hora – the T5 Cali has a whole house inside it so the areas where it rattles are numerous and varied.

pjm84 – I hear you. Key culprits – folding table not being secured at bottom, stick your hand on it when you push it to get the bottom anchor, bench seat drawer is essentially full of rattles! – ours went away when i put carpets in the back, drivers window when down is a T5 fault, mine also has like a really really really irritating noise in the dash which isn’t the moo valve but sounds like a bit of plastic tickign against something. Drives me potty.

This thread seems to have created quite a stir on here! What would happen if we attacked the STW favourite, the Skoda Octavia? Would we bring down the internet?

This thread seems to have created quite a stir on here!

Well if you enjoyed this one there’ll be another one along in about 6 weeks.

The T6 comes out at the end of this year. Heaven help us.

My experiences mean that I reckon most of these vans fit the mash’s view on it.

Camper van creates illusion of freedom

Of course, that’s very much unfair to those who get rather more use out of them (several on this thread) but I think it’s fair to say that a large number do match up to the mash article.

Back to speed limit school dave.

Nope, quite aware of them. Simply sticking a window on the side doth not a dual purpose vehicle make though, as I already pointed out is must be under 2040kg unladen, depending on the model you go for you can easily breach that limit.

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

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/car-derived-vans-and-dual-purpose-vehicles/car-derived-vans-and-dual-purpose-vehicles

https://www.volkswagen-vans.co.uk/range/transporter/transporter-kombi/specification

EDIT: Hmm, I see your point, vans can still do 70 if not towing, the police link I was quoting from said 60. Helpful.

Whilst my van has been reclassified as a motorhome, so does it come under the 70mph for motor home or the 60 for LGV. A very grey area.

From SK’s first link above

Motorhomes or motor caravans (not more than 3.05 tonnes maximum unladen weight) 60/70/70 single/dual/motorway

Assumed my medium wheelbase Sprinter campervan was 50/60/70. How do I find the unladen weight for the vehicle please ?

So long as it’s also re registered as a campervan, nit just banging a window in the side.

Andy – check your V5 to see what it’s registered as and what it weighs.

Thanks Mikewsmith, will do

Will be getting a new van shortly due to a dealer ordering cock up. .

I suspect the same rattles will occur with the new vehicle. The dash rattle seems to be related to the VIN area / sticky foam rubber that has fallen behind the dash. The rattle above my head is annoying. I cant seem to trace it. The drinks holder rattles when extracted from the dash.

However the “camper” part is pretty good and rattle free apart from the occasional clunk typically originating from items in the fridge.

The rattle above my head is annoying

velcro the light down and/or remove the fckn thing. I took mine out after snapping it again. Cali looks good in white, mine is night blue.

Well, had a look at a couple of large estates and a couple of vans today…

Mondeo – old model seems like it’s larger (or at least, boot aperture looks larger…) but rare as RHS 2nd hand around here
– new model looks nice, but all fittings felt plasticky and it didn’t look as big as I expected

Audi A6 – As huge as I had expected, nicely built, but pricey and high CQ.

VW vans – boot much larger than I’d previously thought and second row seating area similarly spacious. Impressed, but need to get my head around running costs vs purchase costs vs depreciation

Also need to understand the various spec options. TD130 Highline looked nice

Looking out the window at our Galaxy with two canoes on roof, four bikes on the back and another in the boot, I can see the benefit of a van today. 🙁

Whereas our swb T5 just swallowed two bikes whole plus all our camping and biking kit for a week away, still leaving enough room in the back for us to sit on the rear seat/R&R bed and brew up. When we get there, quick bit of shuffling stuff about and the bed will fold out. Can be done with bikes inside if I take the wheels off and slot them under the bed, but for ease we’ll probably just lock them to a chassis member overnight with a cover over them as usual.

Fitted myself, colleague, personal kit, bike and 15 x 65 litre rucsacs for a D of E expedition this weekend into the SWB T5. 8)

😆

I fit a family of four into a VW Passat this weekend and towed a caravan.

What game are we playing again?

I fitted a family of 4 plus a buggy into my LWB T5 this weekend and went to Asda to pick up a couple of stair gates 😀

We’re playing ‘justify my lifestyle vehicle choice’ Mol…

On the other hand a good few years ago now my 205 3dr took my wife and I with 2 mtbs and a tandem (pretty much dismantled fully mind you) along with our luggage for a trip to the south of Grance and we didn’t need confined space training.

4 people vauxhall vectra, 2 massive tents, climbing gear and loads more
4 people mazda 6. 4 bikes, paraglider and more

2 people LWB med high transit 4 bikes double bed, room to hide, climbing gear and enough room to live for 2 weeks.

The T5 is bigger than a estate car, it’s smaller than lots of other vans.

Folk running t5 vans should get a proper wee van in a transit and enjoy some genuine space! Save the extra 5 grand on purchase and spend it on a shiny bike instead

What game are we playing again?

Well, believe it or not, I didn’t start this thread as a troll against van owners (or estate owners…)

Current estate car is too small, and goes back to the lease company within the next 6 months. Company has pulled the plug on company car scheme, so I am genuinely looking at my options…

The T5 is bigger than a estate car, it’s smaller than lots of other vans.

QED. Thread Closed.

Aw…

Folk running t5 vans should get a proper wee van in a transit and enjoy some genuine space! Save the extra 5 grand on purchase and spend it on a shiny bike instead

Got a shiny T5 and shiny bikes. Whats your point caller?

If you had a bigger cheaper van you could have 2 shiny bikes and have room for the inside 😉 (can’t be bothered to look up the what t5 bike rack threads)

Good point. Unfortunately I’m quite into the VW ‘scene’ (god I hate that term) and turning up at a show with Transit or something ain’t going to cut it 😉

If you don’t get the point of a van then they’re not for you*, that’s OK.

VWs aren’t for me, but they seem nice and if some people get a sense of belonging or prestige from owning one then I won’t judge them any more harshly than someone with a nice car.

(* but you’re not a real MTBer**)

(** only joking)

T5 driver here, works van with as many private miles I can muster.
It’s OK nothing special tbh. I have much more fun in my t2 continental westy.
If your looking for a new van the latest mercs drive well and look nice but are a tad smaller inside.

I have much more fun in my t2 continental westy

by fun, do you mean sitting by the side of the road waiting for the recovery truck?

No brand new gearbox and engine built by my own fair hands.
T5s don’t brake down then? My work van has twice it’s on 27thou and rattles like hell.

If you don’t get the point of a van then they’re not for you*, that’s OK.

So – if you want to carry a lot of stuff around, you need a van.

Hardly a ground breaking revelation, is it? 🙂

Definitely not worthy of seven pages.

But I think it would have struggled to make two without the VW element TBH.

I may have helped pad the thread out, I admit 🙂

Spent a lot of the weekend in a 2014 T5 Highline and it really isn’t as nice or quiet as a well spec’d Vito, they are definitely more “vanny” inside. The rattles would drive me nuts.
The only real benefit I can see of one is the residual values in comparison, and they look cooler.

There were a bunch of T5’s of various styles and colours down at Weston-Super-Mare yesterday, all independent of one-another, and certainly nothing to do with any ‘scene’, it just happened it was the Weston Air Day. Loads of proper ‘camper’-type vehicles as well, and given the choice, and the money, I’d have a T5 or earlier, like a T3 Kombi, with a reasonably tricked out rear. Reason being I’m a fussy git, and aesthetics mean a lot; I like the look of the VW’s, I don’t like the look of any other vans, except for the Mercs, and the new Transit Custom, which I reckon would make a great ‘lifestyle’ vehicle, especially if it was possible to get a Custom with four-wheel drive, and height adjustable suspension.
That’s it, really, it comes down to how the damned thing looks, and I’ll bet that’s true for most T5 owners; it’s just a much nicer looking vehicle than pretty much any other van derivative out there.
As for having a car and caravan, sorry Mol, but there’s no chance! Been there, done that, although not actually towing myself; too young at the time.
I recently re-visited a part of the country where we used to go with the ‘van; South Hams, in Devon. Driving round the exact same lanes in my Octy, I really could not believe we towed a 16’ ‘van behind a Ford Corsair, the lanes are so steep and narrow. I’m going back down there later this year, with a tent, but I’d love to be able to take a van down there, just as easy to manoeuvre around the lanes, and handier if the weather takes a turn for the worst, which it can easily do.
Maybe the lottery will cough up…

7 pages in so thought I’d add some fairly useless observations: They’re about the same length as a ford galaxy – but bigger internally. That’s all really. I have to take my bikes to pieces to get just one in mine. With the galaxy I just took a wheel off. But then again I’m a smug Cali owner and all that interior stuff (fridge cooker cupboards blah) takes up quite a bit of space.

I have a friend with i800 (don’t choke on your coffee folks) that seems a brilliant t5 alternative, apart from the scene.
I am tempted (as I was when we bought the Galaxy).