Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 77 total)
  • using a van as your only vehicle.
  • Kevsterjw
    Free Member

    Is there anything i’m missing when thinking about getting a van for my only vehicle. Looking at a transit SWB low top. This to be exact:

    van

    Does the “rugged” feel of a van grid over time? and what sort of MPG could I expect

    bikeneil
    Free Member

    I use a van as my only vehicle. It’s only a Citroen Berlingo though, but it’s still a van :o)

    I prefer it to a car. I drive more relaxed and don’t seem to be in a rush to get anywhere, so i’d so go for it.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Had a LWB transit as main car for 3 years ish, missus had a car we used for light/quick trips and to posh places 🙂

    Driving position is fine and I preferred it to a car really. Fuel economy depends on engine etc. Probably from 30-35 for the diesel though post the year/engine for better idea from others.

    You know the ups so i’ll give you the downsides
    Supermarket car parks – you’ll be over the back in any with tight spaces
    Petrol Stations – You will be there a lot 🙂 (Compared to Diesel Estate for me)
    Without anything to pop small things in your shopping will roll round the place
    People may think you are coming to tarmac their drive.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    Oh and it is limited to 50 on Main Roads and 60 on Dual Carriageways -be warned

    teamslug
    Free Member

    I have had a renault trafic for ten years. Prefer driving it to car. Low insurance, ride and handling are good (its less harsh than a transit and a bit narrower too). Car parks are fine, parallel parking can be a bit of a challenge though.Over 100 quid to fill it up though!!

    br
    Free Member

    Car drivers will usually give you right of way but you’ll feel a constant pull of the McD’s drive-through 🙂

    Mugboo
    Full Member

    T4 here. Love driving vans. 5yrs now.

    Mine pays for itself in free wood for my log burner and the occasional bulky item that someone needs rid of, ie, free wardrobe or couch which I might use or sell 🙂

    Yep I’m just selling mine but all above is correct….trannys do rust quickly…my renaults dearer to fix but four yr old and no rust…

    Not great going to a funeral/date/wedding in them….

    PlumzRichard
    Free Member

    I have a Citroen Dispatch LWB HT. Great van and dose not look to out of place in Silver. Its ok to drive for day to day stuff but does drink the fuel a little.

    Be carfull of height restricted car parks and so on. A small parking camera makes tight car parking spots alot easier.

    I belive its worth it for what i really use a van for, most small journeys and going to and from work i just ride any way.

    olddog
    Full Member

    I have a LWB renault trafic. Its at the limit for a supermarket car parking space, but a swb would be fine. I’m pretty sure a SWB would be shorter than the bigger 4x4s.

    I get 35mpg plus, but that is mixed usage – longer trips with me bikes and boards and I can get over 40. I do take it easy with the right foot though.

    You will need to fit something in the back for smaller loads, I have a couple of storage boxes, or it will rattke about – I’m thinking supermarket shopping.

    The ride/drive is fine, a bit noisy, mainly the cheapo bulkhead rattling when empty in mine – but to be honest much more relaxing to drive than some of the hot hatches I used to drive with rock hard suspension and all.

    …. But make sure you understand the servicing/maintenance costs and understand than the van may have had seen a bit of life before you got it. It may be that the previous owner is getting shut because expensive work on the way – engine belt, dual mass flywheel etc

    and be careful when reversing

    Multi storeys can be done but the aerial on my traffic needs to be dropped…you just need to remember the height!

    tthew
    Full Member

    Oh and it is limited to 50 on Main Roads and 60 on Dual Carriageways -be warned

    This is true, but have you EVER seen a transit doing less than 70 on the motorway? IIRC, the limit is 2000kg GVW, so lower weight Kangoo’s/Berlingo’s should be OK.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    no its not a simple weight limit

    its “car based van” & a weight limit

    kangoos and berlingos DO fit the criteria (although its a grey area with the popo and ive had to argue once)

    Connects despite being a similar size DO NOT

    Your allowed to do 70 on the motorway

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    I used to try and keep it under 80 mostly due to the 100 quid to refill the tank. I have heard of manned speed checks pulling vans every do often.

    wisepranker
    Free Member

    Another point worth remembering is that most insurance companies will let you transfer your car NCB to use on a van insurance policy but very few, if any, will allow you to go the other way and transfer van NCB back to a car insurance policy.

    wisepranker
    Free Member

    no its not a simple weight limit

    its “car based van” & a weight limit

    kangoos and berlingos DO fit the criteria (although its a grey area with the popo and ive had to argue once)

    Connects despite being a similar size DO NOT

    Your allowed to do 70 on the motorway

    It’s a strange system, my Caddy is on the logbook as a car derived van but as it’s over 2 tonnes gross weight it’s classed as a ‘proper’ van regarding the speed limits.

    This clears it up a little:

    https://www.gov.uk/speed-limits

    mccett
    Free Member

    Had a Peugeot Partner for a couple years, got another car, back in a T4 now. Never used the rear seats in the car, car constantly full of wet bike/dog, interior getting wrecked.
    The T4 is great, plastic floor helps cleaning and i’ve ended up with rear seats i can get changed in and make a brew with the bike in one piece in the back while everyone else is doing a wee dance in a car park in the rain. Wouldnt be without it now. Fits in parking spaces, elevated driving position, tend to cruise round at a nice sedate pace which suits the dog too as he’s not getting thrown about.
    Only downside I have found is if you do park it in a car park, people tend to think ‘oh, only a van’ so use the sides to rest their door/pram/trolley against… 🙄

    IHN
    Full Member

    I drive a T5 camper as my everyday ‘car’. Its SWB so fits in standard parking spaces and most multistoreys. I get high 30’s MPG, but most of my driving is 50+mph A-roads and motorways, not urban stop-start.

    It grates a little after a while and it’s a nice change to drive the little lady’s Mazda2 every so often, but it’s fine.

    orangeboy
    Free Member

    I had a huge Renault master lh35 as my daily drive for ages
    Loved it just have to be a bit carful where you park but soon get used to it

    Mot cost more and less places to get it done but that might not apply for a lower weight limit
    It would return 32-35 if you kept to 80 or below on the motorway

    Best thing I did was bolt a plastic storage tub in the back for small stuff to go in

    honeybadgerx
    Full Member

    I’d get a couple of insurance quotes before you buy as well. I drove a Vito for a while as my work vehicle whilst I was converting it into a camper, and unfortunately as I’m a civil engineer and need to visit sites you pretty much get classed as a tradesman which can be pretty expensive (despite turning up in a suit!).

    VanHalen
    Full Member

    T4 here as a daily. Love it. Much prefer vans.

    VanHalen
    Full Member

    Oh and I used to have a t2 1969 van. As an engineer rocking up on site in that was brilliant. Spent half my visits talking vans

    TooTall
    Free Member

    Nobody has mentioned tolls. If I had a van in Bristol the occasional trips over the Clifton Bridge and in to Wales would be a lot more expensive.

    coatesy
    Free Member

    I’ve also had the tollbridge pleasure, sitting in a smallish van with just a bike as cargo, and paying double the cost of the Discovery loaded with 7 people doesn’t rankle in the slightest, honest.

    gravity-slave
    Free Member

    I’ve had a van as my daily drive to commute to the office for about 10 year now – T4, Mk1 Vito and now a smarter Mk2 Vito, black, lowered, alloys, looks less trade-like when I arrive at the office. I have the 4X bike in the back today for a lunch time street ride!

    I do have the benefit of borrowing the Mrs’ car, but rarely do, really like driving the van. Fuel cost is the only downside for me.

    zerocool
    Full Member

    I drive a Vauxhall Vivaro, and although I prefer driving it to cars. I must be honest and point out how expensive fuel is nowadays and that vans are a lot less fuel efficient than cars, normally due to weight and height. They’re not cheap for short urban journeys and use a lot more fuel than even my old car with 2 bikes on the roof and a tow bar rack as well.

    Also as said above, insurance can cost a lot (mine’s only £100 as it’s on a multi van policy for the farm)

    And it costs a fortune to drive it over the Severn Bridge.

    badllama
    Free Member

    I’ve gone 4×4 to van and love it the heigher ride positions in both IMO make you feel much less tired on long runs than in a car I would never go back to standard car now 🙂

    fuzzhead
    Free Member

    Nobody has mentioned tolls. If I had a van in Bristol the occasional trips over the Clifton Bridge and in to Wales would be a lot more expensive.

    I’ve also had the tollbridge pleasure, sitting in a smallish van with just a bike as cargo, and paying double the cost of the Discovery loaded with 7 people doesn’t rankle in the slightest, honest.

    This is the main reason I haven’t got a van

    oliwb
    Free Member

    Love it….and you can turn up at weddings in them:

    jerseychaz
    Full Member

    You’ll get shafted on ferries as “freight” although you can sometimes pull the “sporting goods” line if you have a bike(s) in the back! Used t have a T4 which was brilliant, a bit battered so people gave you a wide berth in car parks and let you out of side turnings 🙂

    druidh
    Free Member

    I’ve been OK with the ferries. For the IoM, I had to fill in a declaration of goods (i.e. zero) and CalMac just book you on as a people carrier.

    thomthumb
    Free Member

    Not great going to a funeral/date/wedding in them….

    room in the back for a coffin/ bed/ suit though 😉

    i love the high driving position, i love the space, i hate the passenger seat. fuel economy is 37-40mpg. parks fine in decent car parks, can be a nightmare in small spaces but so can a big car (mondeo estate is wider than a t5)

    Nicknoxx
    Free Member

    I drive a MWB High-top VW LT35 as my only vehicle. It does about 30mpg but I drive gently. I’ve converted it to a camper van so don’t pay extra on the toll bridge. I love the high driving position but it is difficult to park.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    I’ve done it. I wouldn’t do it again.

    Slow, noisy, thirsty and driving round in an empty box got 95% of the time seemed pointless.

    druidh
    Free Member

    We currently have a small car too, but I’d not go back to NOT having a van. If anything, its an encouragement to take the bike for shorter journeys into town etc.

    jam-bo
    Full Member

    I’d have one as a second vehicle, in fact when my wife’s passat dies we’ll probably replace it with a semi converted van

    wisepranker
    Free Member

    It’s strange that people are complaining about poor fuel consumption.

    My old Peugeot 308 diesel did about 50mpg on average. The Caddy I’m running now does about 48mpg on average whether it’s got bikes and kit in or not. It also has cheaper road tax 🙂

    alfabus
    Free Member

    I’ve got a T5 LWB Kombi; before that I had a T4 LWB Panel (with a window in the sliding door) and before that a T2 (bay) with a poptop.

    Never paid more than a car toll on the severn bridge – used to be at Uni in Aberystwyth, so crossed the bridge a lot. Now live in Cheltenham and go to south wales a fair bit.

    Ferry/tunnel does cost a bit more, but then I can fit more people and stuff in, so it divides by more people 🙂

    Vans are awesome.

    Dave

    ps I now have a car as well, but used to use my T4 as daily driver.

    porter_jamie
    Full Member

    thats a 100ps 5 speed vtx75 trans. this is a good thing because it does not have a dmf, or commonrail injection. it will do 34 mpg. as for ferries, it will not cost much more than a car. mate and myself took my t4 and his transit (100ps like that one) to the alps. the transit is defo nicer to drive.

    my t4 is my daily driver. if you are used to posh cars then don’t do it. i dont think i could go without a van now, had them for years. so practical. muddy bikes, dogs, motorbikes, etc not an issue. i get 34mpg from it, it’s got 190k on it, and is an 88hp motor.

    ps, window in the side gets you across dartford crossing for same cost as a car.

    smudge
    Free Member

    wisepranker,

    Do you have to remove any wheels to get the bikes into the Caddy or a straight fit? looking at a Van and its clicking all the right buttons atm.
    Thanks

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 77 total)

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