Best Surveying Truck?

Welcome to the Board.

I have been solo for 6 years, working out of my 2001 F150 Supercrew. I started out with a flat tonneau (sp) cover, and shortly thereafter got a full size camper shell.

It has been a workhorse. I have it overloaded, but it has never let me down. I would much prefer a little longer bed. Mine is 5.5 feet long. The tailgate is a little narrower than a normal pickup tailgate because of the body style.

My truck is red. It looks really sharp when I can find time to keep it clean. I take pretty good care of my truck, because it too, serves as my personal vehicle. I also have a smaller, Chevy C1500 pickup that I use for personal use.

My buddy that I work with , another solo surveyor, works out of a Dodge 1500, and it is pretty nice as well. It has more room than my truck.

My next work truck will be white. It hides scratches much better. It will also have overload springs, because all that survey gear adds alot of weight to the vehicle. I am hoping to find a good deal on a 3/4 ton pickup, when I get in the market for a newer truck.

Good luck.

Ford -- when you got the best seller, you can only expect the price to go up.
I bought a long bed F150 about six years ago for $16K. Having secure access to your
equipment is important. I know have had a Fort Transit for about a year. No back seats
which is not good to carry a large crew or clients around. The price was $25k, not new ones
cost $20K.

Dodge -- terrible gas guzzlers; weak engines. There seem to have improved the last three years.

Chevy -- way too many fuel injection problems for me. Plenty of spare parts at the junk yards.

Toyota -- used to buy pick-ups for $5k each by the six pack. Last Tacoma I bought had tires
that I could only replace at the original dealership.

Jeep -- rugged but rough ride.

I use both F150 4WD w underarmor and towing package and Toyota Tacoma SR5 wTRD & Towing Package

They both have their advantages

BTW, my F150 will turn a smaller circle than the Tacoma.

😉

I started my own business a year ago and I went with one like Truck 2 (the white 2010 Ford F-150 4 door). It looks just like the one I got and that is the place I got it actually. It has worked out pretty well other than having to put new tires on it. The great part about having the 4 door is having all that room to store stuff. The bad part is that it turns like an aircraft carrier.

Being a UF grad myself, I wish you luck.

3/4 tons trucks last the longest with the least amount of problems. Been doing this stuff for many years and my pops for many before that. I personally have a 2003 Chevy Suburban 2500 4x4. Wouldn't trade it for just about anything!

We have had success with Ford vans.

Cheers

Derek

> Hey everyone. I'm brand new to the forum here so I hope I'm doing this right.
>
> I'm expecting to graduate college soon with my geomatics engineering degree and I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on a good surveying truck to start out with (make/model etc). It will serve not only as a work truck, but as my personal vehicle as well.

Welcome to this fun place.
My 2001 Ram just turned 200,000. Bought it because of the price, but have become a Ram fan. The fords you have linked are great choices, but I am saving up for my return to the ultimate surveying ride..... CHEVY SUBURBAN.

Off subject but have to ask:

How does a graduate afford a $20G truck?

Are you putting the cart before the horse (Truck before the License)?

Lol.. good question.. I'm one of the few that did their field time before going to college. So when I get out I'll be sitting for my exam shortly thereafter. Though I'll still likely go to work for a different company for a year or two to pay down the loans and save up some starting capital etc. I'm just looking for some insight ahead of time.

I agree on the 3/4 ton truck.

I have been driving an F250 4WD crew cab for the past 4.5 years and it has made a believer out of me. It handles the load way better and has a towing package. It makes an F150 seem like a toy truck.

Whats your gas mileage like though? Here in Florida, its mostly sand. The heavier trucks just seem to get stuck all the time.

I'm thinking the body on the back is more important that the chassis and cab, if you are considering the '"usefulness" of the truck. We've had a utility body by Omaha on the back of a Chevy, and then a Ford for thirty years. Loved working out of the utility body. Recently the floor did finally rot out of the body, and with the poor economy in New England, we couldn't afford the $5,000 price tag to replace the body.

So, we put a pickup body on the truck, and built some wooden shelves, and mounted a cap over it,

I hate working out of a pickup body!

Eventhough the cap has side cabinets over the bed rails, that 8 foot "cave" inside the bed under the cap is just too voluminous. The old until body had two rows of cabinets along the side, and had a sliding cover over the top, and since it was only four feet wide by eight feet deep, we has some real nice plywood boxes spanning the floor to carry the tripods.

I suppose there may have been some dead space, but the side cabinets made up for it. The pickup/cap is just a miserable truck to work out of.

My 2 cents.

Craig

Started out many years ago (60s) at a company where all the PCs drove their own rigs and got mileage reimbursed. Station wagons, jeeps, sedans.. you name it. Best PC, I worked for drove a big Buick. Don't remember ever getting stuck. Anyway, through the years I have worked out of SUVs, cars. lots of Suburbans, PUs w campers... you name it. It mostly depends on what type of work you will be doing. I have an old Jeep Cherokee that will probably go on for years, easy to maintain, cheap to insure, holds most things you would need for a solo operation in an urban setting. If your work takes you far from the office, you will need to carry more... extra materials, suitcases, equipment backups and so forth. If you're running around the city doing lot surveys and stakeouts w a helper.. you may not even need 4WD. I would not recommend trying to work out of a car the way they are built now they are too low and a small load makes it worse. So looking at a truck is the way to go. If you end up with a PU w camper... consider a bedslide unit. It permits you to access more of the useable space inside the bed with the least amount of climbing and crawling. Had one on my last survey rig and it was a dream. I built an overhead shelf to hold all the long gear such as tripods, etc. and everything else was arranged in compartments on the bedslide according to how often I needed to get at them.

Ultimate truck? Just got a new RAM 3/4 ton CTD 4X4 crewcab. It will be our RV hauler in our retirement years. I think it would be a great survey rig but probably will never be used that way... sorta ironic.

Anyway, good luck to you with your new endeavors.

I've been solo for 13 years. Prior to that I had worked out of Fords, Chevys, and Dodges. From station wagons, minivans, vans, pick-ups, and suburbans.

When I went solo I started with my 94 Chevy extended cab longbed HD 3/4 ton because that was what I owned. After a couple of years and being successful, I bought a used 99 Tahoe with barn doors. Great vehicle to work out of. I then have gone through a 2000 suburban and a 2004 suburban. Both with barn doors.

I know a lot of guys like working out of trucks, but I love the tahoes and suburbans with barn doors. As equipment changes and types of projects have evolved, I simply build boxes that fit and secure everything. All of my equipment in dry, secure, and within arms reach of the doors.

I can buy most any vehicle, but my next one will probably be a 96-99 tahoe or suburban with barn doors. I have a 2-door Tahoe now for recon and GPS projects that is easy to get around. Plus I've gotten pretty good at fixing most anything on them. The amount of a new truck payment more than covers any repairs throughout the year. Plus taxes and insurance are cheaper.

My 2 cents.

Gary

We've been working out of four wheel drive Nissan trucks for years. We just don't have to carry much anymore and the small size allows for access to smaller trails. The fuel economy isn't as good as one might think at around 18mpg. If I bought a full size I probably wouldn't get four wheel drive. I'd get a four wheeler.

I've worked out of several pickups over the years, but have been using a 3/4 ton Suburban since 2006. I don't think I could go back to a pickup. I have the back passenger seats folded down although it's easy to fold one back side up when we (rarely) run a 3-man crew. I built a plywood compartment for the back. I like the lift gate version for the rainy Pacific NW (good for putting on rain gear, etc.)

Two years ago I had to replace my truck. It's replacement was a 2012 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited. Getting about 20mpg with the new pentastar engine. The day I bought it the rear seats got folded down and haven't been back up. The four door makes it easy and things don't get stuck in the "cave" of a truck with a cap. Plus everything can be secured inside. The downside to it is that it does ride rough. The upside is they make all kinds of accessories for Jeeps. So far this has been one of the best vehicles i've worked out of.

Go the 3/4 ton, route you won't be sorry. We replaced our F-150 with a F-250 and it made a world of difference. We don't even carry half the weight we used to by getting away from carrying all the hubs and extra lathe until we need to. We don't do much construction staking any more. One thing I've learned after driving Suburbans for 30yrs and switching to these to Fords is don't believe the mileage Ford advertises. Even my wife's little Ford gets worse so I don't know know where they're getting their numbers. Our F-250 unloaded has never got better than 12 mpg and loaded we're getting 8. The last Suburban, loaded to the gills got 12.
To save wear & tear on the F-250 (and gas) we bought a Polaris Ranger, put turn signals, horn, mirrors, windshield, radio and capper on it. According to the Highway Patrol all we need is windshield wipers and we'll be street legal. Have never been hassled by the local cops but we stay out of the bigger towns with it. Have passed quite a few sheriff deputies with it going 55mph and they haven't pulled us over yet. I figure they will today. We drive it to every job within 20 miles or so. Gets a little cold in the winter but sure saves gas and never been stuck. Oh yeah, I'm short so the new trucks keep p***ing my off by getting higher and higher but not increasing their ground clearance much. To short to reach over the side rail and grab something from the floor. When the F-250 goes down, we'll be getting a Tahoe/Suburban. If we keep down sizing what we carry maybe a Trailblazer or Explorer.

Suburban......I am on my third one now.

Good Luck! that's kind of the way I did it too. Worked then went to school. It actually was a great way to do it, I was much more driven than the first time I went through college.

I drive a Dodge Ram Laramie HEMI. got it a few years old at Half the 50k sticker price. Love it, and can fit the fam damily in it for long trips. Heated and ventilated seats are a must here in Fl. if you can swing it!

andy