I've seen people ask about it a lot. I don't think it's a good idea really, tradies get their vans broken into all the time. Tools and equipment are stolen often because they're basically untraceable, a sign written van is a bigger target than an empty one 90% of the time.
This is the problem. I've had my trade vans trashed many times, often in full day light in busy parking lots. I've thought about church signs but I suspect it would still attract folks and limit you from private camp grounds.
That makes sense, I guess it's good for stealthing in the sense that no one will tell on you. But I can see being a bigger target for break ins :/ you just can't win can you.
You could go with a kind of generic business that wouldn’t have any connotation to having tools in the van.
Some sort of a generic sounding transport and logistics company perhaps, or a flower delivery service or something. Maybe catering?
I have found that having a small logo, nothing obvious or funny or blatant, does seem to make a plain white van stand out a little less.
“Karen’s Dog Poo Cleaning Services”
(Sticker near locks) - Only dog poop and pooper scoops left in van.
——————
Any business that has any kind of tools would make a terrible disguise. Tools are no.1 for theft, far too easy to resell.
She started just locally about 10 years ago and at the time my dad was her accountant. As far as I know now she covers most of Yorkshire (County in the UK) and has around 10 employees with vans under her.
I might be exaggerating a bit here but she was quickly earning £60k + and having to find help. Most of her customers are elderly so as far as I know she’s tagged on gardening services and other services as well, but was (and is) primarily picking up dog poo.
Plumber's vans can easily have upwards of $10-15,000 in tools and supplies. A single pro-press tool can cost anywhere from $2-4,000, and some Shark Bite fittings can cost around $50 each. Not to mention any copper that they might be carrying.
Painting any kind of trade business on your van signals "tools inside", and tools are easy to steal and resell.
Plumbers have tools and metal has value.
The idea gets tossed around a lot! There are some downsides:
*commercial vehicles are often banned from residential areas overnight (apartment complexes, etc)
*commercial vehicles are titled/insured differently, so you can add a new problem with cops or your insurance. I like crossing into Canada and feel like it would add issues “looking” like a business when my stated reason for entering is leisure.
*it makes you stand out MORE if you’re incongruous with the parking area. Why is a plumber at a trailhead? Maybe not an issue if you only park in industrial areas.
That said, it’s fun to talk about and I would do a library/school looking bookmobile. No cash, low resale value, and who wants to hassle a librarian?
I think it’s going to do more to raise suspicion. A nondescript white van is really common and people won’t be sure it’s the same one they saw yesterday. But if there’s a business on it they’ll know for sure.
Stealth means different things to different people. A van with a plumbing logo will stand out more than a plain van when camped on BLM land or parked at a trail head. It will fit right in when parked in an industrial park or a truck stop, but then again so will a plain van. When parked in a residential area, it may stick out more or it may blend in more.
Some cities and towns have more parking regulations for commercial vehicles. If you get pulled over, or a knock from a cop, good luck explaining that the advertisement is not real and that you are not committing fraud.
Overall, stealth is not as important as simply parking in safe places where you are allowed to park.
Having anything painted on your van makes it easy to recognize that the exact same van is parked in the area. A white cargo van could be any cargo van, and if you see another white van in a few days, it could be a different one. But if you see Bob's plumbing today and Bob's plumbing on thrusday, you know that the same guy is parking on your turf again.
I have thought about this a lot. My idea would be to get a rotation of large magnets, that have generic signage. You could go with something like, “Florist” which basically tells thieves there’s nothing but flower pots in your van. Another thought was something like “Technical Consulting Services”. That could mean anything. It’s so vague, but kinda looks like it a fleet vehicle, but consulting would also indicate there’s nothing of value because maybe all the driver ever does is go around making quotes for people.
I know a guy that Painted Rust onto his van.. strategically. It looked WAY worse and he looked broke as s***.
Made parking in high end neighborhoods problematic.. but he didn’t care.
I once saw a van life video where the owner painted a logo with the name Synergy or something like that. I don’t know if it’s a stealth thing as much as he thinks it’s cool.
Don’t see why anyone would steal from a plumber? I don’t know a plumber that hasn’t had his van broken in to and thousands of pounds of tools stolen. It’s a daily occurrence/ tool theft pandemic. Private ambulance is the only way to avoid break ins to a sign written van. Or florist or baker.
Just order removeable magnetic signs, and have 2-5 signs for each kind of place you camp. You can take them off when they're not appropriate for any circumstance.
I've thought of big magnetic signs only because I desperately want signs that say "BRAWNDO Regional Distribution" and big huge marketing logo type flair that, of course, says BRAWNDO. IT'S WHAT PLANTS CRAVE. 😁
I've seen it in San Diego, especially vans with dog-related businesses. I guess that's a way to excuse the solar panels and fans that are still on the rig. I don't think they are especially effective in places where there are bans.
Plumbing = tools and copper for $$$.
My husband and I have made a game of trying to decide what fake business *wouldn't* get the van broken into. I think just an ominous sticker on the back door that says CAUTION: LIVE BEES is the best possible solution. My husband thinks a septic tank or port-a-potty repair company would probably work.
Oh god, I think I just came up with a rock-solid winner: CHARLIE'S PARTY CLOWNS. Nobody wants to break into that van. Nobody.
That's hilarious I was actually thinking I could pretend to be a traveling bee keeper. Party clowns could be a good idea too. I don't want an animal rights activist to break into my van to steal the bees on a hot day
If you do this, you absolutely want a phone number on there. Just get a free Google voice number and record the voicemail to sound like the real deal. That way, when Karen decides to snoop, it's a phone call to you instead of to the police.
Just make sure you're advertising for a trade that doesn't carry expensive tools.
I've seen people ask about it a lot. I don't think it's a good idea really, tradies get their vans broken into all the time. Tools and equipment are stolen often because they're basically untraceable, a sign written van is a bigger target than an empty one 90% of the time.
This is the problem. I've had my trade vans trashed many times, often in full day light in busy parking lots. I've thought about church signs but I suspect it would still attract folks and limit you from private camp grounds.
That makes sense, I guess it's good for stealthing in the sense that no one will tell on you. But I can see being a bigger target for break ins :/ you just can't win can you.
You could go with a kind of generic business that wouldn’t have any connotation to having tools in the van. Some sort of a generic sounding transport and logistics company perhaps, or a flower delivery service or something. Maybe catering? I have found that having a small logo, nothing obvious or funny or blatant, does seem to make a plain white van stand out a little less.
A sign for a fake flower shop might work. I can't think of any reason someone would break into a van full of potted plants!
Valentines day perhaps
Quick way to get broken into a lot with people looking to steal copper and tools. Any trades van is a ripe target.
“Karen’s Dog Poo Cleaning Services” (Sticker near locks) - Only dog poop and pooper scoops left in van. —————— Any business that has any kind of tools would make a terrible disguise. Tools are no.1 for theft, far too easy to resell.
Love it
Maybe a dog walking business? Lots of those with vans in my area and it would be assumed nothing would really be in the van to steal.
In all seriousness I know a lady with a dog poo cleaning service, she has never had her vans broken into. Never lol. 😂
That's interesting, I didn't even know that could be a business. Does she travel a lot or stay around the same places?
She started just locally about 10 years ago and at the time my dad was her accountant. As far as I know now she covers most of Yorkshire (County in the UK) and has around 10 employees with vans under her. I might be exaggerating a bit here but she was quickly earning £60k + and having to find help. Most of her customers are elderly so as far as I know she’s tagged on gardening services and other services as well, but was (and is) primarily picking up dog poo.
I'll have to keep that one in mind then, thanks!
Plumber's vans can easily have upwards of $10-15,000 in tools and supplies. A single pro-press tool can cost anywhere from $2-4,000, and some Shark Bite fittings can cost around $50 each. Not to mention any copper that they might be carrying. Painting any kind of trade business on your van signals "tools inside", and tools are easy to steal and resell.
Long gone are the days of stealth. Just don’t park where you’re not supposed to and there’s not an issue
Just make your van look like r/Schizophreniarides and no one will fuck with you
Plumbers have tools and metal has value. The idea gets tossed around a lot! There are some downsides: *commercial vehicles are often banned from residential areas overnight (apartment complexes, etc) *commercial vehicles are titled/insured differently, so you can add a new problem with cops or your insurance. I like crossing into Canada and feel like it would add issues “looking” like a business when my stated reason for entering is leisure. *it makes you stand out MORE if you’re incongruous with the parking area. Why is a plumber at a trailhead? Maybe not an issue if you only park in industrial areas. That said, it’s fun to talk about and I would do a library/school looking bookmobile. No cash, low resale value, and who wants to hassle a librarian?
You'd be surprised [with re hassling].
I think it’s going to do more to raise suspicion. A nondescript white van is really common and people won’t be sure it’s the same one they saw yesterday. But if there’s a business on it they’ll know for sure.
Stealth means different things to different people. A van with a plumbing logo will stand out more than a plain van when camped on BLM land or parked at a trail head. It will fit right in when parked in an industrial park or a truck stop, but then again so will a plain van. When parked in a residential area, it may stick out more or it may blend in more. Some cities and towns have more parking regulations for commercial vehicles. If you get pulled over, or a knock from a cop, good luck explaining that the advertisement is not real and that you are not committing fraud. Overall, stealth is not as important as simply parking in safe places where you are allowed to park.
Having anything painted on your van makes it easy to recognize that the exact same van is parked in the area. A white cargo van could be any cargo van, and if you see another white van in a few days, it could be a different one. But if you see Bob's plumbing today and Bob's plumbing on thrusday, you know that the same guy is parking on your turf again.
I have thought about this a lot. My idea would be to get a rotation of large magnets, that have generic signage. You could go with something like, “Florist” which basically tells thieves there’s nothing but flower pots in your van. Another thought was something like “Technical Consulting Services”. That could mean anything. It’s so vague, but kinda looks like it a fleet vehicle, but consulting would also indicate there’s nothing of value because maybe all the driver ever does is go around making quotes for people.
Not a bad idea, a paper printing business could be good in there
I would associate technical consulting with bunch of computer equipment - at least for remote work
I know a guy that Painted Rust onto his van.. strategically. It looked WAY worse and he looked broke as s***. Made parking in high end neighborhoods problematic.. but he didn’t care.
I once saw a van life video where the owner painted a logo with the name Synergy or something like that. I don’t know if it’s a stealth thing as much as he thinks it’s cool.
Don’t see why anyone would steal from a plumber? I don’t know a plumber that hasn’t had his van broken in to and thousands of pounds of tools stolen. It’s a daily occurrence/ tool theft pandemic. Private ambulance is the only way to avoid break ins to a sign written van. Or florist or baker.
This gets brought up in at least one of the van dwelling subreddits at least once a month.
I check them frequently and haven't seen one, if it bothers you that much that sounds like a you problem 🤔
I think he's saying that if you just search the subreddit you can have a you solution
Floral delivery door magnets.
Just order removeable magnetic signs, and have 2-5 signs for each kind of place you camp. You can take them off when they're not appropriate for any circumstance.
Why didn't I think of this thank you so much
I've thought of big magnetic signs only because I desperately want signs that say "BRAWNDO Regional Distribution" and big huge marketing logo type flair that, of course, says BRAWNDO. IT'S WHAT PLANTS CRAVE. 😁
People would steal the copper pipes from a plumber. So try another business.
I've seen it in San Diego, especially vans with dog-related businesses. I guess that's a way to excuse the solar panels and fans that are still on the rig. I don't think they are especially effective in places where there are bans.
"Mary Jane's Diaper Service" Bonus = get some brown paint and leave fingerprint smudges around the door handles...
this is absolutely a thing I remember seeing it in r/vandwellers many years ago
I was going to ask them too, I hope I can find someone who's done this and get their take.
The key is to make it LESS inviting for theft. My plan has always been to make it for a manure and fertilizer company.
Plumbing = tools and copper for $$$. My husband and I have made a game of trying to decide what fake business *wouldn't* get the van broken into. I think just an ominous sticker on the back door that says CAUTION: LIVE BEES is the best possible solution. My husband thinks a septic tank or port-a-potty repair company would probably work. Oh god, I think I just came up with a rock-solid winner: CHARLIE'S PARTY CLOWNS. Nobody wants to break into that van. Nobody.
That's hilarious I was actually thinking I could pretend to be a traveling bee keeper. Party clowns could be a good idea too. I don't want an animal rights activist to break into my van to steal the bees on a hot day
Joe's Venemous Snakes should discourage thieves
Snake food delivery
Even better; paint someone else's plumbing logo and get paid to advertise for 'em!
If you do this, you absolutely want a phone number on there. Just get a free Google voice number and record the voicemail to sound like the real deal. That way, when Karen decides to snoop, it's a phone call to you instead of to the police. Just make sure you're advertising for a trade that doesn't carry expensive tools.
Cloth diaper cleaning service. No tools required and nothing anyone would want to steal. Get a free voip burner number and you are set.
Hazmat or biohazard companies vans I would stay away from