Light colored vs darker colored vans

[sephiro499]

How much of a difference would it make froma temperature perspective? Coincidentally all of the vans pictures in the banner of this website are all white.

Heating a van seems easy, cooling it off seems difficult.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

This has been covered before. Check out THIS thread . . .

Color of your Vehicle

Regards
John

 

[MrNoodly]

I know two people with dark vans who painted the roof white. They say it's about 10 to 15 degrees cooler when they have to park without shade. Of course, the sides of the van are still dark and absorbing heat. It would be a bit cooler if the vans were all white. Or, even better, reflective like chrome.

---

Coincidentally all of the vans pictures in the banner of this website are all white.

It's not coincidental. Three of the photos are of Bob's own van. The Ford with the high top is someone else's.

 

[akrvbob]

White will be much, much cooler than black.

But there is a continuum in-between so the difference between white and light tan is probably very minor. Silver has become very popular because it is pretty good about staying cool but not as stark as white.

The problem with white is if you are a boondocker a white vans stick out like a sore thumb for miles. No staying hidden with a white van. I't's especially bad in the desert but also bad in the forest.
Bob

 

[MrNoodly]

The problem with white is if you are a boondocker a white vans stick out like a sore thumb for miles. No staying hidden with a white van.

Except in snow.

 

[highdesertranger]

not a van but I like flat desert tan military paint. it's a light color and blends well, it looks like dirt. highdesertranger

 

[sephson]

Also not a van, but my little Kia is a darker silvery grey.

One major advantage of this color, especially in a more urban or suburban setting, is that dirt does not show up that well on this color. Because of that, you can go a lot longer without washing your vehicle before it draws attention for being an eyesore.

 

[idn88]

White vehicles are significantly cooler because they reflect more light away.

If you have ever done photography you will be familiar with a black/white scale. Standard white absorbs only 6% of light. Black absorbs 90%. Standard gray is 18%.

So while a silver car will be much cooler than a black one, the white vehicle will still be cooler because it reflects more light, If you search around the internet there have been some fairly scientific tests on these with some real world temperature differences.

 

[Patrick46]

I'm a big fan of soft gray.

think 'urban camouflage'

The gray blends nicely in parking lots, and hides better in the woods over white

 

[LeeRevell]

These days, silver/metallic grey has become 'the new white' in the automotive world.

 

[idn88]

These days, silver/metallic grey has become 'the new white' in the automotive world.

Everything is a trade off, depending on what your planning to do with the vehicle.

I would imagine a darker, or flatter grey would be significantly hotter than white. A darker grey absorbs more light (thats why your eye sees it as gray) The suns light is heat

A lighter silver, especially metallic - I would imagine reflects a lot of light and hence would be cooler - perhaps getting close to white - although any color can never absorb as little light as white.

Its all a trade off - urban camo vs. temperature.

The other significant benefit of white is that it looks clean when dusty, shows scratches and other body defects the least, and is easiest to blend for any bodywork that needs to be done.

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

I have a dark blu van...its terrible...go as close to white as possible