Jim Whelton, Senior Building Services Engineer at Essex Services Group (ESG), offers a glimpse into the back of his van.
I’ve been in the electrical trade pretty-much all of my working life, having started (and completed) an apprenticeship straight from school for a large London-based contractor doing block release at City and East London College.
Nowadays I work for Essex Services Group (ESG) as a Senior Building Services Engineer, having been with them for almost 25 years. We’re a busy company and work on commercial, industrial, retail, and high end residential projects typically in London and the South East, but also nationwide.
Because my job involves a lot of call-out work and unsociable hours, my van has become an enormous part of my working life. Currently, I have a company 2023 Ford Transit Custom mild hybrid model, which was selected because we needed a reliable van that wasn’t too big in size but still had plenty of room to accommodate tools and materials.
One ‘L’ of a setup
One of the main features of my van is the large L-shaped racking which I’ve packed with storage boxes that fit perfectly. I also have two Van Vaults – one at the rear doors and one at the side door for my valuables – plus tilt storage bins for little bits and pieces.
Additionally, there’s a hot water sink which is great when working outside or in remote areas and a mains inverter for powering low wattage mains equipment.
Interestingly, I managed to get a good deal on the van racking from eBay, and most of the other bits and pieces have been added over the past few years to get the van to the stage it is at now.
The introduction of the second Van Vault at the side door to house my larger equipment is one of the most recent modifications that has taken place, as well as the addition of LED strip lighting to my racking, which looks absolutely fantastic at night!
I love having a neat, tidy and organised van as it helps me to work more efficiently. I know where everything is and can carry a maximum amount of materials and spares which I can locate quickly.
This is important because, with the amount of out-of-hours emergency call-out work I’m required to undertake, I can’t always visit a wholesaler if and when I need parts.
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