Has anyone had any success or seen someone use a tradesman van? Like a mini van that’s been converted to a cargo van? Been wanting to switch to a van to avoid theft in my area and seen a real decent one for decent price but wanted to see if anyone has any ideas of the practicality of it?
Guys do it. Just understand that you’ll have exhaust fumes, gas fumes, SH fumes and any other chemicals you keep on board constantly. Also, maintenance will be a chore getting in there with tools, drain pans, parts, etc. But, yes, people do it.
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Get a used Butler System carpet cleaning van. Everything runs off the van’s motor with a PTO shaft. They even have liquid to liquid heat exchangers for getting hot water from the coolant system.
You’ll still have to contend with the bleach fumes. But that can be negated by having a sealed and externally vented tank system, and remote fill ports plumbed through the floor and outside the van.
I’d love too, but the prices for used cars here in Cali are ridiculous. Had my eye on a truck I’ve been saving for but when I’ve been seeing my neighbors trucks getting robbed almost weekly I switched my mind to a van. And this is a cheaper option with low miles. But hadn’t seen any pictures or videos of ones using a van similar to it so wanted to see if there was a reason.
Got any pics of it?
You’re going to be pretty limited on cargo/weight capacity with a minivan style van. Even the upgraded Ram CV’s had a fairly limited capacity compared with a truck, if memory serves.
It could work. Heck some people even tow a small trailer behind a Scion Xb! 
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No, no, no
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That’s past tense, thank you very much 
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Having been down a similar road, I highly recommend finding a larger vehicle. Vans in general are ill suited to our type of work. It can be done, but with considerably more investment in time and money to do it correctly, and not fume yourself and your equipment toward an early retirement.
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I know this is an old thread but, I was gonna start off with this exact van till I could afford a trailer to haul lol. Would you say it makes much difference with overall fumes if you’re hauling everything out of the van and working it all outside each wash rather than leaving the equipment to run inside? I appreciate any feedback.
Shoot me a message if you have specific questions… I ran a van for a little bit when first starting out.
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I use an enclosed trailer for my PW equipment. A couple things, I get a few leaks here and there so if that happened in a van like that it’s gonna soak everything. Also SH chlorine fumes will eat anything metal, so aluminum and steel just rust like crazy.
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