5 Signs It’s Time to Trade Your Pickup for a Service Truck

As an on-the-go tradesperson – whether you’re an electrician, contractor, plumber or other professional – you know how important it is to have a reliable, capable work truck. After all, it’s more than just your mode of transportation – it’s your mobile office, where you store your tools and the backbone of your daily operations. And while your trusty pickup truck may have been getting the job done for the last several years, if you’ve been noticing that it isn’t quite cutting it anymore, whether because of its age or your business’s growing needs, it may be time to consider investing in a new solution – a service body.

Want to be confident in your choice but not sure which – a pickup truck or service body – is the best suited to you and your business’s needs? Below are five signs that it’s time you upgrade to a service body.

1. You Need More Storage Variety (or Storage in General)

While pickup trucks are great for hauling larger items, they’re not ideal for storing and transporting smaller ones because of their open design. To remedy this, many purchase cross toolboxes and/or side-mounted toolboxes. But while these add-ons provide designated areas for smaller tools and parts to be stored, they may reduce the area available in your bed for larger items.

When you upgrade to something like a Knapheide service body, not only is your truck’s bedspace maximized, thanks to the standard wheelhouse delete feature, but you also gain storage through the street- and curb-side compartments that are integrated into the body itself. These built-in compartments are designed to perfectly store your smaller tools and equipment, keep them in place and free your bed space up for larger items.

2. You Need to Improve Your Organization

When your tools and equipment are scattered across your pickup truck, finding what you need can be challenging, not to mention frustrating and time consuming. And if you’re tired of constantly digging through the tools in the back of your truck or spending precious time searching your cab, it’s time to switch. After all, service bodies are specifically designed to make organization easier with built-in compartments and shelves (and if you want to really level up your organization game, consider adding drawer units or bins to your compartments).

3. You Need Easier Access (to Tools and Parts)

Accessibility is important if you’re striving to be efficient on the job. After all, you don’t want to waste time climbing in the back of your pickup truck to find and grab tools and parts when you could just as easily retrieve them by opening and reaching into compartment doors while outside of your truck instead. With a service body, you’re able to easily get what you need and get back to the job.

(Learn more about the role this played in the Monsignores' decision to switch from pickup trucks to utility bodies.)

4. You Need More Security

Carrying expensive tools, parts and equipment in the open bed of your pickup truck can be risky, regardless of where you operate, whether in an urban or rural area. With a service body, you can increase your security by storing valuable equipment in its lockable compartments, providing you with peace of mind whether on the job or off site.

5. You Need a More Customized Work Truck

While pickup trucks can be customized, service bodies can be fully configured, allowing you to tailor your truck to your exact specifications and unique needs (whether you choose to create a totally custom body or simply choose a variety of standard options). So, if you’re looking for things like a major storage upgrade, in addition to a roof, a ladder rack and/or a special bumper with vise brackets, a service body is the way to go.