I’m talking about these bad boys:
They’ve also got smaller sizes (down to regular cars with a square trunk like the Kangoo which a locksmith might use).
Ain’t no way you can put even remotely as much in a pickup truck as you can in a Sprinter (or equivalent, there are a lot of companies in that game). By putting the bed much lower and having vertical walls as high as will legally fit in a standard tunnel, space is simply maximized in a way that a high bed with short walls cannot compete with, geometrically speaking. I’ve filled one of these bad boys with enough insulation for a whole house, and didn’t even have to bother with straps. If you’ve got gross shit to put down, that’s fine as well, the bed is built for it… Just hose it down at the end of the day lol, it’s no different than a pickup truck.
These vans are so spacious that they’re frequently converted into minibuses, it’s absolutely wild. Throw in a mattress, bedframe, wardrobe, couple of TVs, washing machine, dryer, and you’ve still got several m³ on top to stuff with boxes and bags and shit. Literally the only downside is that they won’t go up an 45° mud slope, which is why pickup trucks do exist in Europe, mostly in mountainous areas and occasionally on logging trails that get really muddy.
If you’ve got gross shit to put down, that’s fine as well, the bed is built for it… Just hose it down at the end of the day lol, it’s no different than a pickup truck.
Ugh, you do you, but I’ll stick with the truck. Having my tools (and myself!) in a separate and locked compartment from the box where all the gross and messy stuff goes is such a quality of life thing, and I don’t need to hose it down every day because that’s what it’s for. I’ve helped a friend remove a bloated dead deer out if their back yard and can’t imagine not throwing up if I had that in the back of a van…
I can grab stuff from and toss stuff into the box without opening or unlocking a single thing (full hands, big gloves, super dirty, etc), and can reach over the side from either side no problem. Plus a tailgate is such a handy workbench when grinding/cutting/drilling or doing anything messy really.
These vans are so spacious that they’re frequently converted into minibuses, it’s absolutely wild.
Sounds like that’s too big of a vehicle for my tastes. I prefer something a bit smaller for fuel economy and visibility/maneuverability reasons.
Vans are great. Trucks are great. Different tools with different strengths. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all for vehicles, so what works great for some might not for others.