The first thing to remember is that you want a inconspicuous van, that does not fit commercial vehicle laws as you can easily drive into a ticket not knowing which roads are deemed commercial and which are not. In NYC for example you would not be able to use many of the bridges roads or tunnels. Having side and rear windows helps define that. Being conspicuous attracts cops and robbers. Like having band advertising on the side.Yes to some kind of secured divider slam the breaks or in an worst case rear ended accident all the gear can turn deadly. Set it up to distribute the weight evenly so you are not going to tip over.Here is a modest inconspicuous van.Though mutually owing the van by the band can be a bit of a disaster internationally. But a man with a van will always be workin.

Pinzgauers are a damn rough ride. Would not recommend unless looking completely badass, off-roading, and maybe stopping bullets are the only goals.

japmn wrote:This is my van.And it rules!Dude!

I would also like to advance what I like to call D. Boon's Van Therm- Value of Life + Value of Equipment squared to the millage Distance (in KM) to be toured = Van PriceCheap vans always need repairs (most times in the middle of a tour on short notice in the middle of buttfuck aka more than 100 miles from where you live) sometimes more than the original price and it is always shit you can't see at the time of sale. You know the guy drove around 50 boxes of floor tiles and a the bearing have 1,000 km left in them. So getting a better (more expensive) van is a better deal. There is little worse than having the front end drop out of the vehicle at high speed (I speak from experience). For the safety of your life do not cheap out on price of your van especially in as much as you want to spend less on a motor vehicle than any of the electrical guitars you will be transporting. Get someone who knows something about vehicles to inspect the van like a car repair guy you trust, they can detect things like drive trains held together by bent nails and mufflers held in place with a belt or hanger or the ever present rust rot under the drivers seat (nothing like putting the pedal through the metal though it does help to have a "drop hatch" in case of being pulled over).If you go for Big and Tall model remember you will have to know the bridge limits where you drive. The damage to the van can be bad but you are responsible to the damage of the bridge structure which kind of starts in the seven figure range but recouping that is just a couple big gigs away but it is something to think about.Now the longer in length the "harder" it is to squeeze that big ole motherfucker into the small artisonal micro car and bicycle spaces available in our cities today.Your van may require some modification but there is nothing like a nice home cooked, on the van motor, food on the road. Road kill cooking can turn the tour frown upside down and keep touring costs down and turn a money losing tour a profit.Skinned Road Kill can also be recycled into wonderful and colorful stage outfits!And leathers too

japmn wrote:I hope that was Rush's early touring van.

Big John wrote:I would also like to advance what I like to call D. Boon's Van Therm- Value of Life + Value of Equipment squared to the millage Distance (in KM) to be toured = Van PriceHOFed this wonderful post.

Man, middle-aged white men dressed as "pimps." That shit needs to go away five years ago. That horse is so dead.A 15 passenger van with a cage is the only way to go. Find a friend who can weld and tack expanded metal or sheet steel over the rear windows. Remove the last seat or last two rows of seats. Have that friend put a piece of steel between your gear and the rear-most seat. Cover the back windows with steel. If you're using expanded metal stretch opaque cloth over the inside of the metal so that no one can see in.Get one of these for the rear doors:.Here are the photos of the last band cage I built:Windows:

Yes, that is the full business right there.

numberthirty wrote:japmn wrote:I'm not worried about my '82 GMC van, cause it is a van people look at and know not to fuck with, if they know what's good for them. I might just throw a Mayhem cassette or two on the dash to drive the point home.Find a couple of old issues of -- El Nuevo Alarma!That should do it.MTYP

That looks badass, Patrick.