A workshop taking in light commercial vehicles finds the problem on the first job: the van is too long for an automotive chamber and too short to justify a bus-sized one. So the work goes outside, or runs with half the vehicle past the door.
A minibus van paint booth is therefore built from an internal length starting at 8,000 mm — the first figure in the published trucks, buses and RV range, not an extension of the automotive envelope.
Why the stock model stops here
The INTECH models run a 6,900 × 4,000 × 2,650 mm internal cabin built on the standard automotive size. A passenger car and an SUV both fit it with working space around them. A long-wheelbase van does not fit it with working space at all.
And getting the vehicle barely inside is not a result. The technician needs a walkway around the panel to hold a constant gun distance and angle. Space taken off the flanks shows up in the finish before it shows up anywhere else.
| Class | Delivered size | What governs it |
|---|---|---|
| Automotive envelope (stock model) | 6,900 × 4,000 × 2,650 mm | Passenger cars and SUVs |
| Minibuses and vans | From 8,000 mm long | Length before anything else |
| Buses and long vehicles | Up to 16,000 × 6,500 × 4,500 mm | Length and height together |
The figure to send
Overall length as the vehicle presents at the door, not the length printed on the manufacturer’s plate. The gap between the two shows on vehicles carrying a bull bar, a rear carrier or a ladder — all common on service and transport fleets.
- Overall length — including any front or rear attachment fitted to the vehicle
- Overall height — including a roof air-conditioning unit or roof rack if fitted
- Width at the widest point — usually at the mirrors rather than at the body
Those three give the internal size, and the technician’s working space around the vehicle is then added to it. That is what makes the chamber larger than the vehicle rather than equal to it.
What follows the size
Once length is fixed, air and heat demand follow chamber volume rather than vehicle type. The published family range runs from 18,000 to 190,000 m³/h per supply or extraction set, with heat output from 200,000 to 600,000 kcal/h.
The door follows the same figure: the published main door range starts at 3,000 × 2,600 mm and reaches 14,200 × 5,000 mm, powered on large builds.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an off-the-shelf model at this size?
No. Anything beyond the automotive envelope is designed and built to order, and the final size is built around the longest vehicle you take in.
Do I need extra height for a van?
Usually yes if it is a high-roof van or carries a roof-mounted unit. The delivered internal height runs from 2,650 to 6,000 mm, fixed from the overall vehicle height plus the spraying and ventilation space above it.
Will the same booth still serve passenger cars?
Yes — a longer chamber takes a shorter vehicle. But the cycle is calculated on chamber volume, so running a long chamber for one car consumes more than that car needs. That is an operating item to settle before the size is fixed.
What sets the length: how many vehicles, or the longest one?
The longest one. Vehicle count governs how many chambers and what cycle you run; internal length is fixed from the longest vehicle that comes in, or that vehicle stays out of service however many cycles you run.
Related reading
- Bus paint booth sizing
- Large structure paint booth
- Paint booth door sizing
- Internal length for light commercial vehicles
- Hard wearing internal finish
What to do next
Send the overall length, width and height of the longest vehicle you take in, and we will return a chamber and door size built around it. talk to a specialist. The published range is on the paint booth family page.