When Jake Saltzman established First Response Drain Service almost two years ago in Sandwich, Ill., he wanted a service van with plenty of storage space for drain-cleaning equipment and easy access to supplies and parts. So he decided to wing it with a 2004 Savana Pro Series van.
The van features gull-wing doors that slide up and open on both sides, allowing technicians to grab items quickly without going inside. That’s a major time saver. “Most vans are kind of cramped,” Saltzman says. “You’ve got to crawl in and out to get things. With exterior access, you can get things without going inside and save space for storing equipment like rodding machines, pipes or inspection cameras. Everything is accessible and easy to get to. It’s the ultimate service vehicle.”
Shaving time
“On average, the exterior access probably shaves off 10 to 15 minutes per job,” he says. “That’s huge. If you do five calls a day, that’s a lot of savings.”
Along with about $5,000 worth of repair parts, the van carries three drum drain cleaners made by Spartan Tool LLC: a heavy-duty 1065 model for 3- to 10-inch lines; a medium-size 300 model for 3- to 6-inch lines; and a lightweight 100 model for 4-inch lines and smaller. Saltzman relies on a RIDGID SeeSnake inspection camera and a RIDGID SR60 pipe and utility locator.
The van is also tricked out with a customized steel rack system made by Adrian Steel Co. that includes shelving and plastic storage bins. Five fluorescent exterior lights on the undersides of the winged doors provide night illumination. “Everything has its place inside,” Saltzman notes. “When it’s so organized, it’s a lot less tempting to just throw everything into the back of the van at the end of the day.”
The van is powerful enough to haul the company’s trailer-mounted, tandem-axle 2005 O’Brien 7030 hydrojetter (3,000 psi/30 gpm), used for 6-inch and larger lines.
Getting attention
The van’s unique design helps make it a rolling billboard. Although the gull-wing doors made it tricky to letter, the van carries industrial vinyl lettering that spells out the company name, phone number, Web address and key offerings, which include 24-hour service. The company’s logo features the emergency star of life symbol, with a plunger substituted where the snake and staff would normally be.
“I used the star of life symbol to emphasize that it’s an emergency vehicle – to let people know we can take care of bad situations,” says Saltzman. “I left a little empty space in the middle of the truck, just in case we ever need to add information. As we grow, I want the ability to add more services, or maybe a phone number for a different area code if we expand our service area.”
The van also catches the eyes of contractors and customers with features like premium wheels. “I get compliments from other contractors all the time,” Saltzman says. “They kind of freak out when I hit a button on the key fob and the wing doors pop open. When they see that, they always want to go check it out.”
That’s what happens when you make your business take wing.
