Trucks are a big topic in construction school. Some guys have them; some guys don’t. Everyone wants one. Even I want a little pickup, but don’t tell my minivan.

When Building Construction Technology school started last summer, the talk was all about pickups: Ford v. Dodge. Extended v. regular cab. That kind of thing.

But over time, talk has migrated to work trucks—the kind with tool compartments and ladder racks. A small minority in class likes a van with the seats removed and shelves installed. The rest of us think that’s a little too Silence of the Lambs.

So much talk about truck specs starts to sound like an automotive commercial—but not just any automotive commercial. It starts to sounds like targeted messaging one might deliver to one’s spouse when attempting to convince her/him of the need for a new and better truck. I pay close attention, because, let’s face it, sooner or later, I’m going to have to broach the conversation with my spouse. I’ve got my eye on a certain baby-blue pickup. (It probably can’t haul as much as my Honda Odyssey, but it’s badass in a very twee way.)

Fortunately, my classmates have done the math and developed a solid investment thesis.

One entrepreneurial colleague builds fences and decks on weekends. He longs for a work truck. He says he recently wasted an hour rummaging through the back of his extended-cab pickup to find a tool. When all was said and done, he calculated that he earned $100 an hour on the construction project, which meant the wasted hour was like a hundred bucks down the drain. Save a few high-dollar hours like that, and you’ve got the down payment on a shiny new work truck.

My entrepreneurial colleague said, “More and more, I’m realizing how important it is to have the right tools.” It was almost like he was test-driving his opening statement for a conversation with his spouse.  Then another classmate chimed in, “Yep, and the right tools include the right truck.”