FITOUT FEATURE

Weight – It’s a problem for most of us with sedentary day jobs, just as it can be a problem for our working vehicles whose life is far from sedentary.

Of course, when fleet managers put on weight, we can do something about it – eat smaller lunches, go to the gym, take on less stress, all manner of options.

It’s not the same for a working vehicle and if you thought you had difficulty shifting additional weight, have a thought for your ute or van.

Once it gains weight, its pretty much stuck with it. And it is so easy for a commercial vehicle to gain weight – the addition of any significant accessory above that of a tow bar will affect what that vehicle can carry and how well it can legally perform its duties.

It is for this reason that care must be taken at the time of vehicle selection to ensure the vehicle you choose will be up to the task it should perform as part of your fleet – after it has been accessorised with essential kit.

In this respect, it may well be worth taking the time to discuss your vehicle’s requirements with the accessory supplier of your choice before you acquire the vehicles themselves.

It maybe that the vehicles you thought the most appropriate are not necessarily so once they are set up with what is required of them in terms of fit-out.

And that is general fit-out, not just the inclusion of a cool looking bull bar, nudge bar or front-end vehicle bumper treatment.

We’re also talking about the cargo area fit-out for your vehicle: in vans, what goes in behind the driver’s seat and in utes, what goes in on or on top of your tray.

In fact, anything you do to modify your vehicle outside of the manufacturer’s model specifications, should give you moment for pause, can I realistically add this my vehicle and what price in payload am I going to have to pay?

For this reason, it is also worthy of consideration when making a decision on the supplier of choice – cost must be a consideration of course, but it should not be the only one.

Look for experience, ability and efficiency, choice and calibre of components and of course, quality of work.

After all, a vehicle fit-out should, in the long run, allow for greater efficiency for your business.

That is, a good fit-out should eliminate or at the very least, minimise the time spent scrabbling around in the back of your vehicle looking for a particular item, which should fall readily to hand.

It should also allow your vehicle to do the task you intended it to do and still have some ‘wriggle room’ for carrying shi…um, stuff. Who knows?

Your regular crewperson might have been cheating on his/her diet and if your vehicle is at capacity without the addition of a passenger ( who should weigh, according to the manufacturer, 100kgs) it will make a difference when you add 130kg of additional human.

Never mind the fact that loose items in a trades-vehicle or even a vehicle which is being used on company business could put your company in breach of health and safety as it pertains to vehicles as an extension of the workplace.

So vehicle fit out is much more than a matter of vanity or style as far as commercial vehicles are concerned.

It is more or less a legal requirement, if only to fit nothing more than a cargo barrier between the rear and cabin of the vehicle.