It wasn’t so long ago that anyone who wanted a body put on a van – say a Luton box body – had to buy the van chassis from the manufacturer and then deliver it to a body builder who would add their body of choice to it.

The result was one vehicle with two warranties and effectively two manufacturers. Not the end of the world, but a bit of a cumbersome process.

Over the last year or so, however, that’s all changed. Almost all the major van manufacturers (think Vauxhall, Citroen, Fiat, Ford, Renault and Mercedes) now offer a range of pre-built conversions, straight from the showroom.

What this means is that if you want a common type of body – a box, luton, dropside or tipper, for example, then you can order it directly from your dealer – and have them deliver the finished product to you, rather than you having to arrange it yourself.

Some, although not all, are now unifying their warranties too. Vauxhall, for instance, state on their website that “All Vauxhall Commercial Vehicle core conversions carry the full Vauxhall three-year/100,000 mile warranty on both chassis cab and conversion”.

Anyone needing a more specialist body conversion may still need to use the services of an aftermarket bodybuilder – probably no bad thing – but even then, the manufacturers are stepping in to help. Mercedes’ website says that to help buyers needing a custom conversion “We’ll work together with you and local bodybuilders to create a solution that meets your specific requirements.”

Obviously the van manufacturers also stand to gain from this – gaining control over a whole new slice of activity that used to be out of their control. But for van operators who just need a simple, effective solution, the attractions of being able to order the body you want with your new van seem hard to ignore.

Note: Continuing this theme, I’ve just heard that specialist van racking manufacturer Sortimo will shortly be opening a new facility in the north-west of England. It will be able to complete 4,000 installations each year and will have “the facility for pre-delivery inspections, meaning vehicles can come straight from production lines to Sortimo and then on to the end user.”

It’s a growing trend.