Detailing Vehicle / Personal Vehicle

KJW Detailing

KJW Detailing

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Good Morning AG's,

As the title states, I'm looking to purchase a vehicle to both detail out of the back of, as well as to use as my personal vehicle. I'm aware that using a truck or van is a tried, tested, and true form of mobile detailing, but I need a vehicle that I can use each and every day, to detail out of, commute to and from my day job, and use for all other general purposes.

Ideas: Currently looking at used 07' or newer SUV's with 4x4 or AWD.
1. Toyota FJ Cruiser
2. Honda Element
3. Ford Edge
4. Even considered a hummer haha.

Anyway, if you have any suggestions that would be fantastic.

Thanks, Kieran
 
Those are al plretty similar style vehicles. Why not consider a Ford Explorer also similar and plentiful meaning less expensive.

Have you considered a trailer? Might be more functional to work out of.
 
youve got to add a 4 runner to that list. reliable, easy drivers, easy to find, easy to work on.
 
I want to keep my detailing equipment enclosed and out of the elements and safe. Also, living in a condo, I don't have the extra space to park a trailer.
 
Honda Element can literally be hosed out and has a lot of plastic trim that can stand up to more abuse than paint. Probably would also save some coin at the pump.
 
If you're looking more at the personal use aspect I'd say the Honda Element. If you're looking more at a business use for the vehicle, I'd say the Ford Transits might work well. The used ones are more prevalent now.
 
I'd likely say its a 60/40 split between personal use and detailing.
 
Are you up north? Do you need awd/4wd? Down south I see a lot of hhr's being used for shops. And the ford kovach? (Googled commercial ford vehicle and it pops up don't know the USA name) hhr could be a pretty sweet little detailing mobile vehicle if well organized. And iv seen the ones with I rear glass too
 
What kind of equipment do you have that would be the main question so that you don't buy a vehicle to small for all your stuff. And are you taking your own water.
 
Winter in NJ can be a sloppy mess and we get a enough foul weather to make an AWD or 4x4 a smart purchase.

I've thought about running my own water tank and I'm unsure whether I will or won't use one. If I end up using my own water, it would be no bigger than 60 gal tank. I will have an electric pressure washer, vacuum of some sort, Honda generator, and then you common detailing items.
 
Honda Element. Rear seats are removable which is a nice feature.
 
I would get a bigger vehicle like a full size truck if your going to have a water tank I have a 100 gallon tank shop back power washer Honda eu 1000 generator extractor flex and pc all my chemicals and towels in the back of my full size truck and it's packed
 
Not a truck van, but if I was going to get something bigger, I'd look towards a Chevy Suburban or something similar.
 
One thing I did when planing my set up and how much I could carry was to lay a tape and chock out line of what I could fit in the back so I would know for sure and not waist money on things that aren't needed. Find out the cargo area of the vehicle that most suits you and trace an out line it will let you know how much space you really have.
 
Careful you don't buy the wrong vehicle. That could be a costly mistake. You can get a locking tonneau cover for a pick up truck. I don't carry a water tank but I would not want anything smaller.
 
I plan to have all of my tools prior to buying a vehicle, so have a proper footprint to work off of to best determine the trunk space I need. The other aspect that I have to keep in mind, is that I'm not running from one place to the next throughout the course of the day. I typically have a job that last the length of a day or longer...so I won't need my entire arsenal of products.
 
Buy a 2001 chevy s10 zr2! haha. Thats what I detail out of and use it for a daily driver. But man the gas mileage is terrible... I get about 11 around town in North Jersey. But its only a 4.3 V6. Otherwise its great.
 
I used to own a Honda Element...the versatility of its interior EASILY makes it your best vehicle choice. Plus, being a 4-cylinder, it gets rather good gas mileage.
 
Personally, my decision would be based on space & weight. If I were going to go with the 60 gallon water tank you mentioned, I would definately get a full size truck/SUV. The tank & water alone would be over 500 lbs. I believe that much H2O would soon be the end of an Element. Let alone your zero to sixty times being gauged with a sun dial. Merging with freeway traffic could be a little dicey.

You also mentioned doing basically a job a day so you wouldn't need all your tools every day. Well, unpacking & repacking for every job sucks. Here's why.... You get out on the job. You're scrubbing away & making good progress. Things are going great until you reach for something that isn't there. Or your customer says they would like something additional done that you didn't bring with you. "Oh yes sir, I've got plenty of that...." (at the shop where it does me no good at all.)

A small SUV might get the job done for now. But a full size might make more sense in the long run if you add to your services. So if you're that serious, bite the bullet & buy something that has the room, weight capacity, & power to do the job.

Because you can wash a car with a cotton ball. But who wants to work that hard?
 
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