Viewing 26 posts - 81 through 106 (of 106 total)
  • Having a bike van as my only transport
  • napesneedle
    Free Member

    If you have got the money to burn go for the VW T5/6 Sportline they are georgeous!!
    However you are buying a van for biking/ outdoor pursuits, it has to be practical. If you get it all blinged up then you will worry about placing filthy bikes and people in it. My advice is to get a 5 year old T5 which has been a motability van. They generally have around 50,000 on the clock have been serviced to death and are in good order. I have a T5 which I have converted to a camper with pop top roof, 4 bike VW rack on the back, Special features for biking, Kayaking etc such as wet gear storage in the boot. The van sleeps 4, carries 4 bikes I get 40mpg out of it and it drives and runs like a car. How much for van £15,000 all in and with camper conversion insurance is less than £300 per year. Dont get sucked in to the new vehicle money pit, a van like mine with the conversion are selling for around £35,000 new! Shop around before you buy!!
    Welcome to the van squad once you have one you never go back.
    Vans I have had include Ford Escort Van, Fiat Forino (blew up going to Wales for the Red Kite event Back in the day!! Vauxhall Astra Max, VW Polo Van, Peugeot Partner (bought in 2003 200,000 miles in 9 years with 11 trips to the Alps, Andorra and Spain never broke down)a fantastic van only changed for a T5 to build a camper as I am getting old and need the comfy bed.

    messiah
    Free Member

    Having recently bought a VW van here are my thoughts.

    Biggest draw of the Sportline is the looks which make it look less works van like. The same effect can almost be had by sticking on bigger wheels, spoiler and side bars to a Highline/Trendline. The Sportlines are lowered by 40mm which can be a good/bad thing depending on your planned usage; my friend bought a lowered T5 but had it raised back to normal because he found the ride a bit crashy on back roads and he wants to not worry when accessing forest car parks and fields for bike and Enduro motorcycle events. With 18″ wheels the normal suspension feels great and I’m not going to lower mine.
    There is no doubting that Sportlines look better and you do get a leather interior… although that can always be added later (at a cost). The Trendline or Highline spec has most of what you want anyway. Trendline get the double din stereo which gets the four speakers, cruise, parking sensors, and Tasamo darker cloth interior which are a must (IMHO). Trendline additionally gets the important AIR-CON, fog lights and leather steering wheel. I realy wanted sliding doors both sides for ease of getting the kids out… or getting yourself out if the space is tight; this may only work if you get the two “captains chairs” up front as you can walk through the back easy. If you go for the bench up front its not so easy. I orignaly wanted the bench to take 6 folk but my my wife wanted two captains chairs which makes it a 5 seater; and I think she made the right choice as having the single chairs and being able to move around the cabin easy is a luxury (and I’m not that likely to carry six people).
    I wanted a 4Motion which means no Sportline unless I went almost full custom. 4Motions are pretty rare and all the second hand ones I found were already sold or not much cheaper than new.

    Some useful resources.

    T4/T5 forums are great Linky

    Edward Davies at Leeway Van Centre was good for information although unable to help me in the end, huge stock of second hand non 4Motions Linky

    Swiss Vans if your considering new Linky. My local dealer was pretty useless saying nothing available and 6-9 months for delivery although no guarantee’s as 4Motions are not built often. Swiss Vans found my unicorn and made the whole process simple including modifications and delivery in just over a week (if you do buy from them tell them I sent you as they do a referal thing – email in profile :mrgreen: )

    Custom Vanz… just to drool at *drool*

    My kids love the Van. Its named “Gunter” after the Penguin in Adventure Time.

    weeksy
    Full Member

    I REALLY really want a van. However i do like the 50mpg i get from the Mondeo and i do enough miles in a given month that less than 45mpg would truely irritate me.

    It also needs to be a decent sized van as i’d use for motorbikes too (x2)

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    whitegoodman
    Free Member

    I drive a van as my only vehicle transport, have done for years barring a recent flirtation with Pickups..

    They are great toy boxes.

    Recently I had a test drive and have been considering this electric van..

    On paper it seemed great, nearly 100 mile range which would suit my local use, you can fit them with a tow bar, (I have a sailing dinghy that occasionally I have to move around) and right now it would be sat there charging as I spend hours at a desk.

    But, the day I tried it, the weather was really cold and the range just evaporated to like 40 miles which isn’t really enough for a return journey to the next town, so it kind of put me off. I did wonder wether you could carry like a portable generator to offset the problem of distance drives.

    I’d love not to have to pay nearly a hundred quid every time I fill up.

    macb
    Free Member

    napesneedle and messiah that’s really helpful and I’ll study those links in detail. I particularly like the point about the 5/6 seats and the Captains chairs ideas, 5 seats meets our needs as a family. I am having the new/secondhand debate with myself, with the VWs there doesn’t seem to be much difference in price between new and nearly new.

    The only definites I have so far are, side doors on both sides, bulkhead to make it impossible to see into the load area and space behind the second set of seats to fit 5 bikes without taking wheels out.

    I do need to ask, are the VWs really that much better, I’ve pretty much ruled out the Vito but was thinking in comparison to a Renault Trafic or Citroen Dispatch? If I go down the VW route I’m not seeing much change from £35k.

    Anyway I’ll study those links and no doubt be back with more questions….thanks….Al

    I’m not actually bothered by the visual appeal of Sportline models and would prefer the higher clearance of the standard.

    macb
    Free Member

    So from the Leeway site would this be a reasonable deal?

    http://www.leewayvancentre.co.uk/stock/report/1267

    weeksy
    Full Member

    £30,000 on a van… jeeez… errrrrm …. WOW.

    zangolin
    Free Member

    The only definites I have so far are, side doors on both sides, bulkhead to make it impossible to see into the load area and space behind the second set of seats to fit 5 bikes without taking wheels out.

    LWB Vivaro/Trafic double cab – does that. Shop around and you should be able to get a brand new Vivaro Sportive LWB doublecab 2.0cdti (air con, alloys, fogs, captain chair, etc) for under £18k including vat. Trafics seem to be a little higher and much harder to get hold of.

    macb
    Free Member

    thanks zangolin, but I was looking at the specs for load length behind rear seats and the LWB Vivaro seems to be only 1660mm…this could be a bit on the short side. Though I do plan on taking our largest/longest bike with me to various garages to try out the space for real. That said £18k is far more appealing than £35k:)

    messiah
    Free Member

    Do you really want/need a LWB? The one you linked to is a LWB.

    I thought I did and my friend who does moto-enduro does to get the motorbike in; but I ended up going for a SWB as my wife said NO to a LWB (Private ambulance according to her).

    With the SWB the bikes have to go in the back at an angle but I can see no reason why four cannot go in easy. Its worth making sure you have the 2/1 split rear Kombi seats (usually are) so you can whip out the single and fit in long things or even more bikes.

    With tinted glass I wouldn’t bother about the bulkhead as its difficult to see in – I throw a blanket over everything in the back which makes it impossible to see whats under. Or fit some kind of curtain arrangement if it really bothers you. Without the bulkhead its possible to climb through and get changed out of the wind/rain/viewers.

    cr500dom
    Free Member

    Traffic double cab / Kombi has a better rear seat / bulkhead arrangement than the equivalent Vivaro, thats why you get the price difference.
    On the Vivaro, its all fixed, no cubby holes and not as confortable.
    The Trafic has a hinged base that lifts up alowing long stuff to slide through and under seats, also has big side pockets for water bottles / general stuff.
    Ive spent quite a bit of time in both variants, Id take the trafic every time.

    macb
    Free Member

    The LWB is to fit the bikes in complete, they are all 29ers and I was planning on building my own custom rack to allow for the 5 bikes plus better luggage stowage around them. The shorter wheelbases just wouldn’t allow for that and I don’t want to compromise on primary useage….oh and my wife is fine with the longer length.

    I’m going to try and get a peek at a Citroen Dispatch as well. The online PDF brochure seems to claim a load length of 2110mm behind the second set of seats. I’m not convinced based on the overall numbers unless they are quite limited in the seating space. Also this would be more space than all of the others I’ve looked at.

    I can see me spending the weekend cycling round all the local dealerships asking if I can try my bike in the back of their vans.

    macb
    Free Member

    Oh and the no bulkhead but curtain arrangement seems like a pretty good compromise to me as well.

    messiah
    Free Member

    LWB definetly better inside when full of bikes… I commented about wife calling the shots but for my house the LBW would have to be touching the garage to stop the arse nearly poking onto the pavement.

    LWB not as easy to U-turn on a busy road or park at Tesco though 😐

    grum
    Free Member

    Blingo is a great compromise for us.

    chakaping
    Free Member

    oh and my wife is fine with the longer length

    *raises eyebrow*

    zangolin
    Free Member

    Macb – should have added that I have an LWB Vivaro d.cab 6 seats factory bulkhead etc.
    I can easily fit 4 full on DH bikes with both wheels on in the back. That’s with them stood up with their back wheels in a stand (just touching the bulkhead), length ways and their bars turned 45 degrees. That’s large and long sized V10s, sessions etc.

    Basically loads of room. If they weren’t in a stand and just lent against each other 6 would be possible. XC bikes = lots very easily.

    The double cab rear seat spacing is pretty generous with a massive amount of leg room.

    VanMan
    Free Member

    I wouldn’t get too hung up on having a bulkhead if I were you, I used to worry about leaving the bike inside but to be honest you can’t see it…then again I have darkened windows on my Vito Dualiner and a solid rear tailgate. Better off getting the LWB it makes the vehicle more useable, my last van was a SWB Vito and as mentioned above “longer length” is better.

    rusty-trowel
    Free Member

    ‘cough’ 2.5TDi T4 with 102k miles for sale here ‘cough’ 😉

    macb
    Free Member

    Cheers folks, I think I’ve also managed to line up a test drive in a new style Transit Custom…going to be a busy weekend.

    renton
    Free Member

    I priced up a new t5.1 via swiss vans yesterday.

    3k deposit then 310 x 47 payment and a balloon at the end of 10k

    that was for swb kombi highline fully loaded.

    That would be a new van on a 13 plate

    cakefacesmallblock
    Full Member

    Used Transporters can be found for sensible money if you are patient.
    Our T4 replacement T5 cost me £8500, 140 bhp long wheelbase, jan 10, 57,000m, dealer serviced, mint condition panel van.
    Our t4 we’d had for 7 years and it cost me £5k. After an additional 90,000m I sold it at 130000m for £7000, with a few mods inc windows and a night heater etc, which cost maybe £1000 to do.I stand by what I said earlier about good nick VWs holding their money.

    renton
    Free Member

    where did you find that t5 @ cakeface??

    cakefacesmallblock
    Full Member

    Bought it from a company local to us, who runs T5S. They had bought out another business and needed to sell two vans. My mate bought a 2009 and when they decided the 59 plate I bought, he gave me the nod and it went from there. They were just happy to sell it quickly, that included v-a-t too.
    I was lucky, but have heard a few similar tales.

    andrewh
    Free Member

    I’ve got a 2004 Transit SWB as my only vehicle. I will never go back to a car, vans are just better in every way.
    It’s half converted, lined and insulated, interior lighting sorted, night heater, hot running water, most of an internal bike rack installed. Bed, curtains and fridge to go.
    Cheaper to run than my old MPV (40mpg on a run, cheaper tax and insurance) Can be a little tricky to park at times but I do very very little town driving so not really an issue.
    Watch for rust on Trannys!

    bigad40
    Free Member

    I LOVE MY HIACE!

Viewing 26 posts - 81 through 106 (of 106 total)

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