Painting - Outfitting pickup truck for painting equipment and supplies

I want to add some storage boxes/shelves to my pickup truck that will be good for painting equipment and supplies. I’ve done a fair amount of shopping but have not seen much that appeals to me. I should probably have a large van, but what I have is a Ford F-150 Styleside/8’ bed, with cap and liner.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

I have painted out of both pick ups and vans, vans are definetly better but when you have a truck already you might as well make it work. My first priority would be ladder racks but first you should really consider what type of painting you will be doing. What type of work you do will go a long way in deciding what you need.

Both drop cloths and brushes need to be kept dry. It is best to keep all drops as clean as possible [ they're supposed to keep things clean and paint free - you don't want to add to the clean up.]

Things that you will use on a daily basis need to be readily accesable. Items used occasionally can be stored either in a less accessable part of the bed or left at home [everytime I leave something at the shop, plans change and I need it now]

You should take an inventory of the equipment you have [or intend to get shortly] and how to make it accesable in your truck.

BTW keep the cap on your truck as it will help keep everything dry and you wouldn't believe what a pain it is to go back to a job for touch up and find the lid is rusty or smeared as you try to find the right can of paint.

All I can say is:
American Van (http://www.americanvan.com/index.cfm)

Where you live is very important. One of my MAIN concerns would be to keep paint at a reasonable temp. I live in NY and it was a definite problem. I always picked up my paint after work[if possible].

In the dead off winter that used to mean loading it intothe truck from the paint store>unloading into my house> looading the truck in the morning>then unloading it into the house or whatever. All of this costing metime and money. A royal pain,that lasted about 1 week.

I like to let the paint sit a while to let the air bubbles created during shaking to dissapate. That is why I picked it up at night,and I also don't like getting up any earlier than I have to. On top of that I sleep better knowing I have the stuff I need for the next day. I always had warm ceiling paint available.

I could have ordered it the night before and I have done that,but the supplier may be in the opposite direction :wall: And I got heavy duty traffic around here and that is not the way I like to start the day. All in all better to pick it up at night if you can keep it warm

I just made a 2" thick rigid styrofoam box and lined it with some aluminum coil [trim for siding] and hooked up a little heating pad (http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/caborvbase12.html) that goes into a ciggarrette lighter all powered by a seperate battery that charged up when I drove. worked out nice :thumbup:

Hopefully you don't live in Ariz ;) na

I have set a little ceramic heater in my van when necesary, you could do the same with a pickup w/top. A lot depends on how much paint is necesary to keep on hand. Most latex paints are no good once frozen.

"BTW keep the cap on your truck as it will help keep everything dry and you wouldn't believe what a pain it is to go back to a job for touch up and find the lid is rusty or smeared as you try to find the right can of paint."

Thanks for your help. You also mentioned "touch up" paint, which is a concern for me. I'll post my questions with a new thread.

All I can say is:
American Van (http://www.americanvan.com/index.cfm)


I just checked out American Van. It'a great source. Thanks!

I live in beautiful New Jersey, just a few miles from the "fair" city of Philadelphia. It gets pretty cold here. With traffic, picking up paint in the morning could be a problem. Picking up the day before is probably the way to go, with some sort of heater in the truck. Loading and unloading paint (to and from the house and truck) sounds like a big time waster. Thanks!!

ceramic heaters are good,but they need a 120 volt plug or a heavy duty inverter. The heating pad works automatic and everywhere your truck or van is,even while you are doing the job. Besides that they cost a fortune to run :eek: it would be on most if not all the time if it was just placed in the van. At least around here.

Still wondering where we are talking about? Is it even cold there????? Oh I see Joisey.

American van is great and you can get some good ideas there,but I would seriously reconsider spending a lot of money there. I would definitely hold off on that aspect of your business.Most things can be built with wood for now. Spend only on necessities. Listen to your joneq.


Look here (http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/StoreCatalogDisplay/c-10101/s-10101/TID-8010604) for racks and stuff. Cheaper in my opinion.

I use a couple of those big plastic storage bins
I can bring them right into/onto the site with me

American van is great and you can get some good ideas there,but I would seriously reconsider spending a lot of money there. I would definitely hold off on that aspect of your business.Most things can be built with wood for now. Spend only on necessities. Listen to your joneq.

American Van items can be pricey. I will be careful about spending too much too soon on outfitting my truck. I will improvise until my cash flow can pay for "fancy" equipment.

I built shelving out of scrap wood and installed in my van 12 yrs or so ago. Never saw a need to replace them as they still do the job.

Yup, I agree with Slickshift. Went to Home depot and for about $8 a piece I got two big tubs. One for paint equipment, one for drywall stuff. My buddy who trained me said to never get more equipment than you could fit in those two tubs and it's a system that has served me well for two years now. This of course excludes ladders and stuff like that.

And I drive a Honda Civic hatchback! Living in Vancouver, you can't even leave the lighter in your car at night without it being broken into so you have to take everything out at night.