When choosing a van there are so many choices to make and one decision you will need to make is what rear door you’d prefer, a tailgate rear door or barn doors. 

The main difference between the two is usability and what you require your van for but to help you with this decision, we’ve looked at both rear door types…

Tailgate

A tailgate is a one-piece rear door that is hinged at the top and opens out horizontally. Tailgate vans are typically seen as the lifestyle option for many people and they are less commonly chosen for work vans. Certain larger vans like the Mercedes Sprinter, Ford Transit MK8 and VW Crafter don’t offer a tailgate option due to the height of the van. However, the tailgate option is very popular in the VW Transporter T5 and T6 even to the extent that many customers convert their barn doors to a tailgate. But what are the arguments for and against a tailgate?

Advantages:

• Provides Shelter – When the tailgate door is open it will provide you with shelter from wind and rain which helps you whilst you are loading and unloading your van.

• Better Visibility – A tailgate has one rear window so you can clearly see out the rear of your van. Barn Door windows are separated by a central pillar and don’t have rear wipers available. 

• Less likely to slam shut – Because of the horizontal angle that a tailgate door sits at it is less likely to be caught by a gust of wind and be slammed shut than barn doors.

• Less Damage – When a tailgate door is open it is out the way of people and the van’s surrounding, so it is less likely to get bumped or scratched.

• Tailgates look better – Many people argue that they look better because the hinges and electronics are hidden at the top of the door.

Disadvantages:

• Not as accessible – When you are parking a tailgate van you need to ensure there is enough room for the tailgate to open so you can access the load area of your vehicle if you don’t have side sliding doors.

• Can’t load/unload using a forklift – A tailgate obstructs for a forklift to get close enough to the load area, the side sliding door will have to be used for loading with a forklift.

Barn Doors

Now barn doors are two doors that open outwards vertically as the hinges are on the side of the van. Alternatively, to a tailgate rear door, barn doors are most commonly chosen by tradespeople, delivery drivers and fleet owners. Also, barn doors come as standard on most medium to large panel vans.

Advantages:

• Quicker to open/close – Barn Doors are quicker to open as the doors are always at hand height whether they are open or closed.

• Easy accessibility – You don’t have to worry as much about space behind your vehicle when you park because the doors are typically shorter and slimmer than a tailgate door.

• Accessible by a Forklift – Forklifts can be used to load/unload a van with barn doors as there is no obstruction like there is on a tailgate.

• Contents are more secure – There is no need to open both barn doors every time, so your contents are less likely to fall out of the vehicle.

• Easier for roof rack loading – Barn doors make it easier to load items onto your roof rack if you don’t have a rear roller because you can tread on the load floor to reach.

Disadvantages:

• Doors can easily get damaged – If the wrong door slams shut first it can cause both doors and locks to be damaged.

• Less visibility – If you have rear windows fitted, you have less visibility due to the central pillar on the barn doors.

Choosing which rear door is best for you depends on what you need from a van, but we hope this helped with your decision.