Minivan conversion for homestead use - idea generation??

[sleuth]

I have a Chrysler minivan with a salvage title. (Wife hit a deer a few months ago.) I think I could get it running again for less than $500. I'd like to get it running again to use as a daily driver instead of my pickup - save on gas plus save miles on my truck. But, I was just thinking if I remove the seating for 6 passengers, I've got a lot of prime real estate in this minivan. Thinking about rigging it up or modding it to do something farm, sustainability, or homestead related that my pickup wouldn't necessarily be able to do. Anybody got any ideas?

One idea I had was ripping out all the carpet and putting in a rubber floor and fabricating some kind of divider for hauling small livestock. Would also be good for hauling longer pieces of lumber. Still I'm interested in seeing photos of what other people have done and hearing all your ideas.

[Harry Chickpea]

I converted a turtletop passenger conversion van for use stealth camping. The camping stuff comes out so that there is a lot of open space in the back. It is still easier to hook up a trailer for any really big or messy stuff.

[Kasota]

If you take out the seats and want to use the back space for other things I would make it modular. Install some sturdy hooks or eye bolts so that you can secure things. That way you can insert whatever is useful to you. Secure livestock pen/cage, etc.

I think a rubber mat floor would be a great idea but I wouldn't glue it down. You would want to be able to take it out if need be to hose it off or let things dry if need be.

One of my friends who raises alpacas converted a van to use for their transport. A few of her alpacas got so used to traveling that way that it was hilarious. They would pop in and lay down and look out the window. The reaction of other people on the road was hilarious!

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

this makes me think of the Tool Caddie

it was a big old Cadillac convertible , when you opened the trunk was a full set of snap on tools , the air tank for the compressor that ran off the engine via a vbelt , it had lights , everything you needed when a tractor broke down , he was a regular at Tractor pulls , when the sled broke down , you could hear him coming horn playing Dixie great big set of long horns on hood top down , this was a tool carrier with style


mini vans don't haul a ton of weight , your truck will probably do hauling jobs better , but vans do keep things dry , and if you put a ladder rack on it you can haul the long stuff and you don't have to lift it so high


but it is really going to be what you need it to do , what tasks are you saying I wish there was a better way!

every homestead is different

[mmoetc]

Minivans make great utility vehicles. Lots of space to haul things out of the weather. If you can find one of the mesh metal dividers that go behind the front seats it's a plus. I fabricated my own that is removable easily. We've hauled sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, hay, wood, building materials and who knows what else. Good luck.

[simi-steading]

Better than a rubber mat, I'd look at Rhino bedliner coating... Take a hose and wash it out..

Concerning the weight hauling, you could look at air shocks to help get a little more weight limit out of it..

[PNP Katahdins]

Is your minivan registered as a passenger vehicle now? See if it needs to be changed to a light truck registration if you normally have the rear seats out for cargo space. Rules vary with each state.

My minivan has a salvage title too, due to hail damage a few years ago. The back seats are always out, for the dogs and for feed and livestock hauling. It is registered as a light truck with amateur radio plates that look like car plates.

Peg

[highlands]

We used a minivan for years to transport our livestock to butcher. Worked great. We built a box that went in the back. Pigs went in the box. Safe and easy. See:

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2007/04/13/loading-pigs-2/

Later we got a E-250 cargo van. Bigger. Extended body. More pigs per trip. See:

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2007/08/14/new-econoline-van/

Later we upgraded to a Ford E-350 extended body van. More power. Freezer in the middle. Lots of pigs. Reliable. It is like a covered pickup truck. See:

http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2008/06/16/coolers/
http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2008/03/11/t...peanut-butter/
http://sugarmtnfarm.com/2014/02/14/streamline-van/
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/2012/08/25/long-days-night/

Last year our son upgraded the animal transport to a stainless steel pan:

http://SugarMtnFarm.com/2014/03/10/s...l-pig-carrier/

When we've retired the vans they get turned into sheds where we store things like seed, use them as piglet hospitals, chick hatcheries, etc.

Works well for us in all their guises.

[sleuth]

Great post highlands! That's very similar to some of my ideas. We don't have pigs but plan to eventually.