Mat...unfortunately, there is a lingering prejudice against vans in Truckin'. Ironic considering the magazine started as a custom van publication! They have done some cool van buildups recently. Like project Big-E.

http://www.truckinweb.com/features/0412tr_2004_ford_e350_van/index.html
http://www.truckinweb.com/features/0513tr_2004_ford_e350/index.html  

That's too bad.

Still, this month's copy had two van photos in a Show feature. The awesome Battlestar and Cherokee.

I haven't seen Cherokee but I know Battlestar is an awesome custom van. The work that went into it is phenomenal!

Plus, they actually mentionned in the sub-title that the trucks and VANS showed up. A little progress Mr. Sanchez!  

It is good to see vans in Truckin' whenever they appear. Hoping to see another van featured soon.
It sure would be nice to see Nautilus in the magazine :



Bob Ryder brought the E150 out to our vanner convention in Anaheim in 2006.


Maybe we can get him to bring it to Vegas in Feb for the 2009 Council of Councils van convention.  

Like I said, the best advice I can give is to deluge the editors with letters saying you want to see more vans! Of course, there are a lot of "haters" out there that only want pickups & SUVs in the mag, so I guess it's a matter of who's voice is louder!    

vanners have, with little feedback other than a few
pokes at hippie vans in editorials and a few snapshots to tease so far from the efforts-
vanners have:
-sent in storys
-sent in pictures
-written letters and emails
-invited staff to eVANts
-offered their time to get involved
-participate here on the site
disappointing to many vanner readers that a little more response and coverage has not happend in many years

-HOWEVER vanning is still alive and well
and even with the price of gas, and bad economic times , numbers at eVANts have been steady and even increasing
-and have been attracting new media interests
in print, tv and a couple movie crews and several commercials
-pimp my ride has chosen vans
-overhaulin' has chosen vans -foose even owns one and plans a build of his own
-george barris is still luvin vans, he hung out with some vanners last summer at an event
-"my classic car" tv show has a couple features of vans due to be released anytime now too
-even honda chose to use american vans in their commercials lol
- thats only just a few most recent examples of a solid tone of "vanning voice"
but if they aint listening ... it don't matter how loud we yell
the biggest gap in communication here i believe is because everyone who was involved from truckin'
"back in the day" when vans were in truckin'
and what started the mag from the first day
are no longer on the staff and who's there now just doesn't appreciate what they have no experience or knowledge of .. feels like they take an easy way out
by being guided by the sponsors and advertisers
loud voices get silenced fast by fat pockets
-
i'm willing to bet if they took the time to include
ONE solid page to a van or van event feature
(ok 45% of a page due to ad volume)
the 2 inch "teaser" pics and editorial pokes are just minute attention props
they would get a massive positive response from a REAL article or picture clear enough to actually see some details
that would make their heads spin and say ... geeee
why didn't we do this sooner
well... we'll be here when they do or hope they do anyway
 

Hey Van Guys-
Here are some answers to your questions.
1) Yes anyone can buy a page in the magazine. We need to make money any way we can. The cost is $8,500 per page.
If you're serious and didn't pass out at that figure, I can help you get in contact with someone who can help you.
2) Vans are not dead, true, however at the truck events we go to, not too many really cool vans show up. We shoot and run the cool ones that we see. I personally have shot 4 vans during my almost 6 years with the mag
3) I don't like boats in Truckin' either. You probably really won't like this next issue where there are several boats in the mag. Putting boats in the mag wasn't my idea. If you really don't like them, go to our blogs and leave comments on Steve's blogs suggesting eliminating boats from the mag. Thanks for reading-
DAN  

Thank you for the honest anwers Dan. I appreciate.

Please do not forget to look at the Vanning scene on the East Coast...  

Hey Dan Thanks for dropping in and saying Hi.We vans started big in the west coast but see things change a little,The East Coast is were all your vans are today,we are very strong at this end.Our Nationals in 2009 will be in penn.Please Dan pull some strings for us Van Enthusiast. please you can do it.Get the youth of today into the vanning culture that still roams the highways today.

All my best