Bike van - what works best

[subarumy98]

Hi Guys

I was just wondering, what works best on your side as a bike van ?

Here in South Africa, with our ever rising fuel prices, the diesel van by VW and the Merc Vito type f thing are becoming more and more popular for transporting bikes. Recently we did a 1000 mile roadtrip in an Isuzu doublecab(Crabman's bakkie), towing a big trailer and 6 bikes = hard work. Another buddy used his Diesel panelvan, and was as fresh as a daisy when he got there.

What do youu guys use for long distance hauls ?

Keen to hear.

T

[Wombat]

I tow mine on a trailer so I'm out of the van loop; but I have a question.
How much do you blokes pay per litre for diesel?
Diesel is quite expensive in OZ.

[tommorth]

i  have a lwb transit easy to load 
dont do much long distance here in nz countrys not big enough 30okms is a long way 
diesils $1.86 here now i think  how much is it every where else     91 oct petrol is over $2 here now 
leaded race fuel was $3.75 couple of months ago

[VMX247]

Hubby swears by diesel for long hauls/ servicing and they live for 200,000km plus.
500km journeys/9.7 litres to 100km.Mitsubishi Triton 4X4wd with trailer.

$1.89 for diesel here is south west Western Australia
cheers

[Mick22]

In the last 3 years I've had a few Vans-

Nissan Urvan on LPG
1998 Hiace petrol
1996 Hiace LPG
2000 Hiace on LPG
1998 Mitsubishi Delica 4x4 turbo diesel
2000 Volkswagen 4x4 transporter LPG (current Van)
1996 Chevy Box van (A-Team) on LPG (this is a mates but have done a few long trips)

For economy and reliability you just can't go passed a Hiace on LPG. But you don't want to crash one, not much safety! My last one had 700,000 k's on it and still drove better than most other Japanese vans when they're new
The diesel Mitsu definitely did it easy as far as power went, it felt like a much easier trip because it didn't matter how loaded up it was it was still quick, but f**K diesels are dear to run, especially when you add in the service costs!! In OZ Diesel needs to be a lot cheaper than petrol to make it worth while.
For comfort and speed you can't beat My mates A-Team van, 350 chev on gas leather captain seats, TV's and you can still fit a couple of bikes in the back!!

[Wombat]

Yeah, that's why I'm asking the diesel price in South Africa; I can't believe how much it has increased here in OZ.
Not trying to hijack a thread here but fuel cost is very relevant to the whole Van question.

Diesel was about one third the cost of petrol back when trucks were King and there were no (or bugger all) diesel powered cars.
But as we know, over time the diesel cars were made available to the common man and manufactured in ever larger numbers.
Slowly but surely the cost of diesel crept up and over the cost of petrol to where we see it now.
The sceptic in me predicts Gas to do the same over maybe ten years.

I have an old 1600cc '67 split screen Kombi Van and I'd love to use it to tow my bikes - but it doesn't have the ticker.
I tried to tow a trailer from Brisbane to Adelaide with a Suzuki GSX 750 and a Ducati 600 Pantah on board; approx 1600km or 1000 miles I believe.
Not a hope! After about 20 minutes I could feel it was dragging the arse out of the Kombi.
Sooo, unload the Zook and we took turns sharing the trip to Adelaide...

[E74]

2008 Dodge Ram with a whoppin' great V8 petrol Engine!

[DJRacing]

I have a Toyota Super Custom Hiace van and it tows great. Its a 3ltr turbo diesel and the room in it is fanastic.
I'm in the process of building a new trailer.

[smalls717]

I tried the van route. Was ok whilst going to races with bikes in. when it came to Monday to Friday going to work was a pain. Every DH on the road wanted to cut you off before the traffic lights. Strong sea breezes here blew it off the road.
went to a 3 litre patrol with bike trailer. was good. lasted for a couple of years before fed up with it, service costs, and price of diesel.
Now have 5.7 litre caprice with a better covered bike trailer I made. Going to work no problem now. Kids are quite going anywhere watching the dvd, and believe it or not cruising around it isnt to bad on fuel... until I stick my boot into it trying to beat those pain in the arse vans at the lights.

[Freakshow]

Nothin beats the mighty vito VAn 1 1/2 tanks to tassie or under 8 lts per 100 of diesal and you can fit 3 bikes and all ya shit in it, come home unpack and still drive it to work on monday looking like you mean business.

[smalls717]

Excuse my ignorance... but whats a vito van?
Cant leave your bikes in your van over here... to many light fingered rrrrs wipes

[Freakshow]

vito van the merc ones ?

surely youve heard of them ? they look like a van but drive like a car/truck.

I lowered mine and i think they look porn.   kinda like the old bedford Van but updated 

this guy here has gone the whole hog and put 20" rims on it , but i tink he aint carrying any loads

With a Van you never loose stuff blowing of ya bike, the straps dont loosen off when it rains, and if it rains at the track you can stand under it or sit in the back and keep warm

[caps 999]

if you go vito i hope youve got a bottomless wallet parts are very pricey for thise hiaces are the best round by far

[subarumy98]

HI All

Seems I have opened a can of worms here:

Petrol in SA is now R10/litre at an exchange of 7:1, that makes Oz$ 1.42, a little cheaper than your side.
Diesel in SA is now R11/litre at an exchange of 7:1, that makes Oz$ 1.57, not sure how that compares.

Here's the rub ! Petrol has gone up from about R4 in the last 2 years. Diesel was lagging behind, but with the last few rounds of increases has overtaken the petrol price. Most farm equipment is diesel powered - so they are hardest hit. Diesel is not as attractive as it was anymore.

Our diesel has always been of a low quality, so service intervals are short, generally 8000km. Consumption is much better though. In the last 14 months, we have had better diesel being produced, so the servicw intervals are now up to 10 000km, but Toyota still refuses to release a diesel model here.

Most popular are the VW and Audi in the diesel models.

We have the VW Sharan type panel van, but the Mercedes Vito is most popular. They seem to carry big loads really well ! Have pics of 3 superbikes squeezed into the back.

My trailer is a do-it-all box trailer, big enough to fit 2 bikes easily, with a DS 80 squeezed in the middle for good measure if necessary. With a Subaru wagon at 120kph I then get 7l / 100km. OK.

On our recent Grabouw trip, 1550km 1 way, we averaged 14-16l /100km, at a very constant 3200rpm giving us 115kph odd. That was with an Isuzu 3.5 V6 we borrowed. That was with a big trailer and 6 bikes though.


How much does diesel cost on average on your side ?


T

[Freakshow]

if you go vito i hope youve got a bottomless wallet parts are very pricey for thise hiaces are the best round by far

Funny you say that, thats what i orignally thought but every part i have ever bought has been the cheapest of any commercial van or ute i have ever owned.   I get it serviced from the Merccedes truck place  freightliner, who do all the truck repairs  for sprinters , across and the like, and the consumable parts seem to be piss cheap compared to what i have paid in the past for pads, rotors, etc for mitsi , toyo etc