When I was younger I wouldn't own anything but a pick-up now you couldn't pay me to trade my van for a pick up regardless of what you offered me. After I bought my first van I thought "what the hell was I thinking when I didn't buy one of these before".

Last week I bought my 7th or 8th van and I have had one non stop for at least 25 years. I just bought a 3/4 ton Chevy 2500 series 2017 leftover with 4 miles on it. It has the trailer towing package (including brake controller) and the 6.0 V-8 engine but is otherwise just a big empty box and price was under $26k new. I can fit 4 fold down head machines in the back with no problem and don't ever think twice about weather I am moving machines in because it just doesn't matter with a van. But better yet I don't have to unload when I get home. Heck I have had machines in the van for a month with no issues.

So you guys that need to look cool in your pick up trucks more power to you but I am married and don't really care what statement I make when I am driving down the highway. All I care about at this point in my life is doing things the smart way. I could never understand people with pick up trucks thinking they made any sense at all. You drive down the road in something that has little to no protected cargo room and pay twice what they are worth for the honor of owning one?

When I had my pickup I had an F-250 4x4 with more invested in customization then I paid for the truck new. I was "young & dumb" and had a lot of fun with it back in the day. But it was far from a practical vehicle to haul a pinball machine in. Fast forward 10 or 12 years and I bought my first van and realized that was the way to go and have never looked back. If you want a "toy" to "show off" and have some fun with a pickup is a great vehicle if you don't mind getting "hosed" paying what they cost these days. But if you want the best work vehicle for your money a 2500 or 3500 Chevy Van wins hands down. You can still tow about 8000 pounds & I have had 5000 pounds in my last one with no issues. In fact one trip I made I had over 5000 pounds in the van and was towing an exclosed trailer with over 10000 pounds in it and the Chevy handled it all with no issues.

The things that make van better than a pickup with a cap (which is actually just a dumb way to get something close to a van):

1st) Lower deck height (for much easier loading). For me to load a pin is no issue doing it alone. Just handtruck to pin to about 2' from back bumper - take handtruck from under pin - lean pin into back of the truck & slide it right it. Try doing that with any pickup!

2nd) I can haul 4 fold down head pins or 6 removable head pins (with a little creative stacking) in out of the weather.

3rd) I can open a side door and reach in and grab anything I need without having to climb into the back of a pickup with a cap on it

4th) If on a road trip I can climb in the back and go to sleep without ever having to get out of the vehicle and better yet I can warm it up or cool it down back there so I can sleep in pretty much any weather with no issues.

5th) And likely the best thing about buying new vans I can buy one for about 40% less than a new pickup and it has just as much load & towing capacity with the same engine & trans as the pickup for way less money.

Pickup truck lovers will never understand all of this but that is OK in my book because the more popular pickup trucks stay and the less popular vans are the longer I can keep buying them cheap. Like the salesman was saying the other day "vans are loss leaders" and no one makes any money on them. "The reason a company keep making and selling them is to be sure their customers don't go somewhere else to buy a van and then start buying all there vehicles at that dealer".

Next time you see a NEW 3/4 ton pickup for under $26,000 let me know! And when I pass you in my van with my stuff staying dry in the rain or snow I'll keep laughing at you.

As far as the off-roading end of things -- a street legal pickup is about worthless anyway. If you what to have some serious fun off-roading why not build a truck for that and tow it with your new van to where you want to do your off-roading. Doing it that way you can be driving a practical vehicle and keep your tools & gear locked up while having fun off-roading. And you could likely build a hell of an off-roading truck with the $20,000 spread between the cost of a new pickup and a new van!

Agree or disagree - I really don't care. This coming week I'll be making a 5000 mile round trip to pick up another 11 machines & load of parts I bought. I'll be traveling in my new van with my enclosed trailer not worrying about where I am sleeping or the weather. Once loaded I have no choice but a motel but the trip out I'll save enough for fuel by sleeping in the van.

My van is my daily driver and is basically a smaller footprint that a full size pickup so the only real down side to a full size van is parking garages & not looking cool. I don't live in town so parking garages are rarely an issue and I am old & married so I don't feel the need to "look cool". Like I keep telling pickup people (especially the ones with caps on their trucks) - "keep doing it the hard way if you want but I can get a new van ever 3 or 4 years and still be spending less then you are buying a new pickup truck every 7 or 8 years".

I know I'll never talk anyone into buying a van and I really don't care. I just like being the one doing things the "smart way" and that is good enough for me. In a perfect world I would love to own a van and an economy car but with 2 enclosed cargo trailers, a camper, and my wives mini van in the driveway I just don't have room for an economy vehicle. And yes - I did talk my wife into the mini van instead of a "normal car" because to gives me a cheaper way for picking up less than 8 machines. When I am picking up a "smaller load" of machines I just use her mini van and my 6x12 trailer. When picking up a bigger load of stuff I grab the big trailer & my full size van.

A 6x12 ramp door enclosed trailer is the "near perfect" trailer for most people and as long as you have room to park one and the ability to tow a trailer it is hands down the best way to move pinball machines. Rarely am I without at least one enclosed trailer and typically I have two or more around. If you are towing with a full size truck nothing beats a 7x16 "v" nose with tandem axles they tow better and ride nicer than a single axle trailer. But if you are towing with a mid size vehicle or don't really move all that much bigger stuff (or bigger loads) a 6x12 is the way to go.

Normally I pay the extra and get a heavy duty 6x12 with 2x4 box tubing frame. These days most companies are building 6x12 with a 2x3 frame and that just isn't really heavy duty enough to be truly safe. Up until around 2005 only "junk" brands used a 2x3 frame but now most trailer companies have changed over to the 2x3 frame unless you get a heavy duty trailer or order one and specify 2x4" frame.

7x16 trailers are the same way - they now use a 2x4" frame but should really be built on a 2x6" frame. Be careful when buying a trailer and be sure you are buying something that is built correctly. Cheap isn't always cheaper - saving a couple hundred when you are buying then bending a frame will not save you any money in the end!

I actually towed bigger with my one ton van but to answer your question about "how many" 33 fold down head machines or close to 40 removable head machines will fit in your 8x28 if you don't mind stacking heads two high on removable head machines. I could get 39 fold down heads in my 32' but it wasn't practical to tow something that big for as often as you need that much space. The worst thing about getting over 7' wide is what it does to your fuel mileage. That is why I prefer 6x12 or 7 x16 trailers over bigger trailers (or especially wider or taller trailers).

I love the space inside big trailers but I hate the fuel mileage unless you are towing with something like my Renegade Class 8 motorhome I sold a couple years ago. The cool thing with that was 10MPG at 67' long overall with my trailer and no CDL required so no log book or limit on number of hours driven. The bad thing was parking space unless you went somewhere with a big lot. Wasn't the rig to go to someones house with to pick up a couple machines at over 12'6" feet tall and 8'6" wide not including the mirrors. The first time I drove through a toll booth I about shit myself!

NEVER with legs on for me. That is just asking for trouble in my eyes. If you do feel to ever move a machine legs on at least fold the head down!