January 6, 2026 • 20 mins
The truck you drive can either protect your margin or quietly drain it, and most pros overestimate how much vehicle they really need. We walk through a practical, field-tested approach to choosing a pool service rig that balances chemical safety, daily ergonomics, and total cost of ownership. From compact cars with hitch carriers to mid-size workhorses and full-size comfort machines, we talk through what actually matters when you’re loading chlorine, parking in tight neighborhoods, and making 20 stops before lunch.
We dig into the real math on electric trucks versus gas and hybrids, including purchase price gaps, charging costs, and how route mileage affects payback. You’ll hear why an open bed often beats a van for chemical service, when a van still wins for repairs, and how to avoid carrying excess liquid that degrades in the sun. We compare fuel economy between popular models, call out the surprise benefits of lower bed rails and shorter wheelbases, and share tips for keeping your truck organized without hauling a rolling warehouse.
Reliability can swing more by model year than by badge, so we share a simple research process: check year-specific issues, confirm recall work, and look for warranty extensions on known components. Brands like Toyota and Honda often lead on dependability, but you should still verify the exact year you’re buying. By the end, you’ll have a clear checklist for test drives, load planning, and making a smart buy that fits your route, budget, and body. If this helped you think differently about your work truck, follow the show, share it with a fellow pro, and leave a quick review so others can find it.
• weighing compact, mid-size, and full-size trucks for route work
• pros and cons of vans for chemical service
• using personal vehicles with dry chemicals and carriers
• true cost of electric trucks versus gas and hybrids
• realistic cargo needs and safe chemical storage
• parking, ergonomics, and bed height for daily efficiency
• reliability by model year, recalls, and warranty extensions
• b
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (01:50):
Hey, welcome to the Pool Guy Podcast Show.
In this episode, I'm going totalk to you about your service
truck.
What service truck do you need?
What's too much truck?
What may be too little truck foryou?
So I'm going to go over someaspects, and I'll even touch on
doing pool service out of a vanor a regular compact car.
(02:14):
Are you a pool service prolooking to take your business to
the next level?
Join the pool guy coachingprogram.
Get expert advice, businesstips, exclusive content, and get
direct support from me.
I'm a 35-year veteran in theindustry.
Whether you're starting out orscaling up, I've got the tools
to help you succeed.
Learn more atswimmingpoollearning.com.
I'll start by saying thatthere's been many pool pros that
(02:36):
have started out of theirpersonal vehicle.
A Prius, a Volt, a compact car.
In fact, there are several poolservice pros that still do
service out of a compact carwith a rack on back or trailer,
and then they remove it and usetheir car whenever they need to
use it without the pool serviceequipment.
So it's not a stretch of theimagination to actually start a
(02:59):
pool business and even run apool business out of your
personal vehicle.
It happens.
And I've used my wife's Lexusbefore when my truck broke down.
And my truck started breakingdown so much that I was using
her car more than she preferred.
And so then I just startedrenting trucks when my truck
broke down.
So I've actually driven severaldifferent types of trucks when
(03:22):
my truck broke down, and alsowhen I was looking for a new
truck, I drove several differentones.
I'll go over that as well.
But you can do pool service outof a personal vehicle, it's not
unheard of.
Now I don't recommend itpersonally if you're doing pool
service with chemicals andyou're using a van because it
(03:43):
does contaminate the vehicleitself and it's something to
consider with all the chemicalsmells and the residue over
time.
Now a van is great for repairsand and that kind of service
because all your all your allyour supplies and your tools are
secure in the van.
But for regular pool servers, Ifind that it would be
(04:06):
inconvenient because of theharsh chemicals that we use.
And a truck open bed or atrailer attached to a you know a
compact car is the way to go tohave the open air with the
chemicals versus somethingenclosed.
Now, if you do use a personalvehicle, you would want to just
(04:27):
use dry chemicals, and you wouldalso maybe want to get a you
know one of those trailers thatconnect to the back of your car,
something that connects to theback without dragging a trailer.
I forgot what they're like acarrier type thing.
They do sell those for likecamping equipment and things
like that.
You just put it on the back ofyour car, and it acts like an
(04:49):
outdoor trunk kind of.
And that's that's the way Iwould go if I was using my
personal vehicle versus using atruck.
A lot of pool pros are movingtowards electric trucks, and
there's no problem with that.
I just think you have to reallydo the math carefully on that.
How much money are you saving bygoing to an electric vehicle
versus the fuel costs of a gastruck?
(05:12):
And sometimes it doesn't makereally economic sense, you know,
paying an extra 15 or 20,000 foran electric truck.
If you have a perfectly goodgas-powered truck, it would take
you quite a long time to recap,recapture all the money you're
spending on gas, and you alsohave to factor in how much it's
(05:34):
costing to charge your electricvehicle at home.
If you don't have solar panels,the electricity cost should be a
factor there.
So I would say that in mostcases going from a gas truck to
electric truck is going to bemore expensive, although it is
more convenient in a lot ofrespects, not having to go to
the gas station and not havingcertain parts in the truck to
(05:57):
maintain, and it's one of thosethings where it's a trade-off
with a higher cost of operationfor convenience, and that's
something that you have todecide for your pool route which
way you want to go with a gasengine or an electric vehicle.
For example, if you wanted toget a Ford Lightning, and let's
(06:19):
just say you're gonna buy a new,let's just say you're gonna get
maybe the I'll just say you'regonna get the base model for
sake of argument, which is about58,000.
They go up to like 90,000 forthe platinum.
So let's just say 58,000 for thebase model, and if you go for a
base model F150, you're lookingaround 40,000.
(06:40):
So that's like 18,000 more forelectric vehicle.
How long will it take you torecapture all that money with
the amount of money you'respending on gas?
It'll take quite a long time, Ithink, especially if you factor
in electricity.
Now, Chevy has a lower priceelectric vehicle, it doesn't
have a lot of bells andwhistles.
If you look up a YouTube videoand look at it, it's just a
(07:00):
basic electric truck and it'sabout 57,000.
And I think they have a newmodel that's out that has more
upgrades for like 75 or 90,000.
But if you just get the standarduh Silverado, it's about 40,000,
so it's about the same, about17, 18,000 more for the electric
vehicle, and again, just factorin how long it's gonna take you
(07:21):
to recapture that extra money.
And is the convenience worth it?
And some people will say yes itis, and I would say you really
it's maybe not just a straightmath decision, it's a decision
on convenience and maybe movingtowards the future of trucks in
some respects.
So, how big of a truck do youreally need for pool service?
(07:44):
Well, I've done pool service formost of my career in a compact
truck, mid-size pickup truck.
I'm gonna say that the NissanFrontier is a mid-size truck,
and then my Honda Ridge Line isa mid-size truck now as well,
and then there's the full-sizetrucks a lot of people use, but
(08:04):
I've done my service all mycareer in these mid-size or
compact trucks.
I started out in a DodgeRampage, which was a really
compact truck.
It's probably comparable to theFord Mavic as far as size goes,
and I did I use that truck forlike three years.
Then I went to a small Tacoma.
(08:24):
I did like the Tacoma, but ithad no power steering.
This I'm dating myself here,that's how long I've been in the
business.
And then I moved into the NissanFrontier, the four-door
frontier.
The bed is four feet eightinches, so it's it was a small
bed comparable to the Tacoma Ihad.
(08:45):
I think it was a five and a halfor six foot bed, and then the
ridgeline is a straightfive-foot bed, but it's a little
bit wider than the NissanFrontier, so there's a little
bit more cargo space in theridgeline than the frontier.
But I've operated with thiscompact, compact or mid-sized
truck, I should say, perfectlyfine.
(09:05):
You don't really need a lot ofspace for pool service, and you
just need room for yourchemicals.
So if you're using Hasa, aNissan Frontier can hold, you
know, two cases of acid, threeor four cases of chlorine, plus
a bucket of cal hyphal, bucketof tabs, DE, and then all your
other supplies can fit in therepretty nicely in that small
(09:28):
little area.
A lot of pool pros use a FordMavic, and they don't have any
problem with space.
You don't really need a lot ofcargo space in your truck to do
pool service because every dayyou're unloading and putting new
stuff in and changing out thechemicals.
So, really, to have a full-sizetruck full of eight cases of
(09:48):
chlorine and you know threecases of acid plus all your
other stuff is reallyunnecessary and it's probably
not advisable anyway.
I know Terry Arco of Hasarecommends not carrying so much
liquid chlorine in the back ofyour truck, having it exposed to
the sun all day.
You'd rather just store it inthe shade and use and load your
(10:09):
truck when you need it.
And so having everything inthere is just maybe convenient
because you're not reloadingyour truck as much, but it's
wholly unnecessary, in myopinion, to have a full-size
truck for pool service, unlessyou really want the full-size
truck and you're comfortablewith the full-size truck and
you're used to driving one, thenyou can of course have a
(10:30):
full-size truck.
But here in Los Angeles County,the full-size truck is a bit of
(10:55):
a handicap as far as parking.
You know, you really it's reallymore difficult to park a
full-size truck than a mid-sizeor a compact truck, and a lot of
tight areas here.
A lot of residential streets yougo down, you have to find
parking and squeeze in there,and it's not as convenient with
(11:16):
a full-size truck.
The gas mileage, of course, ifit's not electric, is a handicap
for a full-size truck versus acompact or mid-sized truck, and
you're spending a lot more moneyon fuel with a full-size truck
that you may not really need todo in a lot of cases.
(11:36):
For instance, if you have a FordF-150, you're getting about 19
to 19 miles in the city andabout 24 on the highway.
And if you had a Ford Mavic,which is suitable for pool
service, no problem.
And you're getting, if you havethe hybrid, you're getting 42
miles in the city, and you know,you're getting basically
(11:58):
combined about 38 miles pergallon versus the uh Ford F-150,
which you're getting about 20miles combined.
So there is a big difference,especially here in California
where gas is like right now,it's around 450.
It's actually lower than normal,so it's actually good to have
cheaper gas prices at thispoint.
But you are spending a lot moremoney on fuel, and you may be
(12:20):
spending a lot more money oninsurance for a full-size truck
as well over a mid-size orcompact truck.
In reality, as I mentioned, youdon't really need a bed that's
gigantic.
Now, there are times when theNissan Frontier was
inconvenient, I'll grant youthat.
And I did rent a Ford F-150 acouple times when my truck broke
(12:45):
down.
And I I can't deny the fact thatthe big bed is attractive.
I really had room foreverything.
I'm kind of short.
I you know, on the shorter side,I'm 5'7.
So I did find it harder to reachin to the Ford F-150 bed versus
the Nissan Frontier bed overtime.
(13:05):
I guess you know, if you'retaller, you don't have that
problem.
But I find that reaching in andbeing able to get everything out
of the truck from one sidewithout kind of standing on
something is more convenient inmy opinion.
And that's another advantage ofthe compact mid-sized truck, is
that usually, except for maybefor the Tacoma, which is pretty
high off the ground, and thethere's a couple other trucks
(13:27):
that may be higher off theground.
The Colorado is another onethat's pretty tall.
When I test drove it, I didn'treally like how tall the bed
was.
But most of the time having thatcompact mid-sized truck, like my
Honda Ridgeline right now, youcan reach in and over the bed
pretty easily.
So there's an advantage there aswell, as far as the height of
the truck and being able toreach into the bed quickly to
(13:49):
get what you need out of there.
But granted, the extra bed spacewas nice and it is convenient.
A lot of pool guys like it, andthey'll argue that the full-size
truck is much better and moreconvenient because of the fact
you can put everything in theback of the truck.
And I'll grant them that it isbigger and it's definitely more
roomy inside as well in the backseat.
If you have a four-doorfull-size truck, you could put a
(14:12):
lot of supplies back there.
So if you're looking forsomething, of course, with the
extra room and the bed and theextra cargo space inside the
cabin, the full-size truck wouldbe something that you would kind
of gravitate towards.
But if that doesn't reallymatter to you in your business,
which I don't think it matteredto me at all at all over the
years of using a mid-sizedtruck, you can get away with a
(14:34):
mid-sized truck, no problem.
My current one is a Honda HondaRidgeline, and I think it's
probably one of the best truckson the market today in the
mid-size category, as far ascomfort, gas mileage, uh
versatility.
It has the bed and it also has atrunk, and it has plenty of room
in the back seat for just abouteverything you want to throw in
(14:55):
there.
So it's a great size servicetruck, in my opinion.
And you really don't needanything bigger than that in
most cases, again, than amid-sized truck in the Honda
Ridge Line checks all thoseboxes for a lot of people, and a
lot of pool guys are arediscovering it and using the
Honda Ridge Line for poolservice.
(15:15):
As far as reliability, it's kindof strange, but I think if you
research the truck you'relooking at by the year that it
was made, you're gonna get abetter idea of the reliability
versus the actual brand acrossyou know, you know, Ford versus
Chevy versus Hooder versusNissan.
The 2005 Nissan Frontier that Ihad got a pretty poor rating for
(15:39):
that model year versus like the2007 and 8 model.
My Honda Ridgeline, Ispecifically put picked a 2019,
I was looking for a used oneback when I was looking at them,
and so I had the 2017, 18, 19,and 20 available for me.
And I picked 2019 because I wenton edmins.com and I saw that was
(16:01):
the best model year as far asreviews and problems with the
vehicle.
I think the 2017 and 18 had afew issues.
The 2019 also had a model that Iliked, which had the sunroof and
the rear window, and it haddidn't have all-wheel drive,
which I didn't need, so I justgot the uh front-wheel drive
(16:22):
vehicle, so I saved some moneythere.
But as far as the year of thetruck, it's really important to
look at that.
So if you're looking for a usedtruck, see if you know, like the
2022 models were good versus the2023 models, I think that's an
important factor, is that eachmodel year has some problems,
and some model years were betterthan others.
(16:43):
It sounds strange, but that'sthe truth of these trucks is
that looking at the model yearsversus actually looking at the
brands, because you may have aFord Ranger that's great, you
may have a Ford Ranger that'syou consider a lemon, and it's
something to consider.
Of course, if you have a Hondaor Toyota, the chances of you
having major problems is veryminuscule.
(17:05):
They're the most they're usuallyranked one and two
interchangeably as far as brandsgo.
So Toyota maybe win one year,Honda will win the next year.
But as far as reliabilityratings, there's a site I was
on, I can't remember exactlywhat it was, but you can just
Google it, and it'll give youall the reliability of each
(17:26):
brand over you know the otherbrands, and some brands, of
course, are much more reliablethan others, you know, and you
just want to make sure you doyour research if you're gonna
get a Dodge RAM.
Is that more reliable than anF-150?
I think Ford still wins inreliability over the other
brands out there, and you justwant to make sure you pick a
(17:46):
truck that's gonna be reliable.
My Nissan Frontier was not superreliable, it was a good truck,
but of course it had over200,000 miles on it before I
sold it.
So I guess you could say it wasreliable because I got that many
miles out of it.
But I would recommend if you'relooking for pure reliability and
don't want to worry about yourtruck breaking down or having
(18:08):
problems, go with a ToyotaTacoma or a Honda Ridgeline.
To me, those are the best-ratedb-sized trucks out there on the
market.
I think the bottom line is itcomes down to your preference,
you know, what you'recomfortable with, what you're
familiar with.
A lot of people are familiarwith full-size trucks, so I'll
gravitate towards those.
I'm a mid-sized truck person,you know.
(18:30):
I I'm thinking about getting afull full-size truck next
because I like the extra bedspace, and as I get older, I
don't like moving a lot ofstuff, but I I'm thinking about
getting a full-size truck on mynext one, maybe as a
possibility.
But right now the Honda Ridgeline is fine, and so it's really
a preference of mid-size,compact, full size.
(18:53):
If you wanted to get a van oruse your personal vehicle, those
are all personal choices, and Iwould say the number one thing
you can do to make sure you makethe best choice is to research
the trucks thoroughly, testdrive them, look online for
reviews, and really check thosemodel years because those model
years are really important inreliability and recalls and
(19:16):
different problems people hadwith their vehicles.
Like, for instance, my 2019, Ididn't know this when I bought
it, but there is something wrongwith a torque converter in this
in that model year, and therewas a recent recall.
I had mine actually changed outbefore the recall, it's like a
six thousand dollar repair, andthen Anyconda extended the
(19:37):
warranty to 150,000 miles orsomething like that.
So they're a really good companywhen something does go wrong,
and that's another factor aswell.
I know Toyota and Honda, ifthere is ever a problem, they'll
extend the mileage and give anyowner more time to get that
repair done.
And there's other parts on mytruck, I think they extended it
from like five years to tenyears.
(19:59):
So they're really good aboutmaking sure that if there's a
problem, the reliability is notgonna be a problem for the owner
of the vehicle, and they'llextend the mileage warranty to
make sure that you're covered.
And so every vehicle is gonnahave some kind of defect,
everything is very complicatednowadays with electronics, and
so you're not gonna find theperfect truck that's not gonna
(20:21):
get one or two recalls.
But again, you know, it's one ofthose things that is a factor in
pool service.
You don't want your truckbreaking down, and you don't
want to be without your truckfor a week as they're repairing
it.
So keep that in mind as wellwhen you're searching for a
truck.
Reliability, in my opinion, is akey factor over the brand of the
truck in a lot of cases, andeven sometimes the size of the
(20:43):
truck if you want the mostreliable vehicle for your pool
service route.
If you're looking for otherpodcasts, you can find those by
going to my website,swingingpoollearning.com.
When you get there, you can goto the podcast icon on the
banner, and there'll be a dropdown menu of over 1800 podcasts
for you to listen to.
And if you're interested in thecoaching program, you can
subscribe there atpoolguycoaching.com.
(21:05):
Thanks for listening to thispodcast.
Have a good rest of your week,and God bless.
Hey, welcome to the Pool Guy Podcast Show.
In this episode, I'm going totalk to you about your service
truck.
What service truck do you need?
What's too much truck?
What may be too little truck foryou?
So I'm going to go over someaspects, and I'll even touch on
doing pool service out of a vanor a regular compact car.
(02:14):
Are you a pool service prolooking to take your business to
the next level?
Join the pool guy coachingprogram.
Get expert advice, businesstips, exclusive content, and get
direct support from me.
I'm a 35-year veteran in theindustry.
Whether you're starting out orscaling up, I've got the tools
to help you succeed.
Learn more atswimmingpoollearning.com.
I'll start by saying thatthere's been many pool pros that
(02:36):
have started out of theirpersonal vehicle.
A Prius, a Volt, a compact car.
In fact, there are several poolservice pros that still do
service out of a compact carwith a rack on back or trailer,
and then they remove it and usetheir car whenever they need to
use it without the pool serviceequipment.
So it's not a stretch of theimagination to actually start a
(02:59):
pool business and even run apool business out of your
personal vehicle.
It happens.
And I've used my wife's Lexusbefore when my truck broke down.
And my truck started breakingdown so much that I was using
her car more than she preferred.
And so then I just startedrenting trucks when my truck
broke down.
So I've actually driven severaldifferent types of trucks when
(03:22):
my truck broke down, and alsowhen I was looking for a new
truck, I drove several differentones.
I'll go over that as well.
But you can do pool service outof a personal vehicle, it's not
unheard of.
Now I don't recommend itpersonally if you're doing pool
service with chemicals andyou're using a van because it
(03:43):
does contaminate the vehicleitself and it's something to
consider with all the chemicalsmells and the residue over
time.
Now a van is great for repairsand and that kind of service
because all your all your allyour supplies and your tools are
secure in the van.
But for regular pool servers, Ifind that it would be
(04:06):
inconvenient because of theharsh chemicals that we use.
And a truck open bed or atrailer attached to a you know a
compact car is the way to go tohave the open air with the
chemicals versus somethingenclosed.
Now, if you do use a personalvehicle, you would want to just
(04:27):
use dry chemicals, and you wouldalso maybe want to get a you
know one of those trailers thatconnect to the back of your car,
something that connects to theback without dragging a trailer.
I forgot what they're like acarrier type thing.
They do sell those for likecamping equipment and things
like that.
You just put it on the back ofyour car, and it acts like an
(04:49):
outdoor trunk kind of.
And that's that's the way Iwould go if I was using my
personal vehicle versus using atruck.
A lot of pool pros are movingtowards electric trucks, and
there's no problem with that.
I just think you have to reallydo the math carefully on that.
How much money are you saving bygoing to an electric vehicle
versus the fuel costs of a gastruck?
(05:12):
And sometimes it doesn't makereally economic sense, you know,
paying an extra 15 or 20,000 foran electric truck.
If you have a perfectly goodgas-powered truck, it would take
you quite a long time to recap,recapture all the money you're
spending on gas, and you alsohave to factor in how much it's
(05:34):
costing to charge your electricvehicle at home.
If you don't have solar panels,the electricity cost should be a
factor there.
So I would say that in mostcases going from a gas truck to
electric truck is going to bemore expensive, although it is
more convenient in a lot ofrespects, not having to go to
the gas station and not havingcertain parts in the truck to
(05:57):
maintain, and it's one of thosethings where it's a trade-off
with a higher cost of operationfor convenience, and that's
something that you have todecide for your pool route which
way you want to go with a gasengine or an electric vehicle.
For example, if you wanted toget a Ford Lightning, and let's
(06:19):
just say you're gonna buy a new,let's just say you're gonna get
maybe the I'll just say you'regonna get the base model for
sake of argument, which is about58,000.
They go up to like 90,000 forthe platinum.
So let's just say 58,000 for thebase model, and if you go for a
base model F150, you're lookingaround 40,000.
(06:40):
So that's like 18,000 more forelectric vehicle.
How long will it take you torecapture all that money with
the amount of money you'respending on gas?
It'll take quite a long time, Ithink, especially if you factor
in electricity.
Now, Chevy has a lower priceelectric vehicle, it doesn't
have a lot of bells andwhistles.
If you look up a YouTube videoand look at it, it's just a
(07:00):
basic electric truck and it'sabout 57,000.
And I think they have a newmodel that's out that has more
upgrades for like 75 or 90,000.
But if you just get the standarduh Silverado, it's about 40,000,
so it's about the same, about17, 18,000 more for the electric
vehicle, and again, just factorin how long it's gonna take you
(07:21):
to recapture that extra money.
And is the convenience worth it?
And some people will say yes itis, and I would say you really
it's maybe not just a straightmath decision, it's a decision
on convenience and maybe movingtowards the future of trucks in
some respects.
So, how big of a truck do youreally need for pool service?
(07:44):
Well, I've done pool service formost of my career in a compact
truck, mid-size pickup truck.
I'm gonna say that the NissanFrontier is a mid-size truck,
and then my Honda Ridge Line isa mid-size truck now as well,
and then there's the full-sizetrucks a lot of people use, but
(08:04):
I've done my service all mycareer in these mid-size or
compact trucks.
I started out in a DodgeRampage, which was a really
compact truck.
It's probably comparable to theFord Mavic as far as size goes,
and I did I use that truck forlike three years.
Then I went to a small Tacoma.
(08:24):
I did like the Tacoma, but ithad no power steering.
This I'm dating myself here,that's how long I've been in the
business.
And then I moved into the NissanFrontier, the four-door
frontier.
The bed is four feet eightinches, so it's it was a small
bed comparable to the Tacoma Ihad.
(08:45):
I think it was a five and a halfor six foot bed, and then the
ridgeline is a straightfive-foot bed, but it's a little
bit wider than the NissanFrontier, so there's a little
bit more cargo space in theridgeline than the frontier.
But I've operated with thiscompact, compact or mid-sized
truck, I should say, perfectlyfine.
(09:05):
You don't really need a lot ofspace for pool service, and you
just need room for yourchemicals.
So if you're using Hasa, aNissan Frontier can hold, you
know, two cases of acid, threeor four cases of chlorine, plus
a bucket of cal hyphal, bucketof tabs, DE, and then all your
other supplies can fit in therepretty nicely in that small
(09:28):
little area.
A lot of pool pros use a FordMavic, and they don't have any
problem with space.
You don't really need a lot ofcargo space in your truck to do
pool service because every dayyou're unloading and putting new
stuff in and changing out thechemicals.
So, really, to have a full-sizetruck full of eight cases of
(09:48):
chlorine and you know threecases of acid plus all your
other stuff is reallyunnecessary and it's probably
not advisable anyway.
I know Terry Arco of Hasarecommends not carrying so much
liquid chlorine in the back ofyour truck, having it exposed to
the sun all day.
You'd rather just store it inthe shade and use and load your
(10:09):
truck when you need it.
And so having everything inthere is just maybe convenient
because you're not reloadingyour truck as much, but it's
wholly unnecessary, in myopinion, to have a full-size
truck for pool service, unlessyou really want the full-size
truck and you're comfortablewith the full-size truck and
you're used to driving one, thenyou can of course have a
(10:30):
full-size truck.
But here in Los Angeles County,the full-size truck is a bit of
(10:55):
a handicap as far as parking.
You know, you really it's reallymore difficult to park a
full-size truck than a mid-sizeor a compact truck, and a lot of
tight areas here.
A lot of residential streets yougo down, you have to find
parking and squeeze in there,and it's not as convenient with
(11:16):
a full-size truck.
The gas mileage, of course, ifit's not electric, is a handicap
for a full-size truck versus acompact or mid-sized truck, and
you're spending a lot more moneyon fuel with a full-size truck
that you may not really need todo in a lot of cases.
(11:36):
For instance, if you have a FordF-150, you're getting about 19
to 19 miles in the city andabout 24 on the highway.
And if you had a Ford Mavic,which is suitable for pool
service, no problem.
And you're getting, if you havethe hybrid, you're getting 42
miles in the city, and you know,you're getting basically
(11:58):
combined about 38 miles pergallon versus the uh Ford F-150,
which you're getting about 20miles combined.
So there is a big difference,especially here in California
where gas is like right now,it's around 450.
It's actually lower than normal,so it's actually good to have
cheaper gas prices at thispoint.
But you are spending a lot moremoney on fuel, and you may be
(12:20):
spending a lot more money oninsurance for a full-size truck
as well over a mid-size orcompact truck.
In reality, as I mentioned, youdon't really need a bed that's
gigantic.
Now, there are times when theNissan Frontier was
inconvenient, I'll grant youthat.
And I did rent a Ford F-150 acouple times when my truck broke
(12:45):
down.
And I I can't deny the fact thatthe big bed is attractive.
I really had room foreverything.
I'm kind of short.
I you know, on the shorter side,I'm 5'7.
So I did find it harder to reachin to the Ford F-150 bed versus
the Nissan Frontier bed overtime.
(13:05):
I guess you know, if you'retaller, you don't have that
problem.
But I find that reaching in andbeing able to get everything out
of the truck from one sidewithout kind of standing on
something is more convenient inmy opinion.
And that's another advantage ofthe compact mid-sized truck, is
that usually, except for maybefor the Tacoma, which is pretty
high off the ground, and thethere's a couple other trucks
(13:27):
that may be higher off theground.
The Colorado is another onethat's pretty tall.
When I test drove it, I didn'treally like how tall the bed
was.
But most of the time having thatcompact mid-sized truck, like my
Honda Ridgeline right now, youcan reach in and over the bed
pretty easily.
So there's an advantage there aswell, as far as the height of
the truck and being able toreach into the bed quickly to
(13:49):
get what you need out of there.
But granted, the extra bed spacewas nice and it is convenient.
A lot of pool guys like it, andthey'll argue that the full-size
truck is much better and moreconvenient because of the fact
you can put everything in theback of the truck.
And I'll grant them that it isbigger and it's definitely more
roomy inside as well in the backseat.
If you have a four-doorfull-size truck, you could put a
(14:12):
lot of supplies back there.
So if you're looking forsomething, of course, with the
extra room and the bed and theextra cargo space inside the
cabin, the full-size truck wouldbe something that you would kind
of gravitate towards.
But if that doesn't reallymatter to you in your business,
which I don't think it matteredto me at all at all over the
years of using a mid-sizedtruck, you can get away with a
(14:34):
mid-sized truck, no problem.
My current one is a Honda HondaRidgeline, and I think it's
probably one of the best truckson the market today in the
mid-size category, as far ascomfort, gas mileage, uh
versatility.
It has the bed and it also has atrunk, and it has plenty of room
in the back seat for just abouteverything you want to throw in
(14:55):
there.
So it's a great size servicetruck, in my opinion.
And you really don't needanything bigger than that in
most cases, again, than amid-sized truck in the Honda
Ridge Line checks all thoseboxes for a lot of people, and a
lot of pool guys are arediscovering it and using the
Honda Ridge Line for poolservice.
(15:15):
As far as reliability, it's kindof strange, but I think if you
research the truck you'relooking at by the year that it
was made, you're gonna get abetter idea of the reliability
versus the actual brand acrossyou know, you know, Ford versus
Chevy versus Hooder versusNissan.
The 2005 Nissan Frontier that Ihad got a pretty poor rating for
(15:39):
that model year versus like the2007 and 8 model.
My Honda Ridgeline, Ispecifically put picked a 2019,
I was looking for a used oneback when I was looking at them,
and so I had the 2017, 18, 19,and 20 available for me.
And I picked 2019 because I wenton edmins.com and I saw that was
(16:01):
the best model year as far asreviews and problems with the
vehicle.
I think the 2017 and 18 had afew issues.
The 2019 also had a model that Iliked, which had the sunroof and
the rear window, and it haddidn't have all-wheel drive,
which I didn't need, so I justgot the uh front-wheel drive
(16:22):
vehicle, so I saved some moneythere.
But as far as the year of thetruck, it's really important to
look at that.
So if you're looking for a usedtruck, see if you know, like the
2022 models were good versus the2023 models, I think that's an
important factor, is that eachmodel year has some problems,
and some model years were betterthan others.
(16:43):
It sounds strange, but that'sthe truth of these trucks is
that looking at the model yearsversus actually looking at the
brands, because you may have aFord Ranger that's great, you
may have a Ford Ranger that'syou consider a lemon, and it's
something to consider.
Of course, if you have a Hondaor Toyota, the chances of you
having major problems is veryminuscule.
(17:05):
They're the most they're usuallyranked one and two
interchangeably as far as brandsgo.
So Toyota maybe win one year,Honda will win the next year.
But as far as reliabilityratings, there's a site I was
on, I can't remember exactlywhat it was, but you can just
Google it, and it'll give youall the reliability of each
(17:26):
brand over you know the otherbrands, and some brands, of
course, are much more reliablethan others, you know, and you
just want to make sure you doyour research if you're gonna
get a Dodge RAM.
Is that more reliable than anF-150?
I think Ford still wins inreliability over the other
brands out there, and you justwant to make sure you pick a
(17:46):
truck that's gonna be reliable.
My Nissan Frontier was not superreliable, it was a good truck,
but of course it had over200,000 miles on it before I
sold it.
So I guess you could say it wasreliable because I got that many
miles out of it.
But I would recommend if you'relooking for pure reliability and
don't want to worry about yourtruck breaking down or having
(18:08):
problems, go with a ToyotaTacoma or a Honda Ridgeline.
To me, those are the best-ratedb-sized trucks out there on the
market.
I think the bottom line is itcomes down to your preference,
you know, what you'recomfortable with, what you're
familiar with.
A lot of people are familiarwith full-size trucks, so I'll
gravitate towards those.
I'm a mid-sized truck person,you know.
(18:30):
I I'm thinking about getting afull full-size truck next
because I like the extra bedspace, and as I get older, I
don't like moving a lot ofstuff, but I I'm thinking about
getting a full-size truck on mynext one, maybe as a
possibility.
But right now the Honda Ridgeline is fine, and so it's really
a preference of mid-size,compact, full size.
(18:53):
If you wanted to get a van oruse your personal vehicle, those
are all personal choices, and Iwould say the number one thing
you can do to make sure you makethe best choice is to research
the trucks thoroughly, testdrive them, look online for
reviews, and really check thosemodel years because those model
years are really important inreliability and recalls and
(19:16):
different problems people hadwith their vehicles.
Like, for instance, my 2019, Ididn't know this when I bought
it, but there is something wrongwith a torque converter in this
in that model year, and therewas a recent recall.
I had mine actually changed outbefore the recall, it's like a
six thousand dollar repair, andthen Anyconda extended the
(19:37):
warranty to 150,000 miles orsomething like that.
So they're a really good companywhen something does go wrong,
and that's another factor aswell.
I know Toyota and Honda, ifthere is ever a problem, they'll
extend the mileage and give anyowner more time to get that
repair done.
And there's other parts on mytruck, I think they extended it
from like five years to tenyears.
(19:59):
So they're really good aboutmaking sure that if there's a
problem, the reliability is notgonna be a problem for the owner
of the vehicle, and they'llextend the mileage warranty to
make sure that you're covered.
And so every vehicle is gonnahave some kind of defect,
everything is very complicatednowadays with electronics, and
so you're not gonna find theperfect truck that's not gonna
(20:21):
get one or two recalls.
But again, you know, it's one ofthose things that is a factor in
pool service.
You don't want your truckbreaking down, and you don't
want to be without your truckfor a week as they're repairing
it.
So keep that in mind as wellwhen you're searching for a
truck.
Reliability, in my opinion, is akey factor over the brand of the
truck in a lot of cases, andeven sometimes the size of the
(20:43):
truck if you want the mostreliable vehicle for your pool
service route.
If you're looking for otherpodcasts, you can find those by
going to my website,swingingpoollearning.com.
When you get there, you can goto the podcast icon on the
banner, and there'll be a dropdown menu of over 1800 podcasts
for you to listen to.
And if you're interested in thecoaching program, you can
subscribe there atpoolguycoaching.com.
(21:05):
Thanks for listening to thispodcast.
Have a good rest of your week,and God bless.
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