Get ready to rev your engines and roll into the world of wood flooring pros’ work vehicles. The WFB Truck & Van Contest celebrates the trucks and vans pros bring along to every job with categories for Best Exterior Graphics, Most Organized Interior, Most Unusual Work Vehicle and Biggest Disaster. From eye-popping exterior graphics that catch people’s attention on the road to old-school trucks steeped in family heritage, these work vehicles showcase the ingenuity and creativity of the professionals behind the wheel. Buckle up as we dive into this year’s standout entries that blend practicality with personality.
Think you have a winning van on your hands? Enter the 2026 contest here!
Best Exterior Graphics
Monaghan Hardwood Flooring
Middletown, N.J.
When Ross Connolly started Monaghan Hardwood Flooring two years ago in the small town of Middletown, N.J., he wanted an eye-catching van to grab potential customers’ attention. Whether he’s driving on the road, sitting in a parking lot or pulling up to an estimate, he envisioned his van’s design as both sleek and easily identifiable as a hardwood flooring business’s van.
Connolly knew the van’s design should be something simple when he considered adding lettering. He says many company vans have so much lettering and information that it is often unclear what their business actually does. “You see a lot of vans when you’re driving that catch your eye, but you’re like, ‘Wait, what do they do?’” Connolly says. So when designing his own, he wanted a simple black wrap with his company logo and phone number. Connolly figured it’s so easy to Google a company nowadays that he didn’t need to add too much information on the van.
The company name and logo are an homage to Ireland, where he’s from. The name “Monaghan” comes from Monaghan County, Ireland, where he grew up. The bright green shamrock is a prominent symbol of Ireland and it’s drawn as a Celtic knot, a decorative motif popular in the country.
Connolly worked with Freehold, N.J.-based Auto Wraptors to do the lettering on the van, and they came up with the idea to add a wrap of hardwood floors around the back of the vehicle. They went back and forth on what kind of wood to put on the van but landed with a light, natural color that matched the color of “Monaghan” in the logo and simple wood strips so the back wasn’t too busy. “I wanted something nice and less complicated,” Connolly says. By using only bright green and light tan colors, everything stands out against the black color of the van, achieving the simple, clean aesthetic he was aiming for.
As a result of the design approach, Connolly says the van has increased the visibility of Monaghan Hardwood Flooring and established a strong brand identity that resonates with potential customers. The van has been successful in catching people’s attention and gaining inquiries about his business. Because of the sleek design, Connolly says he has “gotten so many inquiries and estimates for jobs just by pulling the van up to The Home Depot.” The van has become a mobile advertisement that embodies both his heritage and his design skills as a wood floor pro.
Most Unusual Vehicle
Blodgett's Abbey Carpet & Flooring
Lafayette, Calif.
Larry Blodgett’s 1952 Dodge B3B Panel truck has become a local celebrity in Lafayette, Calif. It’s appeared in car shows and featured in local newspapers, and customers of his business, Blodgett’s Abbey Carpet & Flooring, regularly request to see it. Blodgett says buying it is “probably the best marketing money we’ve ever spent.”
Blodgett purchased the truck in 2005 because it was the same truck his grandfather, Kermit, who started the business, had in the 1950s, and he wanted to restore it to look like the original. This truck was built in San Leandro, Calif., and belonged to the U.S. Air Force, a painter and a locksmith before Blodgett bought it. Blodgett had a mechanic restore the truck so that it would be a functioning work vehicle as soon as possible. The restoration took two years, which Blodgett says “is pretty quick for most classics,” especially since old Dodge parts are hard to come by. To make it a modern functioning truck, Blodgett had a heater, windshield wipers and a radio added. He also had the interior fabricated and put industrial carpet on the floorboards so it wouldn’t be so loud when driving. Blodgett says it is a functioning work vehicle—it doesn’t just sit in his garage like some classics do.
“On good-weather days, I would take it on estimates and occasionally deliver some materials with it,” Blodgett says. “It’s more of a gentleman’s sales truck now.”
The exterior of the truck was painted red to match Blodgett’s grandfather’s truck, and an old-school sign painter added the business’s logo and phone number in the same place it was on the old truck to give it the same retro look. When his grandfather started the business, it was called “Blodgett’s Linoleum,” so the exterior isn’t exactly the same. Blodgett also decided against using cursive on the truck since “no one can read cursive anymore.” He also had Kermit the Frog painted bursting out of the sheet metal on the driver’s side door as an homage to his grandfather. “That way my grandfather is always with me,” Blodgett says. When he brings the truck to car shows, Blodgett even props up a stuffed Kermit on the steering wheel, emphasizing the connection that honors his grandfather’s legacy in his life and the business.
Most Organized Interior
Dusty's Hardwood Floors
Tonganoxie, Kan.
When Dusty Swegle of Tonganoxie, Kan.-based Dusty’s Hardwood Floors shows up to a job or an estimate, he wants to give a good first impression—and that starts with his van. By showing customers the care he puts into his van, he hopes it will show customers the care and work he can put into their homes. “If we can make a work van of all things look that clean and organized, what can we do with a floor, or a stair system, in a person’s home?” he says.
All of the shelving and cabinets in the van were custom-made with cabinet-grade birch and maple veneer to ensure they are sturdy, preventing them from moving around when he drives. “It’s like having kitchen cabinets in my truck,” Swegle says. When Swegle made the shelves, he took every tool, stain and finish he had in his shop and measured them, then designed the layout so everything would have its own specific spot. He wanted to maximize space in the van, so everything was measured to fit perfectly in its designated place, leaving no leftover space. Each shelving unit is removable, so if he changes tools in the coming years or needs to adapt the van for a specific job, the whole thing can be customized. In all, it took Swegle about three weekends to design and build the shelving system.
Being this organized comes naturally to Swegle: He says he’s always kept an orderly van throughout his 28 years in the industry because it saves time and money in his business. When every item has a designated home, he doesn’t have to search for something, which speeds up production. This way it’s also easy to see if a product is low and more needs to be ordered, or if a tool needs maintenance. “This way you can see where everything is and what is needed,” Swegle says. “You don’t go buy a tool or product for no reason because you think you’re out of something.” To keep the van clean, Swegle checks it every Sunday evening to ensure everything is organized and that he has all the necessary supplies for the upcoming work week.
Swegle says he considers his van to be one of his employees, and just like with employees, the more care and respect he shows the van, the better it serves him and his company.
Biggest Disaster
B. Powell Flooring
Earlton, N.Y.
“I’m the biggest disaster!” Bill Powell of Earlton, N.Y.-based B. Powell Flooring laughed when he heard he had won the Biggest Disaster category. Powell recalls how his friend, Rob Johnson, won the category in WFB’s 2022 Truck & Van Contest and boasted about it for months. So, when he saw the call for entries for this year’s contest, he was confident that he had a potential winner of his own. “Now I’m going to brag that I’m Wood Floor Business’s Biggest Disaster for a whole year,” Powell chuckled.
The Ford Transit Connect was the first new work van that Powell purchased. He bought it in 2009, just as Ford began importing the vehicles to the United States, and it took three months to ship it to him. Once he had it, Powell immediately put the van to work—too much work. “I ran it hard,” Powell says. “I totally abused it.” Powell would often overload the van, recalling that once he loaded two tons of bamboo in it, even though the van was supposed to carry only up to 1,500 pounds.
Before he retired the van, Powell drove it for five years, accumulating over 175,000 miles. Powell planned to trade it in, but he was offered only $1,000. During that time, he also planned on building a shed in his yard and had a budget of $1,000. Instead of using that money for the shed, Powell figured he could use the van as a substitute for the shed. Now it sits in his yard, with fading lettering and a back window covered with duct tape, serving as storage space. The van still runs, and Powell says he’ll sometimes move it around the driveway, though he would never dare to take it on the road anymore.
The inside of the van was treated just as roughly as the engine, Powell says. He planned to install shelves when he first got the van, but he says he’s more of a “throw everything in the back and go” kind of guy. Even now, with it being a makeshift shed, Powell says he still just throws things in the back.
Despite the wear and tear, Powell has fond memories tied to the old Ford Transit Connect. It served him well through the years, standing as a testament to his hard work. Now in its new purpose, it continues to serve him in all its disastrous glory.
