[Danny F]

Just to give you all some reference, im about to switch from my car to using a van and currently employ two lads (22 and 23) both doing their driving lessons atm.

Im looking to spend in and around £1500 on a second hand van. The van will be converted to WFP as time goes on and will be needed to transport the 3 of us until one of them passes their test.  Thinking of eventually going for 2 vans with 2 people in each.

Which van would you use?  Thinking of something like a transit swb? Something to handle the weight of the water tank and kit etc.

Like i say, it will be kitted out as funds allow but want to do it right the first time (electric reels etc) and use gear that will last.  Could use a few pointers and possibly links to products you wouldnt be without!

and finally i was wondering if there is a way to fill the tank with water from mains and have the filters process the water like that? or is there a preference to have a storage tank and transfer from that into the van tank?

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks

[nathankaye]

Cant advice on vans as my knowledge on vans isnt great.
However confused on your question about filtering your water. You kinda have two choices; in the van setup or a diy system where you can use either a storage tank or filter straight into your van (depending some variables).
You would need to find out your tap pressure and tds of your water.
If the water in your area is low ie 100tds you can run it through 2 DI vessels straight into your van tank or fill your van tank up from the tap and then filter the water whilst you work.

If the water tds is higher then you need a RO system. This can be installed in your van or as a DIY system.
I filter into a storage tank and transfer into my van as and when i need to. This is because my RO is a 450ltr per day system and so i would filter water for 24hrs to filter the water into storage. But depending on funds this can be improved and faster depending upon which RO system you use.
Take a look at purefreedom and you will understand.
For poles n parts use gardiner.
But hope you have success in your immediate goals. You certainly wont regret switching

[Stoots]

Pretty much any van for that sort of money could be excellent or a dog.

Just make sure the van you get has the payload required.

Judge each van on its merits. Service history mileage rot cambelt. Check everything and the best van is going to be the one in the best nick with no faults.

[Danny F]

Thanks for the replies all the info i can get is well appreciated!

 Ideally i would like to be able to fill the tank straight from the back garden tap and have it filter while working etc.. would this be realistic and produce enough for 2 people x6hours without hiccup? What exactly would i need in order to make pure at the rate needed? The water here is quite soft and im nearly sure its under 130tds?

Would a 650l tank last all day?  if so where is the best place to get a baffled tank? dont want to go spending ridiculous amounts of money on the system but i do want it to be reliable first time around.

Il be needing to know about which type of hose to use etc , the best hose fitments etc

[Danny F]

any more thoughts?

[Spruce]

I would imagine a £1500 van would soon be part of the scrappage scheme envisioned by Govt to reduce pollution.

A three seated Transit van at that price will be full of rust.

You might find a Citroen Relay, Peugeot Boxer or Fiat Ducato with 3 seats but again rust will be a real issue. After 2007 they were galvanise dipped but you won't get one at that price even with 200k on the clock. 

[paul alan]

I bought a transit swb 2004  for £1900 and it lasted nearly 3 years before the rust took over, engine was still perfect though.

Have you thought about lease/hire? I purchased a newer model of transit after the last 1 cos i like it, i wish i would of got a lease now though as the newer tranny is only 4 years old and is already showing rust. As soon as its paid for i will be going that route.

650 litres does me and my wife all day except when first cleaning. Most other days are within 500ltr. depends on how you work some use more, some less but you can make it work for you.

I used a 25ltr di vessel to fill tank straight from tap, the 1 advantage of this is if you carry it onboard you can top up your tank while out at work. Usualy 20-30 mins to fill up i think if i remember right. If you buy a second di fessel you can stretch your resin out further and it gets a bit cheaper.

I now have an ro system and transfer to van, its cheaper. But  a pain the ass doing every night.

[the king]

Just to give you all some reference, im about to switch from my car to using a van and currently employ two lads (22 and 23) both doing their driving lessons atm.

Im looking to spend in and around £1500 on a second hand van. The van will be converted to WFP as time goes on and will be needed to transport the 3 of us until one of them passes their test.  Thinking of eventually going for 2 vans with 2 people in each.

Which van would you use?  Thinking of something like a transit swb? Something to handle the weight of the water tank and kit etc.

Like i say, it will be kitted out as funds allow but want to do it right the first time (electric reels etc) and use gear that will last.  Could use a few pointers and possibly links to products you wouldnt be without!

and finally i was wondering if there is a way to fill the tank with water from mains and have the filters process the water like that? or is there a preference to have a storage tank and transfer from that into the van tank?

Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks

  if i was you ide put the £1500 down on a deposit on a allmost new van i did this a few years ago best thing i ever did spent years throwing money at cheep vans it dont pay m8 as things go rong with old stuff unless your lucky to find a gem, i got a vivaro with 39k on finance £200 a month for 5 years ,u can get some cracking deals at the minit ive sin peg expers with under 1000 minles on the clock for 12k +vat

[jk999]

Good luck in finding a  decent van for 1500 around  two and half years ago I bought an o3 Vauxhall combo for £1100 and within a year ended up spending a further £1200 On it then I bought a Citroen dispatch on a 53 reg for £1600 and that's allready had about £800 spent on it if not more both van took nearly 6 months each to find in end i thought sod it and got myself almost brand new vivaro

[AuRavelling79]

It wasn't until I bit the bullet and bought a brand new van on lease purchase that my wfp business took off (in one man band terms).

If you have three of you depending on van reliability and weight then all the more so.

2 up and a  650L tank means you need at least 1050kg payload, preferably 1200kg. 3 up and and 800 you need 1400kg/1500kg.

With three up you'll be tripping over yourselves so that has to be a very short term solution IMO.

When I employed I had a Doblo 1.3 with a 400L. For the first six months I was towing another 250L in a trailer until I got a van that could handle two up!

[Danny F]

It seems the majority of you are saying to try and stay away from a cheapish second hand van. I could possibly wait a little while longer and continue to put money away up to about £2500-3k but maybe this would be better spent on a deposit for a van with maybe 20-40k on the clock?

Ideally i would want a van that parts are handy got, for eventual breakdowns and wear and tear etc.  Good friend of mine is a mechanic who charges me buttons for labour and i send him other work.

I like the idea of being able to actually own the van, modify bits and pieces (holes in floor for hose etc) rather than to hand it back at the end of a certain term.  I suppose a big issue is the rust. Have any of you tried to prevent rust with any success? i know local companies that will waxoil or whatever is used on the under neath of a car for not a lot of money.

[dazmond]

your not gonna get much of a van for £1500 esp if it needs to have a 1200kg payload for water and employees.if you can get a brand new one(lease or HP)then at least you know its gonna start in the morning.

[jk999]

If I was you and you could afford payments maybe not brand you I would use the money as a deposit on a newish van

[Danny F]

Guys just wanted to say a bit of thanks for your help. I have been having a look at new vans and seems i can get a new vivaro for around £230pm but at the min im spending ALOT on petrol, so hopefully the saving from switching from petrol to diesel will offset a bit of the cost. As well as the lower running costs for repairs etc atm.

Should be having a look at vans next week and go from there. So the next step is the kit to buy. I will be switching from trad to wtf so need to buy everything. Reels, hoses, baffled tank, filters, pumps and so on.

When looking at baffled tanks i think i prefer flat tanks compared to uprights, although ive no idea what size to go for.  Wanting to go for a 2 man set up where i dont have to keep refilling because i run out, so need a bit of advice here.

The water tds here is around 130 so low enough. Would you then recommend a double di vessel setup? and have this inside the van with a hose connection? meaning i can for example when filling it just run a hose from back garden tap to the van either at my house or at a customers house if needing a top up/filling up? 

[chris turner]

Guys just wanted to say a bit of thanks for your help. I have been having a look at new vans and seems i can get a new vivaro for around £230pm but at the min im spending ALOT on petrol, so hopefully the saving from switching from petrol to diesel will offset a bit of the cost. As well as the lower running costs for repairs etc atm.

Should be having a look at vans next week and go from there. So the next step is the kit to buy. I will be switching from trad to wtf so need to buy everything. Reels, hoses, baffled tank, filters, pumps and so on.

When looking at baffled tanks i think i prefer flat tanks compared to uprights, although ive no idea what size to go for.  Wanting to go for a 2 man set up where i dont have to keep refilling because i run out, so need a bit of advice here.

The water tds here is around 130 so low enough. Would you then recommend a double di vessel setup? and have this inside the van with a hose connection? meaning i can for example when filling it just run a hose from back garden tap to the van either at my house or at a customers house if needing a top up/filling up?

For 2 men you will need at least a 600 litre tank, though I would go for 800 personally as I use at least 400 litres a day on my own.
Flat tank is fine, I have a 500 litre flat in the back of my dispatch. Just remember to mount the pump as low to the floor as possible or fit a non return valve.

With a TDs of 120 you will need an ro system or you will eat resin.
The good news is that a decent ro should polish a TDs of 120 down to almost zero. So you could just have an ro setup and use the water at a TDs of about 3, which is absolutely fine. Or stick a resin filter after the ro and the resin will last absolutely ages.
Personally I have my ro system mounted in an outside, insulated cupboard at home. I just pull up, stick the hose in the tank and leave it to fill for about 2 hours. You can have the ro system in the van but you have to be careful in the winter months that it doesn't freeze or can damage the membranes.

[Danny F]

Yea i had thought a 750l tank but might just go 800l just incase.  Would you recommend or have a link to any good RO systems? The vivaros have quite a decent load space so should hopefully be able to have the room to house a ro and say a double di vessel set up to save regular resin changes? Also how often would u change the membranes out of interest?

ive recently seen that some people manage to put an automatic shut off into their tank so when the tank is filled it doesnt keep filling. Has anyone here done this? im guessing an upright may be better for this?

[colin bird]

any more thoughts?

To be honest mate,as you only have a small budget I feel your going to dtruggle to get a reliable van and system.
If you have a solid regular round,is it not possible to have a bank loan,to enable you to buy a decent van and system.
A reliable van and system will  allow you to earn more money due to less down time  fromt breakdowns etc and will also give your business a better image.
That's my view and that's what I would do,others  will have different ideas

[jonboywalton75]

If you have the work there already, get decent kit rather than scrimping,
Its false economy
Good payload, proper kit in your van and earning is what you do, as opposed to muddling through.
I've tried both ways and I know what works best

[JandS]

Try Vanmonster.

[Danny F]

If you have the work there already, get decent kit rather than scrimping,
Its false economy
Good payload, proper kit in your van and earning is what you do, as opposed to muddling through.
I've tried both ways and I know what works best

thanks for the advice, have decided i will be buying new now