Does anyone use a cargo van for work?

Jim Brennan

Jim Brennan

VHS Member Old Skool
We've been doing okay over here at the Hooligan Nation and are thinking about getting a dedicated vehicle for production work. It gets a little old tearing the seats out of the minivan for high rollers and dolly track all the time. Not to mention the abuse on the vehicle.

So I have been looking at cargo vans in the 2-3K range. There seem to be a few to choose from. So I was just wondering if anyone has actually taken the plunge on doing something like that. Was it worth it?
 
We have one we call our stealth grip truck. You know, so you can park it at the curb get your gear out and not have to worry about permits like you would with our ten ton.

If you build the proper racks you can get an amazing amount of gear in a one ton or 3/4 ton cargo van.

A word of advice. Don't put any name with "camera or HD etc..." on it. It becomes a thief magnet.
 
phudsontx said:
A word of advice. Don't put any name with "camera or HD etc..." on it. It becomes a thief magnet.
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Write something like "state penitentiary" or "carlsson Security"..... and now you can double the van as a prop....

Now seriously, I don't own one, I use a renault kangoo (European car, french for more info) to transport everything and it does it great, but when transporting dollies, lights, risers, other grip and camera equipment.... its way easier and way more comfortable to work on a well crated and organized van. I mainly used small vans in all the major gigs I've been part of.

Now speaking about specific vans...no idea of the market in the states.
 
I was looking at one of the Dodge Sprinters there for a while:

2007-dodge-sprinter-0001.jpg
 
Instead of a cargo van, you might try a Van Gogh car. One of the side view mirrors has a piece missing which can make it difficult to see what's behind you on a starry, starry night.
 
The guys I shoot with occasionally in STL have a cargo van (upgraded from a mini-van)... it's awesome. It is GREAT to work out of... we used to pack and unpack the mini-van almost entirely... but now the van is pulled into the garage and is 90% ready to go for the next gig.
 
MattinSTL said:
The guys I shoot with occasionally in STL have a cargo van (upgraded from a mini-van)... it's awesome. It is GREAT to work out of... we used to pack and unpack the mini-van almost entirely... but now the van is pulled into the garage and is 90% ready to go for the next gig.
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That's what I was hoping to hear... :thumbsup:

Terry_Lasater said:
Instead of a cargo van, you might try a Van Gogh car. One of the side view mirrors has a piece missing which can make it difficult to see what's behind you on a starry, starry night.
Click to expand...

How long did that one take you? :grin:
 
I used a U-haul Van to haul some gear from a grip truck, works fairly well but expect to have a hell of a time packing the more awesome things like 4x Floppies, 4x frames, and especially 6x anything or 12x frames.

Other than that, it's pretty sweet. And you may just be able to drive right up to where you're shooting versus having to trek with gear.
 
I have a Honda Element... and recommend the same highly if it'll fit your gear. The flexibility afforded by the seating configurations and the huge flat floor is great... and I can roll my R12 cart (52" x 30" x 40") loaded with hundreds of pounds of gear right in with plenty of room to spare. Definitely worth checking out if you candeal with something slightly smaller than a cargo van, but with many of the benefits and maybe even more versatility.

With the right accessories, a piece of the floor becomes a large table, and there's a tent that packs down to almost nothing and quickly attaches to the rear of the element... a quick'n'dirty little production office!
 
You could use this as a grip truck. I am pretty sure this would stop all but the most disturbed criminals.
 

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I always wanted one like these

63247.1983.Dodge.Ram.Van.jpg


But it´s hard to find a good one that was not customized over here.
They are also pretty expensive.

Frank
 
LOL, should you decide to purchase the "Showpigs" van, you might want to consider removing the shag carpet, the heart shaped bed in the back with the pig sized shackles, the mirrors of the ceiling, but keep the CD player loaded with Barry White tunes.

"Here, piggy, piggy, piggy!" now has a whole new meaning. Mobile pig insemination, geez, it used to be one of those "things not spoken about", but some guy made his depravity into a BUSINESS?????
 
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