Step van glossary

The same vehicle by two names: a truck with an enclosed walk-in body where the driver can move between the cab and the cargo area without getting out. Built for frequent stops and for work inside. [1]

Everything under the body: frame, engine, steering, brakes, wheels and exhaust. Step van chassis are built by companies such as Freightliner and Ford; the body is added by a body company. [2]

A chassis delivered with no cab or body, so the body company builds the whole walk-in body, driver's area included. Ford's F-59 is sold this way for walk-in vans. [3]

A van chassis with the back wall of the cab removed, so the cab opens straight into the body built behind it. [4]

Freightliner's medium walk-in van chassis, rated 14,140 to 19,500 lb GVWR (Class 4–5), with a GM 6.6L gas or Cummins 6.7L diesel engine. [5][6]

Freightliner's heavier walk-in van chassis, rated 20,500 to 30,000 lb GVWR (Class 6–7), for longer, heavier bodies: over 1,500 cubic feet, on wheelbases from 158 to 300 in. [7][5]

Walk-in body model names; the number rises with body size. In listings a P1000 is an 18 ft walk-in and a P1100 a 20 ft one. Confirm the actual dimensions on the spec sheet. [8][9]

Not a body size: GM's older step van chassis, the P30, built by Workhorse after GM stopped making it in 1998. You'll still see it on used step vans. [2]

Gross vehicle weight rating: the most the loaded vehicle may weigh (truck, body, equipment, cargo, people and fuel), set by the chassis manufacturer. [4]

The federal GVWR bands trucks are grouped in. Class 4 is 14,001–16,000 lb, Class 5 16,001–19,500 lb, Class 6 19,501–26,000 lb and Class 7 26,001–33,000 lb. Classes 3–6 count as medium duty. [10]

A commercial driver's license is needed for a single vehicle with a GVWR of 26,001 lb or more. Most walk-in vans are rated below that; some MT55s are not. [11]

The distance between the centers of the front and rear axles. It sets how long a body the chassis can carry and how tightly the truck turns. [4]

The standing room inside the body. Utilimaster walk-ins are listed at 81 or 85 in high and 93.5 or 96 in wide; Morgan Olson's MT45/MT55 body is 85 in high and about 93 in stud to stud. [8][5]

The door on the passenger (curb) side of the cab, with a low entry step, so the driver gets in and out on the sidewalk side at every stop. [12]

Walk-in bodies are typically aluminum; Morgan Olson's are all-aluminum, which it says outlasts cargo van bodies that rust sooner. [1]