Plumbing Truck Stock List: What a Plumber Should Carry

A plumbing truck stock list, in short: carry angle stops and braided supply lines, 1/2 and 3/4 inch PEX and copper fittings, P-traps and drain fittings, wax rings, flappers and fill valves, the faucet cartridges your area uses, common water heater parts and your drain machines. Everything in a drinking water line must be lead free: 0.25% weighted average lead or less.

More on this topic: Running a trade business, every guide in one place.

A leaking angle stop or a running toilet should be a 30-minute repair, not a 30-minute repair plus a trip to the supply house. What a plumber carries decides how many jobs get finished on the first visit. Below is a plumbing van inventory list by category, the faucet, toilet and water heater parts worth carrying, the federal lead-free rule for anything that touches drinking water, the drain tools, and a min/max restocking routine. Quantities are examples: local codes, pipe materials and fixture brands vary, so build your list from your own tickets.

Key takeaways

• Stock for the calls you get most: leaking stops, running toilets, dripping faucets, clogged drains and water heaters.
• Match your pipe system: carry fittings for the PEX type and connection method your crew uses, plus push-to-connect couplings for emergencies.
• Lead free is the law for potable water: 0.25% weighted average lead on wetted surfaces, and 0.2% for solder and flux, under Safe Drinking Water Act Section 1417.
• Identify cartridges before you stock them. Moen 1222 and 1225 look alike but aren't interchangeable.
• Set a min and max for every part, review tickets daily and count the truck weekly.
• Price what you carry. Every part on the truck should have a line in your price book.

What should be on a plumbing truck stock list?

A plumbing truck stock list should cover the parts for the most common service calls, the fittings for the pipe you work with and the supplies every job uses. A starting list for a residential service truck, with example quantities:

Which faucet cartridges and toilet parts should a plumber carry?

Carry the cartridges for the faucets and shower valves you see most, and identify each one before you stock it. Moen's 1222 (Posi-Temp shower valves) and 1225 (single-handle faucets and pull-to-open shower valves) are a good example: they look similar but aren't interchangeable. For Delta and other brands, match the cartridge to the valve's series or model number; the series number is often on the trim or the valve body, and aftermarket listings don't always agree on fit.

For toilets, universal fill valves and the two common flapper sizes (2 inch and 3 inch) cover most running toilet calls. Carry both standard and extra-thick wax rings, or wax-free seals, for flanges that sit low.

Which water heater parts belong on a plumbing truck?

Gas control valves, burner assemblies and tank heaters are brand-specific and expensive. Most small shops order those per job rather than carry them.

Do the parts on a plumbing truck have to be lead free?

Yes, for anything used in plumbing that provides water for human consumption. Under Safe Drinking Water Act Section 1417, “lead free” means a weighted average of no more than 0.25% lead across the wetted surfaces of pipes, fittings and fixtures, and no more than 0.2% lead in solder and flux. EPA's 2020 rule requires manufacturers and importers to certify their products, and that certification has been required since September 1, 2023.

The law exempts products used only for nonpotable service, plus toilets, bidets, urinals, fill valves, flushometer valves, tub fillers, shower valves, service saddles and water main gate valves 2 inches or larger. For a service truck that means:

• Buy potable fittings, valves, connectors and solder marked lead free, from a supply house you trust.
• Keep nonpotable parts in their own bin (gas fittings, for example) so nobody grabs a brass nipple for a water line.
• Clear out old stock of unmarked brass fittings and 50/50 solder from the back of the truck.
• Check your state and local code, which may add requirements.

What tools and drain equipment should a plumbing truck carry?

• Drain: a drum machine for 1-1/4 to 4 inch lines, a handheld or small drum machine for sinks and tubs, a closet auger, a plunger set, and a camera and jetter if you sell those services.
• Pipe tools: PEX expansion or crimp tools for your system, a press tool if you use press fittings, tubing cutters, a torch kit, pipe and basin wrenches, a deburring tool.
• Testing: a multimeter for electric water heaters and disposals, a gas leak detector, a water pressure gauge, test plugs.
• Clean-up: a wet vac, buckets, towels, shoe covers and drop cloths.
• Safety: safety glasses, gloves, a fire extinguisher, a first aid kit and knee pads.

Charge for the equipment that costs you money to run. Our guide on how to price drain cleaning shows how to build machine and camera charges into each task.

How do you set min and max levels on a plumbing truck?

Set a minimum (the count that triggers a refill) and a maximum (the count you refill to) for every part. Minimum equals what you use between restocks plus one spare; maximum equals the minimum plus a normal refill. A worked example for a truck restocked weekly, with example usage:

Why it's worth the effort: in our plumbing price book example, a billable hour costs the shop $174.20. A 45-minute supply-house run in the middle of a job uses about $130 of that time, before the customer's patience. One avoided run a week pays for a lot of spare angle stops.

What is a good plumbing truck restocking routine?

A good routine is short and on a fixed schedule:

1. End of each day: the plumber reviews every finished ticket and lists the parts used.
2. Before the first call: refill those parts from the shop shelf to max.
3. Once a week: count every min/max item, restock, and check drain cables and blades for wear.
4. Every month: pull parts not used in 90 days and add any part that caused a supply-house run.
5. Before winter: add frozen-pipe repair parts (push-to-connect couplings, hose bibb parts) if your area freezes.

Write down every return trip and the part that caused it. That list, plus the daily ticket review, is how the truck gets better each quarter, and it helps with reducing callbacks. Running HVAC trucks too? See our HVAC truck stock list.

Where CrewRobin fits

CrewRobin doesn't track inventory: no truck stock counts, no parts taken off a count when used, no reorder alerts. Keep the min/max list in a spreadsheet or an inventory tool. CrewRobin's price book holds your labor, parts and flat-rate services and adds them to quotes, and plumbers add notes and photos to each job in My day, a phone-friendly web page, which helps with the end-of-day review. See how it works for plumbers.

Frequently asked questions

What parts should a plumber carry on the truck?

Angle and straight stops, braided supply lines, 1/2 and 3/4 inch PEX and copper fittings, push-to-connect couplings, P-traps and drain fittings, wax rings, flappers and fill valves, common faucet cartridges, T&P valves and other water heater parts, plus drain machines and pipe tools.

Do plumbing fittings have to be lead free?

Yes, in plumbing that provides drinking water. Safe Drinking Water Act Section 1417 sets a 0.25% weighted average lead limit on wetted surfaces and 0.2% for solder and flux. Toilets, fill valves, shower valves, tub fillers and nonpotable-only products are among the exemptions.

Are Moen 1222 and 1225 cartridges interchangeable?

No. The 1222 is for Posi-Temp shower valves and the 1225 for single-handle faucets and pull-to-open shower valves. Carry both if your area has both, and check the valve before you replace the cartridge.

Should a plumbing truck carry water heaters?

Most small shops carry water heater parts (T&P valves, drain valves, flex connectors, thermocouples, elements and thermostats) and order the heater itself per job, unless they do enough replacements to justify one on a dedicated install truck.

How often should you restock a plumbing truck?

Refill from the daily ticket review, count every min/max item weekly, and review the whole list monthly and before winter.

Put it to work this week

Put the parts you carry in a price book and quote them from the job. CrewRobin is free until your first 10 booked jobs, no card up front. Start free or see pricing.

Sources

Figures from outside CrewRobin were checked against these pages in October 2026. Most industry benchmarks come from vendors and agencies, so treat them as ranges, not rules.

• U.S. EPA: Use of lead free pipes, fittings, fixtures, solder and flux for drinking water (updated May 19, 2026)
• The Shower Head Store: Moen 1222 vs 1225 cartridges (checked October 2026)