Hello

Decided I would really like a bike van. Don’t need one, want one.

Anyway, the musts are:

Carry four people, kit and bikes with wheels off.
Have room for some (2-3) bikes to be wheeled straight in – but not necessarily with the same amount of people.
Be reliable
Cost around £7k

So far I think the most obvious choices are:

Vivaro LWB crew cab (or traffic)
XLWB Vito or Vivano
I800 with rear seats hacked out
LWB citan (maybe?)

That’s what I have come up with so far, but open to ideas.

I think I like the crew cab vivaro and have driven them before, but not sure how good they are long term.

I know this is a popular thing to post, so hoping there will be a wealth of help out there.

I know it’s not an ideal time to buy as vans appear to be pricey, but not sure if that is going to change anytime soon.

I’ve got a LWB Transit Connect and it’s not as big in the load area as the previous standard Peugeot Expert. It’s ideal for a 2 person bike van but it wouldn’t do 4 without an impractical amount of dismantling, so I think your Citan idea is a non starter.

Expert/Dispatch with the 2.0 engine would be OK. Basic but nice to drive without any serious issues. Front anti-roll bar Bush knock is the only thing but not too expensive to fix.

Thank you you tthew, good to rule things out

I forgot about the dispatch/expert. Good shout. Will have a look.

If you want crew cab I would go with lwb expert / dispatch scudo.

I drive. Lwb vivaro and line it. Two seats in The rear so a full load length down one side but not as polished a look as a reall crew cab. Nearly 6′ behind seats at floor level. Being a lwb it stick out car park spaces bu I only go to supermarkets and builder merchant so no issue. Easy to sleep in down long side. Good for family trips but we take a tent not sleep in th van

Transit Custom L2 double-cab-in-van (DCIV) – in true recommend-what-you-have style. Although similar to @TheBrick above, if doing it again I’d be tempted to start with a panel van and have rear seats added (benefit being I’d add the individually removable Tourneo seats, giving more options. IME the Transit’s nicer to drive than the Vivaro but it’s still a van. Nice cabin though and Limited spec has everything you’d need. Single passenger seat is comfier for long journeys. Averaging 36mpg with quite a lot of town/local and motorway driving and little in-between – it does much better at A-road speeds.

I’ve added a 40cm deep storage bench against the bulkhead so don’t have the full length to play with. Can still carry 5 bikes individually fork mounted, front wheels out and bars turned. Or 3 bikes but without turning the bars. Or 1 ‘normal’ length bike in with wheels on but my Geometron is too long to do that.

I don’t normally have the rear wheels raised – that’s only for camping trips where I load everything onto the floor underneath the bikes. Normally just rest on the floor.

Are these recommendations available for £7k?

https://www.jr3ds.co.uk/store/product/3d-printed-fork-mount-kit

If you decide to go with front wheels off then these mounts are nice. Swappable end caps that fit really well. We are just building a LWB Sprinter bike tray using these mounts.

You’d be at the low end of the offerings for a Transit Custom for £7k. TBH that’ll be similar for most vans of that size, so compromise might have to be smaller van and more dismantling.

I’m also in the market for a van and it’s a bad time to be buying. I don’t want anything fancy and I thought I’d easily get a Vivaro or Trafic for 7-8k. Now those vans are 10k+ if you want to avoid the sheds.

I’m just going to do without for as long as possible. I’ve bought a bike rack for the Yeti for now.

@TheBrick is yours the latest shape or the previous Vivaro? I prefer the older shape but looking at them ATM and I can get such a killer deal on a new one, I might do that on a LWB Vivaro as there are so many overpriced wrecks of second hand vans out there right now for not much less…

To be quite honest, if it’s not urgent I’d wait a year or so and see how if prices settle down.

I can get such a killer deal on a new one

What kind of price, may I ask?

I have had Peugeot expert for a few months now. No seats in the back so doesn’t work for 4 people. Sits 2 adults and one child in the front. Easily carries 3 bikes in the back with wheels on. Nice to drive no reversing camera but that’s not been a problem. Reasonable on fuel.

Expert/dispatch might well be the answer… anyone got photos of bikes in the back of a crew cab one?

I have a SWB 2015 Trafic DCi 140 Sport and I have had it from new and done about 100K miles in it. They are great vans and its my daily diver. I would love a LWB for the extra space but its just that little bit bigger for an everyday drive.

It’s my second one I had the previous model before a 2013 model, that seemed a more solid build but didn’t drive as nicely, though it was not terrible at all, just the 1.6 is a bit more refined.

I really wanted a Transit Custom but my local dealer always gave me a cracking deal and the equivalent transit worked out about £8K more.

In 100K miles its been reliable I have just now have a sticking EGR valve that will probably need replacing.

What about a T4. Options of short or LWB. Good range of engines which are all pretty reliable. Easy to put seats in the rear. Hold their money well. Easier to work on if you are that way inclined.

Depending on where you are and where you plan to ride you might want to look at the low emission zones coming in next year. Manchester is proposing to bring in a £10 daily charge for vans that arent Euro6 (2016 or newer) for the whole of greater manchester so including parts of the M62 and M60 M61 afik. Other zones coming in for Sheffield, Bristol, Bath…

This is what 7k gets you in the Dispatch/Expert range.

.Dispatch

Now with fixed link. 👍

Sharkey – I don’t do a lot of driving in these cities, if I do it will be in our small car. But thanks for the headsup anyway, I was not aware.

tthew – link not working.

I’ve been looking for a mid-sized panel van, but have decided to wait until Spring 2022 as the prices are daft currently.

I’d recommend getting a Euro 6 due to the upcoming charges. Older ones are going to get priced off the roads in the next few years (and depreciate quicker), so worth paying the extra now.

Euro 6….groan…didn’t think about that. Do the collective think this is going to be a huge issue?

Resale is not an issue as I tend to keep vehicles until they are pretty much done.

I am not based in an area which will have congestion charges applied, but obviously other costs could be an issue.

I am a low mileage driver so can cope with lower mpg.

I think the diesel charges that are coming to Sheffield don’t include private vehicles. It’s for businesses only. It includes the city centre where I’d never drive anyway but annoyingly they’re going to include the main ring road which makes it basically unavoidable. Residential streets will be packed with vans and trucks trying to avoid it.

Euro 6 generally means a much newer van, not sure how that equates to a £7k budget. For what I know i.e. Transit Customs, the change to euro6 engine was mid-2017 (I’ve got a Sep-2017 pre-facelift but with the euro6 engine).

Not in OP’s budget, but for anyone looking for deals on buying a new van: https://www.new-car-discount.com/vans – I bought ours from there 4 years ago, 33% off list compared to the 25% a dealer could manage. Very slick and easy to deal with. Cheapest Vivaro L2 van is around £22k inc VAT at the moment but with long lead time.

Owned a 58 plate Vivaro 2.0 ctdi LWB crew (2+3) for 9 years and was fine vehicle – had gearbox bearings replaced after 8 years then ended up trading in. Now have a 67 plate model and been fine as well so far (even with the 1.6 BiTurbo). Lots of room for mtb buddies and bikes.

My transporter fits your description perfectly if you can see past the mileage. 2010 T5.1 with 180k miles but those are motorway miles mostly and it has had loads of money spent keeping it mechanically perfect. Insulated and carpeted, removable second row of seats, currently an IKEA sofa bed for camping duties.

I was going to keep it until spring as my upgrade won’t be available until then and it’s probably a bit over your budget but needs absolutely nothing to be the perfect bike van.

There are a few of the older transporters popping up in your price range but do go up a few years and the price is bonkers.

Id also recommend a 2010 t5.1 as tax is only £110 a year for them due to some government incentive at the time.

Apologies, couldn’t resist the personal ad!

Don’t worry Daz, I have PM’d you. Could be interested and in no rush at all to get a van.

sharkey
Free Member
Depending on where you are and where you plan to ride you might want to look at the low emission zones coming in next year. Manchester is proposing to bring in a £10 daily charge for vans that arent Euro6 (2016 or newer) for the whole of greater manchester so including parts of the M62 and M60 M61 afik. Other zones coming in for Sheffield, Bristol, Bath…

Bath is already up and running, extends to private vans. I cannot drive my van through Bath anymore unless I want to pay £9.

Pretty sure the Sheffield charges will apply to all LGV’s (like the plan for Manchester)- how would the system know the difference between my van which is purely used for playing out and your average self employed tradies van? Maybe an exemption for camper vans but it would have to be registered as a camper with DVLA

Pretty sure the Sheffield charges will apply to all LGV’s (like the plan for Manchester)- how would the system know the difference between my van which is purely used for playing out and your average self employed tradies van?

From this website- http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/home/pollution-nuisance/clean-air-zone

We are not charging private cars
We are not planning to charge private cars entering the city centre. Private cars make up 80% of road traffic but only 50% of the pollution.
Buses, HGVs and taxis are responsible for half of our air pollution but only make up 20% of traffic. By focussing on them we can reduce air pollution as quickly as possible.

Still, I bet that won’t last forever. I won’t be sinking too much money into a diesel vehicle any time soon.

I think the important word there is car – I dont think weirdos like me who have a non-work related van (LGV) have really been considered

@chakaping

About 27k for an L2 Vivaro Elite 180PS Auto. Might go for the 150 manual for a smidge less.

Since you’re in the teens for something half decent, I may as well get something that will be my final ICE van and last a good few years.

All I’ll spec is towbar and tailgate and the rest I’ll get done by a local converter in slow time.

Use the car with a rack and save the planet 🙂

Spend the cash on a bike.

You don’t need an XLWB Vito to meet your requirements, an LWB, which is the middle option, would be fine.
There’s a nice one in the classifieds right now 😜

You’ve picked the worst possible time to be considering this, used van prices are up 30-50% over the last 18 months, slow supply of new vans will keep these high for 12 months or more yet. In the past your budget would have gone a long way, right now they’ll be a lot of sheds available.

If you could cope with the terrible MPGeez a Nissan El Grande would be a cool people/bike bus. Vivaro/Primastar/Traffic are a good sensible choice. Though as said prices are silly at the moment, want something newer/bigger myself but hanging fire

You don’t need an XLWB Vito to meet your requirements, an LWB, which is the middle option, would be fine.
There’s a nice one in the classifieds right now 😜

I have a LWB Vito Dualiner and love it. The rear seats flip up (either the single left one or all three together). It is very comfortable, has a very tight turning circle (being RWD). I have had it about 6 yrs and it has been very reliable, you just need to keep an eye on the body work. I have had a couple of spots of rust but treat them immediately. I would definitely buy another.

Thank you all for the input. Lots to consider but I think the main issue I can’t get away from are the prices at the moment.

Going to put this one on hiatus until next year and see how things look then.

@beefy, that’s a shame but prices really are inflated at the moment, I knew they were a bit, but it’s only afterlooking based on this thread that I’d discovered just how inflated they are. Out of interest, I  valued mine on WBAV and got offered £4k less than I paid new over 4 years ago.

@mikertroid, that’s a decent price and cheaper than the supplier I linked above. I plan to keep my current van until a non-ICE is more viable – the eVivaro crew cab comes closest for me at the moment, not that I’m, changing.

Reading through this reminded me that we had a van in recently that would be ideal for a general purpose weekends and holidays vehicle. It was an Iveco, LWB and with a high top. It had a single sliding door with a window on the passenger side, with a window on the other, and a bulkhead behind the driver’s seat. The back was divided in two, with the first section open, but with a table on the offside, with four seats around it, and at the back was a wall with a work-surface with doors and shelving, a sink, microwave, and hot water supply, with wall-mounted cabinets, and at the back an empty space that could carry tents, bikes, etc. I think it was a highways crew van – we’ve also got a bunch of Mitsubishi Shogun trucks, with a heavy mesh behind the front seats, a lockable steel box widthways across behind the front seats, and wood panelling across the floor. All the rear windows have been replaced with alloy sheet covered with heavy carpet on the inside. The spare is in a cover on the outside of the back door, with a removable towing hitch.
Again a great camping truck, all the most valuable items can be locked in the internal steel box, along with tools, etc. Highways Maintenance decals and reflective/dayglo decals along the sides and back. All they need is a decent winch, they’ve got serious off-road rubber fitted. I hope for a decent lottery win before they get sold!
It wasn’t on site long
This is one of the Shogun trucks:

I’m starting to think outside the box…

LINK