Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: jeff1 on January 26, 2007, 06:44:01 pm
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Hi Guy's
I sat down with the boss today, and I have manage to convince her that a van is the way forward, I have always had a car and the car I have now is an estate car, I never wanted to get rid of it because of running the kids around.
Well guess what thats about to stop, I feel its about time now I started to think of myself and my business, instead of thinking of the kids, they all flew the nest years ago.
I don't want a Transit size van, more the medium size, with side loading door/s and the engine must be a minimum of a 1900cc for towing my caravan.
Thinking of spending in the regon of £3-4000 on one.
Can any one give me some advice of the best type van, were to look for one and what could I expect for my money?
Many thanks for your help.
P.S.
I won't ask for pictures of your vans ;D I seen what you did to Dave ;D
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jeff
i have a kangoo & its a great size van for a 400ltr set up, best thing is you can get them for good money second hand. it has served me very well over the last 3 years, its now 5 -1/2 years old with 90k & no trouble at all. i am looking though to get a new doblo 1.3 multijet later in the year as i think these are the best value van brand new.
tony
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jeff
i have a kangoo & its a great size van for a 400ltr set up, best thing is you can get them for good money second hand. it has served me very well over the last 3 years, its now 5 -1/2 years old with 90k & no trouble at all. i am looking though to get a new doblo 1.3 multijet later in the year as i think these are the best value van brand new.
tony
Hi Tony
What size engines do they have in the kangoo
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Hi Jeff,i thought alot about getting a van,but as you know decided to go down the trailer route,
i`m having it made to measure and all matching my vehicle colour and sign written,
the reason i decided not to get a van was the extra running costs and purchase,although it all goes through the business you still have to earn the extra money to run it,so as for the trailer it`s free running and off with the load at the end of the working day,but that`s my opinion and it should work for me ;)
Gaz
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my kangoo is a 1.9d & its got plenty of the old grunt!! :D
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just to add to this jeff, the body-work on the kangoo after 5-1/2 years is superb, when cleaned (which isnt very often) many of my customers think its new, always getting comments on what a nice little van i've got. ;D ;D
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Just paid for a Dispatch 2ltr hdi bit more than your figure though. You can get the combi version with a second row of seats then turn it into a car when needed. Should tow well with that engine.
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Thanks Guy's
I'm going to scoure the net for pictures as all these names means nothing to me ;D and I think it will give me a better idea of what to go for.
Gazz
As you know I have my trailer and still makinging it look better, I have no problems with it for the same reasons you mention, the only problem I have is every night I have to unload it and reload it every morning and all this just so my gear doesn't get pinched.
I can just about cope with that, but its when I fill my tank up, I don't have a drive way and have to pull it up a slight incline of grass every morning :'( and by the time I'm ready for work I'm Knackered. So its my age thats dictating to me to get a van.
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Thanks Guy's
I'm going to scoure the net for pictures as all these names means nothing to me ;D and I think it will give me a better idea of what to go for.
Gazz
As you know I have my trailer and still makinging it look better, I have no problems with it for the same reasons you mention, the only problem I have is every night I have to unload it and reload it every morning and all this just so my gear doesn't get pinched.
I can just about cope with that, but its when I fill my tank up, I don't have a drive way and have to pull it up a slight incline of grass every morning :'( and by the time I'm ready for work I'm Knackered. So its my age thats dictating to me to get a van.
Ahh,i see Jeff yep that can be a problem,i`m lucky i have a drive and double lockable gates that`s why it will be ok for me i supose if you don`t want the hassle back and forth then it looks like a van is your answer,
Gaz
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Thanks Guy's
I'm going to scoure the net for pictures as all these names means nothing to me ;D and I think it will give me a better idea of what to go for.
Gazz
As you know I have my trailer and still makinging it look better, I have no problems with it for the same reasons you mention, the only problem I have is every night I have to unload it and reload it every morning and all this just so my gear doesn't get pinched.
I can just about cope with that, but its when I fill my tank up, I don't have a drive way and have to pull it up a slight incline of grass every morning :'( and by the time I'm ready for work I'm Knackered. So its my age thats dictating to me to get a van.
Ahh,i see Jeff yep that can be a problem,i`m lucky i have a drive and double lockable gates that`s why it will be ok for me i supose if you don`t want the hassle back and forth then it looks like a van is your answer,
Gaz
I'm still keeping my trailer I'm going to continue with the lid option, and as I said in another post, I'm going to stick an alarm on it. a Trailer is a valuable asset and will alway be handy to keep. They don't eat any hay ;D
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citreon despatch for me 400ltr tank 1.9td engine , mine is an ex electric van and i paid £2000 for it
heres a picture for you
(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f280/waterfed/S3010053.jpg)
inside
(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f280/waterfed/S3010057-1.jpg)
inside with 5 poles 2 backpacks and a trolley i can put 2 trolleys in if i want and 2 backpacks
(http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f280/waterfed/S3010055-1.jpg)
3 seats make it the perfect van for me
hope this helps
gary
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That looks like the ideal size van for me, loads of room but not to big, and the right size engine.
Were did you get it from Garry.
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Jeff... I can second that.. the Citroen Despatch is a very good van.
Bazz...
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i bought it private out of the admag they can be like golddust to get hold of but when you get one you will stick with it.
something to remember is that the citreon despatch, fiat scudo and the peogeot expert are all the same van with a different badge
van payload is 815kgs and on some it is 900kgs
gary
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Thanks Bazz
Does anyone have a link were I can find second hand one's, already looked on ebay and couldn't see any there.
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i bought it private out of the admag they can be like golddust to get hold of but when you get one you will stick with it.
something to remember is that the citreon despatch, fiat scudo and the peogeot expert are all the same van with a different badge
van payload is 815kgs and on some it is 900kgs
gary
Thanks for the tip Gary
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i bought it private out of the admag they can be like golddust to get hold of but when you get one you will stick with it.
something to remember is that the citreon despatch, fiat scudo and the peogeot expert are all the same van with a different badge
van payload is 815kgs and on some it is 900kgs
gary
The Dispatch, Scudo & Expert also come with twin side loading doors and some have a double passenger seat.
I brought an '02' Expert last March. It's ideal, not too big / not too small.
The new model of these vans is due to be released in Feb so the prices should drop for the secondhand market.
Some things to look out for - clock not working - £500, as whole console unit has to be replaced, new cat £350-£400 no pattern part on the market (when I needed one anyway).
Go for the 2.0 HDI if you can, much better than the standard 1.9D
Good luck ;)
Steve
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Gazh20. I'm finding my 400l trailer heavy. I do not think I would dare unhitch it on a slope. It is also hard to manueuver. My towing vehicle is a Ducato van (think transit) and when I get down these cul de sacs I have to unhitch it to escape.
The tow bar is low, so when the water stopped i had to unhitch and tip the trailer up to get the water at the back to carry on,and then again at the next house etc.
I had the trailer before I put the tank in so have some experience of driving with it, but I hope things get better. As has been said it doesn't need taxing and insuring like a vehicle and can sit in my garage all week without costing anything. However, as someone who has just spent over a grand on this, I think a vehicle is a much better option for the reasons that Jeff has given.
My primary business is something else that I earn too much money to walk away from, but I envy Jeff and would buy a van like a shot if could.
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Thanks Steve
I'm getting interested in these types of van now, like you said not to big and not to small.
I'm Still scouring the net for some pics. and the 2.0 HDI is much better size engine, for my needs.
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Gazh20. I'm finding my 400l trailer heavy. I do not think I would dare unhitch it on a slope. It is also hard to manueuver. My towing vehicle is a Ducato van (think transit) and when I get down these cul de sacs I have to unhitch it to escape.
The tow bar is low, so when the water stopped i had to unhitch and tip the trailer up to get the water at the back to carry on,and then again at the next house etc.
I had the trailer before I put the tank in so have some experience of driving with it, but I hope things get better. As has been said it doesn't need taxing and insuring like a vehicle and can sit in my garage all week without costing anything. However, as someone who has just spent over a grand on this, I think a vehicle is a much better option for the reasons that Jeff has given.
My primary business is something else that I earn too much money to walk away from, but I envy Jeff and would buy a van like a shot if could.
What trailer do you use,have you got any pictures you can post on here,
i am adding a trailer so i can take more water to some jobs so i can just crack on without stopping and filling,i will still have a small tank in my vehicle but keep it empty when towing,
Gaz
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Jeff
We,ve got 2 fiat scudo,s 2.0 jtd 900 kilo, very good, cheap to run & very economical, drive like a car. They don,t carry a very high load 500 kilo max, some say higher but they don,t drive very good.
They dont seem to suffer from the pure water like some vans, we,ve got a toyota hiace & the sliding door is always rusty on the runners, something i read on here after i brought it.
Fiats can be expensive for main dealer repairs, find a good reputable garage that will do it far cheaper, the 2.0 l is best but not a weekend mechanics vehicle to service.
I would put autotrader in interenet search then fill out boxs & it will show loads of them dealer & private.
Hi Gaz, aswell hope to see this trailer soon, when up your neck of the woods, going to price 3 jobs on saturday again. Told paul about tank he,s still continueing with portables.
Jeff one other source is ex-gas board either auction or garage, especially the vauxall combo, or kangoo around the £4000 mark. Low milage, higher payloads 800 to 900 for small vans & are fully racked out in back just remove what you dont want.
Gary
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Thanks for all the advice Gary.
I did a search on auto trader and seen a couple there I liked, so as usual I'll take my time to make my mind up, I hate rushing into these things, because they can become very expensive mistakes.
Has anyone bought a van of ebay? I'm a little weiry of this type of purchase, has anyone had any bad dealings from them.
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I've just bought mine from ebay I just mailed the seller first then went to look at it, put in an offer which he accepted got home and put the offer through ebay. All seems genuine so fingers crossed! By the way it had a buy it now price or best offer.