maestro489 Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 I am considering a new vehicle for my business and I am curious about which vehicles you guys use and what you like about them. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacanteen Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 Hackney body, Isuzu NPR diesel. Drinks load and unload from ground level, Snacks inside from the back step door. Since I am service and market equipment manager, I drive an F-150 Super Crew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfdogs Posted August 11, 2016 Share Posted August 11, 2016 I have one of the Hackney bodies and prefer it over the Mickey body that I have on another truck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maestro489 Posted August 11, 2016 Author Share Posted August 11, 2016 I am actually considering the F150 with a trailer. Anybody have this setup? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southeast Treats Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 I have not used a trailer for route servicing, if you have tight parking lots to get in and out of could be a pain, but it seems like it would be an inexpensive way to go.... and LA, if you ever want to sell one of your used trucks cheap please let me know! I am in a cargo van now and would like to change, also looking at those low profile cube body trucks with lift doors all around.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chkoolaid1 Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 How much do those hackney bodies go for used? 100,000+ miles? I've been thinking about going to a tall panel van or box truck, my grand caravan doesn't have much life left in it Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKK Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 Box trucks with side and rear doors if i could upload id show u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CapitalCityVendingLLC Posted August 12, 2016 Share Posted August 12, 2016 We go the truck and trailer way. Drop the trailer at the end of the day. We don't really run into any tight parking situations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TABV Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 If possible, I would like to revive this thread. I have two ealry 2000's P30 step vans that are near end of life. I have some analysis paralysis, I have looked at hundreds of options. What's everyone think, what do you use, what's ideal in your opinion? I'd like to include refrigeration this time if possible due to the summer months and chocolate... Photos are always great! Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maestro489 Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 For me ideal is a box truck. I have a 14 foot box on an Isuzu npr. It’s over 10,000 pounds which means you have to follow dot rules and regulations. However you can get a van front box truck which is under 10,000 no dot rules and still have. 14 ft box which is what I will be going with next. Either a dodge promaster or ford transit front. I have a fridge on my truck that uses large ice packs and keeps the chocolate cool in Georgia so I don’t need refrigeration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacapa Vending Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Tall Ford Transit is the way to go. We have a box truck also with the hackney box and it works well. However; I'm done with paying super high insurance, registration, DOT numbers and going through truck scales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maestro489 Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 Can you fit everything thing on the transit van or are you having to reload every day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacapa Vending Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 We have to reload every day no matter what vehicle we use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 I used 14' Isuzu diesel NPRs exclusively in AZ with 115 degree summers. We ran reefers off the engines on continuous duty 12+ hours each day. We spray-foamed the roof, side walls and the bottom of the floor then shaved the inside and reinstalled the plywood. We lit the inside and worked inside the trucks with the doors closed. The inside temp would be mid-80s by end of day but not much worse than that. We loaded every day due to the volume of product we sold. We had no DOT requirements to meet here, just licensed them with commercial plates and drove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maestro489 Posted March 28, 2019 Author Share Posted March 28, 2019 If you can get a whole day in a transit you could get at least two days in a box truck. It might not be worth the dot hassle but it’s definitely bigger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacapa Vending Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 Ya the box truck definitely holds more but it still needs to be topped off after a 10 or 12 stop day. We also probably carry too many different kind of drinks. Damn hipsters and their sparkling waters and 20 different energy drink requests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngryChris Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 I can easily do $1,000/day out of a transit with snacks/soda only. Adding food shouldn't be too difficult if I did that as I could just use insulated bags with ice packs inside. Realistically, I could probably consistently do $1,500/day if I had it as efficient as possible, and probably $2,000 or more if I was 100% prekitting everything. So, unless you are trying to break over $1,500/day, then a transit would be fine but you DO need to stay organized with your trash/empty boxes. I mean the shelves need to be packed, soda stacked, etc... It fits in most parking spots fine, has a backup camera, and is just comfortable IMO. Having said that, a p30 or similar stepvan that's something in the realm of 16' in the cargo or so can hold wayyyy more (as can a box on the back of a truck/van chassis). You WILL sacrifice gas mileage in the larger vehicles, especially gas engines which you should know all about as the P30 I drove back in the day measured fuel by gallons-per-mile rather than miles-per-gallon. The Chevy Express 3500 box truck I had before I got the transit only got about 10.5 MPG and the transit gets about 15.5 MPG at this point. Although you sacrifice the gas, carrying 2x the product is obviously important and it's SO much easier to stay organized because of the extra space. In fact, I used the box truck to have skids of product put on the back so I could pick up large orders.. but that was only relevant because I have no place to receive deliveries. One thing I think you should strongly consider is that the P30 shouldn't be too hard on your knees to get on and off. I know this from experience. The box truck option may be quite a bit more of a step if the box has no wheel wells. Some boxes have wheel wells inside the box (mine did) and the step is not as bad. The stepvan I drove 10 years ago was much easier to get in and out of. Another factor was that the stepvan seemed slightly narrower than the boxes so it fit easier... and the turning radius seemed much better as well, which made maneuvering into tight spots much better. For me, if I were to upgrade from the transit, I would stick with then Isuzu NPR with a box style similar to LACanteen's setup or I would just go for a boxtruck with wheel wells inside. The wheel wells are annoying but, for me, fatigue and wear and tear on my knees is a big deal so I want the box a little lower. On top of that, it just felt so much better inside the box because I could put commercial shelves on both sides (2' deep), absolutely PACK it all full of product if I wanted to, and still have a nice aisle in the middle to get in and out of. One advantage of a transit is that I can easily access things from the side door. This makes things INCREDIBLY nice when I pull into a parking spot. I can unload from the side and back door which makes things easier IF properly organized. LACanteen's NPR in the display has a very similar advantage though because the soda is right there. His setup is different from what I am describing but arguably much better because soda is secure, easy to access, and very efficient as far as space is concerned. Because of those boxes, and because of the NPR's good reviews, I think that might be my top pick IF I wanted to upgrade... I only drove them a few times back in the day but they were really easy to maneuver as well. Better than the transit I think. I didn't like feeling like I was driving in a fish bowl and the cabin didn't seem nice but this was 10+ years ago so maybe newer ones are better than what I occasionally drove. I don't remember how the step was out of the isuzu but I want to say it wasn't as bad as a box truck with no wheel wells. Perhaps someone else can mention that. If you can't tell, having smaller steps is a big deal to me. I'm 6'1 and 220 lbs. but with flat feet which affects my knees and those big steps create problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maestro489 Posted March 28, 2019 Author Share Posted March 28, 2019 I forgot to mention the lift. It’s a must with a box truck. No wheel wells getting in the way and when it rains you just roll your cart inside the box and load it without getting wet. Also you don’t have to pick everything up twice. You just park your cart in the lift load all your drinks then load your tub with the snacks you need ride the lift down and your off. With a van or without a lift you’d have to stack everything at the edge of the van, get down and then load it again onto your cart. I can hold 5 $1,000 days in one box truck easy. That way I can reload on Saturday which means when I finish my last account each day I go home and not to load for the next day. My uncle would load every morning before his route which meant he had to get up almost 2 hours before I do. Love my sleep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacapa Vending Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 https://photos.app.goo.gl/fsh1mNA26xwDnqVY6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVendor Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 1 hour ago, Anacapa Vending said: https://photos.app.goo.gl/fsh1mNA26xwDnqVY6 What a waste of space! You could use simple cargo vans for what you have in there. It looks like you might be pre-kitting but it's hard to tell. If you're not then you definitely have more vehicle than you need. If you are pre-kitting then you have too much wasted space and your payments on the wasted space are eating up your bottom line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacapa Vending Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 We started with a standard E150 (we still have it as a spare). The transit is nice because you can stand up inside. It also holds up to 2 full pallets if I need to use it for a quick Sam's club trip. This picture was in 2017 when we first installed the shelf. I have enough aluminum to do more shelves but I dont want to lose the ability to move pallets of product in a pinch and I dont want to bang my head on a shelf on the other side. The only thing else I could ever see changing is possibly adding a deep freezer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lacanteen Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 Word of warning for the NPR. After suffering a few years with the "clean idle" DEF diesels, we are switching back to gasoline. The DEF system needs flushed every 6 months to the tune of $500-600 every time. The Hackney body allows prekit routes to work 25-35 machines per day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flintflash Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 59 minutes ago, lacanteen said: Word of warning for the NPR. After suffering a few years with the "clean idle" DEF diesels, we are switching back to gasoline. The DEF system needs flushed every 6 months to the tune of $500-600 every time. The Hackney body allows prekit routes to work 25-35 machines per day. We have the same issue with DEF Diesels. And what really stinks is that there are only 2 shops in Michigan (yes, the entire state) that works on them. We had the DEF Switch malfunction and I had to tow it across the state to get it repaired. We also will be switching back to gasoline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orsd Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 8 minutes ago, flintflash said: We have the same issue with DEF Diesels. And what really stinks is that there are only 2 shops in Michigan (yes, the entire state) that works on them. We had the DEF Switch malfunction and I had to tow it across the state to get it repaired. We also will be switching back to gasoline. The emissions golpher is killing everyone. From the little half ton diesel pickups to semis. The most important things are to never idle and religious maint. And yes, gas is increasingly becoming a viable alternative. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to maintain, and cheaper fuel. Plus you can work on them yourself if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flintflash Posted March 28, 2019 Share Posted March 28, 2019 40 minutes ago, orsd said: The emissions golpher is killing everyone. From the little half ton diesel pickups to semis. The most important things are to never idle and religious maint. And yes, gas is increasingly becoming a viable alternative. Cheaper to buy, cheaper to maintain, and cheaper fuel. Plus you can work on them yourself if you want. I have it DRILLED into my driver's heads not to idle (and they don't), and we maintenance regularly. What stinks is if there is an issue (like we had with just a stupid sensor), there are literally only two places in Michigan that will repair them. It's crazy. We're going back to gas, simply because I can't waste that much time driving across the world for repairs and going without the truck for long periods. Thank you politicians for your emissions standards...NOT! LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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