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Door Systems Blog

Fleet Upfitting: Before You Hire a Commercial Truck Upfitter

October 25, 2022

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If your business uses trucks or delivery vans to transport or deliver your products or services, you might want to consider upfitting your work fleet. When you upfit your fleet, you invest in your company’s efficiency. 

Through the process of fleet upfitting – adding specific features and accessories customized to the user’s needs – you can increase each vehicle’s compatibility with your business. Upfitting your work fleet incorporates these features into every vehicle in your fleet to ensure that your company can maximize your vehicles’ productivity and value.

To improve your return on investment and enjoy the benefits of upfitting your vehicles, it is essential that you choose the right features and accessories. When making selections, you should consider how the vehicles are used, functions or procedures that would benefit from increased efficiency, and the overall amount of vehicle use. 

Are you interested in reaping the benefits of an upgraded work fleet but don’t know where to start? Keep reading to learn more about upfitting your work fleet and how Door Systems can help you upgrade your vehicles with superior and efficient solutions. 

What to Know Before Upfitting Your Work Fleet

You should conduct research, develop a budget, and make an informed plan before you commit to any upfitting features for your vehicles. Consider your existing fleet and how many vehicles you are considering upfitting. 

Ask yourself questions like the following:

  • Is your current fleet meeting your company’s needs? 
  • Are you planning to expand your fleet within the next few years? 
  • Will you upfit all of the vehicles in your fleet, or will you choose to upfit your fleet gradually? 
  • Will you upfit your fleet with all of the ideal features to optimize vehicle performance, or will you improve these features gradually?
  • Do all of your drivers perform the same services, or do they have different needs? 
  • Should you differentiate the features that you upfit across your fleet based on task performance?

 

These questions will shape your budget and features you invest in during the upfitting process. After you have made preliminary decisions about how to invest your upfitting budget into your work fleet, it is essential to make a timeline and research the best ways to upfit vehicles in your industry. 

Find the Best Time to Upfit your Work Fleet

Upfitting all of the trucks in your fleet involves taking the vehicles out of commission for a short time to install features. If your business’s operations are dependent on your vehicles, then you will not be able to provide your services for a period of time.

Consequently, you should strategically choose your upfitting timeline. Choose a period of time that is typically slower for your business, or stagger when vehicles are upfitted to limit the impact on business.

Choose the Best Features for Your Industry

Truck upfitting is best for industries that require high efficiency from their trucks or delivery vans. Consider the day-to-day functions and the most used features of your vehicle. Then, consider which popular upfitting features would improve your company’s functionality and performance.

Here are some examples:
  • If your employees require ladders to perform their services, consider installing ladder racks.
  • If your services require your employees to transport numerous small accessories to perform their services, think about investing in truck bed drawers with sliding toolboxes.
  • If your vehicles make deliveries or perform services that involve them quickly retrieving items from their vehicles, consider replacing their swing doors with truck roll-up doors.

Understanding your timeline and which features will benefit your work fleet is essential to maximizing the value of your fleet upfitting investment.

Upfitting Your Work Fleet

Once you have established the features that would best suit your fleet and chosen your budget and timeline, you must decide who will upfit your vehicles. Upfitting your fleet is a significant investment, so you want to ensure your business will experience all the benefits. 

Once you have committed to upgrading your trucks, make sure to do your research on potential suppliers. Choose a supplier that is known for their expertise, high-quality products, and good customer service.

Partner with a Professional

By outsourcing the installation of your truck upfitting to professionals, you ensure that new features are efficiently and correctly installed. Professionals also can help your business resume work quickly, decreasing the total downtime of your fleet. 

How Door Systems Can Help You Upfit Your Work Fleet

At Door Systems, we are proud to partner with companies like ASSA ABLOY, a globally recognized door solutions supplier. We combine ASSA ABLOY’s advanced technology with our local expertise to upfit trucks with the best doors for their needs. 

Our range of swing doors and truck roll-up doors are ideal for companies that require quick-open, safe door solutions. We serve a range of industries, including transportation, delivery, maintenance, and more. 

Our door experts will support the creation of your upfitting timeline, budget, and vehicle needs. We also offer high-quality door installation to ensure that you receive the doors that will work best for your company’s needs. If you are interested in learning more about upfitting your work fleet with Door Systems, contact us today.