Find me a van then...

[Pirahna]

But anyway, the van

I'm a little lost now. You've got a Transit Custom on loan for the weekend?

[demographic]

You can fit a reasonably sized car in the back of a big Crafter, they're huge, nice to drive, but huge

Err, nope.
Width means its not happening.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

You can fit a reasonably sized car in the back of a big Crafter, they're huge, nice to drive, but huge

Err, nope.
Width means its not happening.

You can get a VW Polo in there with the mirrors folded in

[demographic]

Wouldn't fit between the wheelarches.

[weeksy]

But anyway, the van

I'm a little lost now. You've got a Transit Custom on loan for the weekend?

Loan possibly, buying likely
2022-12-10_07-38-54 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

[Dodgy69]

Have it...

[Pirahna]

Loan possibly, buying likely

A good choice. Does it work with your load and passenger requirements?

[weeksy]

Loan possibly, buying likely

A good choice. Does it work with your load and passenger requirements?

2022-12-09_01-17-39 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

[demographic]

One thing the Transits are bloody good at and its the front cab area.
Enough cupholders, storage for a couple of 2l pop bottles/flasks. Flip over thing for doing yer paperwork on, USB sockets.
A genuinely nice place for a tradesman to sit and have their bait/do impromptu officework.

The last Crafter I was in was a few years ago but the Transit urinates all over it for that front cab area and it made the crafter look badly thought out.

Of all the vans I've spent a bit of time in Mk 7 and the later custom Transits are by far the nicest place to be in.

[Noggin]

I miss my Mk7. I always fancied a transit custom LWB minibus for the company. If I ever get to the point of being able to get a van again, I would probably go for a Ford. Of all the vans/minibuses I've driven, the Fords were nicest - for me. I hated the VWs, the Traffics were a bit meh.

[Taipan]

Van worked lovely on the day... Sadly my MTB never as i lost a bolt... sadly for me it was a game changer bolt which can't be sourced on the day as it's very very specific to the bike.

But anyway, the van.
It's a little lumpy when first starting at 6.30am in -3deg.... But soon gets to sounding OK in 20s. It's a fairly ticky/noise/diesel engine, but that's a Transit Custom for you.. well, it's actually a van as we know.

Everything works perfectly though.

It does have a slightly ticky/tappy noise on right handers, which Couchy tells me is CV joint potentially, but the van wasn't prepped for sale yet, so that'll get done before i collect. But other than that... no issues at all with it for me. Drives as it should 34-36mpg but a chunk of that was uppy downy back roads and through the gearbox... i think i'll see closer to 40s on a decent run.

I even provided an uplift service for the boy and his team-mate who got 3 full runs with a quick uplift in the van after they'd been sessioning the trails earlier.

Excellent

So the quest is over, you've bought it?

[weeksy]

Not quite lol

https://www.savannahcars.co.uk/used-for ... ce-section

I'm liking this one too.

The problem I have is that I like and trust my mate and don't want to offend him. His one is a nice enough van, but it's not immaculate by any stretch.
So it's a question of trust Vs potentially nicer.

I've got to shoot back tomorrow with the van and will sound out any options that have or are coming in.

https://www.anchorvans.co.uk/van/44841- ... ise-no-vat#

It looks like he may have this one coming in, which ticks the boxes too.

At the end of the day, if I end up with the one that's currently on the driveway, I won't be upset. But one of these 2 could be even nicer.

[weeksy]

If i up the budget just a bit, it brings this into the discussion

I'm shooting over later at lunchtime to see the boys there and chat. The one above is in the nice blue, with all the Custom toys (apart from Nav).

As much as you could argue heated seats etc are not required in a van, they were honestly very nice the other day (and likely today too) as it's bloody freezing.

[Mussels]

Just in case you are considering snow chains for one of them, they need special chains that cost a lot.

[weeksy]

Just in case you are considering snow chains for one of them, they need special chains that cost a lot.

LOL nah... deffo not on my list of plans

[Mr Moofo]

Just in case you are considering snow chains for one of them, they need special chains that cost a lot.

I have three sets in my shed!
Not that I know what they will fit ( bought for a SAAB 9-3, Renault Modus and a Jeep Patriot).
Just in case ...
Fort William in May could still be snowed in

[dern]

Keep some money aside for security. I'm installing hook and dead locks for mine. The security on these things is pitiful.

[weeksy]

If i up the budget just a bit, it brings this into the discussion

I'm shooting over later at lunchtime to see the boys there and chat. The one above is in the nice blue, with all the Custom toys (apart from Nav).

As much as you could argue heated seats etc are not required in a van, they were honestly very nice the other day (and likely today too) as it's bloody freezing.

So i've now bought this... pending collection of my Kuga which was due to be collected today, but the snow put the dealer off apparently lol. So i think that'll be Wed now.

[weeksy]

Keep some money aside for security. I'm installing hook and dead locks for mine. The security on these things is pitiful.

https://www.avrmobiles.co.uk/

These seem the most reasonable on price I can find.

[Couchy]

As I said this has been a proper man thread on how to buy, please find me a van for £7k.......fast forward 2 weeks and here's my £15k van