Gear Hauler; Pick-Up Truck VS mini Cargo Van

Truck or Mini Cargo Van

  • Pick-Up Truck

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Mini Cargo Van

    Votes: 5 100.0%
  • Total voters
    5
M

Matt Vivlamore

Senior
Jan 11, 2011
913
4
18
41
Southern MD, USA
www.meerkatsound.com
After selling everything 3 years ago and enjoyed my time off/away; But now I’ve got the bug to get back into the business. However, I am at a crossroads on what vehicle to purchase. In a few of years, I am planning on getting back into the Wedding Biz. If I am on a downtown job, I want to be able to put all the gear into 1 vehicle (no trailer) and head the gig. After unloading, I want to be able to pull it into the buildings parking garage without any issues. I currently own a ’16 Golf R for my daily/commuter and it works great for the freelance/walk in gigs.

My previous gear hauler was a ’06 Chevy 3500 Express cargo van (diesel and extended version). This was a GREAT hauler but with 1 HUGE issue; it didn’t fit in parking garages (in DC & Baltimore). Before the Cargo Van, I had an ’04 Chevy Silverado 1500, 4x4, Crew Cab, 5.5’ bed with a 5x8 Cargo Trailer.

Part of me wants Mini Cargo Van, but for the house stuff I think see myself needing a Truck instead. I do have around a $8k-12k budget, I can’t afford anything new.

Mini Cargo Van:
Ford Transit Connect, LWB, 2014+
Ram Promaster City

Truck
Chevy/GMC Silverado/Sierra 1500; extended cab, 6.5’ bed with a cap/camper shell


The planned Rig (some is TBD or equivalently sized):
2x SRX812w/ETX12P/DZR12
2x SRX818SP/ETX-18P/DZR18XLF
4x PRX812W/K12.2
1x 8sp case (rack mixer & digital snake)
2x EWI C005-DC trunks (cables)
2x Pelican 1510 cases (mics/work box)
1x Pelican iM3220 (mic case)
2x Chauvet 4BAR/ADJ Dotz TPar system
 
Let me know how the Promaster City works out if you get one. I have had my eye on one of those. Little small for my needs but would like to see how a smaller van works for someone.
I had a truck with a cab at one point and time and did not appreciate the loading and unloading. Getting in and out of there was a major pain.
 
Ben Lawrence said:
Let me know how the Promaster City works out if you get one. I have had my eye on one of those. Little small for my needs but would like to see how a smaller van works for someone.
I had a truck with a cab at one point and time and did not appreciate the loading and unloading. Getting in and out of there was a major pain.
Click to expand...

I use a Nissan NV200 (the Nissan "city van") on occasion, and it fits a surprising amount of gear. The cargo floor on all the small vans is pretty low (certainly lower than on a full-size van), making it easier to load/unload gear without a ramp, and headroom isn't noticeably worse than on the full-size vans. That the vehicle is about the same size as a small SUV is a nice bonus for parking.
 
I use a 2017 Grand Caravan for my NYC work. I have a cargo liner that lines the entire back and sides , and it has a fold out flap to protect the bumper when loading the gear in and out. The seats stow 100% flat into the floor which is very slick. Even more slick is the fact that i can drive the vehicle anywhere and parking garages don't look at me twice as it's a caravan. It has very similar cargo volume to my friends Transit connect. Most of my gear is very light weight RCF boxes so it works out well in regards to payload.

I also have a 2017 promaster 3500 extended for my bigger gigs but dealing with the logistics and that vehicle in new york city is alot more challenging and costs my clientele more to deploy.
 
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