[Scrimble]

whats peoples thoughts on having a large van vs a small van?

ie a small vauxhall combo carrying a 500l tank vs a lwb tranny van or trafic carrying 650-1000l

pros and cons?

[Pete Thompson]

I had a similar dilemma. As I saw it, these were the pros and cons:

Big van pros:
More tank capacity
Easier to fit poles in
Good if wanting to expand to 2-man
More room for other gear like pressure washing (if you do that)

Big van cons:
More expensive to buy
More expensive to run
Trickier to park
Won't fit in my garage

In the end I went for a small van, VW Caddy with a 400 litre system. The fact that I can fit it in my garage is a huge benefit for me (of course you might not care about that, or you might have a nice big garage)

I've found that 400 litres is more than enough for me, especially if I'm careful about not wasting water.

If I ever took someone on then I'd probably have to sell it and get a bigger van and system, or (more likely) get a 2nd small van.

Personally I love small vans, you can nip here and there and get into parking spots easily etc. With a couple of minor adjustments fitting the poles in is no problem, and I've found there's adequate room for other gear as long as you're well organised.

And it's nice and cheap to run.

[richard groves]

Really depends on your circumstances. As a sole trader I have pug expert, anything bigger I would struggle to even park in my street at night let alone service my round, narrow streets and parking spaces car sized .

[SeanK]

What about medium sized vans such as the Dispatch, they will still fit into most garages have plenty of room for poles
and you could turn them on a sixpence.
Easily parked, have a decent payload and not much more expensive to run than a smaller van.

[jonboywalton75]

I had an astravan with 350 ltr system for 4 years
Now got a transit custom 650 ltr.Sole trader.
I dont have parking problems
Life is easier and I earn faster
I can quite easily use more than 500 Ltrs in a day, water is cheap in my area of Cheshire 35 tds.
For me , even with increased expenses it's a no brainer.

[dazmond]

for a mainly domestic sole trader  WFP window cleaner offering add ons with existing existing equipment(f/s/g,conny roofs,solar panel cleaning)then a small van is ideal.

CONNECT T230 is perfect.high roof for pole storage in 2 tubes,500L tank and room for backpack,trad gear,reel etc.easy to park and get on driveways if necessary.it also has a great cab with mesh bulkhead and storage compartments and a shelf above windscreen for gloves/hats etc.

my van is a workhorse and just gets used for work.i can understand you guys getting bigger vans if you do pressure washing and gutter vac cing or employing though.

[Shane sharples]

Connect t200 , brilliant little van, cheap to run cheap to tax/insure . Can fit everything in I need.

Except the kids- in the future, I will be upgrading to something with 3 seats in the front so I can fit my kids in the van, if the Mrs has took the car out somewhere . It's something I never thought about when I bought it, but other then that, it's ideal for work

[SB Cleaning]

I've got a primastar good 2 man van...If I was on my own I would go for a expert or caddy.

[Smudger]

I wouldn't go any smaller then your typical medium size van ( dispatch/expert/scudo ) these are great all rounders for one or two man set ups, poles fit and carry a great amount of water plus they have side doors

My very first van was a combo although ok it never had enough room and was a pain climbing in the back

Darran

[jonboywalton75]

I wouldn't go any smaller then your typical medium size van ( dispatch/expert/scudo ) these are great all rounders for one or two man set ups, poles fit and carry a great amount of water plus they have side doors

My very first van was a combo although ok it never had enough room and was a pain climbing in the back

Darran

+1

[Dave Willis]

larger van everytime for me (Toyota Hiace). Nice high seat position, three proper seats and no worries about overloading. Proper metal bulkhead, tank fitted the right way round and properly secured. Can't see the point in using micky mouse vans when hauling that kind of weight about.

Oh and Extreme poles and I earn millions.

[jonboywalton75]

+1 apart from extremes

[dazmond]

ive never seen mickey mouse driving a connect T230 dave?

when i do finally get another van in a few years i reckon ill get another connect(new shape)the payload is 1000kg.ample for a 500L tank. .mine is 900kg (old shape) which is still ok.

[Richard60]

we have xpert 3 seats .n plenty of room in front

[sunshine windows]

Was running the business with 2 x fiat Doblos no problem whatsoever. When the new franchisee came on board he opted for a dispatch. I have to say, I really like it. Plenty of room in the back for a gutter vac, but he doesn't have roof rack and ladders, as access would be a problem under coach houses/most multi storey car parks.

[NWH]

Bigger van everytime for me I've had both,a transporter isn't a massive amount bigger than a LWB connect and the transporter is like driving a rolls Royce compared to the ford

[wpclean]

Better to have a bigger van, and if you get busier you have the extra space . . . . better to have it, and not need it, than to need it, and not have it 
We have a traffic, and would love bigger, but have limited parking space.

[Ian101]

whats peoples thoughts on having a large van vs a small van?

ie a small vauxhall combo carrying a 500l tank vs a lwb tranny van or trafic carrying 650-1000l

pros and cons?

This is exactly what happened to me a few years ago ... my 2 man 650 system Transit developed a problem with the fuel pump which was going to cost over £1000 to fix so scrapped it and got a combo as a short term van till another transit came up .... 2 years later still got the combo.

swapped 650 tank for a 500 tank so combo now has 500 tank with 2 man set up.

PRO'S = better fuel consumption went from £150 to £100 a month in diesel
                    easier to park in cramped residential areas /

CON'S = combo great for 1 man which is how I work but too small for day in day out use as 2 man .... I fill tank to 400 litres which is enough      for me but with 2 man it wont last full day (yes I know even at 400 it is probably overloaded for first hour or 2) 

                        sometimes a little cramped with all equipment in it and if pressure washing have to strip all window cleaning gear out                (not tank) then swap it all back - with transit would have been enough room


Later this year will need to employ a part timer is things carry on as they are so will run combo into ground then get a transit in new year.

[mufcglen]

i had a partner van with a 400 litre tank in and it was getting cramped with everything in there i found, extra poles, water heater gas tank, di bottles, reel odds and sods so got a transit mk7 crewcab and its brilliant.
now have a 750 litre tank without having to worry about running out of water and running at higher flow rate all day, enough room for a two man set up if i need it and the crew cab is perfect for taking the kids out and about in fact we use it more than the car now and i reckon it only costs me £10 more a week in fuel than the partner and it feels like it can easily handle the weight of the water, the partner used to rock about alot!

[Scrimble]

whats peoples thoughts on having a large van vs a small van?

ie a small vauxhall combo carrying a 500l tank vs a lwb tranny van or trafic carrying 650-1000l

pros and cons?

This is exactly what happened to me a few years ago ... my 2 man 650 system Transit developed a problem with the fuel pump which was going to cost over £1000 to fix so scrapped it and got a combo as a short term van till another transit came up .... 2 years later still got the combo.

swapped 650 tank for a 500 tank so combo now has 500 tank with 2 man set up.

PRO'S = better fuel consumption went from £150 to £100 a month in diesel
                    easier to park in cramped residential areas /

CON'S = combo great for 1 man which is how I work but too small for day in day out use as 2 man .... I fill tank to 400 litres which is enough      for me but with 2 man it wont last full day (yes I know even at 400 it is probably overloaded for first hour or 2) 

                        sometimes a little cramped with all equipment in it and if pressure washing have to strip all window cleaning gear out                (not tank) then swap it all back - with transit would have been enough room


Later this year will need to employ a part timer is things carry on as they are so will run combo into ground then get a transit in new year.

I dont know how you work out of that van,