Places People sticka up vans

[Carrie Brown]

We were in the same sort of situation as you 2 months ago ….. we were in premises which we had outgrown and we were doing vehicles outside as we had no where to bring them in … this was fine during spring / summer but with winter coming and the fact we are getting a lot more work through the doors than last year, we decided we had no alternative but to find a unit that we could bring vehicles into. We moved in a fortnight ago and yes its more money but its something we felt we had to do ….. it looks more professional and we have no worries about bad weather hindering us fitting graphics now.

At present do you get enough vehicle work to make it worthwhile or are you looking to push this area of work a lot more again to make it worthwhile?

Carrie 😀

[Shane Drew]

Hi Buddy,

I worked from an office with no vehicle access for 12 months. As Carrie states, bad weather is a problem, and I was forever cancelling work when it rained. Moved into a new factory with room for 2 cars under cover, and I have never regretted it for a minute, although the expense was higher.

I started chasing vehicle work when I moved, which has increased my income. Without the shed, I always shied away from vehicles in the bad weather months. Lost a lot of credabilty with some clients back then.

Hope it works out for you whatever you decide.

Cheers
Shane

[Tim Painter]

Just a thought may be mad though… :lol1:

What about having 4 or six mountings in the ground for some sort of post in ally posibly posts then having fixings you can tie a tarp sheet up to via pully or something.
If your not doing vehicles everyday that is.
You could put a top on when you need it and sides if it was windy.

Just a brain storm…

Tim.

[Aaron & Chris]

Thanks for your advice. 😀

I suppose we have to start somewhere and really we would be pushed for cash if we did buy the bigger unit.

Its good to hear that other people have worked outside all year and it can be done even if it is a task. 😕

Cheers

Chris & Aaron

[Simon Forrester]

We have been doing vans outside our unit for the last 20 years with no problems to date, yes it rains at times but you’ld be surprised at how little that will effect you. Just tell the customer its raining come back when it’s stopped….when was the last time you saw a builder work in the rain!! 😀

If your paying for indoor space then you had best use it all for indoor work, as leaving an empty space to fit the occassional van seems very wastefull to me!!!

Simon

[Phill Fenton]

We rent a unit which is 1000sq. ft and includes space for working on vans. This space is also ideal for loads of other jobs such as cutting boards and assembling frames when there are no vans in.

The Scottish weather is very unpredictable (and as a large proportion of our work tends to be vans) I believe we wouldn’t be able to get through the same volume of work if we didn’t have this extra work space.

My advice would be to rent the unit with the extra space – assuming you have done your sums and anticipate keeping busy enough to cover all of your overheads and still draw enough from the business to earn a reasonable living. Others do – so you should be able to too

[Steve Broughton]

When I started I was lucky in that i had a mate who was a tyre fitter and he let me use his fitting bay when ever i wanted, but 4 years agao I moved to my present location that has 2 workshops.

[Robert Lambie]

many moons ago… when we started out, we were situated on the second floor of an office block. we did mostly banners, signs, t-shirts etc etc
when a van job came in, it was a hassle if it couldnt be fitted on site.
we ended up taking the van to a multi-storey car park to be fitted. this worked for a while but the busier you get the more hassle it became. it also looked unproffessional. we moved out the city into units. low costing units but with an area for vans. it is the best thing we ever did… like phill says.. when no vans are in you use the space for painting, cutting wood, sheet material the list goes on.. never do we think.. thats a waste of space.
today, we now grumble at the van area. we need bigger better and properly heated! fittings outside are acceptable.. and if thats what you do to get the job done then spot on.. thats all its about, getting the job done..
but, what i have found with staff and myself, is that when you have a van with a fair bit on it you tend to rush it, if fitted outside. you tend to over look silly things that could easily be fitted. you have to heat the vinyl more in the cold. dust from the groud is easy blwn under the vinyl, vinyl is easy blown together in wind… as the nights get darker earlier in winter, you find yourself stuck with any fitting arriving after 3pm… my opinion is that the quality of the work suffers, the staff, my self included dont approach the work in the same way we should..

vehicles are a good earner if done right… only material is your vinyl.. promote vehicles more.. there is more on the road than there is shops for signs. get the extra space.. even if it means building somthing to make do until you can afford better.

[Nicola McIntosh]

quote Vivid:

Just a thought may be mad though… :lol1:
What about having 4 or six mountings in the ground for some sort of post in ally posibly posts then having fixings you can tie a tarp sheet up to via pully or something.
If your not doing vehicles everyday that is.
You could put a top on when you need it and sides if it was windy.
Just a brain storm…

Tim.

i bought a similar thing from the cash & carry ( because i’m waiting on planning permission again.. for a new building) anyway me & ed spent the whole day digging holes and cementing the poles in, sound 😀 we thought, i used to roll the sides & top away every night………soon got cheesed off with that, one morning woke up to a very high wind!! i grabbed onto one of the poles (which got dislodged out of the cement) and nearly got blown with the pole over a nine foot high wall onto the main carraigeway!! 😮 😮
never again!! 😛 so if your in a pretty secluded area go for it, they are terrific things!! but not for me (i live in the strathmore valley which is very windy) 😉

Nik

[John Childs]

Of course it depends on cash-flow but, if you can possibly stretch to it, go for the bigger place. Apart from giving you better working conditions it will be longer before you have to endure the upheaval and expense of finding and moving to somewhere bigger.

[Nicola McIntosh]

quote Carrie:

it looks more professional and we have no worries about bad weather hindering us fitting graphics now.

😀

how’s the move going carrie? 😛 have you got to the stage where you have said ….right that’s it.. it’s finished!! 😀 😀

hope it’s getting there carrie & steve 😉 😉

Nik

[Jill Marie Welsh]

Sometimes you can trade out a job.
For example, I own a 2-car garage, a standard size one.
It has a cement floor and an overhead gas heater, very cozy.
BUT it has been taken over by my damn kid.
So I can rarely squeeze anything into it.
I do know a man with a large commercial garage.
Often I will trade decals for the use of his garage for a day.
It could be a temporary alternative for you….
Love…Jill

[Carrie Brown]

Going to a bigger unit is like moving to a new home …. looks big at first but you will always fill it up very quickly and before you know it the place will be too small. We have three 10′ x 5′ work benches on wheels which fill the space that we use for vehicles when we dont have any to do …. and when we do have a vehicle in we just roll them back a bit out of the way.

Nik, thanks for asking, we are almost finished, just a few more bits to sort out, a little more painting, make the vinyl racks from Robs demo, and we will be done. I will post some pics soon when we have finished it all.

We went back to the old unit to go over things before handing keys back and it looked so small, it was only a 500sqft unit but it served its purpose well for us. We now have 1300sqft not massive but a lot larger than before.

Carrie 😀

[Steve Coyle]

When I started from home 2 years ago I managed at home for a few months. Then I rented a unit which was a glorified coalshed for a year. Luckily I found a bigger cheaper unit in a local industrial park and moved again. This is perfect, with a 13′ high door so it’s no problem gettingany vehicle in. There’s 10 other units in the place with a massive yard. The weater doesn’t effect me at all. And best of all when I finish work at night (normally around 10pm) And go home I can relax because customers don’t call to my house 😀

[John Childs]

Carrie!!!!!!

You’ve changed!

[Vale 46]

As a few have said, I couldn’t agree more with go for the extra space. You will probably only regret it if you dont. I have a 2000sq ft unit and can just fit an articulated trailer with tractor unit in my vehicle bay. I also keep one of my vans in overnight. But if a customer wants to keep theirs in aswell and pick it up in the morning, its not an issue.

It gives you a lot more flexibility. The other thing to bare in mind is the price per sq ft goes down the larger area you have, so it is better value. I am in Lincolnshire, which is always going to be towards the cheaper end of property, but I pay £715 per month for my 2000sq ft. This is on a 10 year lease though (of which I am 5 years in), and again, the longer you sign up for the cheaper the property usually is.

Good luck either way

[Carrie Brown]

quote johnchilds:

Carrie!!!!!!

You’ve changed!

My pic you mean? I Thought it was about time ….. the other one was posted up when we first joined a while ago ….. not that we’ve really changed much but at least its a bit more recent …… recent as in taken tonight 😀

Carrie 😛

[Aaron & Chris]

Wow very good advice from everyone thats very much appreciated.

Thinking of maybe taking the cheaper place because its brand new inside and on the main road, also next to a mechanics which may come in handy.

The more expensive place was the better size but in a rough area and needed a bit of work inside. Also was at the back of a small industrial estate.

We have decided to actually get the demand for work to justify moving to a bigger unit.

We are going to walk before we can run 😉

Thanks everyone
Chris & Aaron 😀 🙂