Small van recommendations please.

[JohnV]

I'm thinking of getting a small diesel van, something like a Kangoo / Berlingo / Transit Connect / Renault Partner Teepee etc. I'll want to fit my Nomad / climbing kit / skis in it, preferably under a bed. Any recommendations for the most suitable model or notable downfalls of any of them?

[-Ginge-]

None of them have a horizontal Loadspace big enogh to fit a nomad under a bed. It would need to be diagonal from bottom corner to top corner.

[TheKrikkitWars]

What ginge said; but, IIRC some kangoos have passenger seats that fold forward allowing you to fit a long boat on lengthways.

That said, ex post office combos with five seats are relatively cheap and plentiful, giving you the versitility of an estate combined with the space and carrying capacity of a small van in one package.

[Sam E]

I drive a Vauxhall Combo 1.7 DI. Cracking van and pretty cheap. I bought mine from auction where you'll find loads at a cheap price. Especially from the Royal Mail. As has been said you won't fit a Nomad inside easily but I can get 48mpg with a boat on the roof. I do however get my Diesel 70 inside touching the back doors and about 10cm in front of the inside mirror. This leaves 2 seats still.

I used to have a Citroen Dispatch that I could sleep in lying out (I'm 6'3'') and will fit your Nomad in much easier. 3 seats as well. But only got 37mpg.

As far as avoiding goes I wouldn't buy Peugeot again. My first van was an 02 Partner. After getting it serviced found out it needed a new rear axel. £400 before labour... I was also told this was a common problem.

Hope this helps,
Sam

[mcneilljamie]

Buy a hearse! I know people who are dying to get in them!

[Paul L]

Hi , I bought a Toyota Hiace swb for that same purpose fits all my gear in bikes , boats ,waveski`s also ideal for a changing room if the weather`s not too good outside. I don`t sleep in mine as I also have a house with a bed in ;o) tho you could easily fit a bed in . My wife and I use it to get changed in when we go to sporting event`s and on the plus side it has 3 seats up front. I did have an estate car before this and doubt I would go back to a car now. Hiace`s are`nt as popular as VW`s and the like but they`re super reliable just do a search on google you will find many happy owners .

Cheers

Paul

[Bridgeyy]

Hi

I've recently got myself a Peugeot Partner and in the process of kitting it out for kayaking, with a small bed down the one side

The back space is limited, I cant fit my M Rockstar in the back unless it goes diagonal across, but the passenger seat folds down flat, which adds a lot more space for a boat, but not sure if a creek boat will still fit or not!

Hope this helps!

Pete

[Mart]

Sorry for the long essay, but once I got writing it all just flowed out and I couldn't be bothered to edit it down.........
I hope my thoughts are helpful, bit if you don't want to read it all I recommend, the car version instead of the van, even better would be to buy something bigger then a berlingo/kangoo, or finally buy a large people carrier.

I have a Berlingo van which I reckon I have spent around 100 nights in over the past 2 years, it would have been more but I was lucky enough to get a free bed at work most of the time.

I have a Jefe and like most people have said, she will just fit in diagonally on its side between the bottom corner and jammed between the passenger head rest and the roof IF I put it in stern first; the doors won't close if I try to put it in nose first. The result of the tight fit is that if I open the back door the boat slides out of the van and is a pain to get back in (I mean slam the door hard and cross my fingers, then when it slides forwards a cm, push it back in and try again, but the mamba is 3cm shorter which would help you). I have a small ladder bulk head behind the drivers seat, no chance of a boat fitting with anything bigger. If I didn't have a side door it would be an absolute pain to get into the back of the van. If you wanted to get ski's or other long things in at the same time as a boat it would become a real pain very quickly. I have the version where the passenger seat back rest folds all the way forwards so it is horizontal, this isn't massively helpful for boat carrying as you loose your passenger seat, meaning you always have to drive everywhere on your own and stopping a boat sliding around on top of the seat takes more time then strapping it to a roof rack. When the boat is in the back it takes up pretty much all the useful room and I have to either remove or stand my bed box on its end around the boat.

I'm about 180cm and can just fit in the back of the van diagonally if I don't stretch out too much, obviously not while I have the boat in there, that has to be thrown out for the night.

I have built a bed box from a plywood sheet that sits in the back corner of the van, with another sheet that clips onto the end and rests on the back of the flat passenger seat. As the van is quite low I can't sit upright on the bed, so have to either slouch/crouch or sit on the floor next to it, the bed height is fixed by the passenger seat height. My problem with sitting on the floor is I store all my bags on the floor, so I have to move them onto the drivers seat so I can use the back of the van and since I wouldn't usually sleep where I had cooked and spent the evening, I then have to move the bags off the front seat to the back, drive to where I will sleep and then depending on how much stuff I have repeat the process (I generally had a lot of stuff as I was away for work for up to 2 weeks at a time on occasions).

It was nice in the summer, open the doors first thing in the morning, Coffee and croissants sat outside and no packing away to do, but in the wet or cold it was a night mare and I couldn't last more then a couple of days.

My version of the Berlingo is cheap and low geared for lugging tools around town, 5th gear is pathetic and it feels like driving a car in 4th. Driving conservatively at no more then 50 (56 tucked behind a lorry on the motorway) I averaged about 30mpg. Get up to 70 or a little bit more and you will be adding £75 of diesel to the tank every 2 hours. Not everyone's' van is geared like mine though so make sure you get the right one!

Basically, what I'm trying to say is I WOULD NOT recommend a small car van, if you are getting a van, get something a decent size and make the most of the higher tax, insurance and bridge tolls; something you can sit up in, fit a boat and a passenger in at the same time, sleep in comfortably, and that you will have enough room to hang around in when it is raining. A Kangoo is slightly better if the passenger seat goes completely flat as you don't need a bed frame but in winter it is much warmer being raised off the floor by a few inches. At a minimum I would recommend getting something like a Dispatch or an Expert, 2008 onwards models come in a slightly longer length as well.

An alternative is to buy a large people carrier; cheaper to tax and insure, can carry passengers, cheaper bridge tolls etc. My parents used to have Fiat Ulysees (peugeot 806) and that was brilliant, it was basically a van, with 7 completely removable back seats, a flat floor front to back, rear windows, was cheap to own, cheap to run and if my van hadn't of practically been free is definitely what I would have bought.

[Mart]

PS, do you know that Van speed limits are lower then cars unless it is a car derived van and under 2tonnes? An estate/berlingo/partner should be under the weight limit but a Ford Connect, a Renault Kangoo or anything bigger is over the limit which means 50 on single carriage ways and 60 on dual rather then the 60 and 70 limit for cars.

PPS, Generally with van insurance you don't get third party cover to drive other vehicles, so if you drive others' cars on your policy at the moment you wouldn't be able too with a van.

[David Robinson]

Buy a hearse! I know people who are dying to get in them!

Don't know why people just ignored that I give it a lol. :)

[councildog]

what about a Mazda bongo their quite small
cheap to buy and great for camping in

[Jim_MWX]

I had an Astravan.

It was superb, had loads of room in the back for bags/kit and plenty of room on top for boats etc.

I spent a while looking around at small vans and at the time it was for me the best option.

Downside would be not much horizontal room but the vertical room makes up for it.

Some points to consider:

Van Tax not car - Mine was classed as light goods. £125 a year.

Being small had quite a good MPG, however it was a van under insurance/law etc so limited insurance companies etc. I went with NFU Mutual, they were quite cheap.

[mark62]

Diesel Seat Alhambra, VW in all but name and price, more room , economical.

[Andy:P]

VW T4. They cost a bit more but the re-sale values are rock solid.

[Active Adventure SW]

http://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=89842

get one of these.... (just sold my t4)

[JohnV]

Many thanks for all the replies! Very useful stuff. I'd be looking for car versions of these and removing the seats from the back probably. Sounds like the boat will have to go on the roof anyway, so I guess head space becomes more important than length. cheers for the suggestions of the Ulysees / 806- looks good, maybe even too big! Maybe Kangoo or Dispatch then. Thanks again for the responses!

John