New Conversion Vans Are Alive and Well

The height of the vanning craze was somewhere in the late 1970s. By the late 1980s, like so many automotive trends, it dwindled down to a handful of companies that converted cargo vans into some of the best family vehicles. One of the first vehicles I ever drove on public roads was my family’s a ’91 Dodge Ram B-150 hightop. It served us well for many years, on many trips. Nowadays families mostly stick to CUVs/SUVs and minivans. However, there is a van revolution going on that is easy to miss. Ford is ditching the E-series in favor of the Euro-flavored Transit, GM is killing of the 1500 vans, Chrysler sells re-badged Fiats as ProMasters, Nissan is in the game with big and small NV-series vans, and there’s everyone’s favorite Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van. The few remaining conversion companies and taking notice and are already outfitting the new vans. I came upon Paul Sherry Conversion Vans in the comments section of my TTAC Nissan NV200 review and I was blown away. While this dealership has the typical GM vans, they have the new Rams too, and they look really cool. There seems to be more passenger room, and definitely more comfort, with plenty of cargo space behind the flat-folding rear sofa than a new Yukon. Prices may seem high until realize how expensive a new Yukon is. I’ll be doing some more research on the new wave of conversations vans. With interesting powertrains (diesels!) and driveline configurations (FWD, RWD, or AWD), the conversion van may be making a comback!