Buying a van

[Couchy]

I got a Tourneo Custom LWB. Which I think is basically a Transit with nine seats.

It's pukka as fuck! I'm a vanny now! So be careful or I'll fight you outside a pub!

Needs way more pics.... SWB or LWB ? I assume LWB

It's a LWB, 2017, 2 litre diesel, automatic, titanium. Nine leather seats! The kids like it. Loads of room in the boot too.

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Nice, change the oil every 8k miles not the 30k miles they can run too ! Gives them half a chance of not chewing the wet belt up. Also have a Ford dealer check the belt. Lovely vans though.

[MyLittleStudPony]

I'm getting about 35mpg which isn't bad I guess as it's an auto.

How do you wash the things? I'd need a step ladder.

[KungFooBob]

How do you wash the things? I'd need a step ladder.

You pay an Eastern European to do it.

[MyLittleStudPony]

How do you wash the things? I'd need a step ladder.

You pay an Eastern European to do it.

I see that is an option but by the time you've queued up and they've done it, I could have done it myself for nawt.

"Hey Poland, you make car cleaning, make car cleaning?"

[MyLittleStudPony]

I've been using it a bit, but not a lot. It's really only for when I've got all the kids. We're really enjoying it.

It is a little noisier than a Prius but fine.

I phoned the Ford dealer to ask them to inspect the wet belt. The receptionist sounded like she had no idea what I was talking about. But she checked the reg number for recalls. And guess what, it has one. For checking the wet belt. So Ford will do that for me, for nawt. It'll be interesting to see how that turns out.

[MyLittleStudPony]

Needs way more pics.... SWB or LWB ? I assume LWB

It's a LWB, 2017, 2 litre diesel, automatic, titanium. Nine leather seats! The kids like it. Loads of room in the boot too.

v1.jpg

v2.jpg

v3.jpg

Nice, change the oil every 8k miles not the 30k miles they can run too ! Gives them half a chance of not chewing the wet belt up. Also have a Ford dealer check the belt. Lovely vans though.

I called a local Ford dealer and asked if they would inspect the cambelt for me. The receptionist didn't seem to know what I was talking about and kept saying "which service do you want to bring it in for?". She asked for the reg number so she could put it in their system and check for recalls. And a recall did show up. For them to inspect the cambelt.

I took it in and they inspected the cambelt. They said it shows signs of deterioration which aren't too bad, but they're still going to replace the cambelt (and associated parts) for me under the recall.

[Couchy]

It's a LWB, 2017, 2 litre diesel, automatic, titanium. Nine leather seats! The kids like it. Loads of room in the boot too.

v1.jpg

v2.jpg

v3.jpg

Nice, change the oil every 8k miles not the 30k miles they can run too ! Gives them half a chance of not chewing the wet belt up. Also have a Ford dealer check the belt. Lovely vans though.

I called a local Ford dealer and asked if they would inspect the cambelt for me. The receptionist didn't seem to know what I was talking about and kept saying "which service do you want to bring it in for?". She asked for the reg number so she could put it in their system and check for recalls. And a recall did show up. For them to inspect the cambelt.

I took it in and they inspected the cambelt. They said it shows signs of deterioration which aren't too bad, but they're still going to replace the cambelt (and associated parts) for me under the recall.

Result, and once done change oil a lot more regular it’ll be better for it

[MyLittleStudPony]

Nice, change the oil every 8k miles not the 30k miles they can run too ! Gives them half a chance of not chewing the wet belt up. Also have a Ford dealer check the belt. Lovely vans though.

I called a local Ford dealer and asked if they would inspect the cambelt for me. The receptionist didn't seem to know what I was talking about and kept saying "which service do you want to bring it in for?". She asked for the reg number so she could put it in their system and check for recalls. And a recall did show up. For them to inspect the cambelt.

I took it in and they inspected the cambelt. They said it shows signs of deterioration which aren't too bad, but they're still going to replace the cambelt (and associated parts) for me under the recall.

Result, and once done change oil a lot more regular it’ll be better for it

I will. Two years / 20,000 miles is a crazy interval, especially for a 2 litre diesel. I think Toyota (example of a reliable brand) say all their vehicles should have their oil changed every 10,000 miles.

I suspect I'll probably only do about 5000 miles a year in the van, almost all longer journeys and will change the oil at least once a year.

I should look into if the automatic gearbox needs an oil change too.

[Pirahna]

I should look into if the automatic gearbox needs an oil change too.

I've just had the oil changed in the DSG box on the T6, it cost more than the last service.

[MyLittleStudPony]

I should look into if the automatic gearbox needs an oil change too.

I've just had the oil changed in the DSG box on the T6, it cost more than the last service.

I had the DSG box oil changed on my Arteon, I think it cost about £400.

I'm not sure if the Ford has a conventional auto box or one of these modern dual clutch ones. I suspect it's the latter as it'a bit jerky.

[weeksy]

So to keep the Van thread going I've been looking/wondering into what's next for me and the lad.

I REALLY want a Transit, but the £1000 bill for the wet belt does worry me in terms of costs, along with the possibility of failure of course. I could negate this a little as it'll have Ford Warranty but i'd really prefer not to need to use that.

So it then boils down to 'what instead' The Transit was the biggest/best in terms of 3 passenger space for trips. Well, if you have a van, if you go Dual Cab then that's less of an issue, but massively shrinks the loading area for bikes.

The need and want requirements are sometimes different. If we are doing overnighters we'd LOVE to have the ability for a 'camper' / conversion. It would make certain aspects SOOOOO much nicer.
But then the weekend after we've got an uplift day where i've got 3 bikes in the back of the van, due to uplift stuff you don't want to be removing/fitting wheels each time, roll in, roll out. Which means the camper doesn't really work.

So i'm thinking something more like a MWB Sprinter really, but need to look into engines as i think they're now running the problematic Ford engine...

I'm in the Alps next week with my mate who owns a van company so going to pick his brains over beers.

[Pirahna]

My VW is what you call a dual cab. There's no bulkhead and rear seats fold or can be removed, so it's a 3 seat van or a 6 seat people carrier. There's a big size difference when you move up to the next size van, here's my ex camper next to the Kombi. The camper is on BFG's which make it look higher and the Kombi is a bit lower than standard, but you'll get the idea. As soon as you move away from a normal wheelbase van you start having to think a bit more about where you're taking it, parking it etc.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Those bigger ones won't go in a lot of carparks in my limited experience.

Maybe it's just MK, but around here even all the outdoor car parks have 1.8m height barriers on entry. It's the same at the local woods etc.

Presumably intended to stop people setting up camp.

It's the sort of thing I didn't even think about or notice until it was a problem!

[weeksy]

Those bigger ones won't go in a lot of carparks in my limited experience.

Maybe it's just MK, but around here even all the outdoor car parks have 1.8m height barriers on entry. It's the same at the local woods etc.

Presumably intended to stop people setting up camp.

It's the sort of thing I didn't even think about or notice until it was a problem!

I don't use car parks mate. Or at least very very rarely, enough so that it's not a consideration for what van i go for anyway.

Fuel economy is a factor of course which the bigger ones will be less economical than the Custom.

I'm tempted to just go with a Custom with extended warranty at the end of the day it's looking at 60k miles for swapping the belt which is 2-3 years.

[Taipan]

For me I'd go camper. The camper is giving you a lot more benefits over the occasional inconvenience of uplift day.

[weeksy]

For me I'd go camper. The camper is giving you a lot more benefits over the occasional inconvenience of uplift day.

Hmmmm a reasonable point yeah... maybe.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126566691135 ... R_ikqvCkZA

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126566691136 ... R_akqvCkZA

This is the sort of thing it'd be.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145899350676 ... R5TUxvCkZA

[Mussels]

Those bigger ones won't go in a lot of carparks in my limited experience.

Maybe it's just MK, but around here even all the outdoor car parks have 1.8m height barriers on entry. It's the same at the local woods etc.

Presumably intended to stop people setting up camp.

It's the sort of thing I didn't even think about or notice until it was a problem!

It seems to be regional. My transit was a fag paper under 2m and would fit in most car parks I tried* apart from Eastbourne where 1.8m seemed common.

* Tunbridge Wells has several signs hanging from the roof a foot lower than the entrance barrier, most are bent.

[Taipan]

For me I'd go camper. The camper is giving you a lot more benefits over the occasional inconvenience of uplift day.

Hmmmm a reasonable point yeah... maybe.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126566691135 ... R_ikqvCkZA

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/126566691136 ... R_akqvCkZA

This is the sort of thing it'd be.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145899350676 ... R5TUxvCkZA

Nice, but check your insurance on conversions. Not sure what exactly, but it seems some people have problems with vans that don't have campervan/motorhome classification on their logbooks?

[cheb]

It's worth getting the logbook changed, you get an extra 10mph on the speed limit for dual and single carriageways compared to a van.

[Yorick]

Camper conversions can give you exactly what you want. Mine was made to get the bike in with one bed next to it.
With the bike out, it was just like any other camper.

These conversion dudes are clever.