The boss is on board as long as we can make the figures work, but which one to go for? Looking to spend less then £15k so newer VWs are out, I quite like vitos but there’s not enough toys for Her after coming from a fairly loaded focus. New Transit custom ticks most boxes, but I don’t want one with a bulkhead, are they a pain to remove? Most of the trannies and Vivaro’s come with them.

Any of them stand out as best? Would I be better off getting a standard box van and getting the seats put in after? Is an older VW a better bet than a newer alternative?

We’re not after a camper, more of a picnic wagon for a family of four, that will take some camper addons over the next few years.

Wouldn’t be too hard to remove the bulkhead I think. Less faff than having seats put in anyway. It’s so much quieter with a bulkhead though, just like a car, I love it.

Hmm, didn’t think about that, presumably would be easier to regulate the temperature too.

Trafic sport here. Has all the toys and is a nice drive. I had the older Dci115 before and now have the new Dci140 and great.

I wanted the bulkhead for the reasons mentioned and for safety in case of a crash, I don’t want whats in the back hitting me.

Ex trafic 115 crew cab owner.
Had it 6 years, replaced strut bearings once, other than that it never missed a beat. Pretty low use though, I do under 10K PA.

I’d have another.

Hmm, didn’t think about that, presumably would be easier to regulate the temperature too.

Very much so. Our Vito had a mesh bulkhead and we ended up covering that as it took so long to warm the cab in winter. And the noise reduction from a bulkhead is a big bonus on longer drives

adding seats can be complicated for insurance. not all vans have the seatbelt mountings so can be complicated practically too. only know VWs, no idea about other stuff.

Then you have the speed limit issue. it will still be a van so 60 limit.
if you get a crew cab it might be on a 60 limit (and lower tax) though.

prawny – Member

Hmm, didn’t think about that, presumably would be easier to regulate the temperature too.

Sure is. We’ve gone from a Vito panel van with a bulkhead to a Transporter Kombi without one. The Vito was much quieter and easier to heat up. On the other hand, it also got tres toasty in summer too (no aircon in the Vito we had)!

Thought about one of the Maxi versions?
LWB Connect, Caddy Maxi Life, etc.
Plus of the van – plus of the car.
Maxi Life has 7 adult seats – rear 5 removable in minutes and still a massive boot with parcel shelf if you don’t.
Swallows bikes whole.
Connect comes as a combi iirc.
Not sure on other makes but plenty on here using the smaller ones.

Vito is nice, got a 15 plate van in Nov. Only thing with Vito is the foot operated parking brake. Takes a bit of getting used to. Great drive, we have the lower powered one and it’s plenty powerfully enough.
Also it has a good turning circle on it (rear wheel drive) so useful in town.

i’ve as LWB T5… was an 8 seater Caravelle, now a stealthy camper with a pop-top…

the older (pre 2010) vans have simpler engines, esp. the 1,9td.

i have a curtain to hang behind the seats when starting the van on cold mornings so that the front cab area warms up quicker.

Of the vans I’ve closely looked at (Transit and Vivaro) the bulkhead looks like its in two parts. I was going to remove the top part and put a thick curtain up (for noise damping and to reduce the load on the a/c or heater). This is to make the back less like a coffin when I’m sleeping in it.
I hopefully get my Vivaro tomorrow.

Some things to think about, cheers.

Caddy/connect options are out, because you can’t easily fit swivel seats which is the number one priority picnicking wise.

I think, the transit custom is winning at the moment, we’re looking to buy at the end of the summer so obviously will have to do some driving/sitting in over the next few months.

Keep the opinions coming though please, I still like the idea of an easy to mod T5/6

I bought a standard Lwb Renault Trafic panel van & had a folding/removable rear seat & windows put in. I can’t have a bulkhead behind the seats as I frequently carry long ladders, scaffold boards etc. It is a fair bit more noisy despite having a roof lining & insulation behind the ply lining. All the new Trafic/Vivaro & Transit custom crew vans I’ve seen appear to have the rear seats fixed to the bulkhead, so not sure it’d be possible to remove it & keep the seats?

But there’s a panel below the seats in the lwb Vivaro crew cab that folds out of the way so you can put full length boards, ladders etc in….

Ok I’ll have to have a look at one like that, I would prefer a bulkhead to make it quieter & safer carrying loads in the back.