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I'm starting looking for a new van, and basic Merc Vito's seem good value for money, however one of my must have's this time was air con and this seems a rare extra on the second hand ones I've seen. One of my colleagues has just suggested that white vans are cool enough in summer without it though. Anyone moved from a dark colour, (my current Peugeot Expert is dark blue) to white, or visa-versa care to comment?
It's a metal box so it will get warm in the sun, what age are you looking at?
old van was white. new one is dark grey . both are/were hot as **** in summer sun due to big glass panel in the front.
Moved from white to dark grey & can't say that I noticed a difference. If it's hot they're hot.
what age are you looking at
2014-15 ish. Well after the rust problem.
Thanks trail_rat and Phil_H, those silver reflectors are quite effective, but I reckon I'd regret not having the air con at some point. I'll just have to stick to my guns and be a bit more patient I reckon.
I have a white 2013, it is definitely cooler that my dark blue car, it is still hot though and I would not be without the aircon.
Used to have a couple of white vans a Transit then a Renault Master, they are still bloody hot. Still, I used to perfect the one arm tan!
Most caravans and motorhomed are white.....
But then they are also insulated. If you spend time doing a proper job of this it will make a huge difference.
most factory motorhomes and caravans are very poorly insulated.
It will heat up more slowly but will still reach rather unpleasant temperatures. We have a white van and a bark blue one they both get bloody hot in the back. Wouldn't want either without air con but it's only going to be effective with a full bulkhead.
All vans will get hot in the sun regardless of colour. You need ac if that bothers you
I’ve got a silver van and a yellow one. Park it in the shade or try to and stick window sun screen in it is best hope. My yellow one is insulated and stays cooler in back.
Solar gain through the glass is as big a source of heat as hot metal. Our Landy used to be quite acceptably un-hot because it had a white, insulated roof and vertical windows, so very little solar gain through the glass.
Might be cooler but my van still gets hot. Just had the air con redone this morning.
Its the reason I’ve got a vivaro. Sensible miles/age/price with aircon
My 2014 Citroen Berlingo has Air Con, it’s a pretty cool van all year round!! I’d hate to think how hot it would get without air con, be pretty uncomfortable that’s for sure.
Decent insulation is key especially if you take out the bulkhead. I don't rate the bubblewrap style very much, yes its reflective but so is the van! Whether you use celotex, posh 2 component spray foam or plastic loft insulation, it all helps.
Air con is good but if you remove the bulkhead you will need a heavy curtain behind the front seats to actually cool the cab, without that you only benefit from the stream of cool air but the volume of the van means the aircon will not do much to cool the ambient temp.
On some vans (mark 7 transit for example) the stupid air intake is a black box directly above the engine, and in hot weather it will blow tepid air. I've had good results wrapping the box in aluminium tape, or ally bubblewrap plus aluminium tape so that it does not absorb all the engine heat (it used to be cooler to turn off the external air in hot weather and slow traffic)
How much is it to retro fit aircon?
I've got a white van. It still gets bloody hot! I see no real world difference between colours.
£1800 to 2k to put in and it’s shit.
You’d be better off looking at Vivaro Sportive or Renault Sport vans most of them come with air con.
Surely with a van you can get units that dont need to tie into the gubbins and have it fitted in the back?
If you see what i mean.
Ventalate and insulate in that order.
No Aircon in the post bus but we do have good airflow through the van due to drop out vents, perminant vented roof lights at front and back, side windows in cab and living area, fridge is vented to exterior etc.
Plenty folk insulate then wonder why their air tight box just stays hot.
Solar gain is your biggest enemy. - if it's warm first thing we do when park up then is silver screens up.
I've got a white van and I have been known to drive in just boxer shorts while sitting on a towel to absorb the rivers of sweat. Usually in France or Italy but I have had one episode of almost passing out in heavy traffic on the M25 on the hottest day of 2017.
I will never, ever buy another van without AC.
The worst part is the dashboard. A giant, flat piece of black plastic that gets hotter than a George Foreman grill. It's like driving with a hairdryer pointing at your face.
I will never, EVER buy a van without AC.
For camping/sleeping/otherwise using the back of a stationery panel van, I think there's a huge difference between our old insulated white van and our new uninsulated dark grey one, which also has two extra side windows.
The back of the old one could be an oasis of cool on a hot day. The new one definitely isn't.
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">However colour is of course only one of the differences. Insulation is probably the main cause.</span>
And the cab while driving is a different story. That's all about the a/c (which we have on the new but not the old), also demonstrating I think the solar gain point made above.
Aircon in the back is a fairly hefty investment, but probably viable if you are seriously considering trying to retrofit cab air con.
However, it will run from the engine so once parked up it will turn off, it might run from campsite hookup but you'll never run it from batteries unless you throw serious cash at it (and a serious amount of solar that will only fit on a American RV)
The worst part is the dashboard. A giant, flat piece of black plastic that gets hotter than a George Foreman grill. It’s like driving with a hairdryer pointing at your face.
This. My job involves moving around cars that have mostly been sat all day in direct sunlight. It matters not a jot what colour the paint is when there’s a large expanse of black plastic and upholstery to absorb solar radiation. A white Zafira I went to collect from remote storage this afternoon showed 36 degrees on the dash readout. I’ve had to wrap keys in a folded paper tissue to avoid burning my fingers on metal detailing after they were left on the top of the dash. Even the screen is almost too hot to touch, and that’s transparent.
As a 20 year veteran of van driving I can honestly say get one with a bulk head and air con!
The difference between a car and a van is a car is whisper quiet, fuel efficient and a nice place to be with the windows up.
A van does 34mpg and is noisy regardless so doing the length of the M1 with the windows down and a 2l bottle of water to ward off complete dessication (you'll have a headache anyway so meer dehydration is only a minor irritation).
A van does 34mpg and is noisy regardless so doing the length of the M1 with the windows down and a 2l bottle of water to ward off complete dessication
Nah windows up, air con on and bulkhead nice and comfy up there these days in a modern van
'The difference between a car and a van is a car is whisper quiet, fuel efficient and a nice place to be with the windows up.
A van does 34mpg and is noisy regardless so doing the length of the M1 with the windows down and a 2l bottle of water to ward off complete dessication (you’ll have a headache anyway so meer dehydration is only a minor irritation).'
Sounds like your vans ****ed mate. (or your vans from the same era as the fax machine in my office. )
A 15 plate Fiat Doblo or its bigger brother the Ducato is what we run at work. Both no harder to drive than a car and comfortable pretty much all day with Aircon, DAB radio etc....
We've got 4 different but all brand new vans at work. Everyone fights for the T6 or Transit because they have air con. The Sprinter and Crafter, especially in the last few weeks, have been complete torture to be in. If you come in late, you're gonna be dripping with sweat for the rest of the day.
A van does 34mpg and is noisy regardless
Have you driven a van from the 21st Century? I love the new Transit, I'd choose it over most cars.
Have you driven a van from the 21st Century? I love the new Transit, I’d choose it over most cars.
The big Hyundai van/MPV’s are pretty good, too. Not driven one any distance, but the interior is pretty well turned out, and there’s A/C.
Going back to white vans, I had to move a white Skoda Yeti yesterday, which had been sat in the open for some time, it wasn’t noticeably cooler than any of the dark coloured cars, although there was a black Zafira that I had to move forward a couple of metres, that had been facing the sun all day, and the upholstery damn near took the skin off my backside and legs when I sat in it! 🤬
