Camper or van? Van or camper? Ryan and I asked ourselves this every single day when we first started looking at recreational vehicles and we know many of you do too. It is a hard question to answer because both are outstanding choices and offer different things!

With that said, Ryan and I obviously chose to go the truck camper route and I’d like to explain why.

First, without even thinking about a camper or a van buildout, we ultimately decided that trucks are better adventure vehicles than vans. They are heavier and safer in the event of an accident. A truck’s 4-wheel drive capabilities are superior to 4wd Sprinter Van. On our icy drives up to Mt Hood or over Teton Pass, we  wanted our family in a big safe truck.

Second, it was really hard for us to stomach putting any money into the interior of a van when the van will start depreciating the moment we drive it off the lot. Whereas with a truck when it starts getting old or having too many problems, we can take the camper off and trade in the truck for one with fewer miles. In other words, the camper does not depreciate in value with the truck. 

Third, payload capacity. A truck has far more towing and payload capacity to work with. Mercedes’s website does an excellent job clearly detailing each Sprinter Van’s payload capacity. Click here for their Cargo Van’s specs.  Their Cargo Van with 4-wheel and 6 cylinders only has a towing capacity of 5,000 lbs. and payload capacity of 2,994lbs.—that’s not much to work with. With a 1 ton truck, we don’t have to worry about over loading our truck and can easily tow a boat or a trailer. Please click here for our recent post on how Bahn Camper Works feels about overloading a vehicle.

Fourth, for us our truck is Ryan’s primary vehicle. Having the ability to take the camper off and have his truck back for the work week is a huge plus. If we had a van, it would be our third vehicle and would sit in between our trips. A sitting vehicle is asking for mechanical problems—vehicles aren’t meant to sit.

Ultimately, Ryan’s a truck guy. He’s been working on trucks his whole life and could never own anything but a truck. He just couldn’t stomach buying a van!

We do have a lot of people asking if we will build out their vans and we are happy to entertain these builds. We value that some people just love vans like we love trucks. If we don't think we are the right van builder for you, we work closely with some of the best van builders in the country and are happy to provide recommendations. 

Happy Camper Days!