Need inspiration for a second kart van - Ideas?

Just a thought, but a friend just purchased a Merc sprinter van very much like the pic you posted, neat little rig, and honestly I was coveting it, until he mentioned he is paying 3 or 4 x the insurance for that van over his little e150 cargo. Before you buy, double check you’ll be happy with the insurance bill every year/quarter/month.

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I have seen some pickups with a platform that slides out. I am sure this would make loading and unloading much easier. I found a video ad of one such: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=39&v=W9tIbBC8skA&feature=emb_logo

The bed of my pickup is only slightly taller than my kart is off the ground when on the stand. When I load it, I just roll the kart up to the tailgate nose first, then tip it so the front end rests on the tailgate. I can then lift it from the rear bumper off the stand and roll it right in. When I use a trailer, the floor is lower, so with my stand (two folding T-bars on a flat bottom tray with casters) I roll the kart up to the back of the trailer, drop the front T=bar to lower the nose of the kart and lift the Kart off the stand from the rear bumper again and roll it onto the trailer. Sometimes it is a little awkward reaching over the back of the stand, but still doable by myself.

In either case, you may want to take the floor height into consideration in your final decision of van choice. I have seen several transit vans decked out with shelving, cubbies etc. You name it, someone has built it. No reason you couldn’t treat it like a trailer either. There are several trailers I have seen with custom cabinets, drawer systems and even benches to work from. The Locksmith that does work for our Dealership has his sectioned off from the driver compartment (for safety reasons) with a sheet of steel with lots of holes to see through. In the back he has a workbench against the partition and the walls are lined with storage cubbies for all of his tools and supplies. He even had them plumb a/c ducts to the rear so he stay comfortable while he works.

I use a 2019 crew sprinter for my work. But i double it as a karting van. I literally toss everything in and go. I have quite a bit of tools so i have to empty the van everytime but ive designed my shelving in mind to be able to fit my kart without removing anything.

They are awesome vans. I have 3 kids, and we use it more than our 2014 infiniti qx60. Drives way better and i can fit everything and some more. Plus the kids love riding in dads van. We
took it up to a cabin for Christmas, to the lake almost always, camping, longer drives. Its the best.

As for designing the inside, really up to u. Like i said i use mine for work so i keep my stuff pretty mobile so that i can just unload in 10 mins and roll the kart in.

Any questions let me know. I’m heading to the track on Monday so I’ll snap a pic of what i do.

The new ones are pricey and like someone said the insurance is a bit pricey. Its great on diesel. The new ones use a 7speed transmission so it gets better fuel economy then the older ones. Its not as good as the older 2006 5 cylinder. I used that as my first van and was really good but hard to find in decent shape.

Also just be warned, stay away from anything older than 2010. They have lots of issues. Everyone in my family has one and the older 2007-2009 are garbage. Lots of issues with the DPF. My bro inlaw spent like 3-4gs on just dumb repairs.

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This thread is gaining momentum, and I really appreciate it!

I’d love to see a photo how you’ve loaded things up.

Ill try to see if i have an older pic if not then ill post on Monday

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This is how i load mine up.

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OMG my favourite van! We had one of these when I was karting, I’d sleep in the back while my dad drove to difference circuits in the early hours. We had a first gen.

The limit is your budget and imagination. Ours was leased from a karting guy who had a merc dealership so came setup with engine and tire racks. But it was all done in wood so must have been a pretty cheap setup. I’ll see if i can find pics, but it was basically engines racks along one side, tire racks high up, chassis upright on the other side, front section had a bunch of lipped shelves for boxes of bits.

I googled some images of other setups. I think you could use either a short wheelbase or a long wheelbase with some seats or sleeping area (for naps and data) as I’m assuming you’ll mainly be carrying at most two karts.

image4 IMG_0210m IMG_0212m

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That picture with the axles in the back is perfect!

One of the reasons why I want a Mercedes Sprinter Van with a separate cargo compartment is for safety. In the unlikely event that the karting van is an accident, I don’t want all of my equipment coming up to impale us.