Slider or barn door?

[kevchriss]

Do you prefer slider or barn door on the side of your van and why?  Thanks in advance.

 

[mr_elijah_gardner]

I like the barn doors. I used to use vans a service trucks in an old business. I'd have a lot of trouble with the tracks on the slider doors. The slider doors also are heavier and require more effort to open and close them.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Why not review the posts here:

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=15943

 

[Almost There]

I won't touch one with a sliding door!

If the front of the vehicle is down hill the door will slam shut on you more often than not, if it's uphill you're going to work awfully hard to get it shut.

Barn doors offer a wider opening by about 6" than a slider does. This counts if you're getting large items in and out.

Sliding doors like to have trouble with the tracks.

Stuff gets stuck in the lower track regularly causing all kinds of problem.

 

[mayble]

If the van I wanted was available with barn doors I would have preferred them, but overall it's not a big deal.

 

[Sailing VANessa]

I like my slider. It doesn't blow around in the wind. Barn doors are great for the added location for building stuff and storage.

 

[MrNoodly]

I thought I wanted barn doors, but it was a lower priority than some other things. Now that I have a slider, I'm satisfied with it. Some advantages are I don't need to worry about the wind slamming it shut, I can open the passenger door without a barn door getting in the way, and I can load groceries in the side door when there's a vehicle parked next to me.

 

[ZoNiE]

I wonder why the electric side doors never made it to the full size vans. I had a 1995 Pontiac Trans Sport that had one. Great in the rain. Push keyfob button from shelter, run like hell and jump in...

 

[Gideon33w]

Being one who doesn't use the rear doors much I opted for a slider. While paneling the interior can be trickier they are typically wider across at the door.
Meaning you can run a forward bed design like mine and have over 6' of width (in an Express anyways). I prefer this layout to maximize useful space.

 

[Reducto]

I have sliders and there are some advantages, such as when I want to leave it open a bit for extra airflow, or when getting in and out in a tight parking spot.

They're terrible for stealth, too much noise. the tracks and sliders tend to accumulate muck and require cleaning/maintenance. If you want to add lots of insulation it may be more difficult with sliders.

 

[Scott7022]

Weird synchronicity as I was just thinking about this having watched a few van builds yesterday featuring Chevy Express vans. Hard to find ones done in a 3500 extended. Dodge Corporate Canada is being difficult and Quigley has a Canadian LEGAL option now so I have been thinking about this direction a little more seriously over the past week. I would be adding a high top and sleeping up there as I like a big bed, but having six feet across the side entrance is huge. Thanks Gideon33w. The extended range (new diesel Cummings) and ease of a more integrated platform may have just swayed my opinion. Ah to more research...no wonder I never get anything written!! LOL!

 

[Gideon33w]

Weird synchronicity as I was just thinking about this having watched a few van builds yesterday featuring Chevy Express vans. Hard to find ones done in a 3500 extended. Dodge Corporate Canada is being difficult and Quigley has a Canadian LEGAL option now so I have been thinking about this direction a little more seriously over the past week. I would be adding a high top and sleeping up there as I like a big bed, but having six feet across the side entrance is huge. Thanks Gideon33w. The extended range  (new diesel Cummings) and ease of a more integrated platform may have just swayed my opinion. Ah to more research...no wonder I never get anything written!! LOL!

Pictures aren't the greatest and the thread needs an update but check out my forward bed with pics starting here: https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=25048&page=4

It is less obvious because it is a window van and not a cargo model but there's a couple inches extra up front because of the slider. 
It's also plenty wide enough on the other dimension. My bed is about 42" wide but there's another 10"+ which is covered by the cabinet if I wanted more.

It also makes working on the electrical system easier as I have the step as my battery location and my wiring, inverter, charge controller, etc are all under the bench on that side.

 

[steamjam1]

I'm not a huge fan of the sliding door on my Ford. It's sorta convenient in packed parking lots, but its heavy and can be rather cumbersome to open and close.

 

[johnny b]

A slider comes in handy in tight parking lots...Redskins' FedEx Field is the absolute worst (narrow spaces) in the NFL. On more than one occasion after squeezing in to a space, would pull in the mirrors and we would all have to exit the van thru the side.

 

[Randingo]

Barn doors!!