# New ride



## OKMrazor (Aug 8, 2009)

You know - we've all got "when we started" stories. That Accord story was one of mine - and it served a point - that you can fit more than 4 tools in a truck bed if you try. 

Lots of guys start in this field out of cars. Many of you said you did too.

Answer me this: If it was okay for YOU to start out as an employee in a car, why is it unprofessional and comical that I did?

Nice that you guys can feel so good about yourselves comparing your current situation to mine when I was starting out.

I'm a lot wiser than a 16 year old kid, but I don't mock him. I was probably just as naive at his age, so that would be pretty childish of me... yes?


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## OKMrazor (Aug 8, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> I see a guy do some free standing curved stairs on a project once. He must have had over 300 clamps on the thing when building it let alone the room full of other tools he had. This is why people are wondering how you worked from a car when you needed more tools than you could have fitted in the vehicle.
> 
> I can't get much more than 4 large tools in the bed of my truck. I would be out of room after my vac, table saw and stand, chop saw and stand, ladder, mft, cordless tools and a few systainers. That's def not enough for me to get a day work done on most jobs.



DUDE - I WAS AN EMPLOYEE.

I wasn't a one man show. And guys with trucks did bring plenty of tools out.

Is it that hard for everyone to understand that - as said before - I only listed that stuff in response to the guy who said you could only fit 4 tools in a six foot bed.

Just answer that question.


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## OKMrazor (Aug 8, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> I see a guy do some free standing curved stairs on a project once. He must have had over 300 clamps on the thing when building it let alone the room full of other tools he had. This is why people are wondering how you worked from a car when you needed more tools than you could have fitted in the vehicle.
> 
> I can't get much more than 4 large tools in the bed of my truck. I would be out of room after my vac, table saw and stand, chop saw and stand, ladder, mft, cordless tools and a few systainers. That's def not enough for me to get a day work done on most jobs.


Well the four tools he listed were: drill, miter saw, levels and 4' ladder. 

That's what my initial response was to. I could fit those in my car. And more.

And yes, you do need an absurd amount of clamps to do free-standing radius stairs. I've done two sets of them - one interior and one exterior.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

well perhaps if you would have said i use other guys tools then people may not have jumped on ya asking ya how and why you used a car over a truck. I could goto work on a bike if i used other guys tools. But it still dont change the fact its hard for any contractor to run a construction business from a truck or car alone. theres nothing wrong with using a car but dont exepct to be taken seriously with any trades people when you say your work vehicle is a car. I was young and silly as well and choose a car over a van. that was a stupid mistake on my part for sure.


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## kevjob (Aug 14, 2006)

I dont care what my subs drive. They are doing the work and I do the selling and meetings with clients. Most of my guys have beaters for work trucks and nicer personal vehicles. My truck is also my personal vehicle because I dont haul tools anymore and my check book can fit into any car or truck and thats all I need now :thumbup:


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## OKMrazor (Aug 8, 2009)

BCConstruction said:


> well perhaps if you would have said i use other guys tools then people may not have jumped on ya asking ya how and why you used a car over a truck. I could goto work on a bike if i used other guys tools. But it still dont change the fact its hard for any contractor to run a construction business from a truck or car alone. theres nothing wrong with using a car but dont exepct to be taken seriously with any trades people when you say your work vehicle is a car. I was young and silly as well and choose a car over a van. that was a stupid mistake on my part for sure.


 

Said I was an employee from the get go. And I explained what tools I brought to the show. Used pretty much all my own tools. Wasn't responsible for stuff like ladders, scaffolding, etc.

ABSOLUTELY NEVER said a truck wasn't necessary. If I ran a small business doing field work it would likely be my first purchase.

You said I was unprofessional for not driving a rig when I was just starting out... even though you did the same. 

My point was never to criticize anyone... though that's the first road you took. Glad you've got great self esteem.

My point was that you can fit more than a drill, a chop saw, a level and a 4' ladder in a truck. That's it. Is that too much to comprehend? 

A guy posted a pretty picture of his new truck and someone criticised it for having a small bed. 

Damn, I just tried to give the guy some support.

I'm not a Honda salesman. I'm not trying to say anyone's stupid for driving a pickup.

I did just return from measuring a job site for a builder I do work for. $8,000,000 build on the ocean. Mine was the 15th vehicle at the site - I counted. Four cars (including my Malibu), 3 Tacomas, the project manager's Ford Escape, one van, and the rest pickups. Only one with an 8' bed.

I'm not on their crew - but let me tell you: They do damn fine work - despite the cars and the Escape. 

There are lots of different business make-ups in this industry. Small 1-3 man crews that do different small jobs every couple days... big operations that set up on a job site for a year at a time ... and a whole lotta in between.

As I said in my earlier post - what works for somebody on a certain kind of crew won't necessarily work for someone on a differert crew. 

Doing 1-3 day jobs - you need a mobile shop. Doing 1 year jobs - hell, I could rent a u-haul on days 1 and 365 and jog to work everyday in between.

Somehow I'm amazed you can't grasp that. But really, not that amazed at all.

I guess anyone who doesn't do it just like you do it is an un-professional hack.


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

OKMrazor said:


> Said I was an employee from the get go. And I explained what tools I brought to the show. Used pretty much all my own tools. Wasn't responsible for stuff like ladders, scaffolding, etc.
> 
> ABSOLUTELY NEVER said a truck wasn't necessary. If I ran a small business doing field work it would likely be my first purchase.
> 
> ...


Yeah i done it and i learned fast it was not a good idea and yes 99.9% of people i have seen work from cars have been hacks. My old bosses always pushed me to suppl;ying my own tools and getting my own truck/van so im not used to using others tools to work. I'm not saying your a hack but i ain't yet come across one who worked from a car and did good work. I also didn't do great work back when i used my car for working from but as i said once i got the tools i required to do a job properly i couldn't have fitted it in my car anyway. I'm not saying you cant work from a car I'm saying that if you have been doing it for years you should have figured out quickly its a pain in the ass and there better ways to do things and i still think a bed is too small and too inconvenient for a good contractor to work from. This being based on you having your own tools of course.


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## OKMrazor (Aug 8, 2009)

Well, more peace to you then. 

We can part agreeing that neither of us is or is not, unequivocally, without question while being mostly disputable a hack or a master carpenter based upon our vehicle alone.

You've got a nice web-site. Some of the projects in your portfolio are superb. 

In fact, in all my years at Virginia Tech, I never imagined nearby Roanoke to be so modern, aesthetically.

Hmm. :whistling

Best -


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## Five Star (Jan 15, 2009)

Wow this is still going on !!

I think I made the comment on the 4 tools in the truck, I didn't literally mean 4 tools and that's it, I meant by the time you put a few basic tools in a 6' pick up your basically full! It was a broad statement and not meaning exactly 4 tools but what ever most reading know the meaning! I think you took the 4 tools to literally, no offense and but it was just a general statement with out giving a tool count.
When you posted that list and threw the Honda accord in I think a lot of us guys who own trucks,vans,trailers what have you and run our own businesses out of our setups, we know that a car can't handle that , and it's not produtive to work like that! Also weather working on a rental property or a 20million dollar house it's not very feasible to work that way weather your a employee or the main guy! 

I also made a comment that if you showed up as a employee I'd send you home! That's because I know if I sent you in a accord to do some punch list work or install a small kitchen somewhere it would kind of be a loss because to set up or pack up out of a truck or van may take approx 10-20 min vs out of a car at least a 1 hr if not longer if your worried about not beating the crap out of the car or your tools! It's probably at least 2 wasted hrs. 

I'm sure any where in the tri state area you would get pulled over because that's dangerous to drive with all that stuff the cars braking system can't handle that kind of weight ! I know my Subaru with me and 2 kids and some small luggage in the trunk was feeling sluggish in breaking and turns on my past summer vacation down the shore!

There's no need to argue that a accord is just fine to work from because we know it's NOT or we would all be in one

let the guy who started this thread enjoy his new ride haha if he didn't trade it in for a accord yet!


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## icerock drywall (Aug 16, 2012)

BCConstruction said:


> Using a car is about as unprofessional as it comes. I don't car how big your car is or how well organized you are you can't fit sod all in them. If you do try to fill them they are a nightmare to work from. I know as I have done it my self. My makita 12" saw would fill most of my trunk and wouldn't even have space for the compressor in there. I could prob fit 5% of my tools I have in my 7x14 trailer into my wife's Mazda 6 which has a pretty large trunk. If I used my 6.5 ft bed I could prob fit 30% of my tools I have in my trailer and even then it would be a pig to work from.


I like my car...use it all the time but I use my chevy avalanche to pull my trailer


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## Northwood (Jan 6, 2010)

This was fun from the outside 

Like watching people argue whether a punch line is funny or not only to agree on what joke it should go with later.


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## mnjconstruction (Oct 5, 2008)

I have always felt that if a guy is concerned with fuel economy or cant really afford a big truck and trailer setup, that they should roll in a minivan. 

My everyday vehicle is my 4 door F150 but I use to use my mini all the time. They can haul quite a bit of tools. And can also haul a small trailer if needed. 

As my career goes on in this field i find myself doing mostley finish work. Im a few years out from getting a new truck but when the time comes I will probley be getting a new dodge caravan cargo edition and haul a small traller when needed. I will always have a pickup ready to work when needed but rolling around getting 25+ mpg is pretty nice.

Alot of my employees from the past drove cars and they did fit quite a bit in them. At least the basics.


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## OKMrazor (Aug 8, 2009)

Glad to be of service, Northwood.

A postponed client meeting and a delivery pushed to Monday made for a slow day.

At least two bull-headed clowns (myself one of them) made it fun!:thumbup:


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## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

icerock drywall said:


> I like my car...use it all the time but I use my chevy avalanche to pull my trailer


Your car prob tows better than the avalance :laughing::thumbsup:


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## OKMrazor (Aug 8, 2009)

Why would I tow? My car can handle anything your truck can:


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## Northwood (Jan 6, 2010)

The best carpenter I know drives a cheap tiny 2wd Tacoma with no canopy because he doesnt like them. He crams all his tools in the cab if it's raining if possible, but usually he works for a long time on sites for GCs who provide most of the standard tools and he just brings the important personal ones. He is very busy and I cannot afford to hire him but I wish I could.

Another friend of mine has a massively lifted f350 with all the bling. Part of the reason he bought this was to tow his multiple tool trailers and flatbed trailer for his excavator not to mention the fact that big trucks are pretty much necessary when contracting  Usually his tool trailers move twice- once to the site to start the project and a second time to leave when its done. The excavator he planned on moving with the VERY expensive flatbed trailer can be moved by companies who do that for a fee the client typically pays anyways. He could have bought a smaller truck but is driving his pretty big truck struggling to keep enough work and with a lot of overhead.


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## HARRY304E (Jan 18, 2011)

OKMrazor said:


> Why would I tow? My car can handle anything your truck can:


The gas mileage is good at least.:laughing::laughing::blink:


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## HARRY304E (Jan 18, 2011)

WilsonRMDL said:


> It was time for a new truck, my dodge had 230k on it and I've had to put close to $1k a month into repairs in the last few months.
> 
> Went to the Chevy dealer to look at a used one, ended up leaving with a 2012 silverado 1500.
> 
> ...


Nice color..:thumbup::thumbup:


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## OKMrazor (Aug 8, 2009)

I thought all was going fine until I realized I left my keys in the trunk...

...Of course that's just a generic shot I found on the web:jester:

Yeah, you drive what you need, Northwood. One of the best carpenter's on my old crew had his license revoked for several years. Never even drove. 

Luckily - most of our jobs were very long projects. Set up, months/year later break down. That worked for me.

Sometimes you drive what you want - like the two cabinet makers I know each with monster duallys. Since they both work out of shops and have box trucks for deliveries, I always figured they used those rigs for moving boats or recreational stuff. I asked, cause I'm a nosy prick.... not boaters, golfers. The biggest haul would usually be made by Titleist. 

But, they liked their ride and could afford it, so... good for them.


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## summithomeinc (Jan 3, 2011)

I been spending about 1,000.00/month in fuel this year. I think I'll look into getting a little car. Seriously though, I am considering an s-10. It takes a little planning to be sure the right tools are on the truck but, I could probably save enough in fuel to make the payment on a new truck.

By the way, I worked out of a minivan for the first year I was in business. The vehicle you drive has nothing to do with the quality of work you produce.


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