[Cowan]

Looking for some advice from anyone who has used a Ford Transit to tow a trailer or rig.

I currently have a 51 plate Citroen Dispatch Van which I more than happy with, great condition, very low miles (45k) and been well sign written! Only issue is I bought a trailer rig (edge grimebuster) recently and had a towbar fitted to the van.  My van pulls it ok but really struggles with even the slightest hill! It has never been a very powerful van and think that's pretty standard!

I have a couple of 04 plate swb transits available locally and may go and see them this week, just wanted to know if anyone has used this type of van for a similar thing? If so does it pull well and manage hills!

If it's not going to be a significant difference then I could do without the extra cost and hassle of selling my van, buying a replacement and then getting it all sign written ect.

Any comments would be appreciated as always - thanks

[chris scott]

04 transit will have more holes in it than a teabag!
You need to find a van with a "big " engine for towing. These usually get fitted to higher carrying capacity vans....although there are plenty of "small" physical size vans with big capacity/engines about.Rwd if poss.
Small Ivecos have big engines and don't rot (good value). Euro vans in med wheelbase will tow (relay/ducato/boxer) just check they are 2.2/3 engines as the do a 1900cc one .Masters/movano good med van ,strong engine,low floor height.
Transits are S*** compared. Although the smiley front with DI was the best van in the world  
VW "t" series is the best van on the road but you will pay 25% extra and you are limited by the "smaller" body configuration.  

[Matt Gibson]

I run a LWB hi Roof transit. 04 plate. yes transits rust, but you can find decent examples of them around, if you spend the time looking. A little bit of rust can be repaired, and transit parts are cheap and easily available. engines are easy to work on too. With a bit of care you can get a transit to do very high miles with  low cost. The load capacity of a transit is good, the space is good.

As for towing, get a RWD van. Also, the diff ratios matter when your towing, hence why all RAC and AA vans have different ratiod diffs. My van had a ratio set for towing, pulls the trailer well, cant even feel it but when im not towing the trailer, it revs a bit high on the motorway. small price to pay for having a good all round van.

[Cowan]

Cheers Chris and Matt - helpful responses.

Glad I asked as it looks like I would not be any better of buying a standard 2.0 swb fwd wheel drive transit!

Will focus my search on a bigger van (engine size rather than capacity, or both!) and rwd preferably!

Thanks again and hope 2014 is a good one for you both, enjoy!

[chris scott]

Here you go
  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2006-56-IVECO-DAILY-DIESEL-VAN2-3HPI-29L10-SWB-LOW-MILES-83K-TAXED-AND-TEST-/181289877293?pt=UK_Commercial_Trucks&hash=item2a35b7ff2d



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-IVECO-SEDDON-DAILY-2-3-HPI-DIESEL-29L10-DRIVES-PERFECT-PX-SWAPS-/111014717233?pt=UK_Commercial_Trucks&hash=item19d8fe2731

[BDCS]

I have a mk5 swb transit which is the last of the easy to work on and bomb proof transits - the missus's van. I have a mk7 350 rwd which pulls well as its carries more than its fair share of weight - jetter is 1.2 tonne on its own, its lovely to drive but have never got to a service interval without an issue. It has cost me over £10k in garage bills in the last 2 years. Sprinters are reputedly worse as are the Nissans and Masters. So I thought about a Iveco - I only have one dealer withinn an hour and its a nightmare getting any spare during July and August if its a genuine part. Haynes who deal in both Transits and Iveco's told me and sold me the Transit. Any van can be Shoot.
  Look on the window side for the ex RAC Swb transit post as they are the RWD with the 2.4 long engines.
  Worst thing I ever did was to get rid of my Mk5 190 transit because of LEZ - I have a MIG though

[chris scott]

One more....proper tractor!!
 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2007-IVECO-DAILEY-TWIN-WHEEL-LOW-ROOF-DAILY-MWB-35C12-1-OWNER-NEW-SHAPE-/261347633316?pt=UK_Commercial_Trucks&hash=item3cd98868a4

[Tony T]

Hi
I'd highly recommend an 04 Transit mate as i've got an 04 Transit which i bought nearly 3 years ago and have not had any major issues with other than some welding of the side door sill. It's done 170k now and still going strong, the turbo is still efficient and the van can pull a loaded trailer no problem when required as well as tow cars.
Though after reading the other members posts maybe i've been lucky.
One thing to look out for on 04 Transits though is the instrument cluster failing.. it's a known common fault on that year. If you disconnect the battery and reconnect an hour or so later the cluster can reset itself, though this is not guaranteed and if it doesn't reset then it'll cost around £1k to fix.

[Matt Gibson]

My instrument cluster is starting to fail. If you buy a transit, join http://fordtransit.org/forum/

Big help. Very informative. The simple fix for the intrument cluster seems to be remove it, spray the connections on the back with WD40 and leave to dry. replace. Seems to have fixed quite a few, i just havent got around to doing mine yet.