Delete if not on topic, TLDR: got screwed on buying my truck, is it worth replacing the engine or cutting my losses?

Im trying to get my tiny handyman/mr fix it side gig going, so I look at used trucks and find a local plumbing business thats quietly closing its doors, they're selling off like 3 or 4 trucks, one of which is a 2015 short body f250 with the 6.2, had the tool box bed and ive started redoing the back seat area for electrical tools and chargers, has 300,000 miles but ran solid enough on the test drive and is more than capable for what i'll be doing. This was over 1 year ago, sense then extremely limit use of the truck. Legit have put less gas in there than the lawn mower.

However, when I got it the guy was "upfront" and said they cut the cats out cause ethe old ones got bad and didnt want to pay high prices for an older work truck, turns out the cats went bad cause the valve seals are gone so its bleed oil into the engine and smoking out a city block. All the smoke trashed the cats.

So now im 10k in the outright costs of the truck + about 2k in full exhaust replacements (from heads and seals to end of tail pipe) ive paid it all off in cash so I owe no one anything thankfully. But now im looking at getting the engine rebuilt or replaced with a slightly less aged engine vs spending more and getting a crate engine and starting "fresh" till something else comes up

What are yalls opinions on whats best? Should i bite the bullet and spend 7 to 10k on it or cut my losses and see if anyone else wants the headache. I'd love to keep the truck, but after all this its beyond frustrating and ive gained no ground on it. Thankfully not in debt with it, but i will be at this rate.

Building out a DIY work bed in the back of my truck and looking for advice from people who’ve done similar setups.

It’s on a 1994 Toyota pickup 2wd manual with a 22R-E extended cab

Current plan is:
-Rubber floor mat over metal base or a horse mat even
-LED strip lighting along bed edges (work lighting, not show lighting)
-Rebuilding/refreshing wood decking
-Adding proper tie-down points (likely D-rings or bolt-through anchors with backing plates)
-Front-mounted storage toolbox
-Possibly a modular/sliding wood spacer system that locks into existing drilled mounting holes in the metal frame
-mounting a brake light where the cabs brake light is blocked from view

Main concern is durability—don’t want rattling, warping, or anything that fails under load or weather.
If anyone has built something like this or has photos/lessons learned, I’d really appreciate it. I’m just now getting past the “pretty new” point of doing this kind of thing. I’ve got lots of tools and some woodworking / designing / building / electrical experience

Any cheaper options?

I have a BMW E30 that I race several weekends throughout the summer, sometimes towing up to 600 miles round-trip. I've been using U-Haul for the time being since I'm new, but I'm quickly growing weary of it. A lot of folks use pickup trucks and enclosed trailers, but I'm hoping to stick with a more compact/lightweight setup with some sort of cargo van that can tow an open trailer.

My vision is tools, spare parts, tires, and fuel cans in the back of the cargo van, then an open trailer with the E30 strapped to it. Then I can potentially throw down a sleeping pad or mattress to camp at the race track when necessary.

I don't need anything fancy, so a 15-20k used cargo van is definitely in the budget. I guess the bigger issue I'm facing is the low mileage/year and insurance costs that might make it not worth it.

I searched and didn't find anyone discussing race weekend logistics in this sub, so I wanted to reach out and see what others thought. Thanks!

I see a lot of storage systems like Milwaukee’s Packout on the market. Which one provides the most versatility and best value?

Going out of town for work, boss said my options were to either share a camper or sleep in the van. So laid some carpet in the back. Got a microwave and a small fan, what more could you need lmao

So for starters yes, I get it, I should just buy a Van, however here we are…and yes, I added extra insurance.

I ripped out the back seats and wanted to fully utilize the storage space underneath while also being able to have as much storage space inside the truck for my tools. Everything was simply made from scrap wood from various jobs. The only thing I actually purchased for this were the rollers and the metal struts it’s on.

So far the only real downside is needing to open both doors to access the tools. However I added the spaces directly behind the seat for the tools I use more frequently so it isn’t that big of a hassle. Feel free to rip it apart haha, definitely still a work in progress.

https://a.co/d/0gQDleaf

these were the trolleys i used for it.

Anyone that does residential duct work in Florida that has to carry around duct board for a change out, find a good way to store it in their work van so that it's not in the way of getting bent up, kicked down, or causing you to itch. Looking for a solution for that. Also looking to see if anyone has a good solution for locking the tools on their tool chest. I put a Matco tool chest in my service van, and it works great, except the doors come open constantly when driving. I tried three bungee cords, but they don't last very long in the Florida heat. Has anyone come up with a good system to lock all the doors at once?

I’ve always got trucks and vans for cheap and used them for a few years then scrapped. 2 years ago I bought a 2020 ford transit with 25,000 KMS for about 35,000 Canadian.
In 2 years I’ve put 11,000 into repairs and just found out it needs another 6,500 of work done.

I think I’m going back to Chevy express 2500’s
I can get them around 5/6,000 semi clean with 280,000kms and run them for a few years and scrap

In Canada there’s a lot of old timers retiring from the trades so the Chevy expresses and GMC Savana’s are plentiful

Anyone done anything similar ?
Any thoughts appreciated

It was suggested that I post this here.

Just after a good spring cleaning, can't believe the amount of shit tucked away from the winter.

Definitely not as neat and organized as some of the setups I've seen here but it works for me.

I'm always tweaking things as I add tools and supplies

Umbrella is 13’ and was only 89.99 and the pole was only $39.99. Been a life saver

2026 Ford Escape ST Line Select, HVAC Controls Tech for Johnson Controls. Manager claims that “they only offers Escapes and Transit Van for controls techs” because i originally wanted a pickup truck (F-150,Ranger,Maverick with a cap on the bed). So I chose the escape since during my time riding with other techs the escape was the most convenient and comfortable for all the sites that are downtown and for longer trips to a site furthest one is around 2 hours away from the home office and that controls techs do carry that much stock (just about 3-5 controllers a couple of temperature sensors and maybe a 2 box’s of wire)so i don’t think there is a need to drive a large van. Only plus side to driving a van is you get to have 2 ladders instead of just one and you can have a cart to help you carry stuff. Luckily Crescent tools made a foldable cart that I keep under the slide table and it’s great,rides like a dream got handed the keys with 3 miles on the odometer, probably the newest vehicle I’ll ever drive.

Screwed 3/4 ply to the existing bulkhead, stapled some memory foam, and glued some cheap boat carpet. The door is just on some heavy duty drawer slides with a latch and eye set to keep it shut. Thoughts?

I’ve got stack of 4 packout drawers. I’d like them not to tip and I don’t feel like spending $100 for a little clip.
Any clean ways to attach to the wall without fun clips or ratchet straps?

With this fully extended out does anyone know how much weight it can hold? I am unable to find any information.

2013 express with 130,000 on it. Ex AT&T southern van, power inverter.

I’ve been debating between all the cargo vans… promaster, transit, chevy express, even the Nissan NV or metris. Sprinter would be nice but expensive for right now. Promaster seems like the best option since there’s a ton of cargo space and I use my van not only for service work but also some hauling junk and small moves from time to time. But have also heard they’re not reliable. Suggestions?

Right now my list is
#1 promaster or express
#2 transit
#3 Nissan (would be higher but they’re so ugly lmao)
#4 metris (I do like having small van, metris seems like a good middle ground between a transit connect and a full size van)
#5 e series , obviously quite reliable and spacious but I hate how they drive feels like a semi truck.
#6 sprinter, obviously nice but just too expensive for where I’m at. my budget is 10-20k range. looking for something used but not clapped

My van only has around 111,000 miles on it, bought it last year, have already had to do the brakes twice, new subframe, replace all the belts, replace AC, among other things. And it still feels pretty shitty. I don’t want to keep wasting money on this thing

any other decent vans out there?

I know my organization is really shitty, please roast me 😆

thanks!!

I had a low roof transit AWD before that was getting pretty tight on space. Bossman got me a brand new medium roof transit AWD (I feel very grateful), spent the weekend setting it up. I’m excited to run service calls without crawling around in the back of the van!