Van colors and practicality

[daveb]

I have a black car and man does it get hot inside... even on a cooler day. I chose white for my van for some of the same reasons stated above but have always wanted silver. White is not the best color to keep clean but much better than darker colors. I don't know how metal flake colors resist fading in sun but I'd look into it. Probably not an issue in this day & age. It seems that every car and truck I owned in my youth was brown gold or tan which are good with dirt, I'm just tired of it. White looks good with black contrast such as with dark tinted windows and the Aluminess products I have. I also had SMB spray the top with Rhino coat and the white matches very good. Fiberglass tops are a bit difficult to keep waxed so if you do want a different color and plan to match the top with a aftermarket colating, probably best to see what it looks like ahead of time.
Car Color Test: Are Black Cars Really Hotter in the Sun? - Video - Autotrader

[deserteagle56]

My van is a dark green color and, as you've noticed, when the sun hits it, it gets so hot that it is impossible to hold your hand on it without getting burned. Despite being well-insulated inside that heat eventually seeps through. But the worst part is the appearance after driving on dirt - especially driving through trees or tall brush. Talk about pinstriping!
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My previous van, a tan color, didn't get nearly as hot - and the pinstriping wasn't nearly as noticeable!

[Teutonics]

Great advice in this thread. To throw in my $.02, I've found in general that lighter colors are noticeably cooler and show dirt less, but if you want something other than the standard white, silver-beige (kind of a goldish-silverish color) shows dirt the least. I've had four vehicles (trucks/suvs/vans) in that color group (but have also owned white, black, blue, grey, green, brown, red, and silver vehicles) and the experience was the same for each in that color.

I had one SUV in that color that I didn't wash for two years (don't judge me! ), and you really couldn't tell that it hadn't been washed recently.

[BrianW]

White with big blue stripes down the side is definitely the best! ;-)