Anyone know stuff about vans?

[dollywobbler]

Alternatively, buy an H van but get it Shiply'd to the campsite of your choice. The low floors makes them superb campers and you don't need a high roof. Sadly, they rather seem to be suffering OMG CATERING TAX at the moment, and are as quick to climb a hill as I am. Not very.

[cms206]

The Vario had the same engine as the 609D I think, 4.2 as you say and a reliable old engine.

The Vario can be an electrical nightmare; the OM402 engine is GR12 for just refusing to start. An older 3.9-litre OM364 powered 609/611/709/711/809/811/814D would be much better. -09 denotes 86bhp, -11 106bhp, -14 136bhp. Diff ratios vary but 55-60mph cruising should be doable.

[Pete-M]

A friend of mine has had an LPG SWB Sprinter for years. 04 plate.

 

It's not awful but it rarely runs exactly as it should. It's been woolly from cold forever.

[danthecapriman]

I've got a 60 reg Sprinter company van. I've had it from new and although it's reasonably nice to drive and not uncomfortable to sit in I wouldn't buy one of my own.

They don't seem anywhere near as tough as a Transit (which it replaced, 52 reg) I'm sure the bodywork is made from wet paper as they really are flimsy and get dinged and bent very easily. The paintwork (metallic blue) is very thin and chips very easily. The interior doesn't feel very robust, my one is ok at the moment but my work mates identical van is falling apart inside. The steering wheels are disintegrating and the drivers seats are worn through on the outer edges. Not very good as neither van has managed even 40k miles yet! Mine has the 2.1 diesel and it's utterly gutless, especially when towing. It's so bad that even my own 2.0 petrol pinto powered mk2 Transit can out perform it!

Although mines been faultless reliability wise, the company I work for have hundreds of these and the reliability of some has ranged from brand new engines overheating, ecu's dying, dpf's dying and even clogging solid!

On the plus side, they drive ok, look ok and are rear wheel drive still.

 

The mk6 Transit I had before the Sprinter was pretty good. It was a 52 reg 2.4tdci and managed 150k miles. It wasn't as comfy as the Sprinter, the seats were utter shit! And the dmf issue never went away. Mine had to have new clutch, dmf, starter motor every couple of years ( I think towing heavy trailers and driving on rough ground doesn't do them any favours!) the bodywork on them was good and seemed to resist damage well, although the cab steps and sills were just starting to rust when mine got replaced. It went very well, seemed to pull much better than the Sprinter and towed better too. Overall if it were my own money I'd buy a Transit.

 

I've also had several of my own Transit mk4 and 5 smileys in both short and long wheel bases. Now these are proper vans! They can take some abuse! The 2.5 DI is IMHO the best diesel engine ever! They never break and are piss easy to work on, long lived too. Although they do sound a bit unrefined. The only issue is rust. The best thing with these is to find a good, solid one and pump it fat with cavity wax and underseal. That's what I did with my last one and it never rusted after that! As you can tell I really rate these, and it's without doubt where I'd spend my money.

I've got a mk2 Transit 2.0 petrol now, and as great as it is they are a bit antiquated now both in how they drive and how they are made. It feels like driving a big old van, not like newer stuff that feels much more car like. They have no pas, or air con, or much else really! A heater and a radio if your lucky! Mine is part way through camper conversion at the moment. It's definitely the best van I've had but even so I can imagine driving one everyday would become hard work and soon loose it's novelty value!

 

Here's some pics after all that bollocks!

Here's my mk2.

 

 

And my last smiley.

 

[Ian_Fearn]

That mk2 is a thing a beauty.

 

I think a smiley in good nick with the 2.0 petrol would work for me.

[Hendry]

Do not buy the shape of Ducato that's been around since circa 2006, we have 4 at work as single car transporters, 12 plates based on the MWB 33 chassis, with I think a 2.3 multijet 120bhp engine, all done between 50 and 100K, they have crap driving positions, impossible to get comfy, warning lights for something always seem to be on, there is ALWAYS something wrong with them, the heater resistors fail regularly meaning interior fan only works on speed 4, the plastic floor at the drivers feat has holed right through to the foam already, slave cylinders, clutches, DMFs and gear linkages are regular failures, wheel bearings, and sensors in the engine (ala early ecotec Vauxhalls) and they regularly dump their coolant due to the way the back hose is routed to the expansion tank, it catches and rubs on something causing the hose to hole.

 

Wouldn't imagine the Relay is much better from my time working at a Citroen dealer

[twosmoke300]

I agree that the best of the sevel vans are pre 2006

[Cavcraft]

The Vario can be an electrical nightmare; the OM402 engine is GR12 for just refusing to start. An older 3.9-litre OM364 powered 609/611/709/711/809/811/814D would be much better. -09 denotes 86bhp, -11 106bhp, -14 136bhp. Diff ratios vary but 55-60mph cruising should be doable.

I think mine only refused to start once, when the little pre-filter jumped ship and I had to find the banjo bolt and bypass the filter.

It pulled like a train, loaded or not, and I only ever used 1st gear once in a blue moon just to see if it was still there!

It'd cruise happily at 60-65mph unless it met a headwind or big hill.

 

The best van ever made was the Mk3 Transit Di, it's only really rust (and export prices) that see these things off. The reliability is unmatched and although they vary enormously, they don't half go well, too.

[twosmoke300]

Ford 2.5 di is one of the best engines ever made . Phact

[sierraman]

Having had vans with previous jobs I can say for certain most companies get shut of vans when they are about to start giving trouble, mostly of the uneconomical to mend type. That said at the age you are looking at anything could be unreliable. What you want to be avoiding is anything that's been used for multi drop couriering or construction. A paving company near me buys vans around 10 years old, he's lucky if he sees a year out of them, as they are lugging slabs and pulling a mini diggers etc. By their very nature vans tend to get the bare minimum of maintenance once over 3-4 years old, that said you might drop on with something if you find an plumber or someone whose retiring and hasn't had it loaded up to the hilt

[Asimo]

Ford 2.5 di is one of the best engines ever made . Phact

 

Maybe so if you are stone deaf. They are just unbearably, viciously, noisey.

 

Even worse than Prima Maestro engines.

[Felly Magic]

That mk2 is a thing a beauty.

 

I think a smiley in good nick with the 2.0 petrol would work for me.

 

These had the 2.0 TWINK engine IIRC

[Ian_Fearn]

Even better!

[Cavcraft]

I'm pretty sure the Mk2 petrol (and I think earlier Mk3s) just had the usual wheezy OHC engines. The Mk2 I had was most definitely NOT Twink, that's for sure. Also when did the Twink come out, wasn't it about 1990/1 so too late for the Mk2 anyhow?

[wuvvum]

be careful with the turbo daily especially red ones as post office had some that were 4 speed

I once bought a Daily (35.8 ) off a bloke who'd had three of them, been running them for ten years and never worked out that they were a 5-speed box.  He was completely oblivious to the presence of first gear on the dogleg.

 

My '02 Ducato 2.8 JTD has been pretty good, missing third gear notwithstanding.  Will do the ton if I need it to, and averages 30mpg.

[oman5]

Another vote for the smiley type transit. Superb motors, only really let down by woeful rust resistance and the difficulty in finding one worth bothering with. I had a '94 pre smiley transit 2.5 di, 70mph cruising is a doddle. (until you get to a hill anyway)

[Felly Magic]

I was referring to the smiley Transits when it came to the Twink 

[willswitchengage]

These are all RHD. And ridiculous.

 

[willswitchengage]

I guess this is technically a truck, but WTF was the Berliet Stradair?

 

[wuvvum]

I dunno, but it looks like it'd tip over forwards if you stood on the brakes too hard.

[mercrocker]

It probably did, there's a gurt great 4 banger diesel hanging out there.....

[rml2345]

It looks like a normal forward control small lorry with a commercial grade deep fat fryer stuck on the front.

[CreepingJesus]

Having owned an XUD LDV, I can confirm they're crap. Mine topped out at 55mph, you couldn't hear yourself think if the engine was running, doors would spontaneously open (esp the side one) during vigourous cornering, and yet...

They're so unsophisticated, they're quite briliant in a perverse way. I would have another one, and it would be getting soundproofed properly, and the XUD flung in the Forth. Given that they've got LT77 'boxes up to about 1995, and R380 'boxes thereafter, any Landy engine conversion gubbins will work.

Here's one somebody made earlier, which lives near me...

 

 

Saying that, though, if you can keep up the maintenance (and the oddball driving position suits), the Daily is a good bet for camper conversion.

[Mr Livered]

I have an 80s Autosleeper, which was/is based on the Trafic. Setting aside the quality of the base vehicle, which is a matter for debate, the quality of the conversions was excellent. This means that if you can find one that is breaking you can get really good camper parts (heating and electrical parts, cupboards and whatnot) pretty easily.

 

Mine is in dubious condition as far as the base vehicle is concerned (some weldage is planned over the winter, and some engine work) but the camper bits are still im superb condition after 25 years.

 

Just something to bear in mind?

 

[Ian_Fearn]

What engine do you have in the Trafic?

 

I often keep an eye out for later versions of the shape you have with the 2.2i petrol lump and power sterring.

[oman5]

I had the Perkins prima 2.0 diesel ldv/leyland daf Sherpa thing. Just awful in every possible way..and yet. They are so bad, momentum preservation is the order of the day, taking a run up for hills etc means there's never a dull moment. 70 was only achievable if you had a complete lack of mechanical sympathy at the vicious din from under the bonnet, the whining diff and the northwards heading temperature gauge. Only for serious masochists!

Likewise the Mercedes T1 307/308d from the 80s. In their favour the om616 Diesel engine lasts forever. Against them, everything else. Rusty, comically heavy steering with built in slop, sounding like it's going to blow up at anything over 64mph, having to reach over to the passenger seat to reach the gear stick, but at least you'd be guaranteed an easy sale. Exporters love em which is fine by me.

[Cavcraft]

I have an 80s Autosleeper, which was/is based on the Trafic. Setting aside the quality of the base vehicle, which is a matter for debate, the quality of the conversions was excellent. This means that if you can find one that is breaking you can get really good camper parts (heating and electrical parts, cupboards and whatnot) pretty easily.

 

Mine is in dubious condition as far as the base vehicle is concerned (some weldage is planned over the winter, and some engine work) but the camper bits are still im superb condition after 25 years.

 

Just something to bear in mind?

 

 

 

 

You didn't buy that of some (this) dickhead in Chester, did you? That looks very like an ex-Cavcraft quality motor.

[Mr Livered]

Ian: it's a 1.7 pez. Just about adequate.

 

Corsaviour: no I didn't. I've never been that far north in my life; it came from Devon.

[cort1977]

These are all RHD. And ridiculous.

 

There's a USPS depot near me with hundreds of these sooty wagons.   Never quite understand why big US companies do that, UPS and DHL have similar but larger custom built things and they always just seem crude and nasty.   Must work out cheaper for them thank buying a proper van presumably.

[willswitchengage]

^

Remember that low running costs are paramount to dizzy firms, who all treat their drivers like dogs. Comfort isn't important.

 

Aluminium body so not rot and reliable truck chassis. Modular construction gives dirt cheap maintenance costs.

 

They never really caught on in Europe but UPS does run a lot of Grumman bodied MB Varios (heavy van with a 4.2L engine from their Atego lorry):