[Closed] Using a small van day to day

my only regret about going from car to van is i wish id got something a bit quicker - easily solved by a faster engine (mines is a low rent cheap to run 1.9 n/a ) but its economical enough

the only time i ever wish for a car is when taking mates to town - how ever it does mean i dont have to drive too often !

Shop around for insurance first - some of the regular insurers can be a bit funny about insuring commercial vehicles on a domestic (SDP/commuting) basis.

I went from a small car to a Transit Connect (LWB / high roof): no regrets at all. Although I don't use it everyday, it isn't big enough to make any real difference around town and the fact that I can't really give people lifts is more than outweighed by its practicality.

Don't vans have different speed-limits too?

transit connects do - limited to 60 on NSL and dualers

partner/berlingo and kangoos are same as cars - mines on a car chassis - still has the passenger footwells under the rear load bay

look into servicing costs .... i wanted a connect but based on my dads 09 transit i wasnt prepared to take that risk - it needs alot of work and never gets through a service for less than 800 quid as the bits are expensive. its had an alternator , a couple of washer pumps , steering rack , ECU , goes through brake pads at an alarming rate ..... same boy does the work on my van and i got a service , mot and timing belt for 350 and a service and mot alone for 180 !

Thanks all. I need to check prices for insurance. Different speed limits come in with different sizes and whether it's a real van or car-derived van although the guidance isn't very clear.

You can get the Caddy with quite a pokey engine as well as the standard, need to give the two a test drive and work out whether it's worth the extra cost.

caddy iirc falls into the lower speedlimit classification

a 2.0 HDI partner will be nippy and in hindsight is what i should have bought but mine costs so little to run i can overlook that fact - i drive a peugeot partner and a land rover defender - im in no rush !

Even with Brlingo's it seems a bit unclear what the limit is-
[url] http://www.therevcounter.com/general-mayhem/51366-whats-national-speed-limit-s-for-berlingo-van-2.html [/url]

Made the move to small van a few years ago with a Pug Partner and it was great - never having to worry about dirty bike/dog, just throw them in the back and brush it out once mud dried. Got an estate car again when that went kaput and never used rear seats cos they were always folded down. If i needed the rear seat, realised if used rear rack couldnt park it anywhere and leave the bikes on show. Got rid and got a T4. Dont miss the car one bit, all cycling kit/extra set of tools/camping gear/climbing gear all lives in the van so never forget anything.

Older Peugeot Expert are good option (bigger than the Partner/smaller than a T4 with a good 1.9 engine option - fit lots in them) Citroen Dispatch and Fiat Scudo are same van i believe.

Thanks Trail Rat, really useful.

DfT website

Q. Are there any exemptions from these lower speed limits for vans?

A. There is one (small) group of vans which have the same speed limits are cars by virtue of the definitions in Schedule 6 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act of 1984. These are vans that are both derived from a car chassis and also have a maximum laden weight of no more than 2 tonnes. This means that the weight of the vehicle and the payload it is designed to be able to carry when added together do not exceed 2 tonnes. The van design must be a derivative of a car body, it is not sufficient that it looks similar to a particular car.
Q. Which vans meet the criteria to be considered car derived vans for speed limit purposes?

A. Very few vans will meet the criteria to benefit from the same speed limits as a car. Those that do are likely to be similar to a Ford Fiesta van ,Vauxhall Corsa or Renault Clio van in having maximum payloads of around 500kgs so that when combined with the weight of the vehicle unladen (normally around 1.4 tonnes) the maximum laden weight of the whole vehicle will not exceed 2 tonnes.

What this means is that vans such as the Ford Transit and (and of course the larger panel vans) will not meet the definition of car derived vans set out set out in part IV section 2 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984. Therefore these vehicles will be subject to speed limits of 50mph on single carriageways and 60 mph on dual carriageways.

aye ian , there are 2 berlingos though - depends on payload - mines the smaller 600kg payload and thus falls into the higher speed limit class .... if yours is the upper payload you fall into the lower class

Astra van here. Little 1.3 diesel but with 6 speed box its nippy round town and happy on the motorway. Comfy and can take 3 bikes and all kit for a long weekend with ease.

Used to have a Connect and prefer the Astra. Nicer to drive and just like a car. No speed limit problems either.

I've got an Astravan sat on the drive at the moment not being used.

Pro's
Dirty bikes in the back no drama (although have to drop wheels out if its more than one)
Cheap to run (lack of weight in the back means I see 55-60mpg)
Cheap parts (tyres are £35 a piece)
I don't care about it so park it whereever without worrying about car parking dents/scrapes
People expect you to cut them up/push in so don't get nearly as arsey. They think its some big meathead builder driving it (rather than some IT geek)

Cons
I work in an office so wearing a shirt on the commute means I look like I work for Comet. I do feel a bit of a knob driving it
Its not the most comfortable place in the world on long trips
Its not that fast
Insurance isn't cheap
Its a bit noisy

If you're not bothered about image then go for it. I'd go for a caddy rather than something like mine as the AV is a bit of a compromise. That said its just an estate car with no rear windows so not quite as 'commercial' as some

I run a Kangoo and it's excellent. I can hide the bike (or whatever) in it, no one can see inside it. It's quiet, comfy, fast enough, economical enough, cheap to insure, no restrictions, tax is a bit high (£200pa) but no worse than any other 1.7ltr diesel.

I love it, it's annonymous, it has dents in it, I drive it live a van driver does and thankfully park it anywhere I like too.

It's done me proud that little van of mine. Couldn't recommend them highly enough.

Bikebouy - is the Kangoo big enough for what you need? I had dismissed it and the Bipper as I thought that it would be a bit short.

As for the speed limit with a small van your not going to get caught by a camera, your only real problem would be a copper who knew the law. 🙂

Weeeellll it depends on what you want to get in it.. Heres what I do:

I windsurf a lot so need to get all my boards and sailis in right, so I've created a small rack in the back that is just high enough to let the front passenger seat fold backwards (they don't fold flat mores the pity, unlike the connect) So, when I fold the seat back I can get 3.75mtr length in it, the boards sit under the parcel shelf and into the floor with the rear of the boards comfortably in and the sails on top I can still see out of the passenger window for the mirror. If I can't see out of the mirror I have cunningly created a small sling that lifts the topmost sail out of the way, so I can see out of the mirror.. Then I strap everything down in the back with thule straps so the stuff doesn't roll around or move, I don't want anything flying forward or rolling around see, secure and all that.
Then on the drivers side I have the space for 3 bikes if I need it. I've again built a small rack attachment so I can load the bikes in and again strap them to the side of the van.
If I need more space I have a roof rack on it too which I carry a SUP on occasionally. I've driven it loads as I'm rather an active type and have had no problems with it at all, oh well no actually I've had the ignition light flicker on and off, but they are Renault electrics afterall.

These things are cheap at the moment and I'd say for £2k you'll get a cracker, you can get them with sliding side doors though mine hasn't that function, but I don't need it. One of my mates has bought a neat looking FSH 05plate one for £2k and it's excellent, though next to my rather bonnet dinged van it looks too neat (hahaha)

It's so easy to maintain, oil, filters whatever are right in front of you when you open the bonnet, no hasstle.

My drivers central locking has stopped working and it's the solaniod needing a lube, I'll get around to it one day if I can be boathered.

I get on ave 45mpg on a run it'll do 50mpg happily and even fully loaded it's gotten no less than 40mpg short journeys. I'm not getting rid of it, it's too good to loose the use of, I love it.

Hope that helps.

could you not remap your 1.9 trailrat?

the whole lower limit thing is a bit weird though because no one pays it any heed.

i once got nicked in my t5 doing 83 and all the copper said was "do you know that you should be doing 60 in that thing? i pleaded ignorance and he gave me the same three points and sixty quid that i would have got any way. never been so much as looked at funny for doing seventy.

Currently drive a Peugoet partner 1.5d, previous was a peugeot expert 1.9d, and before that a High top transit 2.5d. Seem to have got smaller vans, but happier now as they are more suited to my needs and quicker too. When i need a car for more passenger space i use Mrscarbons. Wouldnt revert back to a car for my personal use, its so much more practical for work and chucking the bikes in...

t4 with extra row of seats here. i would really miss it if i had to go back to a car. It is like the most practical estate car on earth.
Obviously they are not as nice to drive as a car, but the ability to deal with half a dozen mtb's, muddy dogs and any amount of stuff in the back more than makes up for it. We always use it to go on holiday, because you can take everything with you. Trips to the tip are easy now, and it will still fit under the height barriers.

you get to change in the dry without struggling, and you can stand under the rear tailgate out of the rain putting off starting your ride too. Highly recommended. I dont know why more people dont run a van. I guess is it because they dont want to look like a delivery driver. Get past all that and they are fantastic.

Bikebouy, what did your insurers say about your home-made racks?
Looking for quotes for my MPV with similar bike/storage arrangemnt and a lot of them don't want to know as it's a home-made job.

Ahh yeah, well this is a van afterall. They're more interested in flying objects and when I mentioned the rack (a mix of wood and that mechano angle stuff) they just wanted to know if it intruded into the passenger or drivers cabin area, of course it doesn't.
They've never asked me what I carry, nor if the load is secure.

I don't have the bulkhead thingy, never have, there is a steel reinforced tube type bulkhead behind the drivers seat, which I also use to secure the bikes to.

[img] [/img]
Great for work, bikes, surfboards, the canoe, ladders, the dogs, fishing gear the only problem is when I'm taking the wee one anywhere her mum has to take her own car (or go in the back).

Get a Caddy and remap it up to a 140 Golf's power. Loads of VW breakers, lots of parts interchangable with other VWs (Golf R36 seats should drop right in), lower it with some coil overs...
Avoid the M6 toll and you're fine. Speedcameras don't distinguish between cars and vans.
Do it!

[img] [/img]

Speedcameras don't distinguish between cars and vans.

there are anecdotes of the newer digital cameras being able to sort - certainly reports of people gettign done in vans for 'van speeds'.

ive got a caddy maxi life 1.9 TDI, which is the MPV version of a Caddy Maxi. annd with tinted windows is quite private in the back, also you have the option of 5 seats with the rears folding up quite well. and another 2 can be slottted in. Downside is there is quite a lot of plastic trim in the back, but pricewise theyre not anymore than a caddy maxi + the cost of some windows and seats, and it has a nice soft floor to sleep on. THat said they are still stupid money.

For some weird reason being MPV means they are on higher speed limits. Drive wise its not really any different from our old golf, and tbh I wish it was a bit slower so it would stop me doing 90 on the motorway. Its v economical and prob does 55 mpg on a good day, either way its noticably more econmomical than a 1.6 petrol golf.

Theyre is no way I would go back to a car. IUts stupid but once youve wheeled your bike into the back once youll never want to take the wheels of again

Scuzz - do you know how the cost compares to between getting the 102bhp Caddy and remapping to 140 or just getting the 140 to start with. Is there more impact on your insurance doing it this way round? (Presumably cost to buy 102 and map to 140 is cheaper than buying the 140 especially as there are so many of the 102s around and not many 140s).

surely remapping has to be a bad idea, if the bods at VW cant get anymore omph from it some punter in a lock up is unlikely to do better?

Cant remap a non turbo mate

I thought about a wee van like a Caddy. Eventually decided i wanted seats in the back and room for a tall chap to kip so got a t5. Its my only vehicle and i quite happily do >20k a year in it. Parking sensors and side windows do make things a bit easier. It stopped feeling like a big unwieldy lump after about a week.

No bike putting in car hassle (3 with wheels on with rear double seat still in), get changed indoors, 6 riders 6 bikes fit with wheels off, other vans let you out at junctions, tailgate to sit under. Its a great thing but the insurance is just stupidly expensive. 3 yrs ncb and poor area don't help.

Transporters are subject to a massive style tax and when I replace it I will probably try something cheaper like a trafic/primastar/vivaro.

Mate has a 104 caddy and it is easily fast enough.

surely remapping has to be a bad idea, if the bods at VW cant get anymore omph from it some punter in a lock up is unlikely to do better?

they can and do get more oomph from it in other vehicles. Re-mapping to 145-150 is standard, however there are tales of mapping up to 220BHP with no ill effects!

The caddy SLW ^ mentions is mine. Does the job very nicely, had it out to the alps and back, had 6 bikes in it (4 full, 2 with front wheel off) with room to spare. Plenty grunt under the bonnet in standard mode and plod really doesn't know the speed limit laws anyway 😉

(Presumably cost to buy 102 and map to 140 is cheaper than buying the 140 especially as there are so many of the 102s around and not many 140s).

you'll save thousands going down the remap route. In fact it's massively cheaper to convert a normal caddy into a Sportline (if anyone wants one) than to just buy a Sportline!

Docstar - isnt it illigal to carry folk in the loadspace on newer vans ? I know i can carry folk in the back of my old school van back 90 ( although i try to avoid it as in a crash it would be lethal)but dont think you can after a certain year ..... Not that it will stop you doing it

Thanks Legend. The 140s are rare and expensive so it's good to know that the 102 is good enough.