This thread kind of makes me chuckle. Op I like your truck and I voted "nice" , I too am a small business owner and use my truck for work. Thankfully I work in a mostly affluent community, so I don't really worry about outclassing my clientele.

Most of my customers own for example, one guy has a lifted mega cab Cummins, another a Denali GMC pickup one lady an Escalade truck and pleanty of Lexus, BMW etc... I the mix.

That said there are times I wish I did not have the super over the top bling, bling chrome XLT package on my truck. IMO a work truck or business vehicle should be as close to base trim as possible.

By keeping the truck as close to basics as possible allows potential shoppers to focus on the lettering and what you are advertising rather than being polarized or enamored in your truck or modifications.

Not saying I don't like your truck, because I do. I'm just saying I think it's better for a business to leave the truck itself as close to stock or basic as possible. I don't even reccomend putting loud exhuasts on your truck either as loud pipes can be insulting to motorist or residents in neighborhoods you are doing work in.

 

Well, first you need to buy a billet grille and realize that its almost completely transparent in certain light. Then you need to be **** enough to let it bug you everytime you look at it and see your radiator. To make a long story short, I prepped and filled in every other space with bondo, sanded everything down to be flush, primed and painted it. I still have to fill in the screw holes & final coat, but its close.

 

I appreciate the feedback. You really think this would outclass a lot of vehicles? It's a stock 2012 stx I bought for $26k and put in $3k of mods (less when I sell the stock rims/wheels) which really isn't much as far as vehicle costs go and still less then if I had gone with a nicer f series package.

I do a lot of custom tile, stone and wood working and my thinking was that I didn't want the same run of the mill truck with a business name, I wanted it to stand out and reinforce the type of work we do, customized and stylish. I am toying with the idea of adding "custom interiors" between the company name and number to help bridge the connection.

I can see where you are coming from which is why I tried to stay unique and clean rather than loud and flashy.

In any case, I say again, thanks for taking the time to give me your feedback!

 

Hudson is beautiful! I've done a couple of projects out there. Gas prices do suck here now. Thanks for your service by the way!

 

I have a T-Rex billet and it looks similar to that sometimes. I like the fat billet look you have going on, I might do that. Did it take you long to do?

I think you need some identification on the front though, what do you think of this?

 

Thanks! Hudson was my first recruiting station, I started there back in April 2010. My wife and I are hoping to get back up there next time I move, which should be in 2-3 years.

 

some people perceive it as spending money on frivolous items, particularly for a business to spend business money on appearance upgrades.

There are very few times that there is something that an XLT,Lariat, ect can do that an XL cannot. (which is what poolrunner was getting at, i think)

we had problems with perception with our truck at work as well. We bought an excursion as a survey rig and it came with aluminum wheels. the powers that be went out and bought 4 steelies so that it didn't look like we were spending extra money on appearance. So we spent more money to look like we spent less ... which is stupid, but it is all about appearances.

To me, for the same money, a fancy vinyl graphic showing some custom tile would be far more appropriate, as it would show potential customers what you can do for them.

like i said, i like the truck, and have a great amount of respect for the work you did. But to me, as a business investment, it is just not where i would have put the money.

Now, if your business had something to do with customizing trucks, then your truck would be a PERFECT calling card. If i was looking to hire someone to do the things you did to your truck, your number would be 1st on the list.

I guess, what i'm saying is, just because you can work on a truck, does not mean you can do tile well ... and your truck does not tell potential customers otherwise.

as i said, i do like the truck, and you've done a wonderful job with your mods!

 

I love it...It makes my truck look fantastic! (I'd definitely take off the taillight covers) It looks like you'd charge a lot of money to work in my kitchen or house...Shoulda' got an XL. If you put all that on a Ferrari, nobody would call you. Ever.

 

It makes your truck look fantastic?? The tail lights are actually black housing, no covers.

 

I did the grill in about a day and let the paint dry overnight before putting it back on.

Thanks for the mockups, I am not sure how I feel about the lettering on the hood, might think about the visor lettering though. Thanks!

 

No hard feelings Meborder, I appreciate your honest feedback. I wasn't posting the poll to get my ego stroked but rather to get an honest response to how people feel about the concept and design. I knew that there would be people who didn't care for the look or the my decision to go this route and I just wanted to see what percentage of people were turned off vs. people who really liked it were at. I actually figured the spread would be a little closer than how it played out.

I am in the business of people spending frivolous money, especially on appearance upgrades. Very few of my customers actually need the floor/stone/countertop work I provide, most of the time its because they want to custom tailor their house to suit their style. My clients, on average, pay $25+/sf because they want a glass tile backsplash, $30+/sf because they want rock on an accent wall, or $55+/sf because they like the look of granite tops. I could see this being a much bigger issue if I were in another trade such as painting, drywall, etc and would have taken that into consideration prior to the design.

I regret that I don't get to look forward to helping you with your remodeling needs but look forward to the day you call to work on your truck Good things to you and thanks for the honest feedback.

 

the one thing i'm good at is honesty

It sounds like you have a very good feel for your clientele, which is the sign of a good businessman. I have a great deal of respect for your willingness to take such a leap with your business vehicle. the fact that I would do it differently just means that we are different people, and little else. It is very likely that your living does not count on business from people who I would find like-minded with myself, so your truck likely attracts business from a different sort of people, which is cool.

be there no doubt, i like what you have done with the truck. the only difference we have is how we feel about it attracting clientele to your business, and you know your business far better than I. good luck in your endevours!

p.s. i really like the blacked out ford emblem ... i'm gonna have to give that a look and see if that's something i can do on my work truck. looks like a cheap and subtle thing to try (i'm more into subtle, if you haven't picked up on that )

 

Your truck is an extension of you, it's clean and neat, hopefully the way you conduct your business. Nice job. Is it also a daily driver? If so, then that would explain the the light mods.

 

Cough cough old thread cough cough.

 

I think your truck looks great. As a matter of fact I often thought of doing something similar to the hood on my truck.