Having owned a van for a few years, they do have drawbacks as well as advantages.
Insurance is the main one...it's probably twice as expensive to insure a corresponding van versus car.
If you're wanting the best of both worlds, some of the people carriers will take a bike as well as having the creaturecomforts ofcars too such as the Renault Espace & Ford Galaxy to name two.
The one thing I really did not like about my van was visibility - if you're ever trying to pull out of a junction the view to the nearside is useless if the junction isn't at 90 degrees and sometimes pulling out can be a bit dodgy.
I'd suggest taking a couple for a decent drive before you make up your mind.
Hope the arm's a bit better.
Cheers
Andy