This IS the Avid L2: Re: [Avid-L2] Van

Friday, January 9, 2015

Re: [Avid-L2] Van

I've actually put a lot of thought into this in the past year. I have a 3/4 ton Dodge van. Works great, but horrible gas millage, so I don't drive it that much and I have to be careful about charging clients for millage. It's almost 20 years old and only has 60,000 miles on it. Our tires dry rot long before we wear them out. It works pretty good for about a 10k light kit and small jib and still have some space for larger stuff. I don't have shelves in it, but we installed mesh on the inside. Everything is in cases and strapped to the mesh. Big stuff goes down the middle.

I have looked into this A LOT, and I'm seriously considering selling the van and getting a 5x8 or 5x10 trailer. The trailer won't cost me insurance or maintenance, and with lighting evolving towards LED's, my kit now is probably as heavy as it will ever be, so I don't need the weight capacity. A trailer would have a ramp, so cases could be rolled in and out if necessary. I drive a mini-van, which I purchased with the towing kit (engine cooler and HD suspension) because I knew I would be constantly overloading it, so my gas millage won't be as bad as with an SUV as a tow vehicle.

That's my 2 cents. Big vans are great. Trailers and mini-vans are cheaper. If you're secure in your masculinity and don't mind looking like a soccer mom, stay away from SUV's. Too low cargo capacity for the money.

Mark

Owner, Director
SR Film & Video Productions
195 W Broad St
Salunga PA 17538
717-393-5333 ex 142
www.SR-Pro.com

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On 1/9/15 1:15 PM, Greg@SecretHQ.com [Avid-L2] wrote:

Hey,

We're well on our way to evolving our post business into a post and
production business. Hauling gear is taking a toll on my personal
vehicles, though, so considering leasing some kind of grip/camera/van -
a 'Sprinter' type setup - so we're not constantly loading and unloading.

Anyone have recommendations or experiences to share? Kind of the wrong
group, but you guys are more aligned with my sensibilities in most
cases, so I thought I'd check here first.

GH
-------------------------------------
Greg Huson
Chief
Greg (at) SecretHQ.com
www.SecretHQ.com
DigitalServiceStation.com