Vans....

The Northern Monkey

MTB specific... pro's and con's as only vehicle....


Discuss.

Rob-Is-On-Fire

Pros:
Loads of space for bikes and kit.
Don't need to take the bikes apart to fit them in.

Cons:
Lack of seats for people so we end up having to take a car as well.

Anonymous

consider how much time you will use the vehicle for bikes compared to how much time you will use it for driving normally.

if the ratio works in your favour then a van is an ace idea, if not a decent estate miight be the more practical choice.

does your mrs drive? if not how will your bird feel about being driven around in a van?

i was dead set on buying a transit but asked myself all of those questions and decided on estate cars instead, plus the dogs would be sliding all over the place in a van.

The Northern Monkey

hmm true true.

I actually spend more time driving to the trails that anything else... hense the idea. Plus the fact that the Coupe has pissed me off for the last time

I don't thin I could drive an estate TBH.... unless it was an Audi R6 Avant

Reckon I could get a sofa in the back of a tranny/vw t5 and have rom for bikes and kit?

Anonymous

if i was going to go serious with a van, it would be a transit, no question. they are amazing and ace to drive.

vw seem very expensive for what you get.

fitch28

girl i know is in the middle of kitting out a transit (her only vehicle) with bed, kitchenette type thing etc, still has room for bikes and her lady friend. says its fab, drives it to work each day and then takes it away for the weekend when she feels like it.

Northwind

Most vans aren't all that nice to be in, is the other side, at least not unless you're spending a packet. Not as much as it used to be but they still tend to have less mod cons and be noisier.

flet

I've got a 58 reg transit limited. Best van I've ever had. It's got every gadget known to ford, even cruise control which is by far my favourite.

Bear in mind though road tax for all vans regardless of how much co2 they produce is £180

The Northern Monkey

So the tax is a lot cheaper.... thats a bonus already haha.

Been doing a bit of research and it looks like a half decent idea if I wanted to kit the back out. Just depends what the GF would say tbh

bannedbiker

I've got a Kangoo purely for the bikes. Use it kinda every other day for work and back (when I'm not riding). Big enough for 2 people, 2 bikes and plenty of kit, or 2 people 4 bikes and some kit! I put a floor liner in so no worries about dogs sliding round in the back, plus the dog can just jump straight in the back no matter how $hitty it is! Same goes with your bikes, doesn't matter how covered in crap it is, just chuck it in the back, no getting $hit-high stripping it down to fit in a car or getting the boot of your car full of mud.
Should you or your lady friend be shy its also a mobile changing room (cant say I ever bother, just get naked outside...).
My Bro has an ex AA transporter. Same game, its his only vehicle (both our mrs's have cars, so if we've got passengers they drive, we drink...!) and he gets on fine with it every day and its awesome as a big-yellow-bike-bus!
I wont ever go back to a car to be honest! Yeah I'll build a bike specific van one day, (proably a jacked up 4motion transporter) but I'll be sticking to vans!

butcher of bakersfield

It's the lack of comfort that stopped me getting one. Sitting in a deckchair feeling the nauseating diesel engine, watching the gear stick bounce all over the place, while you thrash it just to get up to 30mph.

I think that's the trade off. You can often get foldaway seats in the back as an option so it's high on practicality. I know people who have them and love them. I just wasn't feeling the vibe at the time so decided it had to be an estate. All the comfort, the mod cons, the performance, and still a shed load of room. I ended up with what is essentially a Nissan Skyline estate. The choices don't have to be dull! But christ, the fuel economy will make a grown man cry.

Horses for courses. Comes down to what you want most.

bannedbiker

butcher of bakersfield wrote:

It's the lack of comfort that stopped me getting one. Sitting in a deckchair feeling the nauseating diesel engine, watching the gear stick bounce all over the place, while you thrash it just to get up to 30mph.

If you go for a newish car based van you that just aint true! Mine is essentially a Renault Clio but with a big box on the back! Nice interior, smooth drive, 1.5turbo derv so quick enough to beat the boy-racers though the lanes but bloody good mpg if you drive sensibly. Handles pretty much like a large car as well. Happily cruizes the 160mile round trip i have to do once a fortnight sittin on the M5 at 80 without any worries.

Was the last van you drove a 70's transit...?!

biff55

for anyone into biking , with friends also into biking.
van of any type , no question.
gonna ditch the corsa for an astra-van with towbar and roof-rack asap.

RobGT

Im looking into a Caddy, about a 2000 plate.

Cheap, lots to choose from, based on the polo/seat and under the false floor there is the bit the rear seat base fits to so can be converted with a little effort.

Briggo

bannedbiker wrote:

Mine is essentially a Renault Clio but with a big box on the back! Nice interior, smooth drive, 1.5turbo derv so quick enough to beat the boy-racers though the lanes

No it isnt, even the 1.5 106 bhp / 177lb ft version still doesnt have enough grunt to beat most "boy racers", but thats not what its designed for

bannedbiker

Briggo wrote:

bannedbiker wrote:

Mine is essentially a Renault Clio but with a big box on the back! Nice interior, smooth drive, 1.5turbo derv so quick enough to beat the boy-racers though the lanes

No it isnt.

Ok, so maybe the fact that i know those lanes better than most people and have driven/ridden them every day since i was 16 helps, but i promise you, yes, it is!!

bannedbiker

RobGT wrote:

Im looking into a Caddy, about a 2000 plate.

Cheap, lots to choose from, based on the polo/seat and under the false floor there is the bit the rear seat base fits to so can be converted with a little effort.

I was looking at caddys, bloody good vans. Only got the kangoo cuz i got one hell of a deal on it!
Was a bit unimpressed with the interior in the older caddys though. Compared to the partner i used to have (i parked it in a river, dont ask!) caddys seem to be just a polo with a box on the back whereas Peugeot went for "how can we make this 306 into a van?"

clodhoppa74

i got an estate. means you can get into carparks everywhere, which you can't in all vans, depending on height. used ot have a vw camper (before biking) and yeah, it's great, added freedom, never having to book a b&b etc, but, to be honest, when it gets cols there's a LOT of space to warm up in a van, and it takes a long time to warm up too.

if i had the cash, i'd get a crew cab pick up with a board across the flatbed with bike stands bolted on, but i don't.

bannedbiker

clodhoppa74 wrote:

i got an estate. means you can get into carparks everywhere, which you can't in all vans, depending on height. used ot have a vw camper (before biking) and yeah, it's great, added freedom, never having to book a b&b etc, but, to be honest, when it gets cols there's a LOT of space to warm up in a van, and it takes a long time to warm up too.

if i had the cash, i'd get a crew cab pick up with a board across the flatbed with bike stands bolted on, but i don't.

I think one of the coolest things i've seen is a crew cab skoda pickup with a van body welded on to the load bay. bikes went against the side walls, kit in the middle, go anywhere!

kangaroo

i use a chryselr voyager people carrier. im supprised no one else has mentioend people carriers yet.
i can take the seats out of the back fit the bike in, i could probably fit 4 in there.
at the moment i have a combonation of 1 back seat and 1 bike.
another bonus is the seat belts keep the bike in place, just one from each side hooked over the seatpost and there solid

also ive seen those big toyota things with a full compliment of seats at the front and tailgate section at the back, those would be interesting

BigJimmyB

I've got a LWB Vivaro Doublecab.

Seats 5-6 (front bench not ideal for 2 adults), plus loadspace for abt 5 bike in the back.

3 of us regularly go for weekends, all bikes, tools, tent, kit etc -no worries at all.

My 57 plate cost me £10k

BJB

frogstomp

VW T5 Sportline would do me.. 2.5TDI kicks out 174bhp (over 200 with a remap) and mountains of torque, drives like a car(ish) and looks the business.. bit pricey though..

Get the Kombi version (with removable seats) and you have something that's pretty usable as a daily driver..

butcher of bakersfield

bannedbiker wrote:

butcher of bakersfield wrote:

It's the lack of comfort that stopped me getting one. Sitting in a deckchair feeling the nauseating diesel engine, watching the gear stick bounce all over the place, while you thrash it just to get up to 30mph.

If you go for a newish car based van you that just aint true! Mine is essentially a Renault Clio but with a big box on the back! Nice interior, smooth drive, 1.5turbo derv so quick enough to beat the boy-racers though the lanes but bloody good mpg if you drive sensibly. Handles pretty much like a large car as well. Happily cruizes the 160mile round trip i have to do once a fortnight sittin on the M5 at 80 without any worries.

Was the last van you drove a 70's transit...?!

Something like an 06 LDV, last year. Which I quite enjoyed but only because it made me feel like a trucker. Huge long wheelbase thing.

Granted the smaller ones aren't so bad. But a Clio van is just a car. Without windows. I wouldn't drive a Clio either though. Done it. Didn't like it. If I was going to go for that level of discomfort, I'd not hesitate to go the extra mile and get a van. Like I say, horses for courses.

jono986

I have a VW Transporter 2.5 130 Bhp as for not being nice to be in, it;s the comfiest vehicle I driven in over 20 years of driving, cruise control, climate control, traction control, arm rests, upright driving position not legs stretched out in front, 120Mph (on a private road ) over 40 mpg not at that speed though. I do over 600 miles a day on a regular basis with no aches and pains.
There's more than enough room for 5 bikes and all the gear, including pressure washer and 25L's of water, the only let down is the passenger seats aren't that comfy and there's only room for 2 passengers.

bannedbiker

butcher of bakersfield wrote:

Granted the smaller ones aren't so bad. But a Clio van is just a car. Without windows. I wouldn't drive a Clio either though. Done it. Didn't like it. If I was going to go for that level of discomfort, I'd not hesitate to go the extra mile and get a van. Like I say, horses for courses.

Dude, I dont drive a clio van, i drive a kangoo:
Based on a clio, but a wee bit bigger!

I doubt you'd fit 1 bike in a clio without taking wheels off...

butcher of bakersfield

My mistake. It's still a tin can with a rattly diesel engine and deck chairs for seats though

ashleymp777

I've got a Mutsibushi Warrior - perfect! Cab for 4 people, pick-up bit at the back and a bike rack for 3 bikes. Sweet!

bannedbiker

butcher of bakersfield wrote:

My mistake. It's still a tin can with a rattly diesel engine and deck chairs for seats though

Tin can, Check.
Rattly Diesel engine, Check (its done nearly 160k miles and its 54plate!)
Deck chairs, nope, surprisingly comfy!
:P

ashleymp777 wrote:

I've got a Mutsibushi Warrior - perfect! Cab for 4 people, pick-up bit at the back and a bike rack for 3 bikes. Sweet!

Wish i could afford/afford to run one...!

ratty2k

Transit Connect? Focus suspension on the front so it handles pretty well, Comfy, well equipped if you get an LX or above.
Mines just the basic SWB, but in rare black. I didn't want a white van and this couldn't be less white!
42mpg, mines the 75Hp version, 90 & 110 versions available and all tuneable with a re-map.

bannedbiker

ratty2k wrote:

Transit Connect? Focus suspension on the front so it handles pretty well, Comfy, well equipped if you get an LX or above.
Mines just the basic SWB, but in rare black. I didn't want a white van and this couldn't be less white!
42mpg, mines the 75Hp version, 90 & 110 versions available and all tuneable with a re-map.

Yeah, i was well tempted by the transit connects, but there just weren't any around at the right price when i was buying! I have considered trading mine in for one a couple of times, untill i mention it to the mrs, then that idea goes well out of the window! Good vans though!

delcol

ben.. i'm like you i like sports cars, and have a sports car. one that wont fit a bike in it,

my brother has a sports car to,, so we neded a car or van big enough to take bikes, i also needed a car with more than 2 seats to use for family duties with the wifey and baby..

enough babble ok after much research we opted for a citreon berlingo/peugeot partner, we got a pug partner cause they came with a tdi engine in our price range..

it will; take 2 mtbs easily and kit. and 2 people.. it will take 3 bikes minus front wheels. and 3 people and kit.. does around 52 mpg, only costs £140 a year road tax.
seats are not deckchairs, it's not to bad to drive (it just does not corner like the delsol) nor is it as fast..
i tend to drive spaxi (pug partner) a lot through the week to i can live with it, it's not fast from the lights and it wont go round corners fast either like the delsol
but it aint supposed to.. it is a perfect mix of van and car space for things and the comfort of a car all combined into one....
if you can live the looks of them and all your mates taking the pee then i'm sure you would be ok with one..