Work Truck vs Work Van

When hard work has to be done, there aren’t many vehicles that are better at assisting than work trucks and work vans. Their suites of features and options and unparalleled capacity set them above the best civilian non-work vehicles in most regards. Work trucks and work vans are each best for different types of work. Let’s compare and contrast their capabilities and loadouts below.

Core Benefits of Work Trucks

Chevrolet by Greg Gjerdingen | Licensed with CC BY 2.0

The utility, towing capacity, and payload capacity of a solid work truck is unquestionable. Tradesmen from across the world use them to operate all kinds of businesses, including those focused on plumbing, electrical, frame construction, exterior modeling, interior finishing, and more. Work trucks can make most big jobs easier. Long stacks of supplies are easy to fit into work trucks and the trailers they are capable of pulling.

One of the more notable advantages of having a work truck rather than a work van involves driving visibility. The standard work truck has considerably more viewing range through its windows than work vans do. These trucks also tend to have superior gas mileage ratings to those of work vans, though the ratings are, of course, impacted by the size of the load being hauled in both cases.

For businesses that use loaded pallets, work trucks are often the better option since smaller forklifts are capable of loading directly onto their beds. It is generally wise to reinforce the bed lining of work trucks that will be used this way, so the weight and friction do not damage it. Our professional staff can help you get your hands on the required compounds, and our service team can apply them safely, evenly, and efficiently.

The suspension system is extremely important to consider when you plan to haul serious workloads on a regular basis. Work trucks tend to have better standard suspension systems than work vans, and the medium and heavy work truck classes have incredible premium part options to make those rides impressively smooth.

Work trucks also tend to come with a heavy-duty steel toolbox that is ideal for all sorts of businesses. These almost always have very strong security locks, so they are very difficult to break into. Most work trucks offer more than one size of these boxes, and some models soon to hit the market have electronic locks that can be opened with the push of a button through a key fob or app.

The usefulness of the towing capacity range of work trucks cannot be overstated. The average pickup truck can tow between 2,500 and 5,000 pounds. The average medium-class work truck can tow between 7,000 and 17,000 pounds. The average heavy work truck can tow between 12,000 and 20,000 pounds. Chevrolet’s work trucks are a cut above all of these ratings. The 3500 maxes out at 36,000 pounds with the best available equipment, and there are two levels of work truck above it: the 4500 and the 5500.

Core Benefits of Work Vans

Work vans have one benefit that sets them well above work trucks: cargo capacity. They are capable of carrying a stupefying range of equipment and, when configured correctly, can be made home to a wide range of built-in storage containers. Many work vans even have compartments and hookups that are accessible from the exterior of the vehicle. The enclosed nature of the cargo area makes it preferable over the work truck for those who use sensitive equipment.

Computer repair professionals, internet-related service businesses, electrical engineers who work on sensitive systems, and many others depend on that feature to keep their most valuable components and tools safe. While the steel tool boxes on work trucks are quite secure, their construction makes them less ideal for storing heat-sensitive parts and equipment like computer chips and tools for fine server work. The enclosed cargo area of the work van is climate controlled, so sensitive items can be stored at ideal temperatures throughout the workday.

Another benefit of choosing a work van involves internal accessibility. With a work truck, if an occupant wants something stored in the rear, they must exit the vehicle, open the rear hatch or steel toolbox, and retrieve what they seek. In a work van, a person can simply turn around and grab what they want or walk back into the storage bay and do the same.

This is particularly nice when working in areas where the climate tends toward the more extreme hot and cold ranges since the worker need not expose themselves to the elements. Work vans can also be modified into mobile showrooms for businesses. Being able to show everyone what your business can do, wherever you go, is a massive benefit.

Yes, ads can be placed on the outside of work trucks too, but the exterior space for the ads on work vans is much larger, so they’ll be discernable from farther away. Work van advertisements can be exceptionally large and eye-catching when placed along the sided paneling. This kind of advertisement is far superior to a stationary sign or billboard or an online ad that can simply be scrolled past. Those forms of advertisement are more easily ignored than a form that ends up right in front of countless people during each and every commute.

Discover Your Ideal Work Vehicle at Bachman Chevrolet

Bachman Chevrolet is fully prepared to fill your business’s work vehicle needs. Whether you desire a work truck, a work van, or a fleet of vehicles including both, we’re here to help. Our available work trucks include the Silverado 1500, 2500 Heavy Duty, 3500 Heavy Duty, 4500 Heavy Duty, 5500 Heavy Duty, and 6500 Heavy Duty. The general capabilities of the trucks scale up as the numbers in their names do, so you can pick the truck with the right range of capabilities for the work your business does.

Our available work vans are available in the chipper body, glass body, specialty, upfitted, standard cargo, cutaway, service utility, landscaping/dumping, passenger wagon, mobility, and other formats. Let us know what you plan to use your work van or work van fleet for, and we can find you the ideal configuration for your business.

Here at Bachman Chevrolet, we’re dedicated to ensuring that our business customers have everything they need to do their jobs comfortably, efficiently, safely, and well. If you have any questions about our available work trucks or work vans, feel free to contact us. We’ll gladly send you all of the details.