Could you do SWB, with 5 bikes in this kind of arrangement? Looks like the crewcab Vivaro(etc) ones have a smaller back seat area, and a reasonable size ‘boot’….

Anyone able to compare a Vito or Vivaro for costs and living with….?

Looks like a good set up. We have similar in the back of our MWB transit with a basic campervan conversion in the front. It only takes 2 bikes though.

I’ll bet my gate of a bike wouldn’t fit in like that :/

^ That pic is from Hannah Barnes blog, and she reckons 3 bikes in there. But she has bed in the back…I reckon with seats only it would work…

vito’s can be terrifyingly expensive when they go wrong.
a vivaro is a lovely van to drive. i hired one recently and actually preferred it the VW T30 that i paid a massive fashion tax on. smooth, fast, quiet etc.. they also come badged as nissans and renaults or something so parts are cheap and plentiful. can’t comment on interior layouts as it wasn’t my van to play with but you certainly can’t go too far wrong with a vivaro. just find one locally and test drive it.

Spent a gfood amount of time looking at vans before buying mine. The Viv/traf/Primastar is a nice van, drives like a huge car rather thn a van. Good size in the back too.
It came down to price point for me. At around 5k they are a no brainer; Vitos at that price are all rusty, VWs are stellar mileage t5s or ‘getting on a bit now’ t4s. The AA have recently changed fleet so there is a bit of a glut of them at this sort of price.
We were lucky enough to be looking at around the 10k mark where the difference narrpws considerably. It’s actually a harder price to find a Viv/tref/prim at. They seem to hover at 5-6k or 11-12k. SWhereas 10k opens up a lot of T5s.
We went VW in the end. Both have their advantages and disadvantages and indeed their horror stories. We went VW for a few reasons. They are a little bit smaller so my wife was more confident parking it. It seems less like ‘hey, I drive a van everywhere’ too; more socially acceptable? The particular van we bought had amazing history. There are many more styling and interior conversion bits available for the VW; it’s nearly as well catered for aftermarket as the Landrovers I’ve been in for the last few years. We like the ‘lifestyle’ aspect too, the fact there are clubs, festivals etc…
The biggest thing for me though is that in 5 years time my t5 should still have some residual value whereas a Viv/thingy will just be a hairy old van.

Matt, that is one impressive conversion Hannah has got done! Quite tempted… Any idea what it would cost?

I had a 4 yr old vito a while back, the 112. It was awful.
Noisy, crap gearbox, started to rust, propshaft failed, massive electrical gremlins and drove like a van. Had 60k on it with FSH.

I now have a LWB Renault traffic crew cab. Sits 6, (although the front middle seat is a little cramped) and swallows 6 bikes and kit with ease. It will take 4 bikes without removing wheels.

Drives like a big car, low to mid 30’s on diesel, quiet and comfortable.

I blacked the windows and stuck one big wheels on. Looks canny IMO.

Got a caravelle here with the car like interior , find it a bit narrow when fitting bikes in across the way and need to take a row of seats out for length ways. We regularly need the 7seats so a bit of a pain taking seats in and out. And there is the above mentioned fashion tax on VW but as I work with them repair costs being next to nothing offsets this.

I would say the Vivaro drives like a medium car, we had a spell with a Mondeo estate and that felt more cumbersome, especially in tight car parks.

That arrangement of bikes in the back looks good, easier than sliding them under a fixed bed like you would in most bikey/camper conversions.

I drove a vivaro for work, get a newer 6 speed box version, 5spd gearbox is crap (in terms of pulling, not reliabilty)

vito’s can be terrifyingly expensive when they go wrong.

The issue with the vivaro is the inaccessibility of the engine – it has a bonnet and you’d imagine if you opened it the engine would be there – but it sort of isn’t. It can lead to some pretty hefty labour bills for jobs that should be relatively simple, my mechanic was fighting with one for two days doing injector seals – over a grand of labour to change four washers. I told him I’d been thinking of swapping my sprinter for one – his eyes said ‘divorce’.

I would never get a Trafic/Vivaro/Primastar that is out of warranty. They are built down to a price point and they fall apart if you do lots of miles. Rubbish turning circle too. Transporter T35 every time for me.

Oh and the air inlet is very low so don’t even look at driving through water.

Why not a Hi-Ace or is that too Asian-sweetshop for you?

That would be my choice. A reliable midsized van

Just DONT ever buy a black Hiace or Vivaro.

The right van depends on your budget but you will always get a lot more vivaro/trafic for your money than vito/transporter. I’ve owned all these vans, the tranporter was my favourite but twice I bought vivaro/trafic as I couldn’t justify the extra cash for an equivalent age/mileage transporter. The vito’s I’ve had (one old shape 112, one new 115 crew cab) were both poor to drive and in terms of reliability. The new shape one I had only lasted 3 months before I got rid of it as it was such an unpleasant place to be.

The vivaro trafic are good vans and reliability on them is generally pretty good apart from gearboxes which are a known weak point, if you’re getting a high mileage one look for one that has had a refurb/new box already and walk from any that feel anything apart from perfect.

Space wise in a crew cab you could get 5 behind the seats I reckon especially if you build a false floor to put wheels/stuff etc underneath.

I’m looking to change my Vito & was tempted by the vivario. Gets mixed reviews though. Vito is starting to go rusty now but I’ve liked the drive – I did come from a long, and high top transit van though. What are the newer transits like?

Transporters are nicest if you have the dosh.

Matt, that is one impressive conversion Hannah has got done! Quite tempted… Any idea what it would cost?

I have emailed Vanguard to find out (except rear seat instead of bed…)

Why not a Hi-Ace or is that too Asian-sweetshop for you?

Hi-Ace my neighbor and I used in Sheffield used to have really, really poor mpg…And Primastar is a new Hi-ace…

I bought a ’99 Vito for a measly £700 earlier this year to set up as a bike van, using Hannah Barnes’ van as an inspiration. Now almost finished the final bits of interior and all in, the project has cost me less than £1500.

One thing to watch with the Merc as opposed to a VW is that earlier models (like mine) seem to be made of some mad steel that starts to rust & scab if you give it a bit of a stern look for too long. Done all the prep and repairs on that myself, so all good, but something to be aware of.

Record before doing the conversion was 10(!) bikes in the back, loaded acrossways with front wheels off. Pretty comical as we worked it out to be a 40:1 bike:van value ratio, that has yet to be beaten!

With the conversion, it will now still take 7 big full sus bikes and kit too.

Average mpg is around 40-45, but get above 70 and the brick-like aerodynamics see that tail off horribly. Engines and running gear are bombproof, just panels are a bit rubbish.

I’ll get some photos over the next few days…….

🙂

We are toying with getting a van next year. Had kind of decided towards a Caddy Max, then opened this thread….. 😆
I read the other thread and i was put off the Vivaro with its reliability problems. Now off to autotrader transporters…

Just for comparison, I took some photos of the inside of my LWB Trafic.

IMAG0146 by druidh_dubh, on Flickr

IMAG0147 by druidh_dubh, on Flickr

IMAG0149 by druidh_dubh, on Flickr

After sitting down and working out what I mostly wanted the van for, I decided to go for a panel van and get it converted to “Crew Cab” style.

Only a single sliding door – actually gives you more space for seating.
Seats are only bolted down (2+1) – so can be removed when not required.
(As you can see, I bolt the pair in backwards when I want more space and have no passengers)
Loads of room for a camp bed in the back, with a couple of bikes alongside.

The Crew Cabs with a bulkhead are quieter/more civilised unless you are going to put the work into insulating the rear. Once that’s done the noise levels are minimal.

I like the conversion above as it makes use of the height of the van better. But it wouldn’t work for me when I want to sleep/camp in it as it would just be too low.

6 folks/6 bikes will work in a LWB of either configuration.

Currently have an estate car that will need replacing soon and have been thinking about a van with a crew cab. There’s only three of us, but on holidays we’d quite like to be able to take MTBs and road bikes sometimes. We also race CX 3-4 months of the year which gets quite messy.

Is a van OTT for just three of us? We have no practical work use for one day to day, it’d just be a hell of a lot more convenient for weekend usage.

Mainly been looking at VW so we can get more of the car comforts easier – would be paying a premium though. But would consider Merc Vito (are they all RWD?), Vivaro (might be able to get Vauxhall partners discount). Anyone considered the Fiat Scudo/Doblo or the Hyundai iLoad?

Sorry for all the questions!

A bit like me then. If I’m just going into town somewhere, I’ll most likely cycle. Even when I was working, I was commuting by bike. That van is mostly used for awaydays and weekends/holidays. It’s great – it means you don’t have to compromise.

We do also have a small car that I use for getting to work. We’d just have a van to replace the estate which is transport/holiday/weekend work horse.

That said I might need a vehicle for work soon which is a little more “look the part for customers” than a Corsa!

So.. What are you waiting for? 🙂

i recently bought a new shape peugeot boxer (same as ducato, relay) same length as a T5/vivaro however wider and a little higher. It means I can stand up in it (huge bonus when spending any time in it)
Also as 6ft wide it means you can sleep sideways (freeing up loads of space) I have a boot that fits 3 bikes, bikes will fit with both wheels on sideways across the van. The extra bit of width is super useful, drives really nicely, very refined and quiet. Worth a look?
being the same length as a t5(shorter than a LWB means it fits in normal car park spaces)

Well quite Druid, we’ve only been thinking about this for over a year!

Hammerite – mark 1 vitos are front wheel drive, mark 2 (2004 on) all rear wheel drive.
If you’re looking at a van with 3 folks you get the easy option of 3 seat cab and normal panel van. You’ll pay a huge premium for a transporter, vitos are IMHO (as an ex owner of all of these vans) awful and the trafic, primastar, vivaro (all the same van made in luton vauxhall factory) are very good value for money and nice to drive etc.

Probably going to get shot down for this…but we have a mk2 Vito that I am in the process of converting. Bought from auction last year with 95,000 miles on the clock for £2,800. The only things we’ve done to it apart from the conversion (still in progress) are a new propshaft UJ (Merc say they’re non-replaceable but this is rubbish) and some new tyres. No rust (yet) and no other problems to report. I absolutely love it and don’t think you should rule it out – especially not if you can get a cheap one like we did. I’d also recommend going for a rear tailgate van not the double door type one – the amount of times I’ve been grateful for a rain shelter when messing with bikes!

Some piccy’s here if you’re interested:
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Oli.

Wow – great job on the Vito there!

Used to drive vivaro for work ,minibus 7 seater,excellent drive.
Farther in law has crew cab vivaro,uses for dogs etc,big ones,bernese,wolfhounds,so fair bit weight well pleased.

My personel at moment is old PO LDV convoy swb with 2.4 transit engine,returns 40+ to gallon even 5 up 6 bikes dog n luggage n brick like appearance as high top too.
NOrmal running daily getting mid 30s.
cheap parts, no one parks near-by incase your a hippee.lol.

Thanks Steve.

Oli – if only I had an ounce of practical ability….. looks great.

Nice job, oliwb. Is that plywood over bubble wrap over sound deadening foil on the roof and walls, then?

Thanks guys….still nowhere near finished but hey-ho….

Yeah, it’s a layer of that silver backed bubble wrap glued to the roof, with more regular bubble wrap underneath and then plywood covered in carpet. Regular rockwool insulation in the cavities and sides with a damp proof membrane glued over and then plywood and carpet. Unless it’s really, really cold (I’m talking minus something in November in Aberdeen here) we don’t seem to have any problem with condensation. Can get about 4/5 bikes in the bike as long as no one needs to sit there….

Oli.

More van insulation stuff…
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/insulate-my-van

I went the same route as Damion, except that the roof has two layers of “Karrimat” stuck on, then the roof lining. I was going to go ply/carpet for the roof too but a second hand roof lining came up on ebay and I reckoned it was a nicer finish.

cheers, oli, and thanks for the link, druidh. A lot to consider!

http://pbckt.com/pf.RaewLJ

Not sure if link will work, my 2007 vivaro. Had it from 3 yr old with no problems. Just laid a hospital style flooring and a mini bus seat. Seats 5 adults & 5 bikes with spares & luggage for a week away.