Keep an eye out for old fleet trucks, you can get those CHEAP and a lot of them had or have service body's on'em.
A buddy of mine is a mobile mechanic/scrap hauler and he bought a F250 with a service body and a propane injection system, he paid just under $700 for it. Its a 94 or 95 I think, he got it that cheap because of a stuck lifter (he fixed that the afternoon he got it home) but I'm looking at an exact copy (except near perfect motor) to trade my F150 in on. I'm not going to keep the service body (I don't think...) But for a near perfect one I'm expecting to pay about 1200 to 1500.

If nothing else, ride by your local scrap yard every now and then... Sometimes you'll catch someone scraping one, I know I've seen 2 or 3 go across the scales. These F250's I'm talking about are all 2wd, 5.8, auto transmission. Pretty nice trucks...

 

Get the larger or longer Dynomax Super Turbo. Good flow and low sound.

 

Don't know why it double posted.

 

Hey guys, so yea, I've decided to do something else. Swapping the service bed onto the F150 is a lil more weight than I want to add right now, especially onto a truck not designed for such.

I've never looked into exactly how much differs between the 1/2, 3/4, and 1-ton trucks, but I know that you can only deviate so far before you end up causing more problems than you solve.

I'm thinking I'll install 3 toolboxes. 2 6ft side boxes, and one full-size across the bed bed box. I think the Campershell weighs more than all three of them combined haha.

I checked them out at Northern tool just to look, and I think I can fit more than what I already have in those boxes and still have my bed. All three brand new is something I can afford and will look great. Get the truck painted in the summer and we're in full swing.

Upgrading to a completely different truck is a lil fast paced for a business that's been alive for 3-months, even though work is plentiful.



Going for that setup but everything I"ll be buying is bigger and better. As for the muffler, already bought and installed a Walker QuietFlow. You can hear the change already, but I've yet to sit inside the truck or drive it (that's for tomorrow).

Oh and I have one question. Does anyone know what I need to do to resolve a constant chirping from the truck? It's something from the flywheel back. Press in on the clutch pedal it stops, release pedal she chirps relative to the RPMs. I know someone hear already knows what that is haha.

 

Get a real truck, then go into business. You are waisting your time with a f150 no less with a pickup bed. You need something like this
Ford : F-350 | eBay
or
Ford : F-350 | eBay

 

brad is is right, the 1st link he posted is excatly i what i prevoiusly mentioned, that is the perfect truck for what your up to

 

I completly understand his point in the f150. When I started out working on the go my first service truck was a swb ranger. I mean it was small and extremly overloaded but it had one huge advantage. I already owned it. Got to start small and work your way up from there. Sure a big f250 or 350 would be better but for a small business man just getting in the swing of it cheaper is better. Just my opinion.

 

They are beautiful trucks, but out of my price range right now. Bungie (the makers of Halo and many other games) started as two guys in a one-room apartment. They were making the game cases by hand, and until they took off one of the guy's wife was carrying the load. Now look at what they've become.

My start is with my F150, and when I can retire it for the next truck, I will. I just can't do that yet in my eyes.

 

I am sorry, but if you cant afford a $1200 investment to get your business off the ground then you are DOOMED. Just get a job somewhere

 

Jobs suck, I say give it a shot for a while. It's tough to get ahead in this world working for someone else.

 

First off, my business is off the ground. This F150 has more than $1200 invested in it already in parts alone (no shop has touched it since I've owned it), which is another reason I'm hesitant to retire it so early. It can haul all I need it to and then some.

I can make three boxes (which if bought brand new are just under $1200 and don't include more personal property taxes and another motor to take care of, and GAS) work for a good long time. I'll be buying them shortly, and get the truck painted in the summer if everything goes according to plan.

Everyone's worried about getting ahead, getting rich, or getting by haha. As long as I can provide a living for me and my fiance and future family I'm happy. And if I'm always busy as I am now, I'm good

 

Go for it man! When I was working in the HVAC field, I started with a SWB ranger and worked up to a F150. Its the one in my sig. I worked out of that for about 10 years until I had health problems and was forced to switch careers. Mine served me well and enabled me to make a great living. You work with what you have and believe it or not, it will be just fine. You can be someones example of how to get started.

 

chirping could be the noisy syncros in the transmission. if thats what it is, its most likely harmless. you could change the tranny fluid with a high quality atf and it might quiet down.

 

It could also be the throw out bearing. If so you can pull the boot off where the slave cylinder goes into the bell housing and oil it with atf or a fairly light oil and it will quieten it down for awhile

 

X2 on the throwout bearing. Been there, done that.. haha. Not too bad to fix, but you might as well get an entire clutch kit and know its good to go for a long time.