Step vans are commercial trucks designed primarily for deliveries of packages or other light cargo. In addition to being widely used by companies like FedEx and UPS, they are also common for mobile businesses like food trucks and mobile mechanics. Some nomads convert them to residential vehicles due to their large size, box shape, and heavy duty design.
PRO
- Flat surfaces for easy build and solar mount
- Large living area
- Entrance steps and low floor height for easy ingress and egress
- Nondescript for stealth camping in commercial and industrial areas (but not residential)
- Easy engine access
CON
- Commercial vehicles often see very hard use
- Not ideal for regular highway driving (geared for local deliveries)
- May be difficult to find parking due to size
- Frequently have high miles
- Road noise
- May be difficult to find repair shops
Names
The term “step van” comes from the bus-like steps used for entrance, making them easy to enter and exit numerous times per day on a delivery route, and the bed of the truck is generally lower to the ground than a box truck. These are also known as delivery vans, bread trucks, food trucks, and multi-stop trucks, depending on their use.
Cab
The cab of the truck may be separated from the cargo area by a “bulkhead” (wall) with a door, or it may be completely open. If there is a bulkhead, a folding passenger jump seat is often attached to it for seating over the entrance steps. All step vans have access between the cab and cargo area.
Living area
The cargo box is often fully aluminum, which reduces weight and eliminates rust concerns. Many used step vans will come with some sort of installed shelving or racking. If the entire box is aluminum, you will get very little cell signal inside the box. You'll need to be near a window or have an external antenna.
Like a box truck, the completely square cargo area can offer more living area and be less difficult to convert than a passenger or cargo van.
Cargo area sizes vary significantly, with box lengths ranging from 10 to 22 feet (overall vehicle length: 20 to 32 feet), and typically just under 8 feet wide, for a 90 to 170 square foot total area1) with ceiling heights around 7 feet. All step vans have wheel wells inside which must be built around.
Rear door
The rear door is most commonly roll-up, but may be conventional double doors. Some trucks have lift gates installed. Due to the noise and difficulty insulating a roll-up door, many nomads remove roll-ups and replace them with swinging doors. Others put a garage and second door between the rear door and the living area.
Roof
Some vans have a fiberglass roof which may be translucent, but most have an aluminum roof. The flat roof allows easier installation of solar panels, roof vents, and other roof-mounted equipment.
Disadvantages
Unlike most other vehicles, human comfort and highway performance are not prioritized in step van design due to their primary purpose as a delivery vehicle. Step vans do not significantly muffle road noise and door rattling inside, may have uncomfortable seating (and often no passenger seat), and are typically geared for street speeds rather than highway speeds. Many have manual transmissions. Mechanically speaking, step vans are usually relatively simple and low tech, with easy access to the engine from the front and inside the cab.
Channels featuring Step vans
These channels may have more information about Step vans:
Browse Step vans (1)
This is a list of Step vans on this wiki.
Step vans gallery
See more in the Step vans category. For image credits, open image and click More Details.
Resources
| Resource | Description | |
|---|---|---|
| Step Van RVs | The leading discussion group for converting step vans to camper use. | |
| Less Common Vehicles | A sub-forum of VanLivingForum.com | |
| Wikipedia | Wikipedia article on this topic. | |
| Search forums and groups | Search van life discussion groups for "step vans" | |
| Search related sites | Search van life sites for "step vans" | |
| Search NomadLife.wiki | Search other pages on this wiki for "step vans" |