Pimping Your Truck

Why Upfit?

Upfitting your vehicle simply means upgrading it, and when it comes to the interior, it means organizing it to be more efficient.

You don't need to hire a professional organizer (although that might be quite an enlightening experience), but you may have to think like one to properly evaluate whether your vehicles are efficiently housing your tools and equipment.

The basics of organizing are relatively simple: consider whether there is a logical order to the systems in place behind the scenes in your vehicles.

The following scenarios may ring a bell:
1. Your contractors are halfway to a job and turn around because they forgot cabling;
2. Your equipment is scattered in so many places throughout the truck that finding the right tools takes precious time;
3. Your crew can't stand in the truck easily and find themselves with aching backs;
4. Your shelving is rusty and the racks are heavy and cumbersome.

If any of the above rings true, it's time to do a bit of organizing. Fortunately, there are many systems available for upfitting. Many truck dealers even offer free upfits when you purchase a new truck or fleet.

If you're not in the market for a new truck fleet, you can still upfit your vehicle by reorganizing the top racks, adding a utility body or buying shelves and storage organizers for the interior.

"Enclosed services bodies" offer a completely enclosed work and cargo area similar to a van, but have an added advantage of exterior storage compartments for easy access of frequently used items.

Some companies offer new models with aerodynamic styling, which gives a contoured design and might even save fuel. One truck equipment company, Reading Truck Body, offers ergonomically correct grips for drawer units, helping to prevent injury from repetitive use.

One dealer, King of Prussia, Pa.-based JM Resources, has taken the minimalist approach to organizing, finding indeed that less is more.

"We removed most of the bins from inside our vans to make more space available," says Arie Upfalow, president of JM Resources. "As integrators, we need to accommodate large boxes which hold our central vacuums and TVs."

The company works only with the full-size Chevrolet 2500 model of vans. Upfalow found that anything larger than a full-size van is too bulky to handle in day-to-day operations.

Since space is a key issue for most home theater businesses, other companies vary the size of their trucks to accommodate all of their equipment.

Calgary, Alberta-based Showcase Home Theatre (SHT) uses three different models, but also keeps the interiors fairly simple. In its GMC three-quarter-ton cargo vans, the interior is sparse, with only one rack to the side that holds small parts and boxes of wire, with the rest open for bigger equipment.

On its half-ton extended cab GMC trucks, it added roll-top bed covers to house various wire and gear whenever necessary. When it needs to carry big equipment over, it simply unrolls the cover. Its security department uses five of the Toyota Matrix, which adds up to sound economics for SHT.

"We found that we don't have to carry as much wire or parts, and it is one-third the cost to run," says Joe Strang, president of SHT. "We still have them fully 'logoed,' but other than that, we just lower the back seat and we're good to go."

Oldsmar, Fla.-based S&S Electric has been busy upfitting its fleet to accommodate growth in its business and to maintain efficiency. Its complete line of trucks includes pickups, SUVs, vans, flatbeds, and box and delivery trucks.

In 2000, it began using small trailers to store material at its job sites. Another interesting change happened when it switched from custom interior shelving to factory-installed shelving manufactured by Adrian Steel.

"We find that these are adequate for transporting and storing the various materials we need," says Shawn Smith, vice president of S&S Electric. "We used to order and install custom shelves, but we are happier now that we have switched to the factory-installed product."

S&S Electric has the vans converted locally by America's Body Company (ABC Truck). The shelving incorporates ABC Truck's "Quietflex" system, which are hard plastic bins manufactured to reduce the common annoying noises of rattling while driving.

They're made from a composite material that, according to ABC Truck, will not rust or dent. The end panels and safety partition are made of steel. Smith describes some of the add-ons that end up saving them time on a job, including "crew" bench seats behind the driver and passenger.

With a typical crew of four or five people, transporting them together helps them finish jobs much faster. Since Ford no longer offers the second bench seat factory-installed, it uses a local company called DMC to install the crew seat, seat belts and safety cages.

An important feature on S&S Electric's vans is the ladder racks on the roofs. Each van typically carries 10–14 ladders at a time.
"Because we are so safety conscious, we want every employee on the job to have a ladder, and the right size ladder for the job ... but that's a whole other story," says Smith.

"So we have racks on all our vehicles that can support that. Whenever I see a vehicle coming on the road, I know it's one of ours even before I can see the logo -- I know by the number of ladders on the roof."

When it comes to ladder racks, Smith would prefer to get factory-installed ladder racks, but one of his big concerns is rust. Their current ladder racks are made and supplied by Lakewood, N.J.-based American Van (www.americanvan.com).

The racks are powder coated, rust-free and all-aluminum construction with stainless hardware to reduce roof rail corrosion in the long term. When asked what his ideal truck looks like, Smith has three criteria: a wider body to allow for additional inventory, a taller roof to allow for additional and taller inventory (i.e. A/V racks), and integrated ladder racks for the roof.

Upfitting Products

Once you're in the market to do some upfitting, there is a range of products to choose from.

One simple upgrade is to get a cab cover for your pickup. According to design experts, cab covers can improve the fuel economy of many pickups by reducing aerodynamic drag. In providing cover, they also can save on equipment loss.

If you're looking to add an organizer, there are systems that can be easily installed. The Silver Shield System is an organizer made of galvanized steel for pickup trucks.

They can hold everything from ladders to tools to first aid kits. There are 40 types of organizers to choose from, weighing anywhere from 40 to 75 pounds. The organizers can be used for all makes and models.

Traditionally, contractors built wooden organizers in the back of their pickups, but the most popular organizer is made of steel. One advantage of steel is that it's easily transferred to another vehicle, whereas the weight from wood might add not only to your fuel bill, but also to the truck's maintenance.

The company's Web site (www.silvershieldsystem.com) provides illustrations and diagrams highlighting the architecture of their organizers.

Masterack offers adjustable shelving systems, dividers and modules for truck and van interiors, as well as giving you the option to custom design the units. Each interior system has standard features, including drawers and cabinets.

For van interiors, there are 60-inch high modules with lockable drawers, cabins and hooks. Its drawer system features 3-inch and 6-inch deep drawers.

Some of the storage systems it features include a rail system, which vertically organizes parts and tools in removable, snap-in bins; heavy-duty floor drawers with smooth glide rollers that provide lockable storage for parts; tools and equipment; and rear pull-out shelving for technical sales and service fleets, with a low gloss black finish to match OEM interior trim in passenger vehicles.

Its wire shelving is zinc-plated and rust-free. Its Cargo Protection Packages and Duraliners help protect cargo. It also offers HPDE wall panels and headliner to control climate and road noise.

Space-saving

If you're in the market for a new truck and looking to upgrade in both space and organization, a walk-in truck or step van might be what you need. Used traditionally for delivery, these box trucks offer plenty of space for equipment, a workspace and even an office.

Consider this example: An integrator sets up a workbench in the back of his 14-foot truck. On the bench, he has a vise so he can thread or saw pipe. In addition to having a workspace in tow, he can haul hundreds of parts, fittings and equipment in the truck, alleviating the need to go back and forth for missing things.

He has everything an integrator needs inside, including a 6-foot ladder and a 16-foot extension ladder.

Some other advantages of walk-in trucks include easy access. You simply back the truck up at jobsites and go in and out of the back doors. The crew won't need to unload all their supplies just to get one thing underneath.

Another benefit is having less-damaged materials. When vehicles are crowded, tools and supplies are easily damaged.

And of course, the sides of the truck provide prime real estate for advertising the company's logo and graphics.

If none of this seems to be in your budget, many truck body and truck shelving companies offer small, but useful accessories and protection for your trucks.

For example, Reading Truck Body sells toolmates, which can be added to pickup trucks, underboxes and crossboxes. For vans, they offer many accessories including a van door pouch, pull-out pouches and porta-tray racks for tools. To protect your trucks, they offer Rhino Lining, a polyurethane lining that prohibits rust, corrosion and surface abrasion.

For general protection, always use rust-free materials whenever possible.

The key to looking at the "up" side of upfitting is to evaluate where your real sore spots are in your fleet.

Where are you losing materials the most? What trucks are causing damage or increasing job times? Simple adjustments right now may save you thousands of dollars later.