What is your inspection vehicle and why?

Yakima, Thule, Rocky mounts , Sea Sucker and many others make cross bars to fit most any car.
Any brand crossbars can be fit with compatible ladder stops like the ones I got for my Yakima System.
I’ve carried my 28 ft and 36 ft ladders without any problems, at interstate speed.
They are not cheap though.

For 95% of the homes I inspect, my 16.5 ft Extend&Climb ladder can get me up on the roof. It collapses down under 4 ft and will easily fit in your honda. Sometimes you will have a home that is too tall for the equipment you have.

If your ladder doesn’t reach, you have other options:

  1. hire a roofing professional to do your roof inspection. Sometimes they will do it for free in the hopes that they will be hired to make repairs for any defects they find.
  2. use a drone to inspect the roof yourself. There are drones under $1000 and under 1/2 lb with excellent cameras now.
  3. use a camera pole to inspect the roof. $75 for a 24 ft extension pole at Lowes/Home depot. Mount a wi-fi equipped camera of your choice and synch it to your smart phone.
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Thank you.

p4061472

Google is your friend, and doing your own research is a huge part of the job. Get used to it!!

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Thanks a bunch Bert. I might end up getting a different vehicle anyway because I have received a few offers on my car for 6k to 8k more than I paid for it.

Then I will probably get a crossover or small pickup. I know I don’t need one starting out. But I’m also thinking of space for ancillary services equipment that I might get in the future.

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You’re not a paperboy, so if you think long term or where you see yourself in 2, 3 or more years, you will make better business decisions, especially when it comes to tools and business equipment.

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Agreed. That’s the way I was thinking about it.

Freaking folding ladder. Solved.

Given how tenuous your business plan is:
keep the current car. If you don’t wash out after a few months, you will likely actually have some experience in what you need.

And stop posting. Jeeze.

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Morning, Jacob.
Hope this post finds you well and in good spirits today.

Most accurate and well addressed question about vehicles I have read on the message board.

At the moment I am using a 2016 Chevy Colorado Z71 Off-Road Black Edition Extended Cab with Cool-Air intake.
I have owned 5 trucks of varying size for varying duties. 3 used of varying years and affordability. 2 new.
Manufacturers: Fords. 3 Rangers. New & Used. Semi reliable. Ranger Edge Off Road manual gear box I regretted purchasing. Dodge. Used 1500 with 5.9 engine, retrofitted to 3/4 ton suspension and front end steering when purchased. Reliable but a gas hound. Up to $200.00 in gas daily hauling equipment and materials. I am going back 20 years. Used Mazda B2600I, 2.6 L engine, Forth generation, forget the year. Great truck. Extremely reliable. Chevy. Silverado 1500. 1980’s. Reliable? Old. Worked until I scraped it.

Reason for use. 1: Construction material and hauling including light earth moving equipment to which I leaned to have the equipment rental dealer deliver and return upon completion. 2: Estimations. 3: General duty.
Why? Chevy Colorado Z71 Off-Road. Seeing it was still on the lot and new 2017 models were about to arrive the pricing was reduced 10,000.00. Another $10,000 on trade in. New Chevy Colorado Z71 Off-Road Black Edition Extended Cab @ $60.000 Plus tax remember for $31.995. SOLD!, I told the salesmen. $ 00.0 down, 7 hours later I drove the truck home. +180,000 kilometers later, no regrets. None. Water pump changed once. Water pump gasket changed once. Dealer picked up the bill. Spark plugs changed at my expense.