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Thought I'd ask you lot as you've all been there done it.
Next year is bringing days of 3-4 bikes, so we need a van.
We'll also have a big gazebo, spares, tools, wheels.
Obviously with 2 bikes being DH the bars don't turn fully. I could take bars off but that's not really my plan.
So I was thinking of the rear wheel stands, 2 forwards, 2 backwards. But do I need bigger than a Transit, Vivaro etc?
Something more like this?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234732510191
Lower miles or age? Or 80-100k and £5000 less.
Budget, well it's maxed at £17k but if the consensus is £9000 and risk older/higher, then that works of course.
Only required things are air con and decent seats.
Sprinter, if you're going to go big, go big...
What are you going to do when your lad discoverers girls and kicks bikes into touch
What are you going to do when your lad discoverers girls and kicks bikes into touch
Still ride. Just with more space for myself. Lol.
What the future holds I have no idea. But I know the Kuga isn't big enough next year for the plans.
If we take 3 bikes and he's riding 1, as am I, it still means the 3rd bike needs to go somewhere.
Or race day, he's on bike 1, I'm then left babysitting bike 2. Sure I can kinda fit it in the car, but 1. It's very messy and awkward, 2 it's not very secure.
Sprinter, if you’re going to go big, go big…
Sprinters are expensive, it'd be a Boxer more than a Sprinter I think.
I had one of these, sprayed it Harrods green. 1.7 4 dipped box, would do almost 65mph. Enormous rear box could get 20 bikes in easily. Used it as a camper. Had a translucent room. Was awful. Sold it for £700 which was £200 more than I paid for it. Would not recommend
https://flic.kr/p/2o4hGQY
XLWB Vito.
There's three different lengths, compact, long (same wheelbase as compact with a longer load area) and XLWB (longer wheelbase and even longer body). Of all the vans I've driven it's the one that feels least like a van, all day comfy, decent engine and gearbox, decent fuel consumption, I see 42mpg+ at 70 on the motorway and 35ish knocking around locally (mine's the 113, 2.1 litre engine 136bhp). Lift up rear door is great when it's raining.
Rocket dog, that takes me back to when we used to call the operator and ask to speak to Busby!
Incidentally, we thought about an L3 Vito unfortunately for me it was well out of our budget 😉
We ended up getting a L2 Trafic crewcab in 1.6l 95hp variety, which in light of current fuel costs wasn't such a bad call in the end.
I've got a Peugeot Boxer and it's fine. It's only a SWB and it's a massive cube with vertical sides and loads of room in the back. If I had somewhere to park a longer van I would have went bigger.
Vivaro's are tiny in the back. Vito's are glorified minicabs. Sprinters are massively overpriced.
If you're starting a pro race team you'll need as much room as you can realistically get. The Boxer/Duacto/Relay is a fine place to start looking. There's a handy FB group full of knowledge and advice.
I’m super impressed with my Trafic. Mine’s only a SWB and easily fits 3 bikes on an internal rack I’ve made, 4 would be no problem. Decent price, drives well, What’s not to like?
I would post pics, but have no idea how to. It’s on my OnlyVans account though…..🙄
I had a LWB hi roof Transit - it's surprising how much room 3 to 4 bikes, gear, tools and people take up when your working on them/riding/eating/spending the day living out of. Go as big as you can park at home.
Fiat Ducato - galvanized and better engine than Boxer and Relay, or MK8 Transit
it doesn't state it but I imagine there'll be £3k in vat to pay on the first van mentioned
Bigger is definitely better.
Just watch though, I'm 41, passed my test at 20 so missed out on some grandfather rights and can only do 3.5t without another test, bare that in mind if looking at very big vans.
Also, always take newer over lower miles, especially for Transita, Sprinters and other stuff which rusts badly.
If it’s going to replace a car and get used regularly for car stuff then get a transit custom/Vivaro sized one as you want it under 2.1m so it can go under barriers in car parks. If it’s an extra race and play day van then you might as well go bigger and get a taller van.
A Vivaro, Traffic or Transit Custom will be fine for most things.
£17k should be enough to buy something decent but basic. although van prices are pretty crazy at the mo due to supply issues.
Avoid Vitos as they suck for space and reliability.
Just get as big as you can justify
Gazebo = Berghaus AirShelter. Great bit of kit.
Avoid Vitos as they suck for space and reliability.
Just get as big as you can justify
weird.
I’ve only had Vitos since 2006.
Literally zero problems.
I can get 5 fully built bikes in (2 DH, 3 enduro) behind the rear seats.
XLWB Tourer.
I think all vans can be OK, but all can have issues... like anything really.
The vito though may be a little small... But obviously a nice drive.
This is currently leading... Movano. Going to have a look at it later.
^ that's the right sort of thing, that Movano. I'd not want to have that as my daily driver, but if it's in addition to a car then great. Ideally longer/longest is better as it make negible difference when driving/parking, but a huge increase in internal space.
I often debate if a longer/taller van than my current Transit Custom L2 would work better for us, but it doubles as my daily driver so probably not. All compromises.
Day to day i don't drive.. I only really go MTBing.
Every now and again i go to town, but it's 6 miles.. open air-car-park. Plus we have a low mile Focus if i needed that is the wifes car, but 99% of the time it's here.
I've just been and test driven the Movano
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52546839353_77742fe43c_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52546839353_77742fe43c_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/2o4ohCR ]2022-12-06_10-11-36[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/152318156@N08/ ]Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr
Just seeing it next to the Vivaro it does show how much bigger they are... like, WOW... way bigger. The van itself was pretty nice, it drives well, spacious in the front and obviously fairly spacious in the back too. It does drive very very van like compared to say a Vito/Transit custom. Even the engine, just sounds and feels more vanny. But of course, that's because it's a van 😀
Don't know why but i thought the Movano above had cruise which it doesn't... but the reversing camera works well, has DAB and as i say, drives nice enough, comfortable seats, light clutch action. Gearbox, well the actuator isn't the silkiest, but i think that's just not being used to the vehicle and would soon be fine rather than a problem with it.
It's certainly a thought/option.
Next year is bringing days of 3-4 bikes, so we need a van.
We’ll also have a big gazebo, spares, tools, wheels.
That load out is normal van territory. Any SWB Transit etc will easily swallow that and then some. I assumed you needed an extra row of seats, but obviously not if that Movano is an option?
NAh, 3 in the front is fine. The reason we needed the extra row in the previous Vito was becuase it was only 2 in the front. As long as we've got 3 decent front seats that's fine. It's quite rare that Mrs Weeksy will be coming with us, only likely for the Scotland trips.
the Movano has a fair bit of space in the front in terms of passenger seating.
I'm going to get a mate to shoot over with his Vivaro so i can throw a few bikes and things in it just to see how challenging it is.
Unusually for me, i'm not going to jump into this one as for the next few months anyway the Kuga will be fine for trips if needed. So it doesn't need to be this weekend 🙂
It may be though 😉
I use a Vivaro Double Cab LWB - it will take 5 bikes (wheels on) using one of those rear wheel racks.. The van has 5 seats so flexible for group rides. It's my only vehicle so used for everything including long trip down south to see parents where it sit on cruise down the M74/6/40, etc and I get out still able to walk after 7 hour run.
I've had it 4 years and before that I had the same configuration Vivaro for 8 years.
The Movano would be good if you are thinking of bed conversion, etc but they are definitely 'van-like' to drive (having worked at a Vauxhall Commercial dealer for 12 years and driven a few miles in them).
We have an ex-demo 18 month old Transit custom crew cab, LWB with a spec list that someone went a little bit mad on, which is what we were looking for, as we wanted to replace one car with a van to make life easier.
The Transit will take probably 5 bikes without taking wheels off & just having them stacked in. We have a full bulkhead, which takes some space as its a double cab model with twin front seats, which is good as it keeps the boot as an actual ‘boot’.
Whilst it’s got everything that most modern cars has in terms of spec, it still doesn’t drive anywhere near as well as an actual car & I’ll challenge anyone who seems to think it does (unless they drive really, really sh*t cars), but for a van, its not bad & considerably bigger than our friends T6.1 VW.
Appreciate its probably over budget, as they are still selling around £30-35k, but it looks like there are 2014-2016 vans well within your range.
I really dislike driving anything bigger, and for the sake of comparison, we have an SC Sporthomes XLWB Crafter which was an ex MX race van camper & that thing is a total PITA to drive anywhere (but great when you get there).
the Movano has a fair bit of space in the front in terms of passenger seating.
I’m going to get a mate to shoot over with his Vivaro so i can throw a few bikes and things in it just to see how challenging it is.
more room (in the front and back) but then worse in every other way. Mind that the suspension is setup assuming a hefty load, even a SWB Transporter and the like is pretty bouncy without much in them, the bigger the van the worse that is. Then there’s the fuel economy and I bet it’s pretty hateful inside after a few hours on the motorway.
Something to bear in mind is that although you’re carrying 3-4 bikes, only 1 is being immediately deployed at a race (when you’ll have the most kit in). When not at a race it’s an absolute doddle to fit loads of bikes in any van. You don’t even need any stands, some bungee ties onto the sides and some padding is all you need and will be far more efficient for taking up space. E.g. 2 people, 4 bikes and a load of luggage for 3 weeks in France was a piece of piss (admittedly front wheels off for that van, but it was only wee). Then did similar in a Kombi without even bothering to take the rear seats out. Also did big trips in the Vito too, but it add some odd shelving in the back so wasn’t ideal, but still worked
Not seen it mentioned much but expect a movano to use pushing 20% ore fuel than a vivaro (size rather than those vans specifically), that extra frontal area takes a lot more pushing through the air.
I’ve a 59 plate mk7 swb hi top transit. Drivers seat is ok, I find the passenger seats awful, I can manage 90 mins max.
They used the same seats for the next model as well.
I’ve a friend with a 14 plate medium length hi top Renault, that’s huge inside, and significantly nicer to drive and be a passenger in.
Happy hunting:)
I have a 2012 lwb vivario sport with two seats in the back with very generous leg room. I can easily fit 2 long mtbs 2 bmx and gear in the back, if I didn't have the rear seats 5 big bikes plus camping gear etc would be no problem. Air con 40 ish mpg on a run cruises on the motorway.
Had a deal lined up earlier on a Vivaro, PX on the Kuga was acceptable, then it was pointed out it was a non air con model!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266008639799
Sadly that's a deal breaker.
Not today as it's freezing lol. But some days for sure.
If you’re going full factory.
I bet it’s a money pit but that bus could be epic
Aye, panel vans and no air con happens a whole lot
Definitely get the bus, it’s about time Drop In TV had a reboot!
Lol she'd kill me if I bought that..
I think the no air con is because they're mostly company purchase and no air is obviously cheaper for the bean counters.
We'll see what tomorrow brings anyhow
It’s exactly that. If you go onto MB and spec up a Vito just now you’ll still see that the bottom spec has no air con (in the U.K. at least)
I just specced a Vito with the best of everything; £59K...😳
Would you want to go lower on the miles or happy in the 90s ?
The “resin” floor looks like a disaster and the rear doors already have rust on them. Wouldn’t be for me
Those extra door locks on vans - mixed views. I'd rather not, they can attract extra attention and just something extra to go wrong. Not particular effective either, if they want in they'll get in.
Best thing about biking last night with my Transit Custom: heated windscreen to melt the ice off that'd formed while I was out riding (-1degC pre-ride, -2degC post-ride. Windscreen's difficult to reach the middle of from outside otherwise. And heated seats are great when you've got a large cab area to heat.
For what you want to carry, at a squeeze I'd get that in my SWB T5 with the second row of seats in. With the second row of seats out it'd swallow it no problem so not sure why you'd want something Sprinter/Movano etc sized.
If it were me I'd be looking at Transporters/Vitos/Transits. I'd also be sound deadening and lining the rear and front doors as a minimum to make it less "vanny" but thats a relatively easy DIY job.
Best thing about biking last night with my Transit Custom: heated windscreen to melt the ice off that’d formed while I was out riding (-1degC pre-ride, -2degC post-ride. Windscreen’s difficult to reach the middle of from outside otherwise. And heated seats are great when you’ve got a large cab area to heat.
It's deffo a good point for the Transit Custom....
People talking about smaller vans above - remember this is for racing out of, so bike in bits, bike stand, tyres, pump/compressor, tool box, riding gear strewn about, plus the days living stuff - fridge, food boxes, change of clothing. It's a lot more 'stuff' when racing than just going riding for the day. Bad weather also forces that stuff to be inside the van where you'll be hunched over trying to spanner a bike in a low roof midi van.
Come race time all your stuff once again needs to be in the van so you can be on the hill.
I was tripping over stuff with 3 people and 3 bikes when at races in a LWB Transit. No way would I go smaller than a full size van.
I also used the Tranny as my daily driver - personal/commuting use and it was fine. Most bike road trips are long motorway journeys - all modern full size vans natural home.
Lack of air con isn't an issue - vans are white for a reason and unless you insulate and line the rear and roof or have a bulkhead then aircon is pointless.
Good points re A/C and no bulkhead, but still having proper cold air blasting at you from the vents is an improvement over nothing.
And "go big or go home". If I was ever going for a bigger van than my L2 Transit Custom, I'd go all-in and get a XLWB/L4 version of a bigger van, like a L4 H2 Citroen Relay or equivalent. No benefits to the mid-length (L2 or L3 variants of those to me personally, but huge gains in internal space on the L4s. I'd have to rethink driveway access for anything longer than 5.3m or so though.
Here we go, the ultimate air-conditioned van for you @weeksy: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-details/202211111603738
A/C, and a heated windscreen is a godsend when driving home post-race in a van full of wet, muddy stinky bikes, kit & people. Without it you'll have the windows wide open the whole length of the M6, just trying to keep the windscreen clear.
If the van is mainly for racing, and size is less of an issue, why wouldn't you have something you can comfortably sleep in, to socialise & soak up the atmosphere on race weekends, and save the cost of B&B.
If it were mine, I'd go as big as you can park at home - make sure you can stand up in it. Sort out beds, cooking, toilet & a night heater in it (use fittings from a scrap caravan if you need to keep the cost down). Put a bulkhead/raised bed setup with space for muddy stuff at the back, and keep the front cleaner for living in.
Consider fitting M&S tyres and pack snow-chains to help you get in & out of muddy fields 🙂
Hmmm hmmm hmmmm food for thought fellas.
Funnily enough, i've just had my KTM collected in a SWB Transit Custom and i don't think it's big enough. They're not small of course, but it's more a half way house i feel.
So at a minimum it's going to be a LWB medium van.... But i do need to have a look around one this week to see how they size up. If not, then yeah we'll have to be going a bit bigger.
The things on my mind are for say days when it's raining, we'll have the Gazebo up, but we'll also be loading all the kit in at the end of the day, getting changed in it into clean dry stuff.. There'll be a BBQ, there's tools, chairs, gazebo, 3-4 helmets, 3-4 changes of clothes, 3 sets of armour, 2 spare sets of wheels and on many days it'll be either 3 or 4 bikes in there.
If the van is mainly for racing, and size is less of an issue, why wouldn’t you have something you can comfortably sleep in, to socialise & soak up the atmosphere on race weekends, and save the cost of B&B.
Indeedy....
Sort out beds, cooking, toilet & a night heater in it (use fittings from a scrap caravan if you need to keep the cost down). Put a bulkhead/raised bed setup with space for muddy stuff at the back, and keep the front cleaner for living in.
That may be a little outside of my ability and tools. I'm really not that was inclined/skilled.
If you can, fit a wind-out awning rather than using a gazeebo. You won't have water pouring through the drainage channel between the gazeebo & the van door - which will soak inside the van, and you every time you pass through on a wet day. It's also easier for one person to assemble/dismantle, and stores itself.
Bit left of field but from someone who has spent many weekends in the UK and abroad at race events over the last 8 years I wouldn't rule out an older motorhome with a big garage at the rear. We can get 4 29ers with wheels on and no turning the bars in ours. It will have everything you will need at hand for the event. Cost will be a more but the savings on accommodation should offset some of it. When you aren't at events is still comes in handy for family weekends away. They don't depreciate as much as a van so should benefit from that if you want to move it on.
RustyNissanPrairie
Full MemberPeople talking about smaller vans above – remember this is for racing out of, so bike in bits, bike stand, tyres, pump/compressor, tool box, riding gear strewn about, plus the days living stuff – fridge, food boxes, change of clothing. It’s a lot more ‘stuff’ when racing than just going riding for the day. Bad weather also forces that stuff to be inside the van where you’ll be hunched over trying to spanner a bike in a low roof midi van.
Compromise though innit, the big full-race with potential to set up a workshop inside van can also be a complete pain the balls when just on a day trip somewhere that doesn’t have a massive field (or whatever) set aside for a race.
I’d also stick with gazebo over awning (unless a drive away awning), much easier to leave stuff behind when you want to nip away from the race venue for a while.
I think unless i have a budget of £100,000 then anything and everything will be in some way a compromise. It's just a question of which part of it i end up compromising on.
My head says go big.... but my heart (and my wife) says more like a LWB Custom.
I look at van A and think "yeah that.." but then van B and think "but that has..... " then van C lol
In the end i'm just going to have to jump on a plan/van but i haven't quite had that deal in yet.
Missed the race bit. Thats different. That said, I (as I'm sure thousands of others have) have raced out the back of a hatchback but at every race I've been to, theres always someone with a full race pit setup emptied out the back of a huge Sprinter or something. If a van was purely for racing (and sleeping in?) then I'd go with a biggun as long as you have room to store it. Otherwise, something smaller with a wind out awning with sides/blow up awning should do most of the job but be more pratical day to day if needed.
Anything will be a compromise but you need to find the right compromise that fits your situation now and also in the next few years. You wont need a budget anything like what you think. When we worked out food and accommodation costs alone for three of us per race season it was a no brainer. Bought it on impulse and never regretted it, compromise was on no automatic on the Transit at the time.
The thing with the racing is that we have potentially 2 riders and either 3 or possibly 4 bikes... So the hatchback thing isn't ideal. It's mostly not ideal when i've got to leave 1-2 of the bikes behind to follow the lad up the hill or even just to watch the racing, it means trying to shoehorn the 1-2 bikes into the back of the Kuga and that just gets ridiculous, especially if it's wet and muddy etc.
I'm not doing it from a posing/pro context, more from a functionality/simplicitiy.
The things on my mind are for say days when it’s raining, we’ll have the Gazebo up, but we’ll also be loading all the kit in at the end of the day, getting changed in it into clean dry stuff.. There’ll be a BBQ, there’s tools, chairs, gazebo, 3-4 helmets, 3-4 changes of clothes, 3 sets of armour, 2 spare sets of wheels and on many days it’ll be either 3 or 4 bikes in there.
That will all fit in an SWB (L1) custom with a single row of seats, in fact, even with ours as a L2 crew cab with a bulkhead, you wouldn’t have a problem (which because of the crew cab, has a smaller boot overall).
We recently had a trip abroad with 4 people in it, 8 bikes, spares, tools & enough kit for 2 weeks of riding/holidaying & there was still ‘some’ space left & nothing in the cab, other than people.
If you gave me the choice of taking the little van with all our kit & staying in B&B’s, if I could find places locally, rather than than the motor home, I would do that every single time. Maybe I’m just not a big motorhome person. Driving something nearly 7.5m long is a pain in the ass, especially to the sort of places that MTB races are held.
People are really aggressively pushing their own favourite vans here, which are usually, surprise surprise, the van that they already own. Yes, you can drive a small van anywhere with 10 bikes, 8 people and all your kit vacuum packed into a Tetris arrangement on the way to your holiday destination. I know, we've done the same with a Fiat Panda. This is not the same as surviving a race weekend in a muddy field in the middle of nowhere with the rain coming in diagonally from every direction.
They key is height, if it’s not tall enough for you to stand up in and spanner or change kit you’re not going to spend any time in it so just get something that your stuff fits in.
Then find a van with an awning option and buy that because at least you can stand up under it.
Aggressively?
Or people are giving opinions on the vans they own, because that's what they have experience of....
Good point 5in the height, you're 6'1"- 6'2"? It needs to be a high top really, us midgets don't have quite the same problem 😀
Whenever people ask for opinions on here about cars, vans, bikes or whatever, people line up to recommend what they have and act like people would be mad to consider anything else. It just sounds like "Do you know you can fit 29 people in a Mini? So why would you ever buy anything as ostentatious as a Fiesta?"
They key is height, if it’s not tall enough for you to stand up in and spanner or change kit you’re not going to spend any time in it so just get something that your stuff fits in.
Then find a van with an awning option and buy that because at least you can stand up under it.
I agree with this. Being able to stand up straight for whatever reason is a huge bonus. Wind out awnings are also amazing things. Honestly, bigger is better BUT obviously there's a limit. I was limited by the size of my driveway, but our van is for family camping trips or carrying one motorbike at a time so it does the job.
If I was van shopping now and had a longer parking space I'd start with Ducato's.
Is it going to be you everyday drive ?
Is it going to be you everyday drive ?
In a loose term. I barely drive outside of weekends. I'll be in the car tonight dropping the lad off, but it's 3-4 miles from home and i could take the wifes car... but that's likely the only driving i'll do this week other than to FoD at the weekend
Was having a peak at race vans myself, any of these any good?
On the subject of mounting bikes in the van, these are very handy.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0B2VN8WD1/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Front wheel out, spindle through the mount (stops you leaving spindles behind too 😉 ) rock solid. Mount on a batten to the floor or wall of the van.
Couple of thoughts:
my van is a t5 LWB had it for about 6 years. It had a new engine at about 20k miles (warranty), common t5 problem.
Been ok since. Mine is diesel euro 5, so it is slowly getting banned (or costly) in the different ULEZ type zones. You might want to consider whether euro 6 or petrol might solve some of those issues.
Also consider how it is registered - a shuttle might be excempt.
I have driven a Ford a few times, I think it drove better than a t5 (just to counter the - people always recommend their own van! 😉 )
Friend had a quite new ford and its engine munched itself with a fixing cost of about £7k (he just sold it as was).
I guess that shows that they all have issues.
In a t5 LWB I could fit about 5 road bikes and by sticking a shelf across the bottom that allowed luggage to go in there too.
A rear rack would allow you to carry more, but obviously comes with security issues (and also generally you dont want to have race bikes on the outside going to an event).
The more serious racers (as has already been suggested) use the motorhomes - much better for multi-day events. But are slow and relatively in-efficient.
If getting a t5 consider headlights - because the standard halogen ones are supposed to be awful (and you might be doing more night driving??)
Petrol vans simply don't exist... so not really a viable option.
I've got a 2013 LWB crew cab Trafic, usually runs around with 2 fully built large bikes in it, 3 go in build but touching.
Recently did a trip with 4 and 3 people, 3 had front wheels off - build a wee stand for the front wheel axels to stagger them a bit. 1 slotted in the side of them fully built. Most riding kit was in the back around the bikes, bags for clean kit in the rear with one of the passengers. We took very little time on how it was packed, for more kit/longer journeys we'd have stacked stuff on top of the bikes.
Wasn't much more effort packing up or setting out riding with the wheels off and it's a pretty nice thing to drive.
I've got a Puggy Partner and love it but I'm trying to convince us that the next size up would be a better size. I'd like to get 3 complete bikes in, I can get 2 complete bikes and the 3rd with wheels off and 3 bodies, but it is tight...next size up (which I've now forgotten the name of the van!) I think would be good but would also like it as MPV rather than van. Potential issue with that is a row of seats to store somewhere but that would then give more space for kit.
I think an awning would be useful - I've often thought of one for the Partner but the height of the car isn't really suitable for a tall person.
SWB vans can get a huge amount of kit in them, but the longer wheelbase versions do make carting kit easier as you don't need to stack as much kit. If you are tall, a higher vehicle is a huge benefit - when I used to do firework shows, I used to fuse the fireworks in the van - back breaking on a lower roofed vehicle and I hated it. Was much comfier in a high-top van.
It had a new engine at about 20k miles (warranty), common t5 problem.
Common early BiTDI problem - not a common "T5" problem.
Petrol vans simply don’t exist…
From what I'm familiar with, Transporters, not strictly true but they're mega rare. T5 (Caravelles only I think) came with a 3.2 V6 option. I think theres an even rarer 2.0 TFSI version of the T5.1 and the T6 came with a 2.0 TSI engine.
22,000 miles, £29,000
Job jobbed 😎
https://www.oakleyhorseboxes.co.uk/vehicle/alexanders-windsor-2015/#
🤣🤣🤣
That’s basically the one we’ve got but a lower roof one. And it’s brown so was only £8k 🤣
It would be epic for bike racing but it’s on pony duty 3 nights a week and weekends so it’s never spare 😭 🤣
I'm viewing 2 vans tomorrow at a mates dealership. I expect to be buying one
Neither are what anyone will be expecting lol.
Exciting! 😎
I look at van A and think “yeah that..” but then van B and think “but that has….. ” then van C lol
Buy van A; in 2 months trade up/down/across for van B. When that's not the right one trade back to van C. Just like bikes innit?? 🤔 And you do have form... 😜😜😜 Only kidding, whatever you end up with, remember, it's the adventures you'll have that count. 😁
I’m viewing 2 vans tomorrow at a mates dealership. I expect to be buying one
Standard Weeksy behaviour 😂
Bonus of a little (or a fully loaded) van.
When we got to the border in a van rammed full of muddy kit after some WC races, the customs guy asked to look in the back. I stood back as we opened the door & a pile of muddy tyres landed on him. He wasn't bothered about looking any further & off we went 😂
@a11y - I bloody love the heated windscreen in my Transit Custom. No idea how I survived without it LoL. I’ve had 2 Customs now, a 2013 basic one (only need AC in France, but the UK never used to hit 30C!) and a 21 plate Custom Active with lots of fancy bits on it. Idon’t think the more powerful engine (170 vs 125hp) is necessary, but I’m loving the windscreen and AC.
I’d happily replace it with a 3rd when the time comes. Both much nicer than similar priced Transporters.
The old 2.2 engine was nice if not nicer than the new 2.0 and they both drive really well in snow.
Years ago I had a high top LWB Citroen Relay, it wasn’t a very good van but being able to stand up in it and so much space was awesome. You could stand up and take your wetsuit off after surfing while it was pissing down outside. The extra space was great. Also had the same love for a similar sized (very) old Sprinter (which eventually rusted to death).
Those Movanos are ok. Nothing fancy but would be great as a base for your racing.
It’s a great size. You could probably fit a small sofa behind the seats for him to chill out on and have space to spanner. The downside to big vans is low MPG but if it’s not a daily runner then that’s all good.
Just get a big van. I’d get a big van if I didn’t need to drive to school, work, shops each day. I’m a big fan of if you want a big van then get a BIG van. Too many friends have got a medium van when they should have got a big one and regretted it.
Just buy a cheap ikea futon to use as a sofa/bed for Jnr and go big. It’ll be slow and drink a lot, but if you get a Custom, Vivaro, etc you’ll regret it for what you need it for.
I’ve had a Fiesta van, Citroen Relay (Hi LWB), Toyota Hi Ace (LWB), Sprinter (Hi LWB), Vivaro (SWB) and 2 Customs (SWB) and for road trips and spending summers in Alps it was the Relay and Sprinter that were by far the best, especially when it’s pissing down or cold and you want space to do stuff or chill inside it.
Note - all bought for surfing, kayaking, mountaineering and biking. I don’t (nor ever have) required a van for any job I’ve done (first car was a fiesta van at 17 and now I’m 43 and owned more vans than cars).
PS - buy a big van, you won’t regret it.
Vanbase have lots of ex British Gas Transit Custom in near me.
L2H2 ones.
Would be ideal for your purposes.
https://www.carbase.co.uk/vanbase/used-vans/ford/transit-custom/2-0-tdci-130ps-long-wheelbase-l2h2-high-roof-van/aetv10494039/
Neither are what anyone will be expecting lol.
is it a Nissan Prairie?
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is it a Nissan Prairie?
A rusty one with a fusion reactor?? 😂
Weeksy:
Unusually for me, I’m not going to jump into this one as for the next few months anyway
Also Weeksy:
I’m viewing 2 vans tomorrow at a mate's dealership. I expect to be buying one
🤣🤣🤣