Here's Why Vans are Actually the Best Vehicle to Buy

Americans love trucks many Americans use trucks for work purposes but today I'm going to tell you why Vans are better than trucks for your business or trade as points of reference we'll look at Vans like the 2023 Ford Transit the RAM promas mercedesbenz metc and Nissan NV and we'll pitch these against some of the most popular trucks sold in America let's start with Towing I'll say it straight out if your business requires you to tow super heavy loads on a regular basis I'm talking more than 10,000 lb they get a truck because a van has less capabilities when it comes to Towing let me put it in perspective the 2023 GMC Savannah passenger has Max conventional trailering of up to 9600 lb and a 2023 Chevy Express van has max trailering weight up to 10,000 lb so consider that threshold if you need to tow more than that you'll have to cross over to the truck side and probably will be best off buying a diesel truck now the 2023 Sierra 1500 and Chevy Silverado 1500 can each tow up to 12,100 lb the 2023 Ram 1500 with the 5.7 Hemi V8 can tow up to 12,750 lb and the Ford F-150 can tow up to 14,000 lb but if your business trade requires you to tow even more than that you can look at the Beast trucks like the Ford f- series Superduty trucks the F450 for example can tow 40,000 lb without break in a sweat same thing for payload basically the payload capacity is how much weight your vehicle can carry including passengers and cargo if your business requires you to load and carry super heavy weight more than 5,000 lb then the truck is a better option as a point of reference a Ford F350 Superduty has a max payload capacity of 8,000 for example on the other hand the 2023 Ford Transit Ram ProMaster 3500 offer some of the highest payloads among cargo vans they can handle up to 5110 and 4680 lb respectively but now if you need cargo volume more than anything it's time to consider a cargo van it's no secret that trucks offer limited cargo space compared to cargo vans to put in perspective the 2023 GMC Sierra 1500 offers three bed lengths even if you opted for the largest one which is 8 ft long you're getting just 89.1 cubic feet of cargo space on the other hand if you get a cargo van take the 2023 RAM promas for example we're talking 520 cubic feet of cargo space so you can see it's a significant difference but it's not just more cargo volume we're talking about here cargo vans are enclosed and it helps keep your cargo private and protected from the environment and thieves trucks on the other hand come with open beds yes you could buy a tuna cover or truck cap to protect your cargo but then you're adding additional weight to your vehicle they sh out more money an average soft cover can cost 400 bucks while hard covers and retractable covers can cost you over 1,000 bucks and Truck Caps range between 1,500 to 6 grand and honestly if you're going to buy a car a camp be a truck you're pretty much one step closer to looking like a van anyway so you might as well save yourself money and get a cargo van but now if passenger space is a top priority for your business needs then a van might be the better option a standard cargo van typically seats only two but Cru style Vans usually seat five and there are passenger vans which can take 14 or 15 take for example the 2023 GMC Savannah passenger and Ford Transit passenger vans each can seat up to 15 passengers on the other hand trucks can't come in nearly as close a regular cab has two doors and single row seats typically seats two or three an extended cab gives extra seating that's accessible by folding the front doors forward some extended cabs offer back doors that are smaller and usually rear hinged in other words they open backwards like suicide doors and can only be opened when the front door is open then there're The Crew Cabs basically they have four standard doors that open to two full rows of seating the crew cab is pretty much like a four-door sedan plus a b but at best a crew cab truck can seat up to six people another advantage to cargo vans have over trucks is they enable you to get more organized you can customize a van by adding shell vean or designated areas for different items an organized van makes it a lot easier and faster to load and unload on the other hand pick up trucks aren't designed to help keep you organized you just place things in the open bed and things can move around while you're driving another benefit to a van which you might not have thought about is the outside of the van has more surface area you can use that for your advantage think of it as a large open billboard to advertise your own business which moves around wherever you go pretty much it's free advertis ing when you're on the road the only cost of course is to create and place the ad on the van that's a onetime fee but you have no monthly ad fees for the life of the van if you haven't already noticed truck tire wheels are much larger than the wheels on a van that's because trucks are more likely to be in heavy duty off-roading situation larger Wheels mean higher ground clearance for the truck's underbody this in turn improves approach into the pure angles and allows you to better protect mechanical components while driving through rough terrain it's the same story for dirt and gravel the more rubber that comes in contact with the the ground the more friction you can create they translate to better braking on pavement helps with towing capability the size of a vehicle's Wheels has a major impact on their price and it's no different for trucks in short installing and replacing wheels on a truck is more expensive when compared to a van here's something not many people think about safety Vans are generally safer for pedestrians because of their short hoods and flat noses which make visibility better you can almost liken them to driving a bus in a way trucks on know one hand sit higher and have hoods that are taller wider and longer imagine damage they can do to a pedestrian also most trucks have a body on frame construction whereas many Vans have a unibody one the unibody design has inherent safety advantages over body onf frame designs for starters a unibody van has a lower center of gravity which means a lower risk of rolling over also the crumple zones are engineered into unibody designs to better absorb impact upon Collision what would you rather have get crumpled the body of the vehicle or your body gas mileage is another consideration if your driver requires you to drive a lot many people know that trucks are typically gas guzzlers but if you're on the road and you need to prioritize fuel economy then some trucks are better option in invest van for reference points the 2023 Ford Transit Connect wagon has a fuel economy of 24 m a gallon the city and 28 on the highway but compared to that to the gas powered 2023 Ram 1500 with turbo diesel V6 which offers 22 m in the city and 32 on a highway or the 2023 Ford Maverick with hybrid powertrain which offers 37 MP gallon combined or the 2023 for F-150 Lightning which offers 78 mpge in the city and 63 on the highway okay now let's talk about image style and looks there's no denying that trucks look much cooler and more powerful than a van but a van can look more commercial professional and credible for a business at the end of the day what do you value when you as a consumer hire a Tradesman or business professionalism and a job well done or coolness well that's exactly what most consumers value too when they're considering your business versus a competitor's business fleets here's the thing not all businesses are the same but honestly for many businesses Vans are a more practical choice but just don't take my word for it look at the number but what I mean look at the businesses that are successful and see how they optimize their business and reduce unnecessary costs fact remainer rarely will see companies using full-size four-wheel drive trucks or their fleets look at successful giants like Amazon for example that uses Vans and not trucks as their vehicles of Choice by the way not many people know this but EV maker River produces electric vans for Amazon these electric delivery Vans or edvs for short are designed to last 10 years or 330,000 mies before they need to be replaced and they can travel up to 150 M on a full charge because Amazon Depot are being equipped with level two charging stations so they're ready for deliveries the next day rivan customized edvs for Amazon specific operation for example inside these edvs you'll find a bulkhead door that automatically closes if the driver locks the van's doors the driver's seat is heated and ventil ated and the steering wheel is heated too the seat can even be adjusted to a broader variety of seating positions than the Ram promas van that's also commonly used by Amazon drivers today rivan also made sure to designed the cargo areas to perfectly hold the specialized bins that Amazon uses to hold the packages in addition trainees or delivery helpers get to ride on a surprisingly comfortable fold down passenger seat because of the position of the seat it makes it easy to hop in and out of the van for quick and easy package delivery these seats even have a prime blue seat belt just like the driver's side on top of that the passenger has ample leg room and a cup holder that's designed into the molding at the base of the seat whenever the seat is not being used the bottom flips up so the seat can be neatly stowed out of the way at the end of the day if you operate a business you really need to prioritize what vehicle features are most relevant and critical for your trade then use the prioritized feature list filter out whether a van or truck is optimal for your business in general a van is the most costeffective and overall better option in my op opinion but there are certain trades and specific purposes and applications for which a truck is better if your trade requires a heavyduty Workhorse on a regular basis then get a truck but if your trade requires you to store and organize a lot of expensive tools equipment parts or cargo which you want to store and protect then get a van and consider the free ad space on the van as a side bonus if you need to transport a sizable crew to a job site then consider a passenger van the funny thing is despite the facts and stats out there this video likely won't change people's perceptions about trucks versus Vans most Americans will continue to love trucks and perpetuate the misperception that trucks are more useful than Vans for any business or trade because in the end many humans just act on personal preference despite what logic tells you it's a proverbial want versus need that said recently pickup truck sales in the US have been on a decline for the past few years at their Peak pickup trucks controlled 12.2% of the overall American Market but after 2 years of declining sales since the second quarter of 2020 things aren't looking too good for pickup trucks in the fourth quarter of 2022 pickup trucks made up only 7.5% of the overall American Market the light duty full size and half ton pickup segments had shrunk to the smallest level since the third quarter of 2012 when it was at 7.4% the downtrend is even worse for midsize trucks they've taken some of the hardest hits the Ford Ranger for example dropped nearly 42% earlier this year while the Nissan Frontier plumbed at 63% if you're wondering what truck sales are tanking well there's several factors some of it could be that trucks like the Ford Maverick and the allnew Nissan Frontier are cannibalizing some of the full-size Truck Sales also a good chunk of Developmental budget has been reallocated to favor EV trucks over conventional ones and it's pushing new conventional model introductions even further out consider too how SUVs and crossovers have been taking over America and stealing some of the truck sales but now you tell me what do you prefer Vans or trucks and why please share by commenting below if you like this video please like share and subscribe thanks for your support

Channel: Scotty Kilmer

Views: 125,139

Keywords: auto, auto repair, car, car diy, car repair, cars, diy, how to, mechanic, repair, scotty kilmer, car review, car advice, honda odyssey, mini van, minivan, minivan review, minivans, van, best vehicle, best vehicles, van life, buying a van, vans, chevy express, mercedes sprinter, should I buy a van, the truth about vans, here's why, best van to buy, worst van to buy, worst van, best van, best vans to buy, buying a used van, are used vans worth it, van life explained, rv life

Id: yFTyz-EDw9o

Length: 11min 3sec (663 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 07 2023