Buying a Surveillance Van

Posted by | No Tags | Vehicle | Comments Off on Buying a Surveillance Van

I was always against minivans for surveillance because they were always slow 6 cylinder bricks. However in the past few years that has changed. The Toyota, VW, and Dodge/ Chrysler have stepped up their game. SO I figured it’s time to try out a minivan for surveillance. After 8 years of conducting surveillance, my back is starting to feel it and it’s time to get a comfier office!

I chose the Dodge Grand Caravan. Since Fiat took over and started building the Penstar motors, I have only heard great things about them. I own a newer model Jeep Wrangler which I like to build and play with. Since the motor of the Wrangler and the Caravan is the same, I was able to closely monitor how the motor performs. For a minivan I am impressed. The motor produces 283 HP and 260 pounds of torque. It has a get up and go attitude and is much more impressive than its VW and Toyota competitors. Plus… with all the Wrangler enthusiasts, aftermarket upgrades such as performance chips, headers, exhausts… even superchargers will be fairly cheaper than on competitor minivans.

I was able to get a sweet deal on a white minivan. I chose the model with no upgrades other than Bluetooth and Sirius radio (will explain why in another post). I didn’t find a need for anything else as I will be tearing it apart anyways. I strongly recommend getting a silver one as it camouflages more. The only reason I chose this white one is because I got it brand new from the lot for several thousand cheaper than the sticker price. If I determine that the white stands out too much, I can still get a silver wrap and maintain a lower cost OTD than purchasing a silver from the lot.

I decided to go new rather than used because I got a 0 miles van for under 20K. Saving 2-3K now to get a van with 40K miles on it isn’t wise if I’m going to be investing 10-20K in upgrades.

I just put 800 miles on it with a trip to Vegas and so far I am happy with my decision.

So the build begins…


No Comments

Comments are closed.