Service Truck Magazine “Spec My Truck” October/ November 2025
Service Truck Magazine “Spec My Truck” October/ November 2025
Service Truck Magazine “Spec My Truck” October/ November 2025
Service Truck Magazine “Spec My Truck” October/ November 2025
Service Truck Magazine “Spec My Truck” October/ November 2025
Conventional wisdom holds that a functional service truck includes side compartments, an open cargo bay, a rear work deck, and mounted equipment such as an air compressor, welder/generator, and crane positioned atop the compartments.
Yeah, well, Brian Roach certainly takes a different path with his van-bodied service truck.
The 59-year-old owns and operates Brian’s Truck and Trailer Repair, based in Milton, Ontario, Canada.
A lifelong fascination with anything mechanical eventually led to a job as fleet manager for a large construction company. With help and encouragement from his best friend and mentor, Chris Stokes, he earned his Canadian mechanic’s license, then spent 20 years working for the same company as an independent mechanic.
“I supplied my own truck, tools, and insurance and worked for a specified hourly rate. Eventually, I cut out the middleman and went out on my own with guidance from Chris and his wife, Gloria,” he explained. “I love being my own boss.
“A lot of my work is roadside repairs,” he continued. “I keep my truck well-stocked with parts to make sure I have what I need to get a customer back up and running as quickly as possible. I hate to see anyone stranded and won’t leave until they are on their way again.”
Along with a deep inventory of commonly used parts, his truck is loaded with a full range of hand tools, along with accessory tools often found in dealership shops. A Lincoln Ranger welder/generator is bolted to the floor and powers a 230-volt twin-cylinder Champion air compressor with a 60-gallon tank coupled to two Princess hose reels, each loaded with 50 feet of 3/8” or ½” air hose. An industrial-duty Robinair Cool-Tech 34288 air conditioning recovery system is also a permanent fixture inside the van body.
Hand tools live in a 4’ x 5’ tool chest of indeterminate origin, fastened to a work bench inside the left side of the body. Farther inside the mobile shop/parts ware-house sits a commercial-duty, 230-volt Gates Corporation Power Crimp PC707 hose crimper.
“Keeping enough hydraulic hose and fit-tings on board so I have what I need, when I need it, takes a lot of space,” said Roach. “But it’s worth it to be able to make repairs without running to town for parts. The same goes for air lines and fittings.
”A rack for pressurized gas cylinders holds bottles of oxygen, acetylene, argon, and BLUESHIELD gas for welding from Air Liquide Canada. He uses pressurized nitrogen to test the pressure of air conditioning systems.
“I’ve got hose reels for each of those gas bottles, and 30 feet of hose on each reel,” he pointed out to the magazine. “I do all my work out the back of the truck. I shove up the rolling overhead door, set up my stairs, and go to work.”
While the Lincoln Ranger welder/generator meets heavy-duty electrical needs, most of Roach’s 120-volt chores are handled by a more economically fueled Yamaha EF2200IS gas-powered inverter-generator. Both the welder/generator and gas-powered inverter-generator exhausts are piped through the floor to minimize fumes inside the van body.
“A van body has lots of advantages,” he noted. “Everything is inside out of the weather, and that includes me. I’ve got a work bench with a vise right beside my tool chest, and all my parts are just a step or two away. The only things outside the truck are a second vise on the bumper, some under-bed storage boxes, and a compartment with a Goodall Engine Starter powered by a Honda engine. It will start the biggest, deadest engine on the road.”
Some techs might question having a service truck without a crane, but Roach said he rarely needs one.
“I’ve been doing this sort of work for 30 years, in one form or another, and I rarely need a crane,” he related. “If I occasionally need to hoist something, I can rent a lift for a day or borrow a forklift from whoever I’m working for. For me, a crane would be a waste of money and space on the truck.”
His van body also offers a quieter, more discreet presence on job sites.
Roach’s setup is compact, quiet, and doesn’t disturb the neighborhood. It’s that low-profile approach that has earned him repeat business from clients who appreciate both his professionalism and his respect for their environment.
“At dealerships, customers deal with service managers and may never meet an actual tech,” he summed up. “But for me, relationships are everything. I want my customers to be my friends. I want them to know that I will get their truck or machine fixed and running as fast and economically as I can.
”And fixed via a service truck that doesn’t look like a service truck.