The final decision to make when choosing the body style of your van is choosing between a rear tailgate or barn doors. This is quite a small decision but can really help make sure your van is perfect for your needs. Here are the main pros and cons.
Rear Tailgate
Benefits
- Shelter – The biggest benefit of a rear tailgate is that it provides some shelter from the rain, invaluable for cooking, changing or just sitting under in bad conditions.
- Rear view – Rear tailgates give an unobstructed rear view as they are one single panel, giving better visibility when driving and providing a nicer environment when inside.
- Practicality – When lifted, rear tailgates are above head height so do not obstruct access around the back of the van.
- Integrated utilities – Rear tailgates can be used for extra storage and utilities, with tailgate mounted ‘waterfall showers’ being a popular addition, or integrated folding chair storage freeing up storage elsewhere.
Barn Doors
Benefits
- Privacy – Barn doors provide more privacy for outdoor showering/changing, and with the addition of a privacy screen between the barn doors providing 360° coverage
- Usability – Barn doors can be opened in a smaller space than a rear tailgate, so is the choice if you are often parking in tight spaces. Barn doors also allow for items from the rear to be accessed more easily, avoiding the avalanche that can come when opening a rear hatch.
- Storage – As barn doors remain vertical when in use, they can be more easily adapted for storage options to suit all types of conversions.
Drawbacks
- Bike Storage – Bike racks are often harder to find and more expensive for barn door vans, and often limit access to the rear doors.
Things to consider
- High roof vans – Due to their height, high roof vans almost always come with barn doors – a consideration to make if a rear tailgate is a must for you
- Price – As tailgate vans are more desirable, they will generally cost more than their barn door counterparts – however they will retain this increased value across their lifespan
- Conversion kits – Conversion kits are available to switch from barn doors to a rear tailgate, and claim to be suitable for home installation with rewiring to be performed by an auto-electrician. Whilst good, these will never be as good as the factory fitted examples.
This concludes our posts on the different types of van to buy, and should hopefully give you all the information you need to choose the body shape and style that suits you and your budget perfectly!
Coming up are tips on what to look out for when buying a van of your own, and then we will show you our own conversion in progress!
Happy travelling!
Zoe and David
Written by David
Not-So-Trendy Travellers 