as requested: challenge guys build a plumbing truck

at 311k, the van dallas depends on is tired. and the trans is slipping. 

he picked up a 14 foot box truck with low miles from a trim carpenter to replace the 1999 3500 van. 

he asked me to help him turn it from an empty box to a plumbing shop on wheels. 

we started with a large steel order, some rubbermaid bins and some hardware bins, a bunch of plywood, a portaband and a welder. 

our first day we made this.

20180407_173645 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

its a very square rack built to the dimensions of the wheel tub, made out of 1x1x1/8 angle iron, 1x1x3/16 steel tube, secured to the studs in the wall with screws through 1/8 plate. its the cornerstone of all the units on the wall. our logic with material choice is that most plumbing stuff is pretty heavy. it is made moreso by adding vibration and momentum going down the road. also, all the weight will be loaded in compression, so that direction needs to be overkill. side to side, not so much. the steelwork provides all the structural rigidity that the framework needs. it will be sheeted with plywood for sides and shelves. the steelwork allows us to all but undersize the plywood. 1/2 a/b sanded will be plenty for this. 

anyway, we continued making the framework, and test fit the small parts bin that the over wheel well cabinets are designed for.

20180414_133018 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20180414_133002 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr
20180421_174148 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

in the next picture, you'll see that we used 1x1/8 strap on the back of the cabinet that is destined for PVC fittings. you can also see that we are sheeting the floor in plywood for a easily replaceable surface. also, my welds are still improving greatly. if it wasn't for Steve and Dallas and the AMC, this would not be possible. im almost up to the caliber of competent with a welder now!

20180421_174157 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

all the passengers side done, and drivers with a good base to work on

20180422_090932 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20180422_090939 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

we then started sheeting the structure. reason for the apparent large gap at the bottom of the sheeting is for a pipe rack. a plumbing truck needs a pipe rack. however, were going to build one on top as well for 20 foot sticks. 

20180422_133208 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

this is the storage compartment for tool cases (under) and the toolbox/workbench component. 

20180422_133213 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

still to come is a bunch more plywood, angle iron notching and shelf supports, massive amounts of LED lights, inverter, onboard air, big ass stereo, task lighting, trailer brakes, load bags, sound deadening and insulation. 

Creating a pdeudo-dado by spacing the plywood is very clever. I might use that. 

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

I know i can't be the first guy to do it, but for the life of me i can't think of where ive seen it before. It wouldn't work without the steel structure for this application. And i believe that it will be stronger an more supportive this way out of 1/2 than a normal dado in 3/4 would be.

Theres a corresponding puece of ply on the wall as well. Front will be supported by notched angle iron. 

Cool build out. Will the tool chest have anchors to keep it from sliding off it's perch?

In reply to EastCoastMojo :

Already does. Screwed into the studs and the ledge thats screwed to the floor. With scraps of ply to distribute the load. 

Nice!

Nice build.  May want to consider a vice on the end of the step bumper.  Seen it before,  comes in handy for tradesman on the jobsite.

Had that thoughtthe other day in traffic and forgot.  Thanks!

That is coming along very quickly. Great work so far!

Do you have a way to keep the items on the shelf? You said that you will use angle iron with notches for the shelf, but what about the containers you are putting on the shelf? Possibly bungie straps?

The angle iron will provide a 1/2 inch lip on the front of the shelf. If this doesn't prove to be sufficient, eyebolts and bungee cords will be employed. 

Were hoping one more plywood day will have us all but finished enough to put the truck into service. Then the rest as we can.

Always fun to see how other people organize and create things. Looking forward to the rest. 

dallas and i been busy. while i was on vacation, he got the rest of the plywood cut. 

when i got back, we went on an ordering binge with the company credit card. LED lights, backup camera and head unit, insulation, battery cables and seep cycle, etc. everything but the inverter, which were still trying to figure out, and the interior parts. 

we also spent some time finishing the shelves until we ran out of angle iron. i must say, notching them in the center is a pain in the ass with a portaband. that took more time than anything else.....

20180519_124311 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20180519_134012 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20180519_140813 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

20180519_140823 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

imagejpeg_1 by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

and then dallas went to lowes and bought a few more bins. i think he needs more. 

imagebins by Michael Crawford, on Flickrimagebins by Michael Crawford, on Flickr

two more shelves to build, and a bunch of wiring to do. getting close!

Worst thing you can do is put it into service unfinished. If you do, it will never be done. It's too easy to make changes to something unfinished, and that snowballs pretty quick. Especially for a work vehicle. 

I work out of a small cargo trailer that seems to get less and less finished as I make changes and don't have time to finish stuff before it has to go into service. 

I've finally given up trying to finish it and decided to build a second one that I can get 100% done before trying to use it.

Actually, your pictures have sparked an epiphany in regards to how to make some cheap drawer slides. 

Might I suggest allocating some space for a hand truck ramp? Those two notches either side of the latch are for attaching a ramp, and lifting stuff up into the back by hand will get old PDQ. 

Dallas alluded to that yesterday. So were trying to push completion as hard as we can. His van is only living due to trans in a can.

I feel you... I just had to throw $250 at a trailer I'm planning to scrap this fall. 

Probably stupid question, but I'm curious:

Don't plumbers need a place to transport full lengths of pipe? Where's that in this build?

Theres 14 feet of uninterrupted space on the right side along the floor.

In addition, we will be doing a pipe rack up top for 20 foot sticks. Generally his company does rennovations and repair, not new construction. So a massive amount of pipe is no necessarily needed at any one time.