Trivia

In 1979, Zylmex released a collection of toy "Super Vans" that included the "Straight Arrow" and "Van Killer" from this movie.

There is a podcast that references The Van in every single episode. The podcast (The Grindbin Podcast) discusses the many drive-in exploitation films of the 1970s and 1980s, and the hosts of this podcasts finish each episode by imagining how the two main protagonists of The Van would fit into the world of the movie they discussed that week.

The film's star, Stuart Goetz' best known role is that of the bumbling teenager Marcia Brady turned down for a date in the 1973 episode of The Subject Was Noses (1973). Infamously, this is the "Something suddenly came up / Oh, my nose!" episode of the series.

One of the (many) favourite films of Quentin Tarantino.

Despite the song "Chevy Van" by Sammy Johns appearing throughout the soundtrack the titular "Van" is a 1976 Dodge B200 Tradesman van (which was prepared by legendary car customizer George Barris). The van, purchased at Claude Short Dodge in Santa Monica, California, is the extended version of the B200 Dodge, featuring a 360-ci "small block" Chrysler V8 engine, automatic transmission and air conditioning. The customization includes a four-foot circular window on the driver's side, a water bed, mirrored ceiling, carpeted and padded walls, drink rack, refrigerator, a TV, a table with a built-in toaster, captain's chairs and a CB radio and eight-track tape player. Two vans were built for the film. The primary van, which was used for all running and interior shots, featured all the customizations listed above. The stunt van (a 1972 Dodge cargo van dressed to look like the primary 1977 Dodge van) was used for the drag-racing scenes, and did not feature a full interior.