Thread: Looking to buy a van

IF, its only for the shift why not rent one.

Otherwise Volkswagon Crafter, Ford Transit, I think Kia do a big one

check with spirit of tasmania for truck dimensions ,type that they allow that might narrow the field.

Hi Geoff,
The Volkswagen maybe Front Wheel Drive, so therefore if you load it fully, then you may have a problem with Traction & Steering.
There was 1 out there like that, but they maybe a lot better now.
You might ask the Top Moderator, as he has a rather nice Fiat.
I have a SWB '96 Toyota Hi-ace, Great vehicle, 271000K's. Had a bit done, & is now on Gas. My Fuel bill is halved now.
Regards,
issatree.

Originally Posted by Tonto

IF, its only for the shift why not rent one.

Otherwise Volkswagon Crafter, Ford Transit, I think Kia do a big one

Most rental agencies I've contacted do not allow their vehicles to be taken on the ferry.

My move to Tassie has dragged on, the latest hold up was whether I used a removalist or bought a van and did it my self.

Finally bought myself a van today at auction

It's a 2004 Mercedes Sprinter with a claimed cargo capacity of 14 sq mt so it should be big enough.
Anything that doesn't fit, will be sold! Unless it's tools, in which case, I'll make them fit!

I just have to pop out and pick it up. I could be a while, it's in Tasmania

Originally Posted by snowyskiesau

My move to Tassie has dragged on, the latest hold up was whether I used a removalist or bought a van and did it my self.

Finally bought myself a van today at auction

It's a 2004 Mercedes Sprinter with a claimed cargo capacity of 14 sq mt so it should be big enough.
Anything that doesn't fit, will be sold! Unless it's tools, in which case, I'll make them fit!

I just have to pop out and pick it up. I could be a while, it's in Tasmania

Geoff never miss an opportunity or as he songs goes"Never let a Chance go BY"

Originally Posted by snowyskiesau

My move to Tassie has dragged on, the latest hold up was whether I used a removalist or bought a van and did it my self.

Finally bought myself a van today at auction

It's a 2004 Mercedes Sprinter with a claimed cargo capacity of 14 sq mt so it should be big enough.
Anything that doesn't fit, will be sold! Unless it's tools, in which case, I'll make them fit!

or make two trips !!

14 cu.m is not much, especially if you keep within the weight limit which seems to be about 1.3 t

and here was me about to extol the virtues of the mitsubishi mwb (aka the L300) that I bought last week. Hey, if yours does the job. Mine has to last 250,000 and is my last van and its to be a basic camper. Enjoy. Where are you going to in Tassie? Lovely place.

Originally Posted by Grommett

and here was me about to extol the virtues of the mitsubishi mwb (aka the L300) that I bought last week. Hey, if yours does the job. Mine has to last 250,000 and is my last van and its to be a basic camper. Enjoy. Where are you going to in Tassie? Lovely place.

I looked at quite few different brands/types/sizes of vans before deciding on the Sprinter based on report from users. It seems you either love them or you hate them. Some of the users were tradies who are pretty critical when it comes to a reliable daily transport.
I also had the chance to drive one around southern Tasmania back in February and quite enjoyed it. Admittedly it was a motorhome but still the same basic chassis.

Hoping to settle somewhere around Hobart or the Huon Valley. Depends where I can rent an affordable place - and enough room for an enormous van!

Having all sorts of hassles getting it registered. It's fully roadworthy but it difficult to get done if I'm not there in person. I've opened a new thread about that here.

Drove the van home back to Sydney from Hobart covering a total of 1342 kms (not including 400kms on the ferry).
Drives beautifully if a little noisy (lots of reverberation in a big empty metal box!). Hopefully it will be quieter during the return journey. Getting about 10l/100km cruising at 110km/h which is pretty good, given diesel is $1.55 litre!
The only low point was a stone chip that turned into a crack about 150mm long .
Just as well I took out no excess, windscreen protection on the insurance!

It's a big beast when it comes to parking. Here it is at the front of my place - no way it will fit in the driveway (well it might, but I wouldn't be able to open the doors ). I'm not sure how long I'll be able to get away with parking it there (sure to get some complaints).

FWIW, it's an ex-police bomb squad vehicle which used to carry one of the remote control robots. I was able to drop in at the police garage and get a full service history and talk to the mechanics who looked after it. They even promised to try and find the spare key )

Looks good. The first thing I did with mine was put down carpet underlay and then a plywood floor on top, it cut down the road noise dramatically, and made a good base for some cupboards and a bed.

It already has the factory timber floor installed with a number of floor mounted tiedown lugs.. Floor surface is a tough rubber.
The plan is to line it to cut down the noise. Whether it gets cupboards or a bed will depend on how easily I can find a house to rent in Hobart.

Geoff nice looking van dark windows only thing is Silver is lousey for wet weathe hard to see maybe a stripe down the side. You could always ask the fellows finding the spare key for a spare stripe.

Originally Posted by wheelinround

Geoff nice looking van dark windows only thing is Silver is lousey for wet weathe hard to see maybe a stripe down the side. You could always ask the fellows finding the spare key for a spare stripe.

Ray, I'm sure it had a blue and white chequered stripe down the side but it was removed along with the siren and blue lights when they decommissioned it
I usually drive with the lights on and the orange clearance lights down the side show up nicely under dark conditions.