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michael_m_MT
 
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Default Any Ideas For Organizing A Contractors Work Van?

BUB 209 wrote, in part:

All the scads of good ideas for organizing your van are hexed by one
factor - The likelyhood of getting ripped off.


good point. most of our work sites are pretty rural. but then we
do go to town for lunch, materials, and the like. i'd hardly win an
prizes if what i come up with for my boss' van ends up being perfect
packages for a quick heist.


I've tried so many different systems it isn't funny, but for the last
few years I've just followed these guidelines:


Drive a cargo van with no side or back windows
If they can't see in, why break in?


check. it is a cargo van, but has windows on the side door set.
those i can make opaque. i don't think my boss would dig me
blacking out the windows in the back doors - but perhaps some of
that mylar see through mirror film.

Lock it up no matter how long you think you'll be away.


huh. good point, of course. but my boss doesn't even believe in
locking his house ("i don't want to live anywhere where you have to
lock your own front door" he says)

what i might do given this peccadillo of his is wire up a couple
blinking red LED's to go on when the ignition is off. i did this
for myself and friends when i went off to the "big city" (well,
"middling city" - new haven) for school. hell of a change from my
'ute in MT.

anyway, for $5 in radio shack parts it's easy to wire up a series of
blinking red LED's. the power draw is trivial; it'd take years for
them to draw down the battery. in all, kind of a poor man's
"burglar alarm" -- enough to make a miscreant sh*thead pass it by
for another vehicle less likely to 'go off' -- or so i found in the
worst ghetto of 'blue haven'

another good head's up.

Keep the tools scattered around the truck (you can do this neatly)
so that everything can't be taken in one package.


see your point here. but then it was the 'scatter' effect that blew
the bosses otherwise very high amp fuse.

Don't take anything you think you won't need to a jobsite.


this too is a good idea, but it'd be hard to sell 'the big kahuna'
on this -- as where we work it is typically an hour or more round
trip to go get a tool left in the shop. hmmmm. well, i'll run this
by him.

I know a contractor who made a false floor about a foot deep in his
truck that has hatches and big drawers. He did it for security reasons
and it seems to work pretty well for him.


huh... now that might work out well - as in addition to security
putting my planned long boxes under a sturdy false floor (carpeted
and all, with a couple cheap odds and ends on it) offers the
additional advantage of letting the kahuna slither easily from back
doors to driver's seat as he wishes. also make it easy to put
materials (2x's, ply, and the like) in without knocking over every
other bucket, toolbox, and can of stain.

my friend you've sent me in an excellent direction. the creative
juices are flowing (wither that or i've just wet my pants...)

many thanks.

Lastly, call your local radio station that runs ads for mega-fleamarkets
who tout "visit our giant outdoor section for all kind of tool bargains,"
and protest.


see your point. i lost 2 firmer chisels at one work site. they
belonged to my grandfather. i'd recognize them at 200 yds. if i
were to ever see them, anywhere, on anyone, well ... oh my. i'm a
devote passivist. however my dog bob isn't. he's 7/8 timber wolf
1/8 malamute. tips the toledo at 160lbs and there's not an ounce of
fat on him. you know how some dogs bring home a bird or rabbit for
their masters? bob brought me home a 250lb+ mule deer. and that
when he was only a year old.

yeah, i'm a passivist but bob isn't. i need only say the word and
he would rip any miscreant holding those chisels into small pieces
then lick the marrow from their bones. fwiw, i've trained him to
only respond to commands in Nepali. wouldn't want some jerk or even
just a good soul to say the wrong word, for the results would be
apocalyptic. good thing that outside of khatmandu, pretty much only
only my lady and i know that word. just as a test i gave him that
command while pointing at a raccoon who'd upended the compost can.
oh my. a roto-tiller couldn't have done more damage. so i know it
works. just hope i never have to use it on anything other than the
occasion rabid coyote who visits

yeow i've become a verbose curmudgeon in my dotage (40 is coming on
fast). that and i'm irish and one of 11 kids. oh my. well, pardon
my prattle.

and again, many thanks for taking the time to share your tips. for
that idea of a 'secret floor' really lit the jets. and i suspect
that, if properly executed, it'll light the boss' jets as well.
heck, might even get an elk tenderloin dinner out of it. i helped
him ski/drag half of an 8x out of "there" so i know he's got some in
the freezer. ever had elk tenderloin? in comparison, fillet mignon
taste like a work boot. oops, prattling again. enough already...


thanks. be well,


michael in MT


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