I’m always impressed when I step foot onto a mobile tool dealer’s truck. As someone who likes to organize things (or fantasize about organizing things) — pare down, group, attack one small project after the next — I am always taken with the efficiency and creativity it takes to make these small quarters yield big results.

When you think of all the traffic that makes its way into and out of your truck in a day … a week … a month, all the products coming in and going out, and the hours spent inside, it’s no wonder mobile tool dealers want to get their quarters “just right.”

So much time, thought and energy goes into positioning the products just right for demo and sale, or installing an extra monitor to play video demos on loop.

We’ve seen it all over the years: retrofitted busses, brand new Freightliners, a 1986 Ford C-Series conversion (vehicleservicepros.com/20857196) — and all manner of trucks decked out for the holidays.

Last year, we featured independent distributor Bill Lynch’s 2007 18’ C4500 Chevrolet bus with a Duramax engine, which he purchased for — get ready for this — $350 at an auction. Lynch stripped the bus, the seats, and built it up from there using 3x4 plywood and felt carpeting. Rather than stop there, he decided to go ahead and build all the shelving and lighting himself, and installed the inverter.

Some distributors, like Lynch, take a personal interest in every shelf and each fastener. Others oversee the process of a custom build, or simply move right into a new truck. It seems there are distinct benefits to all scenarios.

Have you considered a good spring clean? Or maybe it’s time to ‘move in’ to a new truck. In this issue you’ll find plenty of ideas to get your wheels turning (and you can find still more on our website).

Start with Phil Sasso’s column ‘Redesigning your truck to recharge your sales’ on page 38 for some ideas on high impact update options, including layout and display. You may not need to buy a new truck to hit the ‘refresh’ button. The devil, as they say, is in the details.

On page 16, Mac Tools distributor Alfredo Santana describes the moment he knew he was ready to buy new.

If one thing is true, a mobile’s truck is as unique as he or she is. Is your truck an ‘old faithful’ conversation starter? Is it brand new and lit up with LEDs? Send us a note about your wheels. We’d love to take a look!