Vans

[Iain]

Isn't driving a van fun? I drove a Renault Trafic last Thursday for the day and it was very enjoyable. Just like driving a giant Clio.

[janneppi]

It depends on the anount of traffic, i don't mind open road, but when i have to switch lanes i'm a bit scared i'm going to kill some grand mom in her Micra in the process. New vans are pretty good to drive, at least the Sprinter and Transit i've driven.

[Daniel]

I agree :) I got to drive my dads 2000 Toyota Hiace a few times and it's quite fun to drive in a strange kind of way :)

[Donney]

I had the pleasure of driving an Iveco Daily two weekends ago loaded with two tons of boxes and furniture and even if it wasn't the funniest thing to drive around corners, I also had that peculiar good feeling.

Should we be worried? :D

[Hazell B]

Now you all know why my assorted Land Rovers leave me with a grinning face all the time :D

[Stuartf12007]

I hate vans enormously, why are the drivers in them so rude?

and why do they always park them outside my house, they are so disrespectful.

If it was upto me i'd make taxing a van 100% the price of what it is now plus mot's would be mandatory every 6 months.

[Daniel]

Huh? This thread is about how fun it is to drive fans. Not how much of a chip you can have on your shoulder.

[GARYGAZZA]

I hate vans enormously, why are the drivers in them so rude?

and why do they always park them outside my house, they are so disrespectful.

If it was upto me i'd make taxing a van 100% the price of what it is now plus mot's would be mandatory every 6 months.
Do that then moan that price of things have gone up .VW T5 174 brake are fun,they go like stink.

[tannat]

We own a 2006 Honda Odyssey (have no idea what it's called outside the US), and I've pushed it a bit a few times. Very confidence-inspiring, with a motor that just goes and goes (3.5 liter V6 ~ 280 bhp). Would love to see what it could do on the track..


Would take a minivan over an SUV any day of the week... :up:


Some manufacurer nedds to have the guts to make a perfromance minivan. Mercedes' offering is probably a good start. No reason why it couldn't be transformed into a real performer..

[Stuartf12007]

How many van drivers here think its ok to park it outside someones window?

[GridGirl]

Yeah but a car could just as easily park outside your window :p

Never driven a van but I think I'd quite like to. I think my van of choise would be whatever they took round the Nurburgring on TopGear. Might have been just a standard Ford Transit, cant remember.

[Zico]

How many van drivers here think its ok to park it outside someones window?


You having a laugh? IMO its ok to park ANY vehicle anywhere thats legal.

[Iain]

We own a 2006 Honda Odyssey (have no idea what it's called outside the US), and I've pushed it a bit a few times. Very confidence-inspiring, with a motor that just goes and goes (3.5 liter V6 ~ 280 bhp). Would love to see what it could do on the track..


Would take a minivan over an SUV any day of the week... :up:


Some manufacurer nedds to have the guts to make a perfromance minivan. Mercedes' offering is probably a good start. No reason why it couldn't be transformed into a real performer..

I'm not talking about what you call a minivan though, we'd call that an MPV. I'm talking about vans, no rear windows, no passenger space in the rear. :)

I think I want to be a van driver so I can wind people up. ;)

[suzy m]

Isn't driving a van fun? I drove a Renault Trafic last Thursday for the day and it was very enjoyable. Just like driving a giant Clio.

Ah, but manouvering all the heavy furniture and washing machine wasn't so fun! Just think, next time you drive one it'll be a bit of a longer journey. :D I have to say that Traffic was better than the Transit I used last time - not quite so bouncy down the Dadford Road!

We've just acquired a transit at work for doing home deliveries. I'm gutted I had to stay and look after the store instead of a juant down to the cotswolds to collect and drive it back. :( Not fair.

[tannat]

I'm not talking about what you call a minivan though, we'd call that an MPV. I'm talking about vans, no rear windows, no passenger space in the rear. :)

I think I want to be a van driver so I can wind people up. ;)


OOOOhhhhhhhhh

I've had some fun times with tractor trailers, on a small scale.

I worked at a boat company in south Georgia, and had a weekly run to recycle leftover foam from the upholstery department. It was a fairly large trailer, with a gas motor and 5 speed :up:

Big fun to drive. You could see everything, and it was soooo fun to nail shifts and drive the hell out of it, yet appearing as if nothing was going on.

Miss those days...

[Stuartf12007]

You having a laugh? IMO its ok to park ANY vehicle anywhere thats legal.

i'm not having a laugh.

do you own your own property?

[fandango]

Yes indeed, vans are wonderful to drive. In Spain they're great because you don't get beeped and flashed at by aggressive Audis and Seat Leons - because you have a bigger one than them. If the uploading has worked, here's our van in its campest state on a recent stay in Berceo.

[Zico]

i'm not having a laugh.

do you own your own property?

Yes, but I dont own the view from my front rooms, Why do you ask?

[Daniel]

You having a laugh? IMO its ok to park ANY vehicle anywhere thats legal.
So funny :laugh: I hate it when I par my car outside our house. :p

[schmenke]

I've only ever driven cargo vans, primarily for moving furniture. With no side, and sometimes rear, windows they have terrible blind-spots and I've always felt uncomfortable driving them :(

Minivans are entirely different. I rented a Chrysler Town & Country last summer when the inlaws were visiting. Despite the passengers ( :p : ) it was a joy to drive. Comforatable with lots of power, even loaded with 4 adults, two rugrats and a ton of gear. It was even equipped with a flip-down dvd player in the rear to keep the ankle-biters reasonably quiet :D

[Erki]

I haven't steered and pedalled a van, but I have driven numerous times in the rear of a van. Now that's some fun. :s mokin:

[Stuartf12007]

dont park your van outside my front window or ill slash your tires.

[Erki]

What, you want me to park my van inside your front window?

[schmenke]

dont park your van outside my front window or ill slash your tires.

Sounds like a really efficient way to remove a parked van from outside your window :up:

[Daniel]

dont park your van outside my front window or ill slash your tires.
I bet you don't have many friends with an attitude like that!

[schmenke]

Not ones with vans anyways... :p :

[Zico]

dont park your van outside my front window or ill slash your tires.


But... what if it was just a small van... or an Arctic? ;)

[Zico]

Sounds like a really efficient way to remove a parked van from outside your window :up:


Nah.. it would be stuck there all day! :D

[GARYGAZZA]

dont park your van outside my front window or ill slash your tires.
What if it was delivering goods to you,bet you would not moan then. :s mokin:

[GridGirl]

You could just move house :p

[schmenke]

Nah.. it would be stuck there all day! :D

Sorry, I guess I'm not good at being sarcastic ;) :D

[Zico]

Yep.. The thumbs up gesture means something very different here.. :D

[Stuartf12007]

You could just move house :p

Would you buy a house with 3 vans parked outside. No i did'nt think so.

[CarlMetro]

Well you did :p :

[GridGirl]

With the housing market the way it is in the UK, I dont think you'd have any problem in selling your house.

I think the issue is why and how long are they parked outside your house. Saying things like you want to slash their tyres is a little guttless as I very much doubt you have or would every go to that length.

You seem to have a Civic Type R I've seen from other threads. I'm sure there's plenty of van driver's, or any other vehicle driver that dislike you for what you drive or how you drive it. I'm sure on occassion you will even park your car outside someone else's house too. I think you should just learn to live vans and van driver's because they're not going to go away anytime soon.

[Daniel]

Would you buy a house with 3 vans parked outside. No i did'nt think so.
Are the vans likely to get moving if you slash their tyres?

[schmenke]

I'm having difficulty understanding why three vans parked in front of a house would discourage me from purchasing it...


Unless of course they all had slashed tyres :p :

Would you buy a house with 3 vans parked outside.

Yes, because I would know there was room to park my three vans.

[ShiftingGears]

Yes, because I would know there was room to park my three vans.

AHAHAH! Clever :p :

[Mark]

Would you buy a house with 3 vans parked outside. No i did'nt think so.

Did GridGirl answer your question in between you typing the first sentance and the second? No I didn't think so.

[daz90]

Isn't driving a van fun? I drove a Renault Trafic last Thursday for the day and it was very enjoyable. Just like driving a giant Clio.


I get to drive two very different vans at work pretty much every day, a Flatbed Ford Transit, i think its probably a 2.4 ish Diesel, and a smaller Nissan Cabstar, again a diesel, no idea what size engine that has, but it cant be all that big, i certainly cant go any quicker than 60 in it on the A1, and thats with the engine revving its head off.

The Transit will do 70 if i give it a good run up, and dont have much in the back, indeed even though its a flatbed it actually drives like a car, i dont mind that one, the Nissan is funny but a bit bloody dangerours.

[Stuartf12007]

Van drivers are a menace.

End of Subject.

[Iain]

I get to drive two very different vans at work pretty much every day, a Flatbed Ford Transit, i think its probably a 2.4 ish Diesel, and a smaller Nissan Cabstar, again a diesel, no idea what size engine that has, but it cant be all that big, i certainly cant go any quicker than 60 in it on the A1, and thats with the engine revving its head off.

The Transit will do 70 if i give it a good run up, and dont have much in the back, indeed even though its a flatbed it actually drives like a car, i dont mind that one, the Nissan is funny but a bit bloody dangerours.

I had a 2.0 100bhp DCi van and it would do 70mph in 6th on the A5 with ease. :D

[CarlMetro]

Van drivers are a menace.

End of Subject.

Oh well, I guess that's the definative view on the subject, might as well close the thread down then Mods :rolleyes:

From a personal point of view, I like vans. The first van I ever drove was a VW LT31, without power steering :eek: , closely followed by a Merc Sprinter. I then moved up to bigger thing, Iveco Cargo, Volovo F6 and eventually a DAF 95XF Super Space Cab with a 45' Tautliner trailer behind it. Although I've driven the big stuff, I still remember my van driving days with great fondness.

[Daniel]

Van drivers are a menace.

End of Subject.
You're a menace.

End of subject.

[daz90]

I had a 2.0 100bhp DCi van and it would do 70mph in 6th on the A5 with ease. :D

Wish i had that kind of power :)

I cant use the Transit at work at the minute, someone has stolen the front bumper.

[schmenke]

... someone has stolen the front bumper.

Gypsies! :s hock:

[Daniel]

Caoline did it

[daz90]

Gypsies! :s hock:

Maybe, bloody pykies... They had the good grace to leave the number plate behind though, although its been snapped in half, and therefore its now useless.

[Iain]

Somebody stole the bumper from my neighbour's Transit as well. I thought it was an unusual occurance, but obviously not. Must be stealing them, then melting them down for the fumes.

[Caroline]

Somebody stole the bumper from my neighbour's Transit as well. I thought it was an unusual occurance, but obviously not. Must be stealing them, then melting them down for the fumes.

Did I read right? Melting bumpers to get high on fumes?

I like vans. I learnt to drive in one and it stood me in good stead for some of the cars I have owned through the years. :)

[schmenke]

"Don't come a-knockin' if the van's a-rockin'!"




:erm:

[Iain]

Did I read right? Melting bumpers to get high on fumes?



They do it with bus shelters and wheelie bins, so nothing surprises me. :mark:

[Caroline]

"Don't come a-knockin' if the van's a-rockin'!"




:erm:

Googling again schmenke?



:P

[scrappy]

I think vans have come a long way from their humble origins which make driving them a bit more pleasurable. Comfortable and easy off have actually became part off the design with more thought given to the driver and passenger than had previously been afforded. Perhaps the reason these guys are so rude is they spend most of their day driving about 40K a year and come across some real plonkers in their travels :rolleyes:

[BDunnell]

For those who believe that white vans and their drivers are the scum of the earth, here's one that won't be going anywhere...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/6668571.stm

[Daniel]

Stupid cow.