Plenty of ground clearance. On standard suspension they have tons of ground clearance and is a PITA to step up into the van all the time. lowering by 30 to 50mm doesn't 'slam them to the deck' - nowhere near. Mine is lowered 40mm and ground clearance is still higher than a car even when loaded up. Looking back I wish I'd gone 50mm.
I think my van doesn't have the ability to actually drive over ground rough enough for it to be a risk of grounding. I won't be doing any overlanding in it. Its got plenty of clearance for farm tracks, gravel roads, unsealed roads, farmers fields and campsites and your typical UK potholed and rutted A-road.
Avoid the T5 130BHP, 2.5 engine (chain driven). All sorts of major issues potentially, though great to drive. It was VW's shortest lived engine.
I think my van doesn’t have the ability to actually drive over ground rough enough for it to be a risk of grounding
Well it doesn't now it's 40mm lower.
As stock without daft sized wheels they are pretty good "off-road"
Just shy of £20k
Much obliged, thanks.
On the subject of lowering I had -30mm springs fitted to my first (an ex RAC Kombi conversion) and it improved the feel in terms of stability in corners etc.
My replacement van (T5.1 factory Kombi) went straight on Bilstein B14 suspension with the full 70mm drop and it’s great. For my use there is no compromise. Ground clearance is ample and still comparable to a car. I don’t want to bounce around off-road and it’s fine for the odd campsite or countryside car park.
I’d like to go lower but that would start to affect things.
@hot-fiat, yes it was.
On the subject of wheels, use on tracks etc, I want to change the wheels on ours as the current ones need stripping and refinishing, so will need something whilst they're gone. How do I go about working out what wheel size and tyre size combination will be a suitable swap?
Well it doesn’t now it’s 40mm lower.
I was getting at in 2wd form on normal road tyres you're not going to be able to drive over terrain where you need any level of ground clearance. If you were wanting to do some proper off roading as opposed to off-road tracks then you'd need to raise the suspension from the standard height and there are raising kits available for those with 4-motion models who want to do a bit more adventurous overloading in their vans. At 50mm lowered you've got loads of clearance...absolutely no chance of grounding unless you're taking it relatively serious off roading.
To slam one of these to the deck you're probably looking at a good 100mm or so of lowering from standard, so my 40mm of lowering really hasn't make a significant difference hence my wish I'd gone a tad lower.
Mine is lowered 30mm. Changed the oil last weekend, no need to jack it up, plenty of clearance for the occasional field or forestry track.
Looking to buy a T5 this summer, bloody hell there are some idiots out there trying to pass off vans with 200k as "low mileage"! is it some type of VW T5 parallel universe...
Anyway looking to spend around £10k for a non converted van with non intergalactic mileage! Other than Ebay, anywhere else to look??
We’re talking about something bigger, along the lines of a Ducato. You can stand up in it and we’d be able to squeeze in a permanent bed across the back.
BUT we don’t drive it every day, and I wouldn’t want anything bigger than a medium Ducato/sprinter etc.
Now looking at a MWB Ducato/Sprinter etc.
Anyway looking to spend around £10k for a non converted van with non intergalactic mileage! Other than Ebay, anywhere else to look??
I've been using Facebook, Gumtree, Autotrader and motors.co.uk.
Prices do bounce around quite a bit on them, but the good ones always sell super fast.
We're looking for a later T6 Highline LWB, preferably the 150 engine, with a DSG box, nice colour & a tailagte. They are like rocking horse sh*t. Especially when you dont want to spend £40k on one! 😆
Bought a T6 Transporter panel van, LWB. Bit more than I budgeted for but mint so good for a donor.
Just out of interest about the 180BiTd engine problem, I did a google and this seems to be it... (from elsewhere)
"Now, at over 5 years old and 60,000 miles it consumes 1 litre of oil every 400 miles. This is apparently due to the exhaust gases passing through and corroding the EGR, carrying harmful Al, Fe and Si particles back into the induction side of the engine and scoring the bores. Extended oil change intervals have exacerbated the issue.
Resolution of this issue involves a new engine, EGR, DPF and catalyst amounting to circa £10,000 expense"
