Perfect Plumbing Van

[dancinplumba]

nissan largo i have

 

[REDSAW]

At the moment I'm working out of my Land rover 110.
Long term I want to get a Land Rover 130 with a workshop back. This will give me all the room I want but retain the go anywhere ability that is so handy with the 110.

you been listening to me talking to the wife about the same thing?.lol
i am comming from a freelander & transit looking for something smaller as the main van (somewhere between the 2).

 

[dontknowitall]

Hummer?

 

[PlumbBobBob]

original or little one?

 

[MattWeth]

Not a Hummer - you need a proper Humvee

 

[WaterTight]

I love my Scudo.

 

[Barry Sparks]

Connect good van not best on fuel when i had one, always go for a bulkhead your ever in an accident without one it,s not the impact but gear flying about that does damage if you need the longth cut closable hatch to fitt pipe through then close when not req,d

 

[SafeGasInstall]

best perfect van is a company one

 

[SafeGasInstall]

the one you dont pay to buy,service,mot,tyres,insurance.................

 

[E4gas]

I'll be the first to be ridiculed,fire away peeps and remember grass doesn't grow on a busy street

Is that ex B G racking . I had it in my van , it's a bit heavy

 

[Guildfordboiler]

ive got a transporter t5 174 drives great really quick too more like a car has cruise control air con
its not great on diesel get about 500 milles from a tank which costs about £100

 

[Salopian]

56 Plate Fiat Doblo 1.9 - averages 50 plus mpg but really not big enough for me (and i'm untidy!).

 

[dontknowitall]

Perfect plumbing van will be:

One to carry lengths of 3m pipe inside the body (e.g. bundle of 15mm, bundle of 22mm and 3 or 4 other pieces).
One to carry 3-4 sheets of wood/plasterboard.
Easily access (near door) cubby holes for keeping small bits in - e.g. washers.
Flexible storage area - ie main frame with adjustable shelving and vertical sides and various straps to hold things.
Easy ladder storage in top of van
Space to "walk" in van for when it's raining
Possibly a small cupboard so you can keep home purchases clean for the "While you're out do you mind buying me a ..."


In cabin, decent sized compartment for folders, paperwork, brochures, etc
Decent space for sandwich box/thermos/drinks/crisps, etc
Rubbish bin
Proper space for phone - e.g. angled shelf/holder so you don't have to touch it to see if it just rang
"Part time" 4 wheel drive
Automatic gearbox
Heated windscreen
Air con
Electric windows
Seat warmers
Proper heater
Comfortable seats

 

[PlumbBobBob]

Perfect plumbing van will be:

One to carry lengths of 3m pipe inside the body (e.g. bundle of 15mm, bundle of 22mm and 3 or 4 other pieces).
One to carry 3-4 sheets of wood/plasterboard.
Easily access (near door) cubby holes for keeping small bits in - e.g. washers.
Flexible storage area - ie main frame with adjustable shelving and vertical sides and various straps to hold things.
Easy ladder storage in top of van
Space to "walk" in van for when it's raining
Possibly a small cupboard so you can keep home purchases clean for the "While you're out do you mind buying me a ..."


In cabin, decent sized compartment for folders, paperwork, brochures, etc
Decent space for sandwich box/thermos/drinks/crisps, etc
Rubbish bin
Proper space for phone - e.g. angled shelf/holder so you don't have to touch it to see if it just rang
"Part time" 4 wheel drive
Automatic gearbox
Heated windscreen
Air con
Electric windows
Seat warmers
Proper heater
Comfortable seats

where can i buy one

 

[b26b]

Ran a Vivaro for a bit, no end of problems, and then it decide to 'run on' thus destroying the engine, it had to go. Picked up a 51 plate Escort as a stop gap during last winter. £250 it cost and 15,000 miles later since I got it, its never missed a beat. Slow, very very slow but its good on juice, car like size, and easy to work on, I loathe paying other people to work on it, Im good with a socket set, make do and mend. Learnt my lesson, forget gadgets and speed and all that. If it doesnt have it, it cant go wrong. A chippy guy down the road runs a Moggy Minor van, now thats a motor!!

 

[stevetheplumber]

for a while in the eighties i had a min van for plumbing it was more as a way of getting out of some bad work i had a guvenor who would get you running around the country picking up stuff if your van was big enough so i sold my transit and got the mini

 

[arran197]

I drive a lot of different vans and although I hate to say it, the Transits seem to be the best. I drove a 4 year old one a few weeks ago that had 126k on the clock. Was still nice to drive and felt rock solid. The only fault I could find was the display on the radio wasn't working, although the radio still was.

I now daily drive a Citroen Dispatch, but I think I must have got a bad one. It's not 3 years old yet, has done 62k miles and I think I am the third engineer to have it. The clutch is juddering, the alarm keeps going off, the brakes are rubbish and it's thirsty. But the gearbox is nice and it's got a good load bay. I like the twin sliding doors too. Dash isn't bad, but hasn't got as much storage as a Transit.

Worst one I have driven is an LDV Maxus, interior is horrible and it is so badly made, may as well buy an older transit instead.

 

[Millsy 82]

I will agree about the maxus I had a hire van for about 3 months horrible to drive and was it just me but the steering wheel and pedals were not in line with the seat so you had to sit at a funny angle which gave me a bad back.

I drive a connect now rubbish on fuel and chews through front tyres but nice to drive. For what I do its the perfect size but if I was installing it would be useless.

If I had the choice it would be a transit comfy to drive loads of storage space in the front and a good size load space. After that it would have to be a transporter then Iveco daily although huge not to bad to drive.

 

[Gmaservices]

I've got a transit mwb high top for installs and bigger jobs and a connect for running round and small jobs/ servicing because it's cheaper to run, faster and easier to park! Can't fault either of them,had a vivaro for a while and it was the worst thing ive ever used!

 

[mark75]

got a traffic and its goin as soon as i can find sum1 2 buy it , its a nightmare !!!

 

[Plum Bob 66]

I Drive a Citreon Berlingo 1.6hdi lx. Although small in comparison with vivaro, transporter, transit I cant fault it. Comfy, economical and paid for !

 

[Chris4489]

At my current job, we do drive alot of vans, including Transits & Transporters. Unfortunately although the Transit Van has great space and a great dash/drivers area (2007+ Transits), they are very rattly and we have had a fair few problems at work with them.

The Transporter - My personal favourite doesn't have as much space, although thats what roof racks can be use for, its better built.

If you have got the funding go for the Transporter, if not, my second choice would be a transit.

I have also driven Vivaro's (although the economy is good, the dash/drivers area isn't great) and Vito's is ideal too, but its in a price range similar to the Transporters.

 

[Chris4489]

Does anyone have any feedback on the 'New Combo' or has anyone ordered the new 'Transit'>???

 

[on31ll]

so the transit seems to be winning ?

 

[dieseldong]

Hi guys,
Renault Trafic LWB, (Silver)
Racked out on drivers side with internal tube rack constructed into lower part of racking just to the side of the rear wheel, just pokes through bulk head under seat out of sight. Takes full 3 metre tubes. Keeps tube out of site of thieves, no roof rack needed so just passes under most car park barriers.
No rack on roof, magnetic removeable signs, so when parked out of site just looks a courrier's van, not one full of tools.
Locked steel van volt bolted to floor
Some say dashboard sloped and slippy and can't put stuff on....... That's what the back of the van is for. .
40 Plus to the gallon.
Love it.

 

[SafeGasInstall]

Enjoy it

 

[stevetheplumber]

no such animal if your doing nothing but boiler services a small van is good if you do kitchens you need the length for work tops mine is a lwb high roof transit everything is inside ladders tube steps hundreds of fittings screws tools power tools as i never know what im doing next

 

[Dannypipe]

I liked the look of those landrovers with a giant racked box on the back. Used by the utility companies.

When it snows, you would have a nice 4WD van, with all your stuff inside, and a 3KW generator if required. Which means it will boil the kettle!!

 

[on31ll]

i seen a loverly united utilitys van very smartly racked out all on runners etc the side door bulled out like a book shelf no need to even climb in the van ! seen the 2 lads loving the kettle feature though. but it didnt look like it had a generator ? and engine was off ? maybe i caught them after it had boiled !

 

[Dannypipe]

Maybe, but a lot of them do have generators or big invertors. I'm no expert but I'm gonna try and get one for my next truck. Last year skidding around in the snow was no fun at all. I ended up staying at home and had some people almost begging me to come out. One bloke even offered to come pick me up in his 4X4 and drop me off as he had a burst pipe just down from the main.

I did get to him though. Got my dad to drop me off in his Navara. Got a massive job off the back of it. So I know the value of being reliable in the bad weather.

 

[Kemble]

You just need winter tyres... and chains for when it's really icy... So few people in this country use winter tyres but they make a huge difference... far cheaper than running a 4x4. Interesting to see so many 4x4 on the news this week in the floods... they seem to think "I've got a 4x4 so I am invincible and can go anywhere"...

 

[Dannypipe]

Yeah but I have so much weight in the back and the van is front driven so I think even with winter tyres I'd still be on a hiding to nothing. Food for thought though as I don't currently have a spare £15K for some silly reason.

 

[on31ll]

wouldnt mind kitting the van out with a kettle etc ! when i need a brew ! look for it when buying a van.

 

[tamz]

wouldnt mind kitting the van out with a kettle etc ! when i need a brew ! look for it when buying a van.

Just buy one of these
1L AQUA SOFT TOUCH 12V KETTLE 12 VOLT CAR ETC: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors

 

[on31ll]

or maybe just get a special kettle ! although a new van is a better toy !

 

[Mike Jackson]

I liked the look of those landrovers with a giant racked box on the back. Used by the utility companies.

When it snows, you would have a nice 4WD van, with all your stuff inside, and a 3KW generator if required. Which means it will boil the kettle!!

Picking mine up next Tuesday hopefully.


130 by Mike Jackson1, on Flickr

 

[Avatar]

That's a bit ugly like!

I think a large van with mini kitchen, armchair and tv would be good for tea breaks . . . .

I miss my big transit van as when on installs it is impossible with anything else!

 

[365drills]

This is the ********* van.

Its an Ex-Police Prison van

With 2 x extra seats in the back to make it a 5 seater

(Seats and Prison Cage removed)

Just got to get it badged up now

 

[mikegas]

Extra seats for the models, standard

 

[365drills]

Seats in the back and for the best models its a free ride in the prison cage for them....

In here ladies......

http://*********.com/Gadget/drilling_tiles.jpg

 

[dieseldong]

Cheers, will do

 

[Orry Clayton]

What's the perfect Van for plumbers? And what Van have you got?

If you have pics, please attach them to your thread.

Thanks.

One that works, and Fiat Doblo

 

[Mike Jackson]

That's a bit ugly like!

I think a large van with mini kitchen, armchair and tv would be good for tea breaks . . . .

I miss my big transit van as when on installs it is impossible with anything else!

No taste. How can you call a land rover ugly? They are a thing of beauty.

 

[markadams]

So would you get a transit connect or a Peugeot partner 2.0 HDI? These are the options I am considering?

 

[shezzaar]

anyone got any ideas for an ideal starting van?
was thinking something like a ford transit SWB or MWB

 

[CXR100]

get a good mwb one, 3m lengths will fit in them !

 

[Mutha]

I've a Peugeot Partner, ok van but its like playing Tetris with the gear.I need to get a bigger one.

 

[shezzaar]

what do people think of the Peugeot boxer, the Citroen relay/jumper or the renault master?

 

[lame plumber]

they are french!!!!!!!

 

[shezzaar]

yes i know but i would be working in france, so it would be easier to have a french van, although i am considering a ford transit MWB medium height