Which Van is best for an electrical contractor?

S

slocm3105

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Hey guys, i guess this is the correct place to post this. I'm looking at getting my own van and just wondering which ones you would recommend as the best sparky van, and what kind of racking systems you use? Any pics of vans and racking systems would be very grateful.

Cheers
 
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Toyota Hi-ace will never let you down but be quick as they get grabbed up as quick as lightning. Vivaros, Traffics or the Nissan thats the same as the other two. These are total rubbish. Will guarantee they will eat gearboxes.

A TDi SWB VW transporter are also excellent, but pricey.

The new Transits also seem to have plenty of probs according to guys I know.
As for the small van, bring back the old Escort. Cheap to repair and just kept going.
 
ive got a little peugeot partner van.....its great fits all my gear in neer lets me down, the only bad thing i would say it has no side door but the new ones do.

if i ever sold it i think i would get the new partner van or a ford connect tdi.... really like them
 
Reg Man said:
. Vivaros, Traffics or the Nissan thats the same as the other two. These are total rubbish.
Click to expand...

They cant be that bad seems as BT & Sky have a massive fleet of them.

I had 2 vivaros and thought they served a purpose extremely well.

Comfortable, decent on fuel, reasonably well specced.

And can be had for reasonable money.

Transits still, and always will, sound like a tractor.
Had one on loan once and hated every minute of it:D
 
jasons6930 said:
They cant be that bad seems as BT & Sky have a massive fleet of them.

I had 2 vivaros and thought they served a purpose extremely well.

Comfortable, decent on fuel, reasonably well specced.

And can be had for reasonable money.

Transits still, and always will, sound like a tractor.
Had one on loan once and hated every minute of it:D
Click to expand...

suggest you try a new shape one, so much better than vivaros by a mile.
 
Reg Man said:
Toyota Hi-ace will never let you down but be quick as they get grabbed up as quick as lightning. Vivaros, Traffics or the Nissan thats the same as the other two. These are total rubbish. Will guarantee they will eat gearboxes.

A TDi SWB VW transporter are also excellent, but pricey.

The new Transits also seem to have plenty of probs according to guys I know.
As for the small van, bring back the old Escort. Cheap to repair and just kept going.
Click to expand...

I have an 02plate escort and 54plate Vivaro and i must say i wish they still made the escorts had no probs with it had loads of probs with vivaro!
 
I've got a traffic now and agree it's quiet, comfortable drive & pretty good on fuel. Had a transit before and wished I hadn't... way back had a toyata liteace and that was fantastic, did a shed load of miles in it, never had a problem with it and when the time came to sell it it went for the full asking in a matter of a few days of the advert going into the paper.
 
I've got a Transit connect, I decided on one of these as there is plenty of room in the rear and up front in the cab.
I particularly liked the side door feature so after checking auto-mart, local auctions, e-bay etc i got one after about 3 weeks 55 plate with 15500 on the clock full roof rack tow bar and electrics.

I must admit I was quite pleased driving it home as I got for a very good price, that was until I realised there was no side door!!! :o ffs

I will keep it for a bit as I have no real complaints, but I may well get a VW transporter if one comes up at the right price.

I am looking for some slide out racking like the BT ones have at the moment, and a pipe tube.
 
Its got to be the good old back bone of britan the transit got a new shape one not had much bother with it just a couple of little things the insides are a million times better now. Went from a vivaro which i loved but wanted a bit of head room in the back to work in but didnt like the vivaro hi-roof model. Heres a couple of pics of the inside for you SLOCM3105 of my racking.
 

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hi all

my 1st van was a 02 plate vivaro 2yr old and it had clocked up 256000 when i got it, 2yrs later it had done 285000. not bad i thought! trouble free until the last month i had it then the turbo blew...then changed it for a renault master, must say a excellecnt van for me personally. Also got a transit connect which is a bit small and thinking of changing it for the new shape citeron dispatch. as far as shelving goes i get my local chippy to make a few shelves to suit what tools i got. Hope this helps.

cheers
Gary
 
nice racking j boy looks very good, bet that wasnt cheap though.
 
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My "van" is a Honda CR-V :P

Can load the back up - get my 3metre lengths of trunking and capping in and a pair of steps! lol

Unfortunatly Honda don't make a van ;)
 
I have the swb vw t5 sportline 174 ps its awesome to drive and gets my gear in and my bike on a weekend.
 
Have to say i do like the Sportlines, although im not sure i could justify the price of a new one!
 
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i have a lwb high top transit, bought new in may 07 and it spends more time with my local ford dealer than it does with me :mad:

i also have a lwb connect that is a 2004 model that has never missed a beat in its 76000 mile life ;)
 
I started off with a Mitsubishi L400 swb, it was a proper flying machine but highly unreliable, then I bought 2 new Hi-Aces brilliant vans especially the 102 bhp model with twin side doors. And then added an escort and a peugeot partner and a kangoo, decided I didn't like having all the pressures of a boss, so cut the whole lot back to nothing and bought myself a Vauxhall Brava crew cab pickup from Royal Mail, excellent job ran that for 3 years and now I have a LWB trooper and love it.
 
jboy1888 said:
Hi Flukey

What sort of problems have you had with you transit ?
Click to expand...
had it 6 weeks (4500 miles) and the gearbox went. took 5 weeks to repair and for the frist couple of weeks i had to hire an alternative van.
its had 2 turbochargers.
its had 2 turbo charger gaskets
its had an egr valve
i paid £400 for the phone and cradle upgrade that has been absolutely useless, been back atleast a dozen times for that and i cant be arsed to take it back anymore as they want it for a day at a time.
eats front tyres (rear wheel drive van)
theres other bits but list will go on.
summary is i had to sue ford motor company through small claims court for loss of use/earnings and vehicle hire as their after sales is completely non existent now and is actually run by contractors.
glad to say i won.
they wont be getting any more of my hard earned anymore :mad:
 
Ive currently got a renault kangoo 865, gear box went on it last week but i was able to swap it myself. It runs nice, its small but i'm a sole trader so i dont need to get loads into it, parts for it are cheap, its good on fuel and the body work is immaculate (y reg).

I had a ford transit 110hp new shape on hire for a while and it was by far the best van ive had. tonnes of room, powerful motor and a nice drive. I had a mercedes vito which was also pretty nice but parts arent cheap.

my friend had a renault traffic and all the bolts in the engine kept coming loose, now i'm not a mechanic but that doesnt sound too good to me!
 
Reg Man said:
Vivaros, Traffics or the Nissan thats the same as the other two. These are total rubbish. Will guarantee they will eat gearboxes..
Click to expand...

Can't agree with you mate, I've had my Vivaro for 3 years, it had 14k on the clock when i got it and has now just passed 100k. It's never missed a beat and i get nearly 600 miles to a full tank.

Can't fault it, although i have heard the gearbox rumour before. I know other people with Vivaro / Trafic vans and the only fault i've heard of is a reversing sensor which mine doesn't have! :)
 
Hi

i have had a vivaro for the last five years good all rounder never let me down it won van of the year
go for it but shop around i got mine from derbyshire cheaper and more value for money

good luck

rgds phil:)
 
had a citron relay from new in 2000 never any problems with it but like all of us it got old and a bit tatty so traded it in for a movano mwb high roof its drives well and even gets past 65mph up banks ok on fual to
 
i have a vito i think these are just the right size as i can get 2.6m in a short wheel base. i carry 3 sets of 8 treads and tools for 3 blokes inside in my x British gas racking from one of my old vans which keeps every thing in place when flooring it! which brings me to my next good point of the van it was a 115 which i had remapped to 186bhp dose 0-60 in just over 8 and has touched 125 on private land, not bad for a touch under 2900kg. not the most economical but makes the daily 100mile across london trip to and from work more fun
 
Re: Best sparky van? GOTTA BE SPARKY THE 1972 MINI VAN, MIGHT BE SMALL BUT CAN STILL FIT 4M LADDER, 6FT STEPS, ALL TOOLS & TESTERS ETC AND MATERIALS (INCLUDING 3M PLASTIC CONDUIT AND TRUNKING) FOR A 3-4 BED REWIRE, WTHOUT A ROOF RACK. JUST WON COOLEST CAR IN REGIONAL SHOW AND SHINE.
 
minivanman said:
Re: Best sparky van? GOTTA BE SPARKY THE 1972 MINI VAN, MIGHT BE SMALL BUT CAN STILL FIT 4M LADDER, 6FT STEPS, ALL TOOLS & TESTERS ETC AND MATERIALS (INCLUDING 3M PLASTIC CONDUIT AND TRUNKING) FOR A 3-4 BED REWIRE, WTHOUT A ROOF RACK. JUST WON COOLEST CAR IN REGIONAL SHOW AND SHINE.
Click to expand...
now that i would like to see, a 4 metre ladder in a mini van :eek:

nice van by the way ;)
 
4 meter ladder in a mini van, no problem, hinged and folds into four. Were these a will there's a way!!:)
 
6 foot steps go over the passenger seat, conduit/ trunking goes from the passenger footwell to the opposite rear corner. :)
 
just invested in a MK4 Astra Van DTi. Was a bargain and already got plans for tool layout and racking etc.

Just got to get it signwritten and im away! (well once i have finished my VRQ and such. lol)
 

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slocm3105

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