A Ford Transit

[dunk]

fit it, then your part committed, then when you get your trailer you could charge if some one wanted to use it (trailer that is) when not in use

 

[V6BOY]

Best mates 57 plate mk7 transit just had new sills both sides completey rotten. Why do these things rust so dam quick? Got a old banger 53 plate relay van not a spec of rust either.

 

[500e]

Remember Ian that is going back, we were running a Midget & S in the 1300 class looked after some Escorts & Sunbeams as well.
We have had fiat Doblo 1.9 /JTD vans for a few years quick handle ok but a list of faults that repeat don't know about the latest version though, rumour says top mounts & rear shocks.
Mates Connect 5 years old no real problems other than limp mode on a regular basis Ford has not cured it & don't want to know any more He is to polite, not like another friend who drove his pick up (not Ford) through the show room window of the dealer.
Friend just turned up with a 3 year old Range Rover ALL bells & whistles doing 28.6 Mpg hope the seat does not go wrong more knobs than a space shuttle

 

[CRB]

I got a 99T Octavia for family duties in April and so far so good. A friend got a later model a few years before he retired from work. He had chosen it because the theodolite would fit sideways in the boot so he could still carry four passengers to site. Remapped and it is now heading towards 200,000, and all miles he has done. I am averaging 40mpg doing ten mile trips to work and back.

The LT, series 1, is cavernous and simple with no electronic engine management. The chassis is separate and galvanised, still rock solid after 40 years, the early ones. They do rust around the arches and so on, but show me any thing which does not.

 

[normspanners]

The new Trannies now are well known for some real rot bug infestation.
Ford have not done themselves any favours with them.IMO
Yeah they drive nice, but for how long ? before you start leaving bits behind.

 

[roofman]

go and test drive a late 90,s or early 2000 VW T4tdi (2.5 5 cylinder)...you will be sold

 

[roofman]

I would have suggested a T4, but I found them quite narrow in the load bay.....


(Come winter you might yearn for that underbody clearance and decent tyres though )

still get an 8x4 in with mm,s to spare...my username gives a clue to the number of vans ive owned over the years but this T4 is the best yet. keep it at 55-60mph and it rewards me with 45-48 mpg too

 

[Cobbler]

Transits are shocking on fuel...some of them drink more than george best on St patricks day.... (no offence intended to anyone who likes a tipple on st paddys day)

I've got a Tranny camper van on an 06 plate. 2 litre 100 horse FWD, I get 34 to the gallon normally, drops to 32 at 70 on the motorway. Considering it weighs 21/2 ton I don't consider that bad.

 

[octo0072000]

YOU ARE RIGHT I DIDN'T
it was coz it was on the next line down and I'd allready clicked on the link, my excuse is, my eyes dont work as quick as me brain, which incidentally is pretty slow nowadays anyhow.
I used to service for a guy called Ian Tilk in the silkolene escort

his dad had a brand new mk11 Granny x pack,just a few weeks old and we used it for chase.
Ha started to get abit twitchy when I started taking the leather rear seats out to start loading wheels and tyres, tools, gearboxes and suspension etc

nay that's just oversteer not enough opposite lock

 

[octo0072000]

I would have suggested a T4, but I found them quite narrow in the load bay.....


(Come winter you might yearn for that underbody clearance and decent tyres though )

VW did aT4 4x4 called syncro

 

[skotl]

Wow - my eyes have really been opened. I just presumed that workhorses like a transit would be reliable and relatively rust-proof; I'm amazed they sell so many of them, then.

OK - having a rethink then - thanks for all the tips. Think I'll start looking at trailers - pretty sure I could get a 2nd hand ifor williams for less than I'd spend on a transit.

 

[CRB]

Nothing is really rustproof, but the older vehicles used better (more expensive) protection.

When I was looking at cars earlier in the year, I was disgusted to find cars under ten years old with holes in the arches and MOT failures due to rust. Harping on again about the LT, pre96, separate chassis and mine is 26 this year, a bit of seam rash and the skirts, not really sills because they are not structural, are being replaced with Polish replica parts. Nothing major at all.

Good luck with the search though whatever you decide.

 

[skotl]

Bl**dy heck - don't buy a transit, don't buy an ifor... I'm gonna give up and buy a mini

 

[dunk]

you might want to look at other makes as well, ifor hold and fetch good money, if you do find one cheap, play caution, they are quite nickable, ifors are ok, so are batesons, prg`s, and benderup`s,

 

[Bill Edwards]

A mini? Well...

Ifor are decent trailers, that is probably the first thing I've read or heard saying anything to the contrary. They seem to be the trailer of choice round here on most farms and seem to do their job well. They'd also be my choice for a horse trailer.
Unfortunately, they do seem to hold their value very well, with almost no depreciation. I guess you'll either be looking at new or a very clapped out/bent/cut 'n shut/stolen one, depending on which end of the price your budgets ties to.

 

[HughF]

57 plate mk7 ex rac transit here. Rusting, constant fuel system problems, bizarre electrical fault I can't track down. It might be going... Best avoided.

Mk6 on an 02 plate is superbly reliable but slow.

 

[dunk]

if you have the wheels under the bed, the trailer bed width will be wider than a trailer with the wheels at the sides for the same overall width trailer, if you see what i mean, and if you get a beaver tail with ramps you can trailer all these trashy tranny`s that keep breaking down

 

[CRB]

Bl**dy heck - don't buy a transit, don't buy an ifor... I'm gonna give up and buy a mini

Do not bother, you do have not the legs.

 

[Bullet2012]

Do not bother, you do have not the legs.

That took a moment to understand

 

[skotl]

Personally, a trailer was the decision I made, as being best for me. Loads of people I know wouldn't even consider towing though.

If you do go the trailer route, you have to then think about what size?

Obviously, you want it big enough to do what you want it to do - but - you have to store it, you have to shift it around (sometimes it'll happen that you have no other option but to shift it by hand, one place I work is up a narrow track and they have a short driveway, no way is a trailer getting turned around on a car up there), so with that in mind, you also want it to be small enough too........

Of course, there is bound to be the time when you wished you'd got the next size up because something won't fit - and there is bound to be the time when you're heaving it about wishing you'd got a smaller one.

A single axle is usually much easier to move by hand, but a twin/tri-axle tends to be a little more stable in most situations. A single axle is also a little more forgiving of hitch height as well (always aim for level, but even with an adjustable hitch I find it's not always quite possible depending on trailer/car load).

And the wife wonders why there are 5 trailers here!

Actually, one of those towavan thingies (or even a modded horsebox) is looking tempting for me

Five trailers! Not sure the wife will put up with that

All good advice, though, pdg - thanks for that. I think if I got a trailer that it would be a twin axle - I can already fit quite a lot of kit in the L200 so if I was to go for a trailer it would need to significantly increase the carryable load.