[deeege]

101000 I kept struggling with the fact everything had to come out and go back into a new van the diesel heater was the thing that stopped me changing it,if grippa had been around then I would have changed it sooner as they do a driveway fitting service. You need to have gone from a smaller van to a bigger 1 to comment fairly,it’s ok saying your small van is fine and copes perfectly well I’m sure some obviously think that but put the same weight into a bigger van and you’ll see instantly my point as far as drivability and safety is concerned.

I’ve had both large and small vans.

You are basing your smaller van theory on a 6 year old van that you probably bought second hand so may have had loads of problems before you bought it.

I’ve had 3 berlingos and each have had 450 litres in and they have all been fine for the 15k miles a year that I do.

Give it a rest with your silly theories based on your own very limited experiences, others have different opinions based on more experience than you.

[jonboywalton75]

If you want a van for WFP that’ll last 5 minutes get an Astra or similar type van,same suspension as the car version 😂 along with the brakes. Good luck there in the winter I know a bloke who has 1 the van is on its arse when it comes past me a couple of times a week with 250 litres and 2  x 25 liter barrels in it lol.

I had an astravan for 4 years from new with a 350 ltr system, worked well and got £5500.00 when sold
No suspension problems

[KS Cleaning]

101000 I kept struggling with the fact everything had to come out and go back into a new van the diesel heater was the thing that stopped me changing it,if grippa had been around then I would have changed it sooner as they do a driveway fitting service. You need to have gone from a smaller van to a bigger 1 to comment fairly,it’s ok saying your small van is fine and copes perfectly well I’m sure some obviously think that but put the same weight into a bigger van and you’ll see instantly my point as far as drivability and safety is concerned.

OK I think I pass the criteria to comment fairly. I had 2 vans on the road, a Transit limited 280 and a Fiat Doblo Maxi, both handled similar weights equally well.

[AuRavelling79]

I too have changed from my little Doblo to a bigger van - a Hyundai iload with a 2.5litre engine and 1070kg payload.

It is a nice luxury to have a 650L tank, three seats, two reels and space for my small gate climbing ladder inside and a platform and other junk inside. But it is that ... a luxury.

The Doblo 1.3 - still running - 12 years old - has cheaper road tax, better mpg and is perfectly adequate as a single operator set up on mainly domestic work. (The post 2010 Doblo's are even better with 750kg and 1000kg payload options)

[NWH]

My connect was brand spanking new

[dazmond]

My connect was brand spanking new

so you did over 100,000 miles in 6 years?thats over 16k a year.thats a fair bit of mileage...your bound to go through tyres,brake pads etc quicker than me for example..i will have done around 24,000 miles in mine in 6 years as i only use mine for work....

vans are built for hard work whether small or large......

[֍Winp®oClean֍]

Ran a fiat doblo with 400ltrs for about 5 years- it cost me less in fuel and maintenance than my current dispatch! The 1.3 multijet was every bit as good with 400ltr than the 1.6 dispatch is with 500ltr.

[NWH]

To be fair though a dispatch is not dissimilar to a connect size the wise the LWB that is,I couldn’t believe the difference when opting for the bigger van you don’t know 5-600s in there compared to a smaller van.

[jonboywalton75]

Must admit I don't really notice it too much when my 650 ltr tank is full in my transit custom

[NWH]

If you put 800+ in either my van ie Transporter or your custom it would have the same effect as the connect did with a 500,I wouldn’t go above 750 in those even if the payload suggested otherwise. Any higher than 750ltrs I’d want a big big payload  probably a high top van of some sort,i new a bloke used to put a 1000 litres in his SWB connect just a IBC tank bungees to hold it in place or at least he thought lol,completely crazy but it does go on.

[jonboywalton75]

Wagga's van system comes to mind

[DeLuce]

I bought a secondhand T230 transit connect. I had it for 7 yrs with 500ltr upright tank in it.
It was fantastic. I didn’t have brake , suspension or clutch issues. It handled well, you needed to be a bit more delicate fully loaded, but not much. Mpg was about the 40 mark.
From the experience I had, and if I was to be in your situation now, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another. Albeit a newer incarnation 

[֍Winp®oClean֍]

To be fair though a dispatch is not dissimilar to a connect size the wise the LWB that is,I couldn’t believe the difference when opting for the bigger van you don’t know 5-600s in there compared to a smaller van.

I often wonder which mind altering substance you may be on at any given time Nigel!!
The Dispatch is twice the size of a connect.

[NWH]

A dispatch is like a scudo that was is it not

[NWH]

The top and bottom of it is a bigger van you can grow into with a smaller van you’ll always wish you’d gone bigger,I thought like this for years.

[dazmond]

The top and bottom of it is a bigger van you can grow into with a smaller van you’ll always wish you’d gone bigger,I thought like this for years.

not if your staying as a one man band working short hours 4 or 5 days a week.a 500L tank and a LWB connect is perfect......

[jonboywalton75]

The top and bottom of it is a bigger van you can grow into with a smaller van you’ll always wish you’d gone bigger,I thought like this for years.

not if your staying as a one man band working short hours 4 or 5 days a week.a 500L tank and a LWB connect is perfect......

650 ltr(like mine ) could be better though Daz, leave on full flow, cut the cost and faffing of a controller and as a bonus work quicker and earn more.
Would work for you, cos like me we get cheap water.
Something for you to think about as an improvement on YOUR system Daz :

[dazmond]

The top and bottom of it is a bigger van you can grow into with a smaller van you’ll always wish you’d gone bigger,I thought like this for years.

not if your staying as a one man band working short hours 4 or 5 days a week.a 500L tank and a LWB connect is perfect......

650 ltr(like mine ) could be better though Daz, leave on full flow, cut the cost and faffing of a controller and as a bonus work quicker and earn more.
Would work for you, cos like me we get cheap water.
Something for you to think about as an improvement on YOUR system Daz :

 ...my system cant be improved mate....the extra weight of 150L would just be a waste and extra wear and tear on the van plus it would be illegally overloaded....no thanks....

[P @ F]

They dont get much smaller than this , had it 3 years now , just gone through MOT no probs , only had new front tyres , not even had brakes done yet .
Did have to do the clutch last year , but that was after 72k .
Went from a Transporter to this , all it has highlighted is how much stuff I carried that I didnt need to !

[jonboywalton75]

The top and bottom of it is a bigger van you can grow into with a smaller van you’ll always wish you’d gone bigger,I thought like this for years.

not if your staying as a one man band working short hours 4 or 5 days a week.a 500L tank and a LWB connect is perfect......

650 ltr(like mine ) could be better though Daz, leave on full flow, cut the cost and faffing of a controller and as a bonus work quicker and earn more.
Would work for you, cos like me we get cheap water.
Something for you to think about as an improvement on YOUR system Daz :

 ...my system cant be improved mate....the extra weight of 150L would just be a waste and extra wear and tear on the van plus it would be illegally overloaded....no thanks....

Touché