Howdy All,

Has anyone converted a stepvan or similar vehicle to haul planes??

Just bought a 1987 Chevy Step Van in real good shape and want to outfit it to carry
my 1/4 and 1/3 WW1 planes and maybe a fold up cot for weekend events.
Any ideas much appreciated.
Thanks

Del Johnson

Holy Cow, talk about a plane hauler. That's a whole lot of space to fill up. I have never seen any photos regarding the conversion of a step van, but I am sure a lot of the ideas shown in the trailer conversion thread that is also under this topic would also apply here.

that is what i was really looking for but couldnt find one at the right price. GOOD FIND!!

Man, I look at the pictures of the inside of that van and my eyes bug out at the possibilites for a plane hauler. I'm jealous. Great find!!!!

Ken

My friend had one to deliver dry cleaning,got about 5 or 6 miles to a gallon he sold it as fast as he could.You would be better off with a trailer.

I've been looking for something like this for a year or better. Origianaly thought about one of those Sprinter highboys.
But enen a ten year old one of those was out of my price range. But low and behold, this one showed up on a local
car lot about two weeks ago.
It has 20,000 miles on a "new" 350 engine and 400 turbo trans. (not rebuilt), also has all new tires and brakes.
I figure it will las me the rest of my life.
Plan is to use it as a camper and plane hauler. Won't have to fool with a tent anymore.

Del

I'm sure hoping for a lot more than that. It's a 1 ton chassie with all alum. body and probably don't weigh much more than my Econoline E150 and
it get 16 to 18mpg.

The air conditioner on top is 110v so will need to get a inverter that will handle it, it already has a dual battery setup.

Del

The mpg thing may be a drawback, but I like your purchase !

Depending on how you plan to use it, a camper awning may be a nice addition to your unit. I have one on the side of my trailer. It provides shelter from the hot Summer sun.

Morning Tom,

Yes, an awning is in our plans and if they're not too expensive, we thought about one for each side.
That would make it easier for setup depending on location and layout of the site.
Where did you get yours, I will check local RV sales.

As far as milage, most of the events we attend are within a couple hours drive of home.(Although I'm
hoping to attend the Southern Dawn Patrol this Dec).

We used to do the motel thing for 2 or 3 day events, so the money we save there can go a long way
for gas.

Del

I am in the process of convering a Ford Transit Van after spending a lot of time wondering just what to fit into it. My current "Challenge" is to build the shelf in the middle of the van so I can put in 2 layers of planes. (Sorry, I don't have any photos here on this computer but look as many of the trailer threads and you will get the idea.

One of theflyers over here uses a couple of lengths of Aluminium Channel as "Ramps" to wheel his planes into his trailer, I do the same for the planes larger than 35% - again, the 2 lengths of channel take up very little room.


For sleeping, we have used Tent cots for a few years now when we go to weekend events for either of our hobies, they are comfortable and they don't take up valuable space inside the van.

[link]http://store.kamprite.com/catalog/TentCots-orderby_0-p-1-c-249.html[/link]

Hi Del

My awning was free, and installed by the guy that donated it ! Obviously, he was a good friend.

The awning is an RV type. My neighbor cut it down (shortened) to fit my trailer.

A possibly less expensive substitute may be a Sunsetter awning. They're usually on sale at this time of year.

You need to come up with a Turbo 700r4 to get you some overdrive action. That TH400 is going to make that 350 suck some go-go juice down on the highway.