So another check for the truck on the resale side, but image and branding, like obviously the van takes the case. No, no, no.

SPEAKER_02 35:41

I've got I know the truck is the favor here. I'll let you go first, Joe. I have an argument for the van.

SPEAKER_01 35:46

Listen, someone pulls up in a truck, it just it's clean, whatever truck brand it is, regardless if I like them or not, you can't look bad in a truck. You hop out of a truck, a full-size or mid-size, it has that look to it. You think you know what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 36:01

But you're talking about the image of the driver and the business. Or you're talking about the brandability of it where you have like logos and stickers. We could do both. We could do both. I was just going off like an overall vibe that you're talking about.

SPEAKER_01 36:11

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. Like overall. I mean I mean that goes to the truck 100%. You can lift the truck, you can tint the windows, and also if you don't brand it, you can speed on the highway and not have people call and bitch about your company. You know how many times I've seen vans like speed? Oh, yeah. I I just wondered to myself, I wonder if people call and complain about these. How's my driving? Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 36:32

Now, I will say, with a lot of the newer vans and the fleet vans, that image it's not really there. However, if we go both high-end or low end, I think it's there. You go the high end, you guys keep bringing up this Mercedes Sprinter van, those things look pretty tight. Like, especially when they're all black, tinted windows, like someone's got like a high-end camper van on there, they put the limbs on it. It's like, that looks like a unit. That looks like something I could take out into the wilderness and just survive. I'm not using that for work. No. I would. But you could also do that with the truck. But I would also argue that the older vans, even when they're busted up, even like you get a van from the 80s or something, it's kind of busted up, it's got a style to it. It's got a presence. It is Yeah, you know what? I'm not gonna repeat what that style is. When that van pulls up, I'm not saying like a windowless white one, I'm saying maybe like a blue Ford or like a like one of those of those old Chevy vans. Yeah, it has a presence. When it arrives, it is known. Wow, look at that thing. See, when I see that when I see that pull up, I'd be like, what the f is this?

SPEAKER_00 37:35

No, man. I'm judging that person 100%.

SPEAKER_02 37:37

Exactly. I'm excited for the work. Like, let's get it.

SPEAKER_01 37:41

What if someone pulled up in a uh a 1970 Ford F-150 or F-100, whatever it is at that time? And it's just like a it's a mean orange or or simple color. They got toll boxes in the back, old, it's hummin man.

SPEAKER_02 37:54

I would be genuinely concerned. Why are you at like if someone had like a beautiful vintage pickup truck and then they were using it as a work truck, I'd be like, what are you doing? Why is it okay with a van though? Because van the thing is, trucks they just have a different like image to them. People like, you know, there's there's an enthusiast community now with trucks. I'm not saying they're not there with vans. However, I feel like there's more busted up old work vans out there than busted up old work trucks. Like, that's acceptable.

SPEAKER_01 38:23

That's not like this isn't a movie Ashley made me go watch, but Oh, this is that awful. Dude, I want to this makes me want to buy a truck and paint it orange like this. Yeah, but like this is so sick.

SPEAKER_00 38:34

That truck looks like I have one sitting outside.

SPEAKER_01 38:37

Yeah, but it's not this run, and it's also like Whoa, dude. Sorry, that was a little bit also.

SPEAKER_02 38:42

This is an extended cab, not the quad cab. You just hate big things. I I just don't I think the quad cab's unnecessary. You you really he just doesn't like big stuff. He's he's like, No, I have. I've had big trucks.

SPEAKER_00 38:55

I mean, I like like I don't know. I just the quad yeah, I only have six members of my family. Why would I ever want an extended cab on a truck?

SPEAKER_02 39:02

But that's not gonna be a family vehicle.

SPEAKER_00 39:04

That's like a it could be a family vehicle. Pope the kids in, get it like a big thing.

SPEAKER_02 39:13

Will your kids be in it from time to time? Sure, but I doubt that's gonna be like your daily, like, oh, we've got to run to Costco, everyone hop in the monster truck.

SPEAKER_00 39:22

You don't buy that for a daily dipshit.

SPEAKER_02 39:24

Exactly. That's what I'm saying. So why does it matter how many doors it has?

SPEAKER_00 39:27

Because if you want to share the joy that you have driving it with your family, you should have room for the family. Oh my family is more than two people. You can throw your cats in the front of anything and drive around. Your family's too big for that as it sits. 100%.

SPEAKER_02 39:41

So weld two more doors on the thing that's making a six door.

SPEAKER_01 39:45

Get in the truck bed. Put some seats in there. Like one of the ball parts. Staying home. Take care of yourself, JJ.

SPEAKER_02 39:51

You're like gold. The Subaru brat that used to put seats in the bed.

Must Have Accessories For Vans

SPEAKER_00 39:56

Love that. We need to buy one of those. So I guess I guess the layer that comes after this, and and before we get into it, I gotta say, if you haven't subscribed to the channel yet, you're missing out because not only do we have you know incredible conversations exactly like this one, but we also have a bunch of bonus content that we release. Uh, we do some other exclusive stuff inside of our private community, and you won't know that if you don't know when we're posting. So hit that little subscribe button, help us out. Thank you. Now let's get back into it. I'm thinking I'd be curious from your guy's standpoint is like how much does it matter the accessorization ability of the van or the truck.

SPEAKER_01 40:40

It matters more than the vehicle itself.

SPEAKER_02 40:43

Like how how much you're how accessorizable it is. I don't think it matters after it. Very anti-accessory guy. Oh man. I don't think it matters, actually.

SPEAKER_01 40:51

You could no, could let you could have a work truck and turn it into a personal truck and just change some accessories.

SPEAKER_02 40:56

You don't want to do that.

SPEAKER_01 40:56

You don't want to do that, but you could with a truck.

SPEAKER_00 40:59

My first truck ever was an F as an afford STX. Yeah. My dad bet me when I was 12 if I got a scholarship to college, you buy me a truck and that's what he bought me. It was$27,000. It's 100% built for work. You I think I've mentioned before you could hose out the interior because it was like plastic on the bottom. Use it as a personal truck literally until I was in my rookie year in the NFL. So from 20 2004, 5 through 2011. Yeah. Because you had the ability to because I could go personal with it. I'd put a three-inch lift on it, 33-inch tires, maybe Thompson Radial MXTs or some shit. Yep. Black rims. What else? Billet grill. I would pull bar Weston on the front. What else? Did a light rack on the back. Yeah. What else? Oh, wow. Dual exhaust, flow pulsers.

SPEAKER_01 41:48

Dual of them pull up. For the head unit. He had a head unit.

SPEAKER_02 41:52

The 5.8 liter Triton didn't deserve a Flow Master exhaust. But aside from that, uh This guy. It was a 5.2 liter. Or was it 5.4? Is it 5.4? Which one was the? I don't know. Maybe it's a 5.4. But uh I think that the van you can't accessorize as much. I'll give you that. However, I would argue that's a good thing. I feel like it's better to have it separate, separate. Like this is a vehicle strictly for work. I will say you you could accessorize the old ones, and you could, but you have to have a certain look to you and a certain style, and it can be pretty sweet, but you're gonna have to cater the whole aesthetic of your life.

SPEAKER_01 42:31

Exactly, with the little orange and the yellow round window in the back. Sounds like you're trying to build something out for camping more than work.

SPEAKER_02 42:38

That's on my bucket list. That's on my bucket list.

SPEAKER_00 42:40

He wants to be in uh what's that what's that DiCaprio and um Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Yeah, that's you just want to live in that movie. Your whole life, you just want every answer that every question is you just want to live in that movie. That is a good movie.

SPEAKER_02 42:52

There's not a van in there, is there?

SPEAKER_00 42:53

The era, though?

SPEAKER_02 42:54

Oh, the era. That's the van. 100%.

SPEAKER_01 42:57

You would go out right on a Scooby-Doo. Eight-foot bed, you could take it to funerals or take it to work. Why is it some options? There's more options, obviously, but you could take it anywhere. It's clean. I mean, you could take the van too.

SPEAKER_02 43:11

Then you can judge. Why is there a window service pulling up to the funeral? The hearse breaks down, you can throw the casket in the van. We can't use this truck, it's raining out. We got a cover van.

SPEAKER_00 43:20

Why are you driving the first time you ever picked up your fiance for a date?

SPEAKER_02 43:24

Oh, it was a horse. It was the worst vehicle I've ever owned in my life. It was a 2001 Hyundai Elantra hatchback stick. I changed every single component on that car. It all kept breaking. It was so weak that when I would go up the hills on the south side slopes, I'd have to turn the air conditioner off because it would it takes strain off the engine, it would start to stall. It was yeah, it was bad. But it wasn't a van. No, but honestly.

SPEAKER_00 43:50

If you pulled up in a van, yeah, what would she have said to you?

SPEAKER_02 43:53

To be honest, I think it would have been okay. Because whenever I pulled up in that busted up car, she goes, I can't believe you have a car. Thank you. I am pretty well off, I suppose. I paid a thousand dollars cash for this. I can't believe you.

SPEAKER_00 44:07

So to be honest, I think her expectation was to be the floor.

SPEAKER_02 44:11

Well, because every everyone in Pittsburgh, she went to school in Pittsburgh, no one had a car because they all lived in dorms and stuff or in the city.

SPEAKER_00 44:17

No. Oh my goodness. It was hilarious.

SPEAKER_02 44:20

I think I could have made it work. I think I could have had any vehicle made it work.

SPEAKER_00 44:24

Really? Yeah. See, I just don't think that there's a there's a large part of being an adult that like van life is just not the life. It depends on the van, too. I will say I think. No, I just think, period. I feel like if you're if you're single trying to find yourself a nice young lady, like you can't be driving around in that. I did I couldn't disagree more. You're not look at that. Even that second van, Joe. As an old per as an old man, it's cool. Like the vintage van is cool, but you've got to be like at least 32. Van's had a moment with a child.

SPEAKER_02 44:56

No, Vans had a moment after COVID with all the van life stuff. I feel like if they generally do that.

SPEAKER_00 45:00

Look at that E-Series uh 10th picture on the farm. Yeah, look at that. That's a little accessorized. Keep going, keep going, keep going. Look at that. You're not driving that on a job site. Yeah. But they've got$70,000 in accessories, and we're over here having an accessory talk, and you're telling me bare bones minimum bar job site trucks aren't going to be accessorized like that.

SPEAKER_01 45:21

I got a story for you guys. Um Is that a hospital van?

SPEAKER_00 45:24

No.

SPEAKER_01 45:25

Ford used to make this. It used to call it an e-van. Whoa. Okay. And my father used to own one. And when I was a kid, we went over to my uh aunts and uncles. We went to go swim, and he told me I could I left my swimsuit in the trunk. I went to change, and I'm like, I don't want to change out in the open or go in the house. I'll just go into the back of the van and I'll change in the van. So I went into the back of the van, and the van was such a piece of shit, I got locked in it. No, it was scary. It was like 90 degrees out. It was parked away from everybody so no one could hear me banging. Oh my god. So I got rid of his pipe wrenches and I busted out the windows, trashed the back, and I was able to get out that way. But it was crazy. Dude, how pissed was he? Uh he was, he was, he was happy I was fine, but he never got rid of every van from that day. I was probably like 10 years old, maybe a little younger.

SPEAKER_02 46:12

So old enough to be like, I'm locked in a van. Let me bust my way out of it. If you didn't break out, was anyone nearby?

SPEAKER_01 46:18

No, dude, there was no one next to a road. Um, so like you there was cars going by. They were like pulled off on a side of a highway. They locked in a van like, what are you doing? Yeah, that sounds real weird. They they used to make some bigger vans. I just remember Oh, yeah, they were huge. They were big vans. They look kind of like this, more like this one a little bit. But it had a sliding door that would go to the front. You say that, but I'm telling you, John, it had a metal door that slid to the front, but you could only open it from the interior. So like it wasn't just open like those new cargo vans or transit vans. You had to like open it from the interior near the driver's seat to get to the back. Otherwise, it was just latched shut.

SPEAKER_00 46:59

So back to the accessorization. Sam's over here. Like, look how cool that looks. I think you just like dug your own grave. Not at all because he's a band.

SPEAKER_02 47:08

With all the accessories you're gonna put on that truck, that wouldn't be a job site truck either.

SPEAKER_00 47:11

Oh no, 100%. 100%. You don't there's no judgment coming from a jacked-up truck or a barrel truck. You come up to my you pull up to a house and an off-roading, overlanding I camp on the roof of my van van, people are gonna be like, what the hell is this? This guy's supposed to fix my own. Well, they would say the same thing with the truck. They would say the same thing with the truck. Absolutely. There's a reason every foreman and business owner drives a giant jack. Because they're not the ones doing the work. Is it going good over here, guys? I'll see you later. There's a sense of professionalism in the quality of the truck. One. And two, hire the truck closer to God. Like jack that thing up. Let's go. You can't do that to a van and get the same thing.

SPEAKER_02 47:55

No one needs to jack up their vehicles if they're doing legitimate work with them. It's easy. Yeah, they look better. That's not the way they were engineered. And when you're loading and unloading things, you'd want it closer to the ground. I guess you want it closer to the depth whenever you're unloading.

SPEAKER_00 48:10

How much work have you done in your house as of recent, solely based around the fact you wanted it to look more like what you like? Tons of it. Tons. Yeah. Why is it any different for a truck? It's you're like, I want my house to look and feel the way I want, so I'm gonna do it. It wasn't engineered that way.

SPEAKER_02 48:26

Yeah, but the engineer back in 1936 thought that it was I'm changing, I'm changing aesthetic things. Like I'm painting the walls. I'm not like, I think I like 10-foot ceilings. Let's get a jack under here and start raising the raising the ceiling.

SPEAKER_00 48:40

You're turning out walls, you're adding electricity, you're doing all kinds of stuff. Get out of here. That's just negative.

SPEAKER_02 48:46

That's within that's with it's still functional and within reason. You can't deny that there's a lot of truck accessories that are strictly just like based off of an asinine aesthetic. When I used to live in the South, people had those squatters where stupid raise it up in the front. Like I we'll argue.

SPEAKER_00 49:03

I guess I guess if we get enough comments, how many comments? Seven and a half. Let's do nine total comments on this video. 13 comments about truck accessories. We'll do a full episode to it. But I'm you there's you're you're completely lost in this argument. You're like, no, yeah, you can you can buy clothes that make you feel good and we look the way you want to look. You can accessorize your your body, you can accessorize your home. You can't do your truck, but get the Can't you agree though that there is a limit?

SPEAKER_02 49:29

Even with all of those examples, there's a limit to everything. And there's also a right to criticize. I can do crazy shit in my house, I can be like, John, I put a fountain in my living room, and I would hope that you would say, Sam, that is a dumb idea. Why would you do that?

SPEAKER_00 49:41

I say it all the time. Exactly. I'm calling infinite expansive accessories is legitimized just by the fact it exists.

SPEAKER_02 49:50

I'm just anti-severe lift and the wheel spacer thing.

SPEAKER_01 49:54

I'm just not a Thank goodness, trucks aren't limited to only those two things for accessories. Thank goodness. Well, there's more.

SPEAKER_00 50:00

Electronic covers, drawer systems, toolboxes, bed lines, lift random boards, bed tracks. Those are functional accessories.

SPEAKER_02 50:09

Those are functional accessories. Dash cams are required on all vehicles now. But Dash? Or not dash cams, uh backup cams. Backup cams. Well, my car was built in 2009. Also, uh so nice. You can just turn around and just see everything. That's that's one nice thing about a truck, I will say, over a van, you get a better feel to it.

SPEAKER_00 50:30

No, the backing up van sucks. So I had to learn in the era of like using your mirrors. So like when I learned parallel park, there was no backup cams. So I can obviously still have those skill sets. Like I parallel parked I parallel parked the Expedition Max last week to go to dinner. Uh one swipe, you know, still still got it. I used to parallel park the 250 in the city when I lived there. It was awful. Yeah. But like I had to learn to use mirrors, which kids these days they don't really got to do that because you have backup cams. Um, but that's a skill in a van you have to have. Because you got the backup cam, but you're like the I don't know, is that the real world right there? I don't know if I trust.

SPEAKER_01 51:03

And most vans you buy for that lower price point, you get that little screen. It's all right. Or it's in the mirror. It's the tiniest screen. You can't even see.

SPEAKER_02 51:12

This is a hot take. I think we're gonna start to see, I think we're gonna start to see the screen start to minimize time.

SPEAKER_00 51:18

Dude, no, go look at any new luxury vehicle on the. I know, but there's a truck last week, the whole front of the truck is they're getting bigger, Sammy.

SPEAKER_02 51:25

It's out of it's out of control. So I used to watch, there was an excellent car reviewer. I think he's still out there as a savage geese, and like that was always a big talking point with vehicles, is like, or their tactile switches and buttons, because once everything's in that screen and they all have their own proprietary software.

SPEAKER_00 51:40

Have you been in an Ineos? What? Like the new Ineos, those that's like a new brand, right? The guy who had the relaunch, he wanted to buy the Defender model and couldn't do it. So he launched a billionaire, launched his own truck brand. It's called Ineos. Ineos. INEOS. You've seen them, they look cool. The Grenadier. I don't think I've my buddy has one, and you go in it, it's very tactile. Oh wow. Like it has all the I'm it's like a Jeep for me. I'm like, oh, it's plasticky, like it's a bunch of plastic buttons and shit. It looks cool, it's sharp. It's just I think there's a time and a place for both sides. I'm not gonna knock it. Yeah. I like the screens. I I like the screens, I like buttons and stuff. My my lightning is all screen.

SPEAKER_02 52:17

You have a dial though. You have the physical switches for your heating controls and stuff, right? No, it's all on there. Yeah, that's where I wish I had buttons.

SPEAKER_01 52:25

At least you have the volume control. Ashley's new car just has the screen. Yeah. And so, like in the wintertime, we had like one one time when we turned it on and it like wasn't responding. We had to turn the car off back on. And it's I hate it so much.

SPEAKER_00 52:38

There's a good middle ground there. But all that being said, we're not arguing about the industry in general here. What we are arguing about is should you accessorize the van? Now let's stick to just straight work stuff. Okay. Three things if you do own a work van, you must put in it accessory-wise. Go. Ladder rack.

SPEAKER_02 52:56

Uh I would say ladder rack, some sort of shelving organizational or modular organizational system in the back of it. And you know what? Make it easy on your knees. Throw a set of running boards on there.

SPEAKER_00 53:12

What else?

SPEAKER_01 53:13

How short are you? You can't just step into the vacuum. Your whole pitch was how low they are. You put running boards on, you're gonna be scraping the damn ground you hit a Pittsburgh.

SPEAKER_02 53:23

Well, flip that chip, two things functional. And man, do they look nice, too? You see a van. This guy's actually. Actually, if I have one, like if I have one more, if I got a bonus one, a bonus one, and then this would be it. Nothing looks cooler than a van, especially the older ones with a visor. It's got like there's the windshield, and it has the little visor on top of it. You're talking about the astro, the visor above the windshield. Yes, those look sick.

SPEAKER_00 53:47

I can't believe you just said running boards. When he pictures a van, he's picturing the Scooby-Doo van. Is it a lifted van though? How are you gonna put running boards on? It's a Scooby-Doo van. It's a molding, Joe. It's a molded step. It's not, it's not a bolt-on. This thing's molded.

SPEAKER_02 54:00

Those E250s, the E250s and E350s are still a little high off the ground.

SPEAKER_00 54:06

They are. One thing I'm gonna add, I would say, is um, I love to see brands like Milwaukee with the pack-out system making accessories that make things like attachable to the walls. I think that's this is a perfect instance. You screw that shit into the interior wall of the van wherever you can, and then it makes it super easy to get your stuff in and out, doesn't clank around. You don't have to have a bunch of bungee cords and like toe straps and all that kind of shit in there. I think that gotta have that these days. A cargo net, like cargo net usage in the vans. Like I we don't have one, but I would I would definitely have it because you could just like throw the net over if you built some cabinets, like keep things packed against the wall, kind of thing. And then I actually would say a roof rack. You said ladder rack, but I would say just roof rack in general. So you can get some shit, it's not the greatest, but you can get some stuff up there.

SPEAKER_02 54:50

Yeah, yeah, I just I just thought about this now. I guess you could put one of those deck systems in a van too, couldn't you?

unknown 54:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 54:57

Then you're getting then you're getting all that all the drawer storage, plus you still have all that roof.

SPEAKER_00 55:02

But I think a van you could go vertical on drawer storage and you can just make long drawers that pull out, and then you get all the or you still can get to get full, you know, stuff on the other side, full standing room on the other side. Is there four feet? Yeah, I guess if there's four feet. The question now for Sam, or maybe we'll throw it to Joe, because this guy's deplorable. What do you put in the truck 100% of that?

SPEAKER_01 55:21

Oh, if if it's a work truck, get a cap. From the cap, get a sliding drawer system. You're saying no, but it it turns it into everything you need to be. And then I'd honestly say you could do whatever, probably like a a rack on top of the cap in the truck to be able to haul longer things. You that covers all your bases, and especially if you have a pass-through window, you could keep stuff on the interior need to be. Yeah, I'd say those three things. Uh he doesn't need to be lifted. If you want to lift it eventually, do it after. But yeah, that sliding drawer system is one of the most game-changing things. The whole bed slides out, yeah. Low clearance that holds the weight, it balances it. With all with that combination of the three, I think those are fair accessories.

Truck Or Van For Each Trade

SPEAKER_00 56:02

I feel like we're building the same thing, just different. Exactly. My truck, yes. Except I'm still waiting on my damn roof racks to come in. Thule's been sold out for two years now, you bastards. Two years? I don't know. They, you know, trucks are out of control these days. Completely out of control. Last thing we're gonna do here. It's a game we just made up on the spot before we got into this. And I think it's rather fun. But we have a list of jobs and trades, and we're playing truck or van. We're just gonna simply vote on truck or van. There's there is no middle ground. Sam and I get constantly criticized because I'll say like properly rated, or it's not there, or Sam will be like, throw a trailer. Trailer's a better option here. Um not an option. You can just get a trailer. So, truck or van. We'll start at the top. Joe's gonna rattle them off, and we'll just give them to you straight straight from the gut. All right, but we have barely any experience in most of these fields, so this should be beautiful. Joe. Electrician.

SPEAKER_01 56:57

Van I'm going van. I'd go van as well. I think that's a good van one. Plumber. Van. Van. I'd say van. HVAC Tech. Van. I'm going truck on this one. Oh, okay. I'll go truck just to make pull a turnover. See, here's the thing though.

SPEAKER_00 57:17

Plumbers and HVAC are like the same thing. They're like the same business, right? So like I only said it to be an asshole.

SPEAKER_01 57:22

I just I wanted a truck to have a win on something. Probably should use a van.

SPEAKER_02 57:25

GC! I'll I'll give you truck on this one. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 57:31

If you're a general god, never mind. I didn't even say that, man. Yeah, truck. Please don't drive a van. 100% truck for me, too.

SPEAKER_00 57:38

Yeah, not a good one.

SPEAKER_01 57:39

You get that look appeal.

SPEAKER_00 57:40

It's the oh shit, okay, here comes the Also, just there's way too many different things you need to do it. That like you can't have the customization on the interior. Yeah. You didn't like that one. You don't get the benefits of the thing. It's all judgment for Joe over here. Why don't you like that? Argue against it. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 57:56

Because he was a GC.

SPEAKER_01 57:58

Never mind.

SPEAKER_02 57:58

No, I was never a G C. I was just a Just driving around in an astro van. Your kids watch them.

SPEAKER_01 58:05

We have a painter. Van. I feel yeah, I feel like a painter gotta be in a van. You need the ladder storage. A bigger van. I've seen some nice decked out vans like the Sprinters. Um Landscaper or lawn care. Truck. I'd say truck. Need a truck.

SPEAKER_00 58:20

Towing a lot. You have to. You have to have a truck.

SPEAKER_01 58:24

Landscaper. You're playing with our heart here.

SPEAKER_00 58:29

Van. What? I'm I gotta go. I gotta go with a van as well. Think about this, Jesse. You don't know that life, Joe.

SPEAKER_02 58:39

I don't know, but I'm just surprised. This is what I would say. Like, even let's say it's like, like I said, just like general carpentry, or let's say you're like a finished carpenter. Yeah. The saws and everything, especially those guys have some nice saws. You throw it in that van, you lock it down. Yeah, weather protected, no one's gonna mess with it. Especially the longer vans, too. You get like 10-foot pieces of trim in there, things like that.

SPEAKER_01 58:59

I guess if you're buying like Festal and all these other expensive.

SPEAKER_00 59:02

Here's a kicker that I think, as a carpenter, uh, in my experience, sets puts van in the in the in the checkbox for me. I used to closely work with a cabinet company here in Pittsburgh. Uh, shout out to Bunyur Cabinets, good buddies of mine. We were within like two miles of each other, and I would actually hire them to come help me with deliveries, depending on the scope of the job and how much stuff we had. Yeah. Because their vans made so much more sense for us to deliver things like cabinetry or custom interior furniture. But the the kicker with the van is if you're doing any mill work or you're doing anything on site, that would require long pieces of material that you need to get there without potentially effing them up. Like, you don't want to be running a piece of you know, custom trim that you had made that you gotta like tie something in hanging out at the back of your truck if you've only got an eight-foot bed and it's a 10-foot piece, right? You got a big enough van, you can run that all the way up to the dashboard, right, with some proper supports and whatnot. So, like I used to bring them on those sites after I did a delivery with them for a table, and I saw how much more convenient the van is. That and you're also the lowerness of the ground. I think a carpenter, yeah, it just all those points the tool storage, the lockability, and then the versatility. You're not gonna build those out though. They're gonna be empty with with accessorization options. They're not gonna be like custom build out to be an electrician or like a plumber where you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:33

So I agree with the van after hearing all that. Yeah, yeah. I guess I have seen a lot of carpenters use vans, so that makes sense. It's just super convenient. Now we're moving into some specialty jobs. Uh appliance delivery slash install. Van Box truck. I'd say box truck. Box truck, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:52

No, I mean I'll I'll I'll also say van because uh one, it's there's only two options here. But like if you show up to deliver my refrigerator on the back of a pickup truck, I know that shit got up. That's why I would say a box truck. They show up in a box truck, I'd be a box truck side. But also this for servicing. You're gonna have a bunch of specialty tools. You like it should be nice and tight and clean in there. Mobile detailing. Van.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:14

Dude. No. What? Truck. What the f are you talking about? Put a water tank on the back of a truck. Okay, so I know a lot of high-end detailers that that put a bike side.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:28

We uh we ours retired. Um, you know, let us know. But he was in a van, and I was like, he had his he had his tank.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:33

I've seen it my whole life. People use like like vans. And then my one buddy started a detailing business, does a bunch of the steelers. Yeah, he got an old truck. What the f we been holding out for? He he does he's in sales and stuff now. He he when he we we were in college, he used to, but he put a water tank on the back of a truck, had some like cool and it was just like he was able to go to multiple stops in a day when he was down to Pittsburgh through Squirrel Hill and everywhere and like not run out of water. You can use it in some places, you know. You don't need a a water tank for everybody, but for him in his instance of he was traveling quite a bit and didn't have a connection everywhere. Yeah, I mean I guess I mean that's Van probably makes more sense.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:08

I wanted to say van, but it I'm still gonna I think that's still impressive. I'm still gonna stick with van. I feel like the majority of them have vans.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:16

And vans, and it makes sense. I'm just saying for that one off, if you are you know bouncing around, don't have access to water.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:21

Did you just have like a pump or something?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:22

Yeah, he has a little generator on it.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:24

Yeah, but I'm saying you need to have pressurized water going too, and you don't just have a tank where it's like you hook a pressure washer up as to be hooked to your hose. There's water pressure. It has a battery-powered pump. That's what that's what I was asking. So is there like a pump or something?

SPEAKER_01 1:02:37

Yeah, something like that. Was he pumping it up? Pumping that thing up. Van probably makes more sense. I just had to locksmith.

SPEAKER_02 1:02:47

Van. I'd say van. I think the I we had an argument here, but just going through all these jobs.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:53

When did that locksmith show up? Did he have a van? I've never hired a locksmith. I guess I did hire him, but you hired him. Yeah, he did have a van. Van?

SPEAKER_01 1:03:00

Wow. Yeah, definitely a van. If a locksmith showed up in just like a truck or something, I don't know how I'd feel. True. Um, pest control. Van.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:08

All those chemicals. I'm gonna say truck. Really? What about Dale's dead bug from King of the Hill?

SPEAKER_00 1:03:13

He had a van. Yeah, but think about all those chemicals. I'm with Joe here. I I don't want someone driving around with all those chemicals, just open access to the cab. I think if you're having open access to the public so the school kids can come by and you can put a cover on a truck bed.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:29

I don't know, figure something else out. I just go to like all the, you know, all the stuff's coming out about some of the stuff they're putting in plants and pests and killing them. It's we're eating that shit. Don't want that shit locked up with you. Uh we have catering and mobile food.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:44

Gotta be a van.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:44

Van. All right. Now we have some wild cards here. Oh boy. Uh what if you're a YouTuber? Gotta be a truck. Has to be a truck. Gotta be. Drive a truck.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:56

Wait, hold on a second. It also says content creator. I could think of a piece of content creation that can only be done in a van. It's not a lot, it's certainly not allowed on YouTube.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:07

We don't make that kind of content. But I'm just saying. You're stupid if you think that can only be done in a van. You're gonna need a truck to go build that van.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:14

Well, you can do it in a van in public and get away with it. You can't be in the middle of LA and back of a truck.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:20

You haven't worked hard enough. Uh LA, they don't give a shit. You can do whatever you want there. Places in wild weather. Uh real estate investor? Gotta be in the truck.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:29

I don't want to see the real estate investor in either of those vehicles. If you're strictly the person banking. I do.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:36

If you're a property manager, you got a bunch of properties in development. You got to have a truck because you're getting a lot of people.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:40

Pull up in a truck and I'm listening way more.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:42

Property manager, real estate. Well, you're a real estate investor. I'm thinking someone bankroll and all these real estate deals. I want them to pull up in like a merc or like a BMW M car.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:50

I want them pulling up in like a nice, nice line of a truck, a King Ranch.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:55

A Mercedes.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:57

Calls it a Merc.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:58

Everybody calls it a Mercury.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:59

Everybody calls them Mercs.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:00

What?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:01

You've never heard of that?

SPEAKER_02 1:05:03

I was thought you were saying Mercury. I was like, I won't have seen them in a 2001 Mercury Cougar. That's almost like Sam. You guys wasn't need the money for this house. I got in cash in the back of the cougar.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:18

Holy shit. Uh and last but not least, the weekend warrior slash DIY or I will die on this one.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:25

I'll probably give it to you on this one. Truck. Gotta be a truck. Your family vehicle should be a truck until you have more than two kids. I never said that. I will die on that hill. You can do this the most versatile vehicle you own. Garages are bigger now, parking, it's the same size as a full size SUV. Until you have the need for that third, you could even squeeze three kids in the back of a truck now. But I'm if you're doing DIY work too. You want to build a patio this weekend?

SPEAKER_01 1:05:53

You want to get some gravel?

SPEAKER_00 1:05:55

My buddy drives around in a GMC at Cadia with three three kids and then does all of his DIY. He's always sending me the stuff. I mean, he is a liability on the road. Liability. He's got shit strapped to the roof, sticking out of the back, sticking out of the wind. He's driving around New York with two by fours coming out the driver window with his automaton. I'm like, bro, you are the problem. Yeah. He thinks it's hilarious. Um but that being said, though, I'm like, you just get a pickup truck, you're good to go. He lives in like upstate New York. 100% has a need for a pickup, but yeah, I'll die on that hill. Yeah. First family vehicle, full-size pickup. I agree with you there, John.

SPEAKER_02 1:06:32

Doesn't need to be full size, but you can get away with mid-size. I just had this conversation with Dan about his screen. Well, you can fit inside Santa Cruz and I'm gonna put my hand in your mouth. The price point is better than. Santa Cruz is not a truck. That's not true. Anything. That's like an urban utility vehicle or some shit category. Any vehicle could be a truck. A truck is not a body style, it's a lifestyle. You and my buddy both both would argue that.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:03

Oh man. Is there anything else left to hear this idiot ramble on, Joe?

SPEAKER_01 1:07:07

No, we maybe uh truck is a lifestyle. If the audience wants to hear it, we'll circle back to the truck debate.

Final Takes And Wrap Up

SPEAKER_00 1:07:12

Yeah, let us know. Do you guys want to hear us argue about I I want to hear it. So what nine votes in the comments below? Uh, truck accessories, do's and don'ts. The three of us will weigh in. Um, until then, make sure you're subscribing and uh make sure you're checking out the Builder Bunker for all kinds of extra content, early access, and all the fun things there. Appreciate you guys supporting us, and we'll see you on next week's episode.

SPEAKER_03 1:07:35

Please.