Any Van Owners?

[Higgy]

Im weighing up my options, And thinking of getting a SWB Transit size Van, Been searching the Adds, SWB Renault Trafic seem popular and a decent Van, Transits always seem to be owned by Builders and are as rough as 'Eck'.... Looking through the Forums They all seem to suffer injector Problems.... If there is anyone on here that could advise....... SWB/Mid roof/ Only has to carry 1 motorcycle....... PS Cant believe the price of a new Van, Some are up in the 30-40 Grand Bracket... Cheers

 

[Dave_S]

I've a 2003 MWB Sprinter 4x4 as my camper van. Great van - quick, reliable, decent on fuel. Main issue is rust - Sprinters rust for fun (much like a Landcruiser) - but get on top of the rust and they'll last well.

 

[Shayne]

A quick look found this which is more than just a van , ex utilities , police , council , rail , they all use ford so parts should be ten a penny .

2009 FORD TRANSIT T350 BOX VAN WITH PTO GENERATOR AND COMPRESSOR LOW MILES 75K | eBay

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[Higgy]

Merc's and VW's seem to be a lot more expensive than the Renault/Vauxhall type..... There are No Old School vans left anymore, (ones with the Mechanical injector pump)... Best van i ever had was a LDV Pilot ex post office.....

 

[Higgy]

RENAULT TRAFIC VAUXHALL VIVARO NISSAN PRIMASTAR SWB VAN | eBay - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club] This is what im after, Local to me too, He's got a Transit in as well,.... Worth a look over the weekend......(it's had the injectors done)

 

[Gav missin]

I got a swb transit. Weld it a little before every mot. It's done 240 000 brought it on 180 000. Had 1 service only in that time. Never really let me down to be fair and I treat it like shit. Drives well and worse case it needed an engine £3/400 quid bits a complete lump. Cant fault it really. Oh and yeah I'm a builder.....

 

[Higgy]

Meant No offence Gav.... Do you let your Dogs Chew lumps out of the seats and Dashboard too

 

[Gav missin]

No but my brother does. No offence taken mate. It's the leathery water resistant fen skin you see...

 

[AndycruiserguyLomas]

We had a Vaux Movano, did alright for a couple of years then all of a sudden turned into a money pit. Had a Sprinter for 5 years, took it to 200K very impressed untill it needed injectors. Then a Crafter, that needed a suction control valve. Moved up to a 7.5 tonner, more use for our job.
Out of all the vans I'd have a Sprinter every time.

 

[Higgy]

Most of the stuff on ebay in my price range, Has had Injectors or needs injectors,... Engine management light on seems to be the Norm... If a builder or a courier drivers had it.. Its Had it.... No offence Gav...

 

[Gav missin]

I squeeze every ounce of life my Van's have to give. My last transit the mot man asked if I I seriously wanted him to start when he put it up in the air. There was no rear chassis left or cill or drivers step. I reminded him if it's not there you cant fail it...... some people really don't have any sense of humor.

 

[Juddian]

Isn't the best word in vans the Toyota Hiace, basically a 2WD Hilux with a van body.
Getting on a bit now but that doesn't stop old industrial Toyotas being the most reliable motor you can buy, maybe there's some greys lurking about, maybe consider a bus or camper version which you could alter a bit, room for bike and a reasonable overnighter.

 

[Higgy]

I think they Rot worse than a Land Cruiser.... To be Fair Juddian i never gave them a thought,

 

[Jacob100]

I had a 64-plate LWB Renault Master for a while. Brilliant in every way. I believe post-2010 ones were galvanised and very resistant to rust.

 

[Gav missin]

Actually they don't. Several guys using them local as old as 96 on a P plate. They do hold there money very well. Was my first choice but couldn't get one for sensible money. They are slow and thirsty in comparison to a reasonably modern transit or equivalent though.

 

[Juddian]

That's why i thought about grey versions, sure i've seen albeit rare Hiaces with the 3.0 litre non D4D turbo engine as per later 70 and 90 series, i believe the later UK versions had the turbocharged version of the 2.5 Hilux lump which should be quite a reasonable performer.

Most european vans its like our LC's its corrosion that destroys them, Transits especially poor for this.

 

[Higgy]

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[Grimbo]

Fiat Ducato 2.3 Multijet ..... they don't have chocolate engines like the newer Transits... Fiat fit Iveco engines.... the same looking van from Peugeot or Citroen may well have a Ford engine...
I wouldn't touch any modern Ford but then maybe I know too many Ford technicians who also wouldn't .

My Ducato running probably overloaded most of the time does 27-29 mpg .... 11 plate 2.3 Multi jet with 180 K miles ...it will sit at 80 on the motorway all day long ...given it spends a lot of time in fields and off road it hasn't got any rust and is nice to drive.... I fitted Kings uprated front springs and run rear air bags with the standard springs...

We ran Fiat Ducato's , Transit's , Iveco's as a company depending on what the Tech wanted to drive..... they only run Ducato and Iveco now...

Sprinters and VW Crafters seem to have much stress with injectors and are rust prone.... Renaults seem good..... anything running add blue is more trouble some....

 

[Jacob100]

We have been running SWB, LWB and Luton Transits at work for a few years but they're all getting phased out. No catastrophic failures but just not reliable in the long run. The problem is that new vans are in extremely short supply at the moment so you kind of have to take what you can get.

 

[Juddian]

Should imgaine Amazon are soaking up most van production, possibly a glut of the things when they get defleeted but not i'd want a van subject to 100+ restarts and constant town traffic every day of its life.