How might one embellish a rental minivan for a road trip?

January 17, 2020 2:33 PM

Next month I'm renting a minivan and going on a weekish-long road trip with an old friend. I got it in my head that I wanted to embellish the vehicle for the trip in some memorable way(s). Meaning, like, the way a touring punk band might bolt antlers onto the hood of their old van, or something. Looking for broad but non-permanent ideas, since unfortunately it's a rental.

I guess the only requirements would be it not make the vehicle too unsafe to be driven at highway speed, not get us pulled over, and be removable at the end of the trip without meaningful damage to the vehicle. I won't know the make/color of the vehicle in advance so it'd have to be something workable for general-minivan purposes.

For some kind of DIY thing I'm willing to buy materials, and I've got tools / am sorta handy--like, I could jigsaw and paint something or whatever. Alternately if there's strange/interesting enough off-the-shelf auto customization stuff to buy that fits the bill, or some non-auto thing that could be repurposed for this weird plan? All suggestions will be entertained.

posted by churl to Travel & Transportation (12 answers total)

Custom car magnets, soap or washable markers on windows (small enough that visibility isn't compromised), hanging signs (see previous note), hanging stuff off rear-view mirror. Removable custom car decals exist, too, but I can't vouch for how removable they really are. (Maybe safer/easier if attached to hubcaps, rather than painted panels?)

[Car rental outfits nickel-and-dime over unintentional marks on their property, and added charges would add a sour note to your trip. As much as I like your idea, and hope to steal it someday: I'd get matching 'punk tour' t-shirts or windbreakers or something for my friend and me, even yes-we're-middle-aged, in-joke-embellished travel mugs, before I'd try to trick out a rental vehicle.]
posted by Iris Gambol at 3:06 PM on January 17, 2020 [3 favorites]

You could get some strings of tiny, battery-powered LED lights and outline your windows with them using a clear 3M Command hook at each corner. (Inside the vehicle, windows that don’t roll down.)
posted by lakeroon at 3:11 PM on January 17, 2020 [5 favorites]

I always wanted a a scrolling sandwich board in my car. I wanted to thank people for letting me in or say sorry when I screwed up. Or tell someone they were mean. Now they make them!


I'd love to put short jokes so people could read them in traffic, etc.
posted by ReluctantViking at 3:25 PM on January 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

Many minivans have roof racks. You could attach decorated 2x6 on edge to the perimeter of the roof using the roof racks as attachment points. Really the sky's the limit when it comes to attaching something to a roof rack.

Removable custom car decals exist, too, but I can't vouch for how removable they really are

We use this in rally competition. Apply a layer of automotive paste wax to the area you are sticking the sticker and they'll come off pretty easy with a heat gun without damaging the paint. Especially since they haven't been baking in the sun for years.

A sign shop can cut just about anything you want out of self adhesive vinyl (EG: text or a graphic). It's fairly reasonable in a single colour and again can be removed from a waxed surface with a heat gun with little trouble.

Absolutely risk free though more expensive would be to attach your graphic to a sheet magnet and then stick that to the car.

There are also a variety of window markers (both water washable and rain proof). A minivan has a lot of glass available as a canvas. Just avoid the windshield and front side windows.

PS: if you call the rental office you're using you may be able to specifically reserve a colour depending on the stock on hand. They may also be able to tell you what kind of van you'll get. If not a nice neon green graphic is going to stand out against any rental minivan colour.
posted by Mitheral at 4:32 PM on January 17, 2020 [2 favorites]

If you want to put racing stripes on it, you can do so by putting a layer of automotive masking tape (often green), then covering that with duct tape of your preferred color. We do that to transform my brother-in-law's '66 Impala wagon into an ersatz Ghostbuster-mobile every Halloween.
posted by notsnot at 4:49 PM on January 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

We bought a roll of self-adhesive magnet off amazon because I want to be able to have removable bumper stickers on my car. It was pretty cheap. Opens lots of options for decorations.
posted by leahwrenn at 5:45 PM on January 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Cut shag rug the shape of the front dash shelf and anchor it with those removable Velcro strips. Dark colors are better because they're not as reflective back on the windshield.
posted by cocoagirl at 6:49 PM on January 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

I am fond of fake bullet hole magnets.
posted by Oyéah at 10:17 PM on January 17, 2020 [1 favorite]

Some sort of dashboard totems you can then take home to remember it by. Or vinyl decals small enough to frame afterward with a map or some other paper memorabilia.
posted by nickggully at 7:43 AM on January 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

People running long relay races like the Hood to Coast often decorate their rental vans mostly with washable paint markers on the windows.
posted by vespabelle at 9:34 AM on January 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

Tie a stuffed animal to the front or back or strap it to the roof. Like a giant T-Rex strapped to the roof.
posted by zengargoyle at 5:56 PM on January 18, 2020 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thanks everyone I love all these ideas. Some will fit our vibe for sure!
posted by churl at 3:17 PM on January 29, 2020