Jonathan's Thought-Out Utility-Bodied Plumbing and HVAC Chevy

• It's easier to get in and out of the cargo area.
• Larger items can be stored in the cargo area.
• When covered, everything in the cargo area stays dry and protected from theft.

Electricity Everywhere

For a relatively small truck, it has electricity everywhere! This is a great feature. Everything is powered by an inverter that can be powered on with a switch on the transmission tunnel. A second battery ensures that the truck always has plenty of juice for running equipment and starting the truck.

There is also a shore power receptacle so that the truck can be hooked up to the grid. This means that:

• The starting and auxiliary batteries can be charged from the grid.
• Corded power tools can be run from the grid if the inverter or batteries can't supply enough power.

One of the unique features of the truck is the power outlets located throughout the compartments. There are 120V outlets in the cab, in the compartments, and in the cargo area of the body.

Also in the cargo area is a 12V plug and a switch for the cargo area LED strip lights.

Cockpit Electronics

Jonathan's truck has a lot more electronics in the cab than most HVAC vehicles we look at. It's a clean setup than keeps the things he needs within reach of the driver seat.

An iPad provides an Internet hotspot for the truck to which he can connect a laptop. The laptop is mounted to the transmission tunnel with a RAM mount, and another smaller RAM mount provides a mounting point for his phone.

The extended cab gives him a lot of extra room that we don't see in a typical HVAC van upfit. He has a printer on the back seat for printing invoices. The rest of the back is used for personal items like gloves, a first aid kit, and extra clothing.

It's not often seen on a lot of commercial trucks, but there is also an aftermarket backup camera mounted to the windshield. It's not always easy to see behind you in a typical work vehicle, so this is a great addition to the truck.

Power Tool Compartment

The front driver side compartment holds all of Jonathan's power tools, batteries, and is a battery charging station. There are some plywood shelves installed to give a little more storage space. Consumables like blades, bits, and grinding wheels are neatly organized alongside the power tools.

Jonathan uses a mix of DeWalt, Milwaukee, and Ryobi in his power tools. He says the Milwaukee PVC shear tool is absolutely amazing!

Plumbing Parts Compartment

This compartment is packed with plumbing parts. While there are many parts, they are neatly organized. Labeled organizers keep very small items separate and easy to find.

Passenger Side Compartments

These compartments mostly hold small parts and chemicals. A nitrogen tank with an air quick release is at the rear along with everyone's favorite Milwaukee tower light.

The frontmost compartment has something we haven't seen: a long pullout 3-drawer unit that extends into the cargo area. This is an easy way to use the storage space at the front of the cargo area and makes these tools ultra-accessible.

Job Kits

Jonathan has one DIY sheetmetal tray dedicated to plumbing. Some PVC pipe zip tied to the sides holds things like pipe brushes, an adjustable wrench, a PVC shear, and a MAPP gas torch head. It holds some larger items, like the MAPP gas bottle, slip joint pliers, and other tools. He says the tray has the items he needs to do most plumbing repairs.

He also keeps a bag of tools for sheetmetal work.

Jonathan uses a large-ish Veto bag for his everyday tools, and also a Veto tech backpack and a single Milwaukee Packout for hand tools and sockets that don't need to go on every job.

Cargo Area

The cargo area of the truck holds his hand tool bags, vacuum, vise, and some other tools. Horizontally and vertically-mounted unistrut gives him an easy way to hang bags and some tools.

Long materials are stored in PVC pipe mounted to the unistrut.

Easy Vice Mount

The vice mount is simple and utilitarian. The vice mounts to a piece of steel square tube. This piece of tube slides inside another square tube. To use the vice outside the truck, you basically just pull it out the back of the truck as far as you need it to clear. One gotcha here is that most square tubing has an inside welded seam - this will prevent a female section from allowing the male section to slide. You can either buy seamless DOM tubing (costs a little more) or grind a groove in the male section that matches the female's seam.