If money wasn't an issue... what kind of truck would you put together?

legrevedotcom

legrevedotcom

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Coming from photography, lighting and how to use it, has been of my interest since I started. So when I began doing a little video and the ambitions grew inside, I started looking at the work of gaffers, and to be honest that kind of work leaves me in awe. I thought photography and cinematography could be comprehensive, but the world of the gaffer is so much more in my opinion.

So out of curiosity... down to which van / truck... what kit would you put together if money was not an issue and you wanted to be able to offer solutions to a wide range of clients, from small adverts to feature films (not necessarily Hollywood...)? Don't worry about not being able to drive the truck, you'd get a driver for that ;)

I can't even offer a setup myself, but that's also part of why I'm asking, hehe.

Thanks, now go crazy!
 
Budget should always matter when selecting business equipment. With that said, I purchased a Mercedes Sprinter van for my production vehicle. It does not require a special license to drive, it performs well with a peppy yet fuel efficient turbo diesel engine, has great headroom so I can stand in it without hitting my head or having to bend, and I can quickly reconfigure it to meet the job at hand.
 
sprinters are tha bomb. i would love to have one of the smaller versions as a work vehicle, but it's difficult to park anything bigger than a minivan in nyc lots/garages.
 
The height can limit where in goes in some parking garages, but I have found having a supply of orange parking cones on hand does wonders keeping you out of trouble when parking in no parking areas. It's much easier to maneuver than a box truck, and it gets way better fuel efficiency at about 27 mpg. Plus the Mercedes turbo diesel engine lasts a very very long time. I have over 370k miles on mine, and before I purchased it I checked service providers to check on reliability issues. They said they serviced fleets with over 600k miles on the clock, and as long as you do standard service on the Sprinter they last almost forever.
 
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The truck trailer combo is what we currently use. We are building the 10 ton out now. Unlike NYC parking is not much of a problem out west.
 

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phudsontx said:
The truck trailer combo is what we currently use. We are building the 10 ton out now. Unlike NYC parking is not much of a problem out west.
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WOW, You run a big operation. I thought I had a decent little grip truck with (ford van e150) lol. the one asset I do have that I love, is honda invertors, man I love having onboard power.
 
maranfilms said:
WOW, You run a big operation. I thought I had a decent little grip truck with (ford van e150) lol. the one asset I do have that I love, is honda invertors, man I love having onboard power.
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Not exactly a Honda invertor but this big pulls this 450 amp genny and has a very cool 7000 watt genny/invertor that runs off the engine's drive train.
 

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Oh, I'd have lots of Kino Flos (such as parabeams) and medium to small HMIs such as 4K, 2.5K, 1.2K and a bunch of Joker-Bugs down to 200W. Plenty of grip such as C-stands, light stands, 8' and 12' overheads and the rags and roller stands to go with them, dirt bags, clamps galore, rolls and rolls of gels, shiny boards, beadboards, a good dolly with 32' of track, one of Guy Holt's big Honda putt-putts with transformer, 2K, 1K, tweenies and pepper tungsten luminaires, lots of stingers, some dimmers, jeeze Louise, where do you stop?

I personally am a one man band small-time gaffer and DP and I have a lot of the above and considerably more stuff on a 12' enclosed utility trailer I pull around with my 5,000 lb tow weight 4Runner. Natch, I wish the trailer were 14' long had duals was wider and taller and I could fit Mombo Combos in. It never ends. :)
 
Spinters are fine, but somewhat limited. You might want to consider a Izusu cube van. They have more space, the short wheel base versions are similar length (to sprinter) since they are cab over engine style. They still get decent mileage, have s good turn radius, and you can easily put any custom box you want on it, even roll-off containers so you can haul more than one box. There are other companies that have similar configurations.

Grant
 
ggrantly said:
Spinters are fine, but somewhat limited. You might want to consider a Izusu cube van. They have more space, the short wheel base versions are similar length (to sprinter) since they are cab over engine style. They still get decent mileage, have s good turn radius, and you can easily put any custom box you want on it, even roll-off containers so you can haul more than one box. There are other companies that have similar configurations.

Grant
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But isn't their cargo floor a lot higher? Short of a lift gate what do you do?
 
slondon said:
But isn't their cargo floor a lot higher? Short of a lift gate what do you do?
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Yes that is true.

Trucks like this can be bought a couple of ways. If you roll into a truck dealer looking for a cube, they will usually have a few plane jane cubes with simple boxes. Anything more specialized, you buy a chassis, and then roll it into a truck body shop which will build whatever box you like that fits the chassis length (you can buy different chassis lengths and GVW within the same series truck). In this case, a side door with steps would be a good thing, and or a ramp or lift gate if you have heavy stuff. You could have a rest room or a edit bay, or shelving....whatever you want to suite your needs.

I have been discussing a 5th wheel type trailer with this company which would be built in the configuration of a toy hauler; some living space and computer bay up front and cargo bay in the back with a full width ramp. These guys have built some network production trucks and their stuff is very impressive.

http://trivan.com/page10/page10.html
 
I was looking at box trucks when I found the used 2005 Sprinter someone was trading in on a new one. It just made more sense for my scenario than the box truck. If I need more than will fit in the van I can rent any number of grip & light trucks locally. Rather than installing shelving, I built covered panels to protect the walls, and had E-track installed to secure items. I have all my gear on rolling carts which can be quickly rolled into place and then strapped down, or removed. A mobile DIT/edit station can also be rolled into place, as well as an audio cart for feature film work, or even a larger desk with console for A1 work assisting sat trucks for live audio feeds. Plus the great thing about this configuration is everything comes out, so you can haul your wife's weekend buys at the landscape store. I never thought I would be pimping a van on the Internet, but If you don't need a 3 ton rig I have to say the Sprinter is the bomb!
 
ggrantly said:
I have been discussing a 5th wheel type trailer with this company which would be built in the configuration of a toy hauler; some living space and computer bay up front and cargo bay in the back with a full width ramp. These guys have built some network production trucks and their stuff is very impressive.

http://trivan.com/page10/page10.html
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Have you looked at fifth wheels and trailers built for recreationists who load their snowmobiles, dirt bikes or ATVs in the cargo compartment but they also have living space? Might cost a lot less than a custom job and work well.
 
Slondon,

Yes I have looked at RVs. I have a 5th wheel now, and travel that way often. And while it is a viable option, most of the toy haulers on the market are pretty cheapo and would be a compromise at best. Most of the RV industry builds stuff to a low standard instead of a high standard. In speaking with Trivan, we haven't come up with anything for certain yet, but they are surprisingly affordable and efficient. I have been around a lot of machining and fab in my past life, and these guys are set up really well. Take a look at some of the shop photos. Even though they build custom, most of it is built the same way. The sides are snap-lok extrusions much like how Pergo flooring goes together, they build there own stock windows, doors, and slide-outs, all the insulation and interior stuff is worked out unless you want something really wild. Surprisingly, they can be very competitive with the RV industry in pricing and the overall quality is superior. The fit and finish is excellent, it just isn't as fluffy as an RV.

Grant
 
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