“The hybrid definitely has more width to it, and it’s been fantastic for added storage,” says Sarah Casebier, who, with husband Brad, owns Radiant Plumbing in Austin, Texas. “It can carry more water heaters, more stock, and a bigger variety of toilets and faucets.”

In addition to the hybrid, Radiant Plumbing also owns a full Sprinter and four pick-ups. Overall, efficiency has gone up because of the new trucks. “Our original vans and pick-ups just didn’t work well,” Casebier says. “There were too many trips to the supply house because technicians couldn’t fully stock their vehicles. And a trip to the supply house is never quick — it usually takes over an hour, and that’s time and money lost.”

The company recently went with all Dodge and diesel trucks, so it’s seen gas savings, too. “We used to average eight to 10 miles per gallon. Now we’ve gone up to 12 to 16 miles per gallon.”

As for the vehicles’ wrapping, Radiant Plumbing trucks feature a larger-than-life image of Brad Casebier, and a color combination of sunny warmth and cool water design. It represents the services the company offers — residential new construction/remodeling, plumbing service and a foray into radiant floor heating.

Casebier admits that radiant heating is “a new horizon” for their Texas customers. “It’s a segment we wanted to go after,” she says. And since it’s a novelty in Austin, the name “Radiant Plumbing” definitely stood out.

Brad began his plumbing career in his father’s business. But when Dad decided to go into the building segment of the industry, Brad and Sarah made the decision to open their own plumbing business in 1999. Service was added two years later.

Radiant Plumbing serves the Austin metro area, about 20 miles around their shop, and has 12 employees. “We let some of the guys take their trucks home at the end of the day, but there is no after-hours driving,” Casebier says. Radiant Plumbing has GPS installed on the vehicles.

It includes dispatch's access to driving directions, which came in handy for a new technician who came to them from Dallas. “He was unfamiliar with Austin, and I’m sure he’d still be driving around lost if it weren’t for the GPS.” With dispatch giving him turn-by-turn directions, he was able to hit the ground running.

Casebier says any further vehicle purchases of Radiant Plumbing will probably be full-on Sprinters. While the one “hybrid” is nice, she doesn’t think her company needs a whole fleet of them since the Sprinters offer plenty of storage, too. “But it’s nice to know at least one of our guys has maximum stock on his truck,” she says.

PM's Truck Of The Month is sponsored by General Pipe Cleaners.