Jose's Practical Plumbing Van
RIG DETAILS
| USED FOR | Plumbing |
| BODY | Full-Size Cargo Van |
ORGANIZATION
After working for another company for 10 years, Jose went out on his own and started J's Plumbing. He's been in business for 3 years and sure has a lot of tools in his Chevy! Be sure to catch the second part of his layout here.
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The Structure
The organizational layout is pretty simple and practical.
Commercial steel shelves on the truck are supplemented with some plywood holders and bins. The bins hold parts and non-bin shelves have tools and larger parts like faucets, hoses, and valves.
It's a good example of how an all-around plumber uses off-the-shelf racking to organize his plumbing van.
So Many Tools in a Small Space
There are a lot of tools on this van, and a lot of big tools!
A camera, Hole-Hawg, and his big drain cleaners sit against the driver side wall of the van. They're out of reach from outside the van, but have a short path out to the side cargo door.
A compressor at the back of the van helps him keep both the van and him clean.
He carries a 2000W Honda generator on the van, because sometimes he pulls up to a job and there isn't any power.
He carries many other (mostly Milwaukee) power tools to get the work done.
Is there room for inventory?
Somehow, yes. He says that keeping inventory on the van is important because it can easily cost him an hour and 10 bucks in gas if he needs to run to the supply house.
The Office
The cab of the van has a two drawer filing cabinet bolted to the floor. This is a good place for invoices, receipts, and general paperwork.
A plywood table is mounted to a piece of pipe and angles towards the driver seat to make a little desk.
Accessible Tools at the Side
At the side cargo door, he's got a Milwaukee 1/4" drain snake ready to go in a 5 gallon bucket.
Some disposable gloves, drill bits, saw blades, and measuring tapes are stored on a plywood holder mounted to the metal shelf.
He's got a water heater testing bag, his "every day" drill, and a vacuum all located within easy reach of the door.
His everyday toolbag sits right behind the bulkhead of the van.
More Details
One toolbox is devoted to soldering. It holds some short lengths of scrap copper pipe so that he can avoid making another run out to the van.
He's set for security with a van alarm, surveillance cameras, and a kill switch on the van.
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