It really depends on how much bucket work you do and how the other work is split up. I had a helper that worked out of a van (and I had to use it occasionally) and neither one of us liked it. The lack of outriggers bugs me, but not near as much as crawling around on your knees looking for stuff after a container of parts tips over

. It's pretty hard to get enough shelving of any kind in for parts - the front of the cargo area is pretty useless except for a "pile on the floor"
The thing was great for relamping traffic signals but was a bit annoying for almost everything else. It got replaced with a truck that had a utility bed and a bucket with a squirt boom. We added a couple of boxes on top of the utility bed and had more enclosed storage than the van allowed, and had the spaces in the bed as well.
I guess I'd say that I'd rather take a beatin' than work out of a van with a bucket but YMMV.