Are vans better offroad than cars ?

[KungFooBob]

I just found my dream van... Search for yours https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-detail ... e-to=11000

I took one look at that and thought the mileage was total bullshit, the interior is far too worn.

So I checked the MOT history, it all adds up, but it has failed three times on various front suspension components.

[Mussels]

A sale of my Euro 5 van fell through as London announced the new restrictions, with more cities doing the same there will be a price difference between Euro 5 and 6.

[Count Steer]

Here you go, 28k miles, 3 seats, bluetooth, air con, cruise control, looks tidy inside, Euro 6...but it pushes the budget. https://www.prioritycommercials.co.uk/u ... ey-4364770

They have a few ex British Gas vans with reasonable mileage too. (They always used to be well maintained, but times have changed since they ran their own service centres).

[weeksy]

Lol that's £15k. The budget is closer to £10k. That's not pushing it, that's adding an extra 50%

[Count Steer]

Lol that's £15k. The budget is closer to £10k. That's not pushing it, that's adding an extra 50%

Soz. Missed the + VAT.

[cheb]

Some Peugeot Partner / Citroen Berlingo vans have three front seats. Well there's three seat belts and about two and half seats, you have to be friends with the person you're sat next to.

https://www.vanmonster.com/en-gb/home have been good when I've bought vans, three from them so far, all from different branches.

[weeksy]

Yeah the Proace is also based on them.

Tbh I've fucking peaked at the moment. Every idea I have had merit but then also falls apart in some way too.

What's right for MTB isn't necessarily right for trackdays, then what's right for them doesn't suit budget or condition. I'm done looking today.

[cheb]

Fair do's. I do the same when planning trips, fly, railway, drive, which ferry ad tedium and what have to do at the other end of the journey.

And then just do the usual.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

What does a small van do better than the CRV you looked at?
What does the CRV do better than a small van?

Weigh them up and decide whether an SUV or a small van is what you want, personally I'd go SUV as the small vans we've had at work have been pretty crap to drive (Renault Kangoo, Vauxhall Corsa based thing and a few Transit Connects)

[weeksy]

What does a small van do better than the CRV you looked at?
What does the CRV do better than a small van?

Weigh them up and decide whether an SUV or a small van is what you want, personally I'd go SUV as the small vans we've had at work have been pretty crap to drive (Renault Kangoo, Vauxhall Corsa based thing and a few Transit Connects)

Both have merits in terms of both MTB and motorbikes, but as long as I have a towbar, both have options too of course.
The smaller 2 seat vans have been ruled out as it stops the wife coming to Wales for race days, so would need to be a 3 seater .

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I've only used the 3 seats in Transits and a VW Crafter, Crafter was okay, Transit was a bit snug with 3 adult men sat in a row.

What you want is a crew cab pickup truck with a tow bar

I've just thought about it, and that is what I'd buy for your requirements, my only concern with crew cab pickups is the amount of leg space in the rear, I need a vehicle that will seat 4 adults comfortably.

[mangocrazy]

The wife did point out that a van with 2 front seats doesn't work for Alps/trackday if all 3 of us attend.
Mmm it's a fair point

I think that may move the Vito up the list.

But they're all 100k+ miles.

But maybe the fact all vans are starship mileage tells us something anyway

I just found my dream van... Search for yours https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-detail ... e-to=11000

When I bought my T4 Transporter in 2007 it had 115k on it and from memory it cost me £7k. In 15 years I've bumped the mileage up to 250k and it's still on the original engine and had a new clutch at 190k. Mine was ex-AA so pretty well maintained. Bodywork is still pretty OK, although at some point in the not too distant future I can see an engine overhaul and a cosmetic refresh happening. Either that or it gets chopped in for a 'new' van.

But to be honest I haven't a clue what I'd replace it with. The latest T6.1 Transporters are mega money and none of the later ones have the solid reputation of the T4s.

As for front seats, you'll only find 3 genuinely human-sized front seats on a 'full size' van; i.e. VW Tx, Merc Vito, Transit (not connect) etc. Me, Mrs Mango, my builder mate and our cat Wilko managed to drive back from south of France in May and still be on speaking terms at journey's end which proves the point I think. At least I think the cat was still speaking to us...

[cheb]

The smaller VW vans, Twhatever, are slightly narrower than a Vivaro type, and the Transit is slightly wider than the Vivaro.

[petrolpete]

Something like this ticks most of the boxes. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/115422072995 ... media=COPY

[Taipan]

Using a reading postcode rg15bw and the following criteria,
Within 40 miles, Make Any, Model Any, Price £8,000 to £10,000, Body type Panel Van, Wheelbase MWB SWB (dunno what parking facilities you have?) , Mileage Any to Up to 70,000 miles.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/van-search ... SWB&page=1

[weeksy]

I've currently thrown the toys out of the pram on this idea. I wasn't finding anything within the budget i'd set that i'd actually want to own. Well, not a lot more than what i currently have. Whilst the QQ may not be the love of my life, at this moment in time it goes, stops and cruises well enough. So as long as it doesn't have a hissy fit, it's going off to the Alps in a month or so. If when we come back from there it's still something i need to consider as a plan then i think the Doblo will be the option we go down. Whilst they don't tick all boxes, the main box is MTBing, which they do actually tick.

All of that part said, apart from the Gazebo being a pain, i'm not actually sure what boxes i'm trying to tick here. I suppose you've got some increase in security of having them in the van, but they're locked up on the rack, so it's not like they can be stolen at a set of lights.
You could get changed into/out of your kit i guess in the van, but TBF that's not massive issue either. So really, is the van the answer.... Well for trackdays it would be better... but again, not life changing, i've done with a trailer for 10+ years now quite well.

SO really it just comes down to comfort, reliabilty and petrol over diesel... All valid, but it's not like the QQ has hit me hard with bills.... comfort is good, the petrol/diesel thing can wait until it needs to and then i'll swap eventually.

[weeksy]

You could argue for either one really depending on what you want, and that's all it come down to really, just get what you want.
I buy what I want and then usually stick with it for years. I learned in the past that if I don't get the thing I really want then I'll just mess about until I do.

As is often the case with me... i don't actually know what i want

Todays want is not necessarily tomorrows want

[Count Steer]

One thing that I don't think has been suggested is a box trailer. Then you have some of the advantages of a van and the flexibility of a car. I don't know if towing weight is an issue but they do seem to vary in construction from wooden, horse box style to the thinner lighter ones that come in all sizes (including those that they transport cars around in). Probably work for trackdays too.
Then you have a bike carrier and eqipped, rainproof workshop that you can park up elsewhere until you need it. (Locals here use a farm on the outskirts of the village for their motor homes etc etc).

Dunno what the s/h market is like though.

[Count Steer]

One thing that I don't think has been suggested is a box trailer. Then you have some of the advantages of a van and the flexibility of a car. I don't know if towing weight is an issue but they do seem to vary in construction from wooden, horse box style to the thinner lighter ones that come in all sizes (including those that they transport cars around in). Probably work for trackdays too.
Then you have a bike carrier and equipped, rainproof workshop that you can park up elsewhere until you need it. (Locals here use a farm on the outskirts of the village for their motor homes etc etc).

Dunno what the s/h market is like though.

Oh...and you could decorate it as 'Young Weeksy Racing Team'

[weeksy]

One thing that I don't think has been suggested is a box trailer. Then you have some of the advantages of a van and the flexibility of a car. I don't know if towing weight is an issue but they do seem to vary in construction from wooden, horse box style to the thinner lighter ones that come in all sizes (including those that they transport cars around in). Probably work for trackdays too.
Then you have a bike carrier and equipped, rainproof workshop that you can park up elsewhere until you need it. (Locals here use a farm on the outskirts of the village for their motor homes etc etc).

Dunno what the s/h market is like though.

Oh...and you could decorate it as 'Young Weeksy Racing Team'

I've discussed that with a mate who has one. The only major downside to this is storage, which we currently don't have the space for and without looking into somewhere like a farmers yard to store it, i don't know where/what we could do there. It is a decent idea though i agree.

I've been thinking about the QQ and the storage side of things and wonder if i can simple stack the gazebo differently to give me that extra bit of space, along with the spare wheels for the lad.

All of this at the moment is completely irrelevant as he's spannered of course lol.