Feature
THE WHEEL DEAL Trade vehicles sure have changed over the years – from the once ubiquitous Toyota HiAce van of the 1980s to the recent trend towards muscle-utes. Four fridgies tell us about their cool work rides, and their even cooler storage solutions.
KEVIN NAVARRO, AFFIL.AIRAH Service Technician – Ellis Air, Melbourne Vehicle: Mazda BT-50 Dual Cab Modifications: Custom service body canopy
After a number of thefts from its fleet of service vehicles – and complaints about the time it often took to unpack and pack the standard canopy storage area – Ellis Air decided to move away from standard dual‑cab plastic canopies for its fleet of BT-50s. It finally settled on its own Ellis Air service team custom design, featuring an aluminium powder-coated body canopy.
“The new fleet custom-made canopies are not only a lot more secure, but they provide great, all-round easier access to our specialist tools, ventilation for the safe storage of flammable gases and also look great with a very usable sign writing area,” says Ellis Air’s senior contracts manager, Gary Ward, M.AIRAH. Importantly, the vehicle also fits within a standard 2.05m carpark, even with ladders onboard. “Although a lot more expensive to buy initially, we believe we can get up to 10 years out of one custom-made canopy,” says Ward. “So one can be rotated across three vehicle leases.” April–May 2021
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www.airah.org.au/nation
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HVAC&R Nation
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