Thanks for the above, that’s useful

Eweleaze is great but can get mega busy now at weekends in august, their sister site nearby Shortlake farm is a bit quieter, still great views and a bit nearer to walk to pub in osmington or that other one along the coast path. Had a great time there last year, will be there again this year for sure.

Bought this stuff in the end, thanks for the tips:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112001102066?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
Combo TFR and shampoo, dilutable, both very handy for doing bikes, motorbikes and van. Hopefully will last ages. Both seem good from first impressions.

Might have to bite the bullet and go the extra battery route but would something like this do enough of a trickle charge attached to battery if left out facing south over the long weekend: http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/solar-powered-12v-15w-battery-charger-n31cx

There are 20 to 50w versions on ebay too which say they do the same thing.

yep should have added my van last year was 7 years old on original battery so might have been getting old, now in a new van so hopefully battery will be better anyway. Thanks for advice so far

Last of the Toyota Hiace D4D vans 2009-12 for that budget, will be totally reliable and you’ll get most of money back when time to sell

Can I ask one genuine thing – is this still wrong in some people’s eyes – my old t5 was the 130 bhp version, VW made it with the same 2.5 engine in other versions inc. a 170 bhp. I found when carrying a lot for work it struggled a bit up hills so yes I had it remapped to make same output as 170bhp version, for a bit more low down torque and poke when needed. I wasn’t tempted to go for the 200bhp+ some people had done, wanted to stay within limits of what VW already used then. I used posh V power diesel too which is supposed to clean your engine etc. The van drove well, nice and smooth with enough grunt for all situations now, I don’t drive like a granny nor a boy racer, just boringly average. I guess maybe still a bad person to have done some might say but it did what I wanted without being OTT.

Nut and bolt technique should be fine for lightweight smaller thread jobs. Do occasionally do bigger stuff. ^ that one linked above could be handy for upto M6, but do need M8 sometimes, cheers

Thanks trail rat

Mandog – 140 DSG T6 (not the later 150 Adblue one)

I got my old T5 remapped from 130 to 170 bhp and started using posh diesel, all made a great difference and yes better economy too. Current T6 seems more sluggish in comparison but as it’s still under warranty will wait till after until getting done I guess.

You can claim whatever you want, does it really matter or make you a different person? That said I did have some genealogy stuff and a DNA test info via family member which showed male line roots in SW England going back at least 4500 years. Female line all from SW Wales similarly back donkey’s years. All interesting to find out for sure. Brought up by Welsh side and everything about being this instilled from an early age including language, rugby etc. But born and lived in London for years. So at various times can lay claim to being a Londoner, a taff, a yokel etc whatever suits the situation.

Actually it’s probably all pretty meaningless, I guess virtually everyone is a mixture of backgrounds and has moved about these days and we are all related anyway not that far back, or if the royal family / landed gentry still very much are.

Did have a weird situation though a few years back though when speaking to a Moldovan priest (long story) who was really having a go and giving me a stern lecture about mixing blood not being good when he found out Mrs is Scottish. I didn’t think people like that really existed anymore.

Thanks for further tips/leads etc. Nickjb – sent pm

Thanks for the answers. Got it cleaned and up and running today but with a rubbish set of RST forks from local tip, they work but very heavy and flexi. So will try retrobike or looking for those XC28. Don’t really want to change to disc (and wheel)unless I really have to. Pic of original FOX Float 80RL ones too but they are leaking all over the place and the left hand cap just spins, no lockout etc, I guess the cost of fixing these would outweigh just getting something else. Any further leads appreciated.

A few years old but That French film ‘Untouchable’ was great, very funny

My neighbour has one of the new Peugeot vans like above and ditto likes it, much better than old version, and pretty cheap too. I recently got a t6 dsg 16 plate but it’s the older non ad blue engine so hopefully it’ll be ok…. couldn’t stretch or justify new but a year old black one was £20k inc. next 2 services. My 8 year old t5 it replaced went for £11k so will be reasonably happy if the present one is still worth that in 7 years. Fingers crossed, just hear so many conflicting opinions on reliability. I wish Toyota still made hiaces for the U.K. market, always ran them before, never any issues in years of ownership.

Yes CGT accurate, well as of now unless things change again post June. Thanks for tips, can’t risk anything where it might drop. Had a look – seems a lot of the accounts need regular payments into them and/or direct debits out, or you’re an existing customer. Maybe just simpler to split between leaving with existing bank (but best savings account is 0.5%) & some premium bonds, with the remote chance the latter might return something in this period. At least it won’t go down and can retrieve it when needed. Thanks again.

Yes agree leboncoin is good if look for stuff like on gumtree and your French is good for emails/phone, still prefer wondering about at a Brocantes or vide greniers though – ones I go to in Brittany are usually great.

OP mentionned Brocantes – I go over most years in the van to stock up in Brittany & Vendee, off again in a few weeks – but also look out for Vide Greniers (literally means ’empty attic’) – our equivalent of car boot sales but usually less tacky & much better, particularly in towns when everyone seems to turn up, families, food, drink etc. Depending where you are heading, this is a good site for finding dates of them https://vide-greniers.org/

cold down on south coast, still using wood burner…

strong and stable leadership
coalition of chaos

I used to get an oily fumey smell similarly in my 2009 VW diesel when stationary which was traced to a failed gasket where the exhaust manifold pipes join to go into the final single pipe (had a test done where they blow white smoke back up the exhaust to spot leaks). £8 gasket, £100 labour to do & it did stop the smell.
Occasionally I use to get a similar whiff through the vents when the DPF decided to regenerate about every 1000 miles or so, not a lot could be done about that apart from shutting the vents, opening windows to let fresh air in.

Wasn’t there a buyer on here who lost out when the courier handed over some expensive electronic item to some passer by who signed for it

Our local Parcelforce driver told me he got disciplined for an incident when he turned up at a house with parcel, asked bloke on drive if his name was …. guy said yes and signed for and took parcel. Of course the parcel was never seen again, turned out to be an expensive laptop. Couriers are supposed to ask you for your name first. Not that that’s great as even if it’s different they still tend to hand it over as in a rush to next job.

Related to OP issue, last week I was waiting at traffic lights passing through a posh village. There was a row of nice cottages right by the road. Several had parcels left by their front doors in full view. Can see how things do go missing. And no I didn’t.

He reported it today to his insurers as an incident and not a claim, they seemed okay about it and confirmed they’d not lodge it as a claim and happy to let LV get on with it. LV hire car provided is a Hyundai i10 pensionermobile so he’s lost all street cred for now.

Not sure agree completely with saying older bike stuff is heavier, although yes peoples requirements might be different. My old Suntour road stuff and xt MTb stuff is lighter than more modern 9/10/11 speed versions and is still working fine, though they may well be the exception to run of the mill stuff from past eras.

Mixed opinions then, gut feeling is to tell them soon

^ I’d agree on some bike parts, 7/8 speed Shimano stuff back in day was great, lasted ages, still have some going strong. A lot less fragile than 9/10/11 speed.

When I started driving many years ago I remember spending a huge amount of time fixing things on my cars (all sorts of makes), when they wouldn’t start or something broke, or having to call the AA having walked miles to find a phone box. Doesn’t happen these days so that’s an improvement. Much as I have tried to instill a knowledge of maintenance (not just of cars but anything) in my kids, just don’t seem that interested, I guess because stuff is easier just to replace. Or they just look stuff up on youtube, which I agree is very handy – wonder if anyone still uses Haynes manuals for fixing their car?

Mrs took her then new car to the main agent for it’s first service. Picked up next morning, 100 miles had been added, big dent where something had been dropped on the top of the front wing, and also heard a weird rolling sound every time you accelerated or braked – eventually found a massive screwdriver on the plastic sump cover inside. Shrug from the service desk so went to their MD and did get an apology, all put right, tank of fuel and no charge for service. Don’t know what happened to the person who did the service.

Entrance to a treacle mine

http://Www.sofasofa.co.uk are good for mail order ones , had a few over the years for work lets and home, always been good value and comfy

Toyota Aygo our youngest got for under a grand was (relatively) cheap to insure for their age at just under £700 no blackbox & with me on it. Been reliable and very economical. You’ll get a good one well within your budget. Mrs has a Polo, to insure that for them would have been double, and it’s had a fair few problems over the years but she’s attached to it for some reason.

Recently replaced a T5 and I test drove a few recently 2011-2015 ones, went okay but can see why they’re cheaper than Transporters in terms of the plasticky build quality and oddly I didn’t like there was nowhere to put your left foot because of the transmission tunnel protruding. Stuck with another Transporter, dearer as you say for the age but then it’ll always be worth more when I come to re-sell in a few years.

Proper re-map is the way to go. Everyone told me not to cut corners and get an iffy chip for reasons above. My last T5 (2.5tdi) was re-mapped from 130 to 170bhp which was fine, obviously quicker/more torque but weidly seemed a little bit better on economy which I couldn’t really understand as more power. This and running on posh diesel made a vast improvement.

You’ll struggle there. Mind you did have a good Saturday afternoon and night out in Boscombe just down the road a couple of weeks ago inc. Urban Reef & Beach (good food & beer) plus Chaplin’s cellar bar (good beer & music). Pretty run down area with a lot of odd characters about but we thought it was great (could be due to too many sherberts though).

Seats (used)- seems plenty on ebay, alot from Poland or Ireland for some reason. Check local gumtree or T5 specialist who might have some. New VW originals fitted will cost £2K +. I just got some 2 + 1 proper VW ones done, good used, but still expensive with the labour, all the floor plates, brackets, seat belts and strengthening bits. Don’t do what I saw some young lad do on a T5, screw on the rails and attach Bongo seats just into the floor ply….
As others say, get on the T4/T5 forum for best advice and stuff for sale. If you haven’t actually bought the panel van yet, might be more economical to find one where someone has already done the work.

OP – if you are down south, this place is good for advice and/or doing the work: http://revampavan.com/ ask for Andy. As others, you might need deep pockets depending on how far you go.

I had a 2 litre petrol one for a year, really liked it particularly on the poor roads around here. Could get loads in it too. As others say, bit thirsty though.

No scale on it, like the idea for pasta inspection

Been using a Levo HT for a few months now, there’ll always be nay-sayers no doubt, don’t care, suits my circumstances & love it, as does everyone else who has had a go.