Upgrading Transportation

After 15 years I decided with a heavy heart to upgrade my transportation. My small business required more and more tools to be transported to job sites and, even after taking out all the seats in the Toyota Sienna Mini Van, there was just not enough room for anything. Besides, finding smaller items became a chore although they are organized in little bins but the bins were covered with larger items such as saw horses, ladder, or other bigger items depending on the requirements for a particular job.

My trusty van provided save travel for me for 229,000 plus miles, actually only 164,000 since I bought it used with 65,000 miles on it. Even when it was fully loaded it had enough horse power to get up and go all the way up and down the east coast. Left out on the map are some places in Florida for some reason or the other.











With a new year on the horizon, I finally started searching for a worthy replacement while working on a house renovation. It came down to three cargo van brands, the first was the Mercedes Benz Sprinter Van 2500, second, the Ford Transit 150, and third, the Dodge Ram. Important criteria included foremost, parking, interior space, type of engine, cost, reliability. Not included was the gas consumption since neither van, including my current one, were efficient in this category. My price range was between $20,000 and $25,000, taking in consideration that this potentially new car was a commercial vehicle and the interest rate is definitely higher than a non-commercial vehicle.

Unfortunately, the Mercedes Benz line comes with a Diesel engine which means that, with the low miles per gallon, the overall cost for gas would mean an increase in cost of a minimum of $80 per month for fuel. Although the 2019 Mercedes Sprinter Van comes with a gas engine, it is only a four cylinder and also cost prohibitive. The monetary value of the diesel equipped Sprinter line holds really well which was very much to my disadvantage. For example a 2011 Mercedes Cargo Van 2500 with 80,000 miles would cost $20,000 which was within my budget. Several others had either very high mileage, higher cost, or both, therefore, this selection was out.

Next on the list was the Ford and the Dodge Cargo Van, although similar in looks and feel I leaned towards the Ford Transit 150 for some reason or the other. On the last day of January I found one with only 25,000 plus miles on it and within my price range. To make a long story short, I test drove it, liked it, and subsequently bought it.

It is a 2018 Ford Transit Cargo Van with a medium roof, very clean inside and outside. Enough space to carry all my necessary and not so necessary tools, gear, and other little things needed on any given job.
Now comes the time consuming, in between jobs build out, transferring all the equipment from the Toyota Sienna van and other storage options so it is organized part. While I was searching for the "right" van, I also looked at other tradesman van build out plans and photos. Since everybody has their own style and needs my build out also will reflect my style and needs.

Of course here is a scenario I had to laugh at because it is very true:

In any case, I will blog about the build out and find out if the left or right side reflects my style. In the meantime I have to figure out how to make this all happen while working full time on projects.