This Genuine GMC SWAT Van Would Make A Hilarious Camper

The whole van-life thing has become incredibly popular, with the high cost of brand new campers inspiring many would-be travelers to build their own, often from unlikely starting points. So we can’t help but look at this genuine ex-SWAT team van and think it would make a really fun camper conversion – and would certainly get you noticed on social media.

Originally a GMC P3500, this van was modified by Mattman Specialty Vehicles of Escondido, California for the state’s Inglewood Police Department, and despite presumably leaving the service years ago, it appears exactly as it would have done in the late 1990s.

Related: Texas SWAT Team Ends Big Rig Chase And Standoff With Robot Battering Ram

The exterior still features its Code 3 blue and red emergency lights, awnings, a ladder for roof access, and the “Inglewood Police SWAT” legend on both sides. There are also external equipment lockers and power outlets in multiple places along the flanks for when you’re camped out waiting for that bank siege to end – or just camped out with your family having your dinner and enjoying the sunset.

It would take some SWAT-grade planning to convert the interior of this van to a camper without losing some of the great features that testify to its former life, but given how creative the van-life devotees are, we’re sure it could be done.

Those features include surveillance equipment, gun cradles – but not guns, of course – and ammunition drawers. There are even dry-erase boards that appear to contain hand-drawn notes and maps from the truck’s final mission. Or maybe the previous owner added them; it doesn’t matter really, it just adds to the fun.

This is definitely a vehicle where the fun comes from seeing the looks on other drivers’ faces, not from the physical driving experience. Power comes from a 7.4-liter GM big-block V8 hooked up to a four-speed auto, but we doubt it’s much good in a chase and the fuel costs are probably horrific.

What would you do with this van? Drop a comment below and let us know.

You can check out the full auction listing here.

H/T to Silodrome