Is a colored van a bad idea?

[riggyk]

Hi Ya'll, still on my hunt for a van here... but a near perfect colored van has reared it's head on a dealer network. Decent condition and in my budget. Very clean. BUT it's dark maroon. Is a colored van just off the bad a strong no? I get that a colored van might mean an incremental risk and not a death sentence but has anybody got some feedback out there on this?

Much love

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

Park a white van and a dark van in the sun for a few hours, and the body of the dark van will be 20 to 30 degrees hotter than the white van.

 

[AngryVanMan]

All depends on your plans and use case. White is the most practical for hot conditions, of course. Especially if you need to be inside in a 'stealth' scenario with everything closed up on a hot day. If you're planning on robust HVAC, being able to open doors and windows when you want, or staying in cold or cooler regions most often, it doesn't matter nearly as much.

I have a dark colored van, mostly for vanity and it works for us. Where and in what conditions will you use the van? How are you going to set it up and what is the budget? Important questions that will dictate what'll work for you.

 

[ccbreder]

If all else is good, you could easily paint the roof with white, if you even need to. I have a maroon van. No problems.

 

[LeeRevell]

Other than the temps, I see no problem. The "plain white van" thing is majorly overblown.

 

[MrNoodly]

Light colors are better for avoiding the heat, but a van can be painted -- the roof if nothing else. I would be far more concerned by the condition of the paint job. Nothing says, "homeless person in a van" faster than faded, scaly, crappy paint.

 

[cyndi]

Like others said, the heat in the summer is a PITA. I have a dark van. 3rd on the priority list is painting the roof white.In the mean time I've used white sheets. Some day I'll paint the whole van.

In the winter, even in the SW you'll b e glad you have a dark van.

 

[riggyk]

So I'd be dwelling permanently in the SF Bay Area. - Basically work-->van dwell--> weekend escapism. - There would be a fair amount of trips south but the majority of my time obviously spent in the bay area. So heat isn't a killer here, but still something to consider. I'm also willing to put $3-$4K post van cost into this.. I wonder if there's any hacks to help the air circulation? Anyway.. yeah it's in great condition and clean, but just dark maroon, and I'll be dwelling in SF Bay area, adventuring on weekends.

 

[Free Range Chicken]

High desert ranger mentions a deck plate in this thread that would help air circulation.
I am strongly considering it to enhance air circulation in my van. .
https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=15441

 

[MrNoodly]

High desert ranger mentions a deck plate in this thread that would help air circulation.
I am strongly  considering it to enhance air circulation in my van. .
https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=15441

But you'd probably want some type of screen to keep critters out.

 

[MrNoodly]

So I'd be dwelling permanently in the SF Bay Area. 

Then don't sweat the color (pun intended).

 

[Gary68]

if you park in direct sun on a hot day it really dosnt matter what color your rig is,it will be to hot

 

[ccbreder]

Yes. My roof has insulation and most of the heat build in my van seems to be through the glass.

 

[Reducto]

Ditto what others have said. I had a dark van with windows when I was in the bay area and it was really not a problem. When I ventured into warmer areas it definitely was! In your situation I'd say just get the best van you can regardless of color.

 

[TrainChaser]

I'm with Reducto:  Get the best van you can -- the color can be changed.

You could add a clamp-on roof rack and a sheet of plywood painted white to deflect overhead sunlight.

A roof vent (or two) is critical if you don't want the heat trapped inside.  It stays inside a long time past sundown.  (I learned this fast in the desert summer, and it was the first thing I added when I bought a ventless van.)

The next thing would be a floor vent using a marine deck plate (I saw this somewhere else here at CRVL, and put it in my Favorites).  With this, you could take advantage of natural convection: the ground under the van is shaded and cooler (esp if you parked early), the cooler air comes up through the open vent (screened against cats, rats and opossums), rises as it heats up, and goes out the open roof vents).
https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&k...qmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_7lb1gwvrnv_e
JUST BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU INSTALL IT -- like not right over the gas tank, etc.

You could increase the air movement with a fan in the roof vent.  Bob likes the "Fantastic Fan...  it draws about 3 amps of power at 12 volts."  https://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&k...argid=kwd-101410801989&ref=pd_sl_31sim6o0or_b

I've seen a couple of people who installed two roof vents with fans, and have one sucking air in and the other pushing it out.  While this moves the air, it's not cooling it at all.  This seems less advantageous because they're on the same level and they're sucking the same hot air in that the other one is blowing out.  I would prefer to draw COOLER air in from down low, and get rid of the warm air. 

You probably wouldn't have the fan running while you were away from the van, but if you had the vent open, natural convection would still be moving air through all day long, and it would be cooler when you went back to it than it would be without any vent at all.

 

[DannyB1954]

So I'd be dwelling permanently in the SF Bay Area.

I lived there for a little over 30 years. The Bay Area has many climates. Pacifica can be cool and foggy, livermore over 100. Winters do get cold at night in most places. Insulation will be the biggest factor to how comfortable you will be. Many van conversions don't have much. Sales are based on appearance, not functionality.

 

[BigT]

Just in case it hasn't been suggested yet, if the van has metal gutters running along the roofline, you can install a roof rack and place a sheet of plywood on it to block the direct sunlight.  Painting the plywood white, or better yet, a reflective silver, will create a barrier with an air space between the sun and roof of your van.  
Installing a roof vent with a fan is cake too, and will provide air flow.  Though the plywood may partially block opening the vent completely, it will open enough to remove the hot air.  It will also make the vent a little harder to see, if you're worried about that sort of thing.

There's really nothing un-stealthy about a van with a sheet of plywood on the rack, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.  Truth is, there's countless vans, RV's TT's and converted buses parked on the streets all over the Bay Area, so a burgundy van with plywood on the roof isn't going to draw a lot of attention imo.
If stealth is a major concern, pick up an old ladder off CL's "Free" section and bolt it to the plywood.   You'll just look like a painter.  

That's my $0.02