It may not be a weekend track star or have standard air conditioning, but the UPS delivery truck is a brown icon. If you want to buy one, though, you’re unfortunately out of luck. It turns out that UPS goes to great lengths to ensure its vehicles do not make their way into private ownership. That means if you’re interested in converting one for camping or van life, you’ll just need to look elsewhere.
Why can’t you buy a retired UPS truck?
UPS is extremely protective of its brand. Historically, it’s been adamant about preventing average citizens from driving around in a truck with its livery on it. Besides, UPS delivery vehicles are thrashed and used in tough environments, including busy city streets and rural gravel roads. Once they’ve reached the end of their life, UPS is quick to ensure they’re disposed of without a path to private use.
What happens when UPS is done with a truck?
If the company decides a truck is no longer worthy of making deliveries, but it’s still useful, UPS might paint it white. Since they’re not often spotted in public, they’re known as the rare “albino” UPS trucks. The company uses them for various other purposes. One former employee said the company uses them for training or shuttling staff.
After that, UPS oversees the disposal of the vehicle. The company tends to dismember retired trucks for fleet parts. Once that’s done, the remains get scrapped. All told, it’s nearly impossible to buy a UPS truck.
You can buy other retired delivery trucks
If you are interested in purchasing an old delivery truck, it is possible. Other organizations are not quite as protective of their brand. Folks have been able to buy USPS mail trucks and vehicles from other carriers. For instance, buying a Grumman LLV mail truck is certainly possible.
Rival brand FedEx has also sold some of its old trucks. Some folks have turned them into weekend campers. Some drivers just want to have something to take to Cars and Coffee, while others are interested in full-on conversions. So, it is possible to buy an old delivery truck, just not one from UPS…no matter how much money you may have.
Either way, keep in mind that vehicles like UPS Package Cars are purpose-built. They’re designed to deliver packages and nothing more. Because of this, interiors are usually bare-bones and stripped of amenities that you might find in other vehicles.
