Truck makers continue to cater to the contractor’s needs, making it easier to work in the field and use the truck as another tool of their business. That’s because truck makers know their small-business customers have a mixed use for their products. Without extra cash to spend on several vehicles, more and more contractors use their vehicle as a combination of a family weekend vehicle as well as a week-day work vehicle.

“As our personal-use truck market has dropped off, we now see people are wanting a really nice truck for themselves they can also use for work,” says Nataé Rayner, Toyota Tundra product marketing manager. “So we are actually getting a lot of commercial business from small-business owners who are ordering our double-cab and crew max configurations, still making them look very nice for personal use, but using them to tow equipment and materials from place to place. It’s a combination of work and personal use coming together as one.”

Solutions and Packages

Since the mobile office has been around for a while now, last year Ford introduced its Ford Work Solutions on the Ford F-150 and the Super Duty. This product has been enhanced for the 2011 model year that launches next month with four different elements to the package. The first element is an automotive grade, in-dash computer. Designed to function in different types of environments a work truck might go into, the computer also contains Bluetooth connectivity, both a touchscreen and wireless keyboard, a navigation system, and the ability to access a desktop back at the office to make changes to an invoice and print it right in the truck.

The second of four features is Tool Link. This uses RFD technology to bar code each tool. If the tool is not within the box of the truck, the receiver will not pick it up. Once a driver hops into the cab and punches up the inventory list, it will immediately tell the driver if all the tools are in the truck and, if not, which ones are missing.

“It’s all about maximizing their time on the job, and the truck is obviously as big part of that as a tool in the remodeling toolbox,” says Brian Rathsburg, F-Series Super Duty marketing manager for Ford. “A lot of these guys are in their trucks all day long. It’s their mobile office, so it’s got to be comfortable and accessible. That’s where the Ford Work Solutions becomes a terrific feature for the contractor.”