[sunshine windows]

Hi Guys,

What in your humble opinions would be the best type of van to get for a water fed pole system taking into account that i will still be using my ladders quite frequently.

Quite a lot of my domestic round hasn't got easy access round the back and i'm up and over garden gates and garages quite a lot of the time. I don't really want to drop these customers, i'd rather just build on what i've got and take someone on who can help me with these and the more suited wfp work i hope to pick up along the way.

I was thinking of getting a vivaro or traffic because of the cubic volume for a tank system. But these a tall vehicles and getting ladders off all day would be a pain in the a**e. However if i go for something like a partner or berlingo would this be large enough to house a decent size system.

Your thoughts please,
Lance

[Majestic]

I would go for the Vivaro, but I didnt . I have a Expert, at the time for the work I was doing it was big enough . But I should of gone for something bigger. Its better to have too much room in your van than not enough

[P @ F]

vw transporter all the way .

 Rich   P @ F

[marc]

if you need to carry ladders and approx 250liters kango or berlingo for ease of use in my opinion any more water than that you will need to go bigger but you could lose a lot of time takin ladders off and on so bear that in mind before you buy

[jeff evans]

Hi sunshine

It sounds like you have a round like mine, 95% of my round i do trad, leaded & any
where i can get a good run at a few fronts i use wfp i also have 1 commercal that pays well this the reason i bought wfp.

I do this with the following

75 gal ro
holding tank 210ltr
250ltr flat tank for van
delivery system
1 30ft pole home made
1  18ft pole c.f
And a renault kangoo van ( thats just been wrote off,but thats anoter story )

As i am useing the ladders most of the time,  i need a van size that fits my work load, and this van size does it for me.

[AuRavelling79]

I hear good reports about the Fiat Scudo/Citroen Despatch/PeugeotExpert. (Same van different badge)

[freshwater]

jeff,

Double cab pick up truck. They have a 1 tonne paylod so even with 4 workers you can still carry a decent quantity of water. Ladder rack height is easy to access. The go anywhere. The are nice to drive. The only down side are running costs.

steve@freswhatersystems.co.uk

[craig jwc]

I have the Kangoo with a 250litre tank and carry ladders which i only use twice a month now.
I am thinking of fitting a 400litre or 650litre tank in the van due to increase of work but wouldn't go any bigger than a 650.

You will have plenty of room in a Transporter just ask Rich. He might even let you put your gear in his van  

Craig

[paul mather]

I have the Kangoo with a 250litre tank and carry ladders which i only use twice a month now.
I am thinking of fitting a 400litre or 650litre tank in the van due to increase of work but wouldn't go any bigger than a 650.

You will have plenty of room in a Transporter just ask Rich. He might even let you put your gear in his van 

Craig

I would check the payload of a Kangoo if I were you, seriously doubt it will take a 650 tank.

[surecleansystems]

Hi Craig

We drive a kangoo. A 650lit tank will fit but it will put you seriously over your payload.  When we purchased our first water fed pole system many moons ago, we didn't know anything about payloads and we relied on our supplier and they assured us that a 650lit tank was the best option so we bought one, they didn't even mention payload. Got it fitted and drove down the road with the headlights pointing to the sky. Not good! Had to go and buy another tank.

A 400lit tank will fit but if your payload is 650kg like ours you would probably be hitting the payload capacity if you had two people in the van. Just remember to take into consideration the weight of

tank
water
di vessel
battery
pump
hose and reel
poles
ladders
passenger
driver
trad equipment

If you get caught with van overloaded I think it is a £2000 fine also its just not safe if you had an accident so its just not worth it.

[neil100]

The one thing you cannot add to a van is more room when you have bought it.

So buy the biggest van you can afford paying attention to its gross payload.

I have a ducato van which as more room then a Vivaro. My mate bought a fiat Doblo van 3 months ago and now he finds it to small, The thing is mine only cost £1000.00 more then his brand new.

Hight is not really a problem on a van with ladders. Fit a builders roof rack with twin rollers and the ladders slide up really easy. I open the side door and stand inside when I am undoing the ladder clamp. Its good for security of the ladders as you cannot undo the clamps from standing next to the van.

Get the biggest van you can afford, when you get used to wfp you will not want to use your ladders as much. So you need a big as tank as possible.

Nel.

[spotless2000]

I would go for the Vivaro, but I didnt . I have a Expert, at the time for the work I was doing it was big enough . But I should of gone for something bigger. Its better to have too much room in your van than not enough

I also run an Expert (same reasons - it suited me when starting up the business.)  Great van but with a 650l tank on board you have to be aware of your weight limit!

I intend to get a Vivaro or similar when it's time to change.

So buy the biggest van you can afford paying attention to its gross payload.

This comment says it all!

[macc]

vw transporter all the way .

 Rich   P @ F

Perfect van, drives like a car & carrys every thing inside. Even when fully loaded handles safely.   

Macc

[sunshine windows]

Once i'm fully equipt with the van and wfp system i'm going to be getting quite a lot of commercial work passed my way. I want to hold on to all of my domestic round though so i suppose you could say i want my cake and eat it.

If i were to go for the vivaro or similar, do the roller bar roof racks take ladders with splayed feet. Also what sort of payload do these vehicles start off at cause i was thinking of getting a 650ltr van mount.

Cheers,
Lance

[neil100]

I normally leave my ladders hanging over the rear roller, so I would say yes they should take splayed feet.

The vivaro as a payload of 1023kg, It won van of the year when it came out and is very highly rated. I spoke to my uncle at weekend who goes to Spain for 6 months every winter towing his caravan. He was that impressed when he test drove the van he got rid of his car and bought the van just for caravaning, the drive is that good in them.

So how come I have a Fiat Ducato? One reason Is Its payload is 1145kg, so instead of a 650 tank which I was originally aiming for, I have been able to put in a 800ltr tank which works great. My son works with me sometimes so we have never run out of water, though we have come very close at times. A 650ltr tank would mean I would have to refill.

The other reason is cost. The Ducato as more room. I carry inside the van up to 7 poles plus all my trad w/c stuff and I still have loads of room. I bought my van for cash on the internet brand new, it was up to £3000.00 cheaper then a vivaro and better equipped.
My advice buy the biggest Van with the best payload you can afford. Dont just think of what you want now, but think of what you might need in three years time depending on the plans you have your buisness.

Nel.

[sunshine windows]

Thanks for the info Neil.

I will bear all this in mind when making my final decision. Just out of curiosity does the vivaro come with higher payload models?

Lance

[neil100]

Yes, but you will  pay a lot  lot more of your hard fought  for wonger.

Nel.

[Paul Coleman]

Thanks for the info Neil.

I will bear all this in mind when making my final decision. Just out of curiosity does the vivaro come with higher payload models?

Lance

The Trafic does so presumably the Vivaro does as well.  There is a 2.9 version which adds about 200kg to that 1023 payload.  I have a 2.9 Trafic.  I do wish I had gone for something longer than the SWB version though.

[JM123]

Hi guys - we fitted a 900ltr system to a lwb trafic a couple of months back - payload on that model is 1023kg, however, the customer paid an extra £600 i think have the payload increased to around 1450kg ( not exactly sure but its close), he works on his own but has used nearly 900ltrs in a full day!!  So go for the biggest you can as you never know what type of work you are going to take on.

[marc]

dont forget you have to park these vans the bigger they are the bigger gap you need if you want a kango van i have one  for sale its the top of the range with cetral locking + remote alarm side loading door cd player eletric windows 1.5 deseil many miles to the galoon its 2004 with only 9000 miles on the clock silver colour £5000 must be seen i brought my self a six seater citroen dispatch combi cos my girlfriends 4 kids shame cos kango is a great van still under warranty for six months maybe should of changed girl friend in stead of van any way worth a look my no is 01702 617717 or 07771723668 marc