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grizzly
Scholar of Advanced Appliantological Studies
| Joined: | Sun Feb 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | Topeka, Kansas USA |
| Posts: | 61 |
| Flavorite Brew: | Fabreze |
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Posted: Sun Aug 10th, 2008 23:44 |
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Ford is officially going to start importing thier small european cargo van next year:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/transitconnect/
I can't wait to test drive one. The front wheel drive would be nice in the snow, and the 4 cyl would be nice on the wallet. Not quite sure it it is big enough, but it looks tempting. Since GM stopped making the Chevy Astro and whatever the GMC version was called, which IMO, was a perfect size appliance service van there seems to be a void in the market.
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"Christianity will go.. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. Grizzly Appliance Repair is more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first — appliance repair or Christianity."
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Samurai Appliance Repair Man
Fermented Grand Master of Appliantology
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Posted: Mon Aug 11th, 2008 07:55 |
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| I've started doing some of my further-out service calls in our Prius (that we bought used from some friends). Talk about tight space! (This works out for limited service calls at a time and when you know pretty much what parts you'll need or for return trips where you're completing the repair). That van looks plenty big and the savings in gas would more than compensate for the reduced storage space.
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ROBBYRIG
Sublime Master of Appliantology
| Joined: | Sat Apr 26th, 2008 |
| Location: | Illinois USA |
| Posts: | 261 |
| Flavorite Brew: | Bud Light of course |
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Posted: Mon Aug 11th, 2008 13:02 |
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Believe it or not, our fleet consists of two Hyundai Accents and two Chevy HHR's. The Accents have had the back seats removed but they are still somewhat difficult to get used to. You need to be prepped as to the most necessary parts and keep them to a minimum.
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Scottthewolf
Sublime Master of Appliantology
| Joined: | Thu Feb 1st, 2007 |
| Location: | Cleveland, Ohio USA |
| Posts: | 501 |
| Flavorite Brew: | Dunkin Donuts Coffee |
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Posted: Thu Aug 14th, 2008 00:34 |
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Just my opinion, using passenger cars makes you look very unprofessional and some customers may think you are a fly by night company that may be gone tomorrow.
What do you do if you get an outer tub to replace on a washer, or doors to replace on a refrigerator? How can you possibly carry all your sealed system equipment in a passenger car?
I have sworn by Ford full size Econoline vans and would never want to use anything else. If they are maintained properly you can get around 250,000 miles before you have to send them to the junkyard. I doubt a cargo van with a 4 cylinder engine will last that long. I will try to hang on to my 2007 Ford E 150 Cargo van with the 5.4 Liter V8 engine as long as I can even if it means replacing the engine and transmission. Maybe I will be retired after that.
Last edited on Thu Aug 14th, 2008 00:40 by Scottthewolf
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grizzly
Scholar of Advanced Appliantological Studies
| Joined: | Sun Feb 4th, 2007 |
| Location: | Topeka, Kansas USA |
| Posts: | 61 |
| Flavorite Brew: | Fabreze |
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Posted: Thu Aug 14th, 2008 02:20 |
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Some customers may think it looks unprofessional. But on the other hand, if I saw the fermented master show up at my house in his Prius with a less than one pound control board for a Duet dryer, I'd think to myself "wow, this guy is smart to save all those dead dinnosaurs when all he needed to bring back was one small part, he is really on the ball".
When the Transit comes out, if I get one, I'll still keep my Silverado for the big and/or heavy stuff, but I'll ditch my E-150. Its only got the 4.6L V8 anyway.
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"Christianity will go.. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue with that; I'm right and I will be proved right. Grizzly Appliance Repair is more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first — appliance repair or Christianity."
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ROBBYRIG
Sublime Master of Appliantology
| Joined: | Sat Apr 26th, 2008 |
| Location: | Illinois USA |
| Posts: | 261 |
| Flavorite Brew: | Bud Light of course |
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Posted: Thu Aug 14th, 2008 12:14 |
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Scottthewolf wrote: Just my opinion, using passenger cars makes you look very unprofessional and some customers may think you are a fly by night company that may be gone tomorrow.
What do you do if you get an outer tub to replace on a washer, or doors to replace on a refrigerator? How can you possibly carry all your sealed system equipment in a passenger car?
I have sworn by Ford full size Econoline vans and would never want to use anything else. If they are maintained properly you can get around 250,000 miles before you have to send them to the junkyard. I doubt a cargo van with a 4 cylinder engine will last that long. I will try to hang on to my 2007 Ford E 150 Cargo van with the 5.4 Liter V8 engine as long as I can even if it means replacing the engine and transmission. Maybe I will be retired after that.
I don't know about the "unprofessional" part, I've never had anyone say that to me. But as far as the tub, fridge door, etc. we've taken out the back seat entirely and have a rack bolted to the top. For the HHR's, we've added a hitch so we can pull a trailer if needed.
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certified tech group 51
Scholar of Advanced Appliantological Studies
| Joined: | Mon Mar 10th, 2008 |
| Location: | Tidewater, Oregon USA |
| Posts: | 311 |
| Flavorite Brew: | natural ice |
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Posted: Thu Aug 14th, 2008 16:18 |
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| I checked into the HHr, looked small....... I have a 2003 Astro van now ( see 'the road to work') and at 16 miles to the gal..... thats $500.00 a month in fuel alone.........But when I think of the add-on jobs that come in during the day and I'm out that way, I think, 'glad I had that part on the van'........( see K/M dryer for story about flame sensor that I have drug around for two years and finally used, add-on job) BUT if I get smaller service, the money I spend in fuel will pay for it, BUT I cannot carry all the parts I could/may use that day...... no more add-ons "lady needs a dryer repair, no-go today, do not have any dryer parts tub in the HHR, Can do tomorrow," LOST that service call....... "What do you do?" "What DO you do?" Last edited on Thu Aug 14th, 2008 16:20 by certified tech group 51
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grey shrek
Sublime Master of Appliantology
| Joined: | Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 |
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| Posts: | 255 |
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Posted: Fri Aug 15th, 2008 06:56 |
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Back in my sears days , went from a Ford150 to smaller Chev. Amazing how many timers I hit my head on the lower Chev. Think we had around $7000 parts in the vans. Motors were good for weight in the winter to plow snow, put them at the back.Refrigeration equipment , wet/dry vac ,little step ladder , vans were full. Now in my semi-retired work I use a Mazda mpv with seats out , and parts in plastic totes.Try to read between the lines on service orders in morning and take what I can. The transit looks like it may work. Looks higher so I wouldn't hit my head so often.
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volleyball
Master Appliantologist
| Joined: | Tue Mar 18th, 2008 |
| Location: | USA |
| Posts: | 20 |
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Posted: Fri Aug 22nd, 2008 18:09 |
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You may want to inquire about a diesel. Most in Europe are diesel, they offer several diesel engines and only 1 gas. If you carry lot of weight, the gas may not last long.
I do think that with some forethough, you could rack it so that things like doors would fit because of the extra headroom.
As far as lugging around a part for 2 years so to get an extra service call, how many parts do you have like that and how many will get used and how much did it cost to carry all those parts around? An organized and clean vehicle says more for the appearence of professionalism than the size of the vehicle.
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ROBBYRIG
Sublime Master of Appliantology
| Joined: | Sat Apr 26th, 2008 |
| Location: | Illinois USA |
| Posts: | 261 |
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Posted: Sat Aug 23rd, 2008 17:14 |
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volleyball wrote:
As far as lugging around a part for 2 years so to get an extra service call, how many parts do you have like that and how many will get used and how much did it cost to carry all those parts around? An organized and clean vehicle says more for the appearence of professionalism than the size of the vehicle.
HERE-HERE brother volleyball!!
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NCSU_laundry_tech
Sublime Master of Appliantology
| Joined: | Mon Aug 18th, 2008 |
| Location: | Raleigh, North Carolina USA |
| Posts: | 216 |
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Posted: Fri Aug 29th, 2008 00:52 |
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i would love to have a dodge sprinter personally
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grey shrek
Sublime Master of Appliantology
| Joined: | Sat Feb 23rd, 2008 |
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Posted: Fri Aug 29th, 2008 05:36 |
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A shave and shower sure made a diff.
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Current time is 16:44 | |
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