[james cairns]

to you guys out there who are running transit size vans with say 650 litre tanks

how do you find the running cost with all that weight in the back

have you found the suspension needing repairs sooner

just trying to work out costings

I recon an average diesel van going about the town does somewhere
about 35  unloaded ==say how is it when you load it up with the extra weight, do you find it drops drastically.

how is the weight when driving like braking  steering etc does the weight take effect and you have to accommodate

would be great to get replies

jinky

[Moderator David@stives]

I use a transit and have not had one repair job in 8 months now.

I dont count the diesel, i just put it in when its empty

[Paul Coleman]

to you guys out there who are running transit size vans with say 650 litre tanks

how do you find the running cost with all that weight in the back

have you found the suspension needing repairs sooner

just trying to work out costings

I recon an average diesel van going about the town does somewhere
about 35  unloaded ==say how is it when you load it up with the extra weight, do you find it drops drastically.

how is the weight when driving like braking  steering etc does the weight take effect and you have to accommodate

would be great to get replies

jinky

I've never bothered calculating the fuel consumption but I tend to put in about 65 - 70 litres each fortnight after doing 400 - 450 miles.  It tends to vary a fair bit as I use the van for personal use too and also my business mileage varies a fair bit.
As for other wear and tear.  I have a Renault Trafic and the gearbox went after 39,000 miles.  I bought it when it had done 37,000 miles so I have no idea if the gearbox was a lemon or if the previous owner tore around a lot.  Luckily, I was just inside the 3 year warranty.  Nothing else has gone wrong with it though I did have to replace the rear discs and pads after 40,000 miles.  Pads fair enough but I would have expected more from the discs.  Howevwer, once again I've no idea how it was driven previously.
The van does handle differently when loaded with water as you would expect.  I tend to drive accordingly.  I keep a lot more distance between self and vehicle in front, I take the corners much more slowly, and I tend to think ahead more so that I can allow the van to decelerate a fair bit and ease the brakes on well in advance.  This saves wear on the brakes and suspension.  It's a very different driving style to a small van or car but I'm not unfamiliar with it as I used to drive a 7.5 tonner some years ago.  I was pretty spoiled for years though because when I was trad cleaning, I had a Nissan Sunny van that was very low mileage when I bought it.  It still had the original clutch when I sold it after 142,000 miles.  Mind you, I did need to change the handbrake cable at one point as I tended to use handbrake rather than riding the clutch.

[ray l]

If its any use to you I,ve a merc sprinter  with  1000ltr system .
 I,m averagering 22- 25 mpg. But I,m not doing big miles I think it was 11k for last year. So i don,t think it will be a major expense.

[www.mrgutters.co.uk]

hi all

i run a scudo with a 650ltr system , i find fuel consumption very bad fuel economy £60  a week around 320 miles for that and the braking and ride is drastically afffected . i might get a bigger van to deal with this ....

shawn

[pjulk]

I use a transit with a 650ltr system and find its excellent on fuel.
and nothing wearing away fast.

Paul

[neil100]

I have a fiat ducato 2.0jtd. I love driving it weather its fully loaded or not. I have an 800ltr tank which I fill up to the brim when my son works with me. I feel the weight when Accelerating  but the van handles superbly when fully loaded with water, If nobody is in front of me I can really tonk on. Unbeleible how it handles. All credit to facelift who installed my van set up. They know what they are doing.

My van averages about 26mpg, Which I am pleased with considering the weight I carry, plus the builders roof rack with ladders on top,which does effect fuel consumption.

It was  a brand new van, had it a year and not cost me a penny.

Nel.

[AuRavelling79]

Slight tangent Neil - how did you go about choosing, finding the best deal and buying your van? - I mean, leasing, purchasing, finance etc.?

[neil100]

O Right Malc

I did not know a thing about vans untill Sept last year, I have never owned one, but I have driven them in the past with some of the diffrent jobs I have done. When I decided to take the plunge into wfp, I decided to do it properly from the word go, and so I had to buy a van.

I wanted the biggest van for the least amount of money with the best payload. The fiat ducato was on the top of the list because of its 1145 kg payload. I wanted to get the biggest water tank in there and still be legal. It was miles cheaper then anything else.

It was a toss up between leasing and buying, I have allways saved and  bought the things I own, so although I looked at leasing I felt more comftable with myself if I were to own it. I had the cash so I looked around for who would sell it to me for the least amount of money. It was narrowed down to three van companys, I picked the price I wanted to pay, which was below what they where advertising them at, and one company after a bit of humming and harring agreed to sell it to me for what I was willing to pay.

Nel.