Few things are more annoying than being broke down in the field and knowing you have the perfect tool to make the repair … back in your shop. (Read More: 13 Don’t-Forget Tools for Field Repairs)
That’s why so many farmers outfit their farm truck as a mobile shop. For some that means throwing a 5-gallon bucket full of hand tools into the bed of the truck. Others opt for a full-blown service truck that carries every tool they own.
Here are options between those extremes:
Portable Toolboxes
These range from rusty three-draw Craftsman toolboxes inherited with the farm to high-tech systems with stackable, wheeled plastic totes. Portable toolboxes are convenient to carry to the worksite to save steps, and easy to switch back and forth between pickup and shop. Economical and effective, they range in cost from $50 to $150.
Read More: The Ins and Outs of 3 Types of Toolboxes to Simplify Field Repairs
Flatbed Pickups
These are popular for the accessibility they provide to their payload. Reaching over the side of a conventional pickup truck can be a literal pain. Bolt-on toolboxes mounted around the perimeter of a flatbed provide easy access to tools. It’s easy to bolt toolboxes, fuel tanks and accessories to a flatbed in whatever unique design meets your needs.
Utility Van Bodies
Popular with plumbers and electricians, these machines offer easily-accessed side storage compartments and a covered center bay. Doors and compartments are weather-sealed, with drawers and shelving inside the compartments.
Dustin Ritter and his father, Pat, from Granger, Iowa, bought a used utility van-bodied truck 10 years ago.
“It gives us a lot of weatherproof storage for bulky filters and supplies, which leaves us more room for tools in the side compartments,” Dustin says. “We’ve got just about all our tools loaded, and leave them loaded all the time. We bought the used truck and body for $6,000, and I admit 90% of the time it sits in our shop. But when we need it in the field, it’s priceless. We joke it’s our self-propelled toolbox.”
Mechanic’s Trucks
For in-field repairs, farmers are purchasing mechanic’s trucks, ones with a 1-ton chassis and an 11' service body, says Tom Wallace, sales manager with Iowa Mold and Tooling.
“That’s a big enough chassis to handle a crane on the service body,” he says. “A crane can act as a second person in some situations, and having it on the truck saves running around to get a skidsteer or tractor loader.”
Jon McClure and his father, Mike, of Dallas Center, Iowa, bought a Chevy 1-ton chassis and equipped it with a Knapheide service body in 2014. “It’s one of the best things we’ve ever bought,” Jon says. “We put all our tools in it and never unload it.”
“The only problem is we’re outgrowing it,” he says. “If we replace it, we’ll get a bigger box and add a crane.
The service truck is something we thought about for a long time, but now we’d hate to farm without it.”
Read More: 13 Don’t-Forget Tools for Field Repairs
Dan Anderson uses his hands-on experience with farm machinery repairs, field operations and technology to share practical tricks and fixes in the pages of Farm Journal and on AgWeb.com.
