Truck vs van

Ok so my wife to be said I could go on this scrap adventure if first I clean up the scrap on the side of our house and two keep the majority of my new treasures in the basement. Luckily I have a big basement and will soon be purchasing an electric grinder. I do not yet have a truck, actually I do but tranny went. So I was wondering if some of you could give me the pluses and minuses of both scraping part time in a van or in a truck. I could pick up a mechanically sound van for around 800 to 1000 or a truck 1500 to 2000. I want to show her the money in this and have what ever I choose pd for completely with scrap, hopefully that won't take long. And get about three trailers. I have a boat trailor I need to put a floor on and liked the idea of paying a very low price for old campers scraping the little bit that's in them and making a trailor out of that. My goal is to give this n honest shot and if it don't work out at least I have stuff to sell so it wasn't a complete waste of time and I don't look like a fool in front of her or her family.

Just wondering how much it would cost to repair the truck you already have.

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Originally Posted by jimicrk

Just wondering how much it would cost to repair the truck you already have.

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Second that.

What are you driving now? A car? Got a hitch on it? Puting a hitch on and buying a small 6x4 trailer can be as cheap as couple hundred. Then you could get the 2k in cash to buy a truck rather than financing one now

Van = Always a "Secure" load. Safety of items being locked inside it. Protection from the elements

Truck = WAY easier to load. 4x4 capable... MANDATORY for here in the midwest

Craig's list auto parts has tranny and engines all the time or nearby auto yard.

Personally I would go with/ stay with a truck as the interior of the van would gets very dirty.

Mini van, or cargo van? Big difference.

in mini vans, watch out for the tranny, a mechanic friend of mine told me most of them have car trannys in them.

There are quite a few on here that use mini vans. the key is to be good at cramming stuff and taking the seats out. A trailer can help when needed, but watch your combined weight.

I forgot who it was, but someone loves them for hauling computer towers.

Yea you question has a lot of room for imagination. I agree with the others, first look into replacing the transmission. If you do it yourself you will learn a lot and perhaps save enough to pay for some of the tools you may not already have.

I own a cargo van, its a ford e250(3/4 ton), its made to do the job want it to. I receintly got rid of a chev 1/2 ton p/u with a 6' bed. I liked having both vehicles. The way I used them was pick up in the van and tear down on the tail gate of the truck. I would then toss the shred forward on the truck for the trip to the yard. I found the 6' bed very limiting and my son was in need of a vehicle.

Since using just the van I am seriously considering buying a trailer and put my shred directly into the trailer. This would save me moving the shred a least one more time.

One of the things I like best about using my van is I don't have to cover my load or worry that something will fall out while I am headed to the yard. Also I have my one customer will put a pallet in the back
and then push it forward with the second. jThis has made for very fast loading for me. Mike

to me it would depend on what your scrap focus is. if you plan on doing mostly scrap metal (steel, ali, copper, appliances etc.. ) I'd go with a truck )with at least a 6' bed, preferably 8'. or a cargo van if you can acquire a trailer at least the size of a truck bed. If you are going to do anything that you may want to resell (eWaste) that you want to keep completely dry, a van is the way to go, or if you stick with a truck, you need a cap or cover, and then you're back to needing/wanting that trailer for everything else anyway. just my take on it.

I have a 2002 mercery mountaineer. I bought a used tranny from a junk yard for 700.00 got it installed 400.00 and third gear was out on it. I got the money back for the tranny just out for the labor. After researching that SUV is junk I would love to dismantelled it. I see that people pay 40 to 50 for mirrors n other smaller parts but I am afraid once I dismantal it there will not be a buyer for months. I will more than likely sell it whole to someone for parts for 1000. N just cut my losses. Problem I still owe 2200.00 so for now I have a 4000. Lawn ornamate

I want to thank everyone for the insite. I am leaning more toward a truck. I think most of my scrap will be bigger metal objects. I was reading a post on here and the guy was saying how hard it is to make it in e scrap because everyone drove the buying prices up. I went to an action site and seen he was a man of his word. Lot of computers sold for like 5.00 a piece then you have at least 20.00 in gas to go get them. That to me spells out 0 profit.

Can't do this with a van....

http://www.universaldesignresource.c...01-300x225.jpg

Not sayin', just sayin'....

Never used a van to scrap a truck, but used the truck to scrap many vans.

Around my area that would be ticket winner for sure. Can you say unsafe load and overloaded (could break an axle).

http://www.universaldesignresource.c...01-300x225.jpg

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Originally Posted by t00nces2

Can't do this with a van....

http://www.universaldesignresource.c...01-300x225.jpg

Not sayin', just sayin'....

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no but you can with a trailer behind it ;)

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Originally Posted by t00nces2

Can't do this with a van....

http://www.universaldesignresource.c...01-300x225.jpg

Not sayin', just sayin'....

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You could if you organized it.

I have had 3 full size fridges, washer and dryer, and 2 dishwashers in one van load...didn't have to put anything on the roof and no one on the road had any idea what I was up to.

Then there was the week (4 1/2 days actually) earlier this summer that the van and trailer harvested upwards of 40 tons from a bowling alley.

I feel fortunate to have a van and F250 but the van gets used most days due to it having multiple doors with thresholds lower to the street, built in sidewalls, weather tight and privacy second to none.

I always prefer trucks. Vans are nice because your load is constantly secure but you're incredibly limited to what you can haul just from size alone. If you have the money, you can get as big of a truck as you want. I just recently bought an old Ford F500. Put a few hundred into it and ill have a scrap hauler with a 12 foot bed and 24,000 # GVWR

I sure would like another Box Truck for 48" loading docks. Ideally, I would have a van, (currently running a Ford E-150 with 10 ply tires and helper springs), a dump trailer and a 24' box truck.

I think one thing people overlook when it come standard size cargo vans is the longer bed...10ft as opposed to 8ft pick up bed.

Love my e250.but it's nice to have the option when a pic up is more convenient.