Show me your bike vans

rob – trafics vivaros and primastars are all made in the same factory (i know) in luton (i think) and use all the same parts apart from a few cosmetic bits.

The only big problems with them are gearbox related. Walk if the gears don't all feel nice and find another. Also known to blow clutch actuator bits as well but these aren't that expensive to sort.

loving my t5 kombi – great to drive. just bought some alloys from tyremen (good) having first tried to buy from DP-motorsport (very bad and have stole £700 from me- bastards)

anyway, love the t5. having some issues with the egr valve but for 112,000 miles it's going really well.

perfect for any outdoor activities

I had a Subaru Sumo for about four years

Don't laugh, 🙂 it was a whole 1.2L, did 75mph, loads of mpg and it had switchable four wheel drive. It never got stuck in any wet camping fields and it had two sliding doors, a big tailgate to shelter under and loads of room for bikes. I got seven bikes in bags/boxes in it once and my Dawes tandem would fit in it with the front wheel off.

That's not me in the picture I'd like to point out…

What van have you got?
Merc Vito 110CDi

what have you done inside to improve it?
Lined all panels with roofing flashing tape, insulated, ply lined and carpeted to vastly reduce noise.
Broke out the jigsaw on the door panels and fitted decent sound system and sub.
Built a removable bed that sits across wheel arch boxes with storage underneath.

Problems?
Usual wear and tear but main one with Vitos is rust. Got some spots coming on the doors. Not great.

Seats aren't very comfy and adjustment is weird.

Dash electric failures not too uncommon – £250 for a warrantied repair.

recommended?
I love it, commute in it daily, fit loads of push bikes in or 3 motocross bikes. Great for tip runs or buying new 'white goods' too!

Currently torn between spending a bit on lowering it, remap, seat upholstering and rust touch up or saving up for a T5 Sportline.

Swallows DH bikes with ease:

that looks cool!

bump

What is the usual insulation method behind ply panelling?

been looking at minibuses meself and quite fancy the T5 transporter traffic.

the kombi are really cheaply put together and no aircon

I have heard that the 175hp one is not very torquey though.

and they are abit epensive but maybe re sale better so not really losing money?

nasher I've got a 174bhp T5 and it's a heap fun and very torquey though the band that the torque is available is quite narrow so it needs to be in the right gear at the right revs.

t5 transporter traffic? Do you mean t5 shuttle?

The 174bhp ones are very quick 0-60 in about 8secs and no shortage of torque ever in the one I've been in. The 130 bhp version is the best to own all round (I had one).

Kombi's aren't cheaply put together and as with all the vans AC, electric windows etc are all options (well part of options packs) which some have and some don't. Mine had aircon but no electric pack as the electric wing mirrors are a fortune to replace if you clip them. The shuttle is built to the same specs so if you want anything much better you'll be looking at a full caravelle which is a lot more money!

Residuals on T5's are pretty good but not what t4's were.

Here's my ex AA T4. Recently finished insulating and carpeting the roof and side walls including metalwork and door runner 🙂

Will be insulating and vinyling the floor next.

Just need to rig up some kind of tarpaulin system so not to get it all mucked up by dirty bikes.

Isn't the whole point that you can chuck filthy bikes in the back without faffing about?

slw – Member
Isn't the whole point that you can chuck filthy bikes in the back without faffing about?

Depends on your priorities I suppose doesn't it? Yes this thread is about biking vans, but the monstrosity of a 4wd I posted isn't primarily a biking van, it's a combination of my requirements.

slw – Member
Isn't the whole point that you can chuck filthy bikes in the back without faffing about?

It is but having a van is often about it being multi-use so yes the point might be to chuck it in the back, equally another day it might be transporting the family, or it might be used to have dinner in if it has a table.

I think the best examples are those that don't fit one purpose but support many especially if that is done with innovation and individuality.

T4, 2.5 TDI. Bilbo conversion and can get bike inside or use the rack

Sleeps 4 and you can get a 9 foot longboard inside with ease. Great when the weather is bad and drives like a dream 🙂

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8)

thats right the shuttle, I have van names ruuning out of my ears.

Thing is I need a bus with at least a 2.5 as its going to be pulling a lot of people, bikes and trailers up alpine roads, so low end tourqe is important, I dont want 175 bhp if its screamingat 4000 revs in second gear.

transits, trafic/vivaros all seem to have 2litre engines and even in the 115 hp they don’t cut the mustard..and finding one with aircon is difficult and/or expensive

Most VW's I see have biggish engines and most are with aircon.

So i vowed never to jump on the transporter band wagon but am now seriously contemplating one…. and they are probably the best looking of the vans…maybe as to why they are so popular

Seems like the insurance on the kombi and shuttle are more expensive than the caravelle…according to Honest John.

Isn't the whole point that you can chuck filthy bikes in the back without faffing about?

Any dubster will tell you, it's difficult to resist the urge to do up your dub

Hobnob
How about some interior shots of the layout of your van?

nasher max torque is at 2000rpm 400Nm and max power 174 around 3500 so you shouldn't have to scream the nuts of it unless you wanted too 🙂

cheeky_dieter – nice van, great colour and wheels.

nasher,

I've got the 130 Bhp ( T5 kombi) and it's got shed loads of torque; the 174 should pull like a train.

I'd like a T5 4-motion sportline next, long wheelbase. They don't (AFAIK) do it in the 174 model at the moment.

By the time I replace mine It'll be with the new 2.0 anyhow.

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T4 Multivan. Back seats make a kingsize bed. Bikes inside or on the back for longer trips.

Why thankyou. But it is a;so seriously useful and comfortable 🙁

oops that should have been 😀

Off to the Merida Brass Monkey this weekend, and will be using the van – it is great for stuff like that.

Here's mine T4 2.5 102 tdi

Can carry 4 bikes with ease and somewhere for a kip and to make a brew afterwards, perfect!

Oh, It's for sale BTW £4995. dc30 AT fsmail.net

Like a few other's, i suddenly realise i need a van!?

How easy are these to convert into something you could use with the family, really like the look's of the T5's, but not sure they would be big enought for 2 adult's and 2 toddler's..more investigation needed.

I noticed a cool renault converted van on ebay last night(on my phone of i would link it)and it had great storage idea's and enough sleeping room for 4…

Mine sleeps 2 adults and 2 children no problem. The only issue is you will certainly need to keep the bikes outside and not inside. The T5 is about the same size as the T4. Mine is only SWB too, the LWB option is there

Take a look at some of the Bilbo desigin on their website for inspiration or the VWT4Forum ( :-)also has a T5 section!)for ideas on what others have achieved

Seriously good fun bits of kit and mine is my daily driver and returns 32 to the gallon

Stevie,

I've had quite a few converted into campers with 2 seatbelts in back using Leisuredrive in Salford, Manchester. My eldest has known nothing else other than vans for 8 years.

You can also buy a Kombi like I have which has 3 proper seats in back or get someone to install the seats for you (I believe the fittings are in the floor plan just blanked).

It's the way forward!!

Thank's guy's, look's like my night's reading has been taken care off 😀

dave do you live opposite to the bay horse?

We built a rack for MBUK and Citroen the other year as a promotional exercise for the Dispatch. It held four bikes by the forks and bolted into the mountings for the rear seats. Citroen were going to start selling it as an accessory but they lost interest, probably because there wasn't much of a market for such a specific product. We had plans to make it more generic to most vans but never got on with them.

Does anyone think there would be much call for a rack that fits inside vans? Or are you happy to just strap them down and save some cash?

Here's my custom T5 lwb hi-top. Just about sold now though.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320449551201&_trksid=p2763.l1259

chipps' sumo gets my vote so far..

We found that trips to Innerleithen were becoming a bit of chore due to the lack of a proper visitor centre. Given that most of our time on an uplift day is spent in the car park, we decided to go for some relative comfort -rather than sit in the back of an old Mondeo or Civic like most of the chaps there, where it is difficut to manage a proper warm-up massage. Father worked hard so I think we deserve it.

We'll hopefully re-coup some of what we paid for it when we sell, but you can't really put a price on luxury.

[geek]Mos thats one of the most intrigueing conversions I've seen. Is there anywhere to sit in the back other than the reversed passenger seat? Which converter did it please? [/geek]

It also looks like you've sold up very cheaply mos.

Can we quit with these van threads – I really REALLY want one now……

Citroen relay/Fiat ducato – shite or not?

Decent vans rob, what sort of age? Used to come with 1.9 and 2.5 diesels both non turbo, 1.9 was painfully slow. This was until about 03ish. These vans are also the peugeot boxer. As with vivaros, one factory for all with only minor cosmetic differences.

The newer ones are supposed to be good, quite a range of power outputs available so don't have to be slow. But a step bigger than the hiace and so possibly difficult to live with everyday.