IB and vans...

[arnold cheshire]

I prefer the transit connect,very good vans,even royal mail one's

i prefer the chevy astro

[arnold cheshire]

bing bong thanks for the update or do you think the IB take 4 years to inform your dom ?

[fishtank]

My Top Gear review.
The Peugeot Bipper is a great little van to drive but the cab space and load space are terrible,they suffer from electrical faults and a design fault with the driver side rear door where the cable snaps and the door won't open.

The Peugeot Partner,the Bipper's big brother has more space but the same inherent faults.

The Fiat Doblo is a good sized van but it does a weird particle filter thing where everything dies and you have to run it at 2k revs for half an hour and they are prone to wiper faults.

The vauxhall combo is a solid reliable all round van but it's too low so if you have knee problems or are over 6ft forget it.

The Ford Connect is better for getting in and out of but it's a Ford so the seals go after a while and it burns more oil than fuel.Also being a Ford bits tend to drop off occasionally.

I miss my old LDV Pilot,you had to hold the doors on and if the road was even slightly damp the back end would be all over the place but it had character and it could do 85mph downhill,that was scary.

[BingBong]

bing bong thanks for the update or do you think the IB take 4 years to inform your dom ?

What's a DOM? oh wait I know. the coffee machine operative?

[pad]

I presume everyone who's a Driver on this forum will have carefully read the 'Security Rules for Drivers' that we all are meant to sign. The current version actually states that you are meant to try ALL the van doors manually EVERY time you leave the van, presumably this is to cover up the fact that sometimes the Central Locking or even some door locks don't work. Of course, in the ideal RM universe, ALL faults are reported on the day and automatically resolved, by the MTW (or even the RAC?) before you go on delivery/collection. If anyone believes on something like a Rural (where you might get in and out of the OMV 100 times a day) there's time to check ALL four/five doors every time......really. If the IB catch you in some Areas......you're dead. RM will always say you've been given enough time...........PLEASE take the keys out of van and attempt to make sure the doors/windows are secure.....I know it's its impossible to follow the rules but I'm sick of hearing about the dismissals.

[motch]

I presume everyone who's a Driver on this forum will have carefully read the 'Security Rules for Drivers' that we all are meant to sign. The current version actually states that you are meant to try ALL the van doors manually EVERY time you leave the van, presumably this is to cover up the fact that sometimes the Central Locking or even some door locks don't work. Of course, in the ideal RM universe, ALL faults are reported on the day and automatically resolved, by the MTW (or even the RAC?) before you go on delivery/collection. If anyone believes on something like a Rural (where you might get in and out of the OMV 100 times a day) there's time to check ALL four/five doors every time......really. If the IB catch you in some Areas......you're dead. RM will always say you've been given enough time...........PLEASE take the keys out of van and attempt to make sure the doors/windows are secure.....I know it's its impossible to follow the rules but I'm sick of hearing about the dismissals.

I lock doors more than most in my office. Some leave them running with keys in..

Trouble is with checking every door every time on a rural with 100 in and outs, is that a door handle will fall off every month.

I'd think 100+ seat belts on and off day in day out would cause some skeletal/muscle injuries long term? Must admit i'm quilty of this(no seat belt), i'd think more than half of posties are the same.

[saddlerposty]

well one of my windows was open :-/ don't recall opening it though?? I did at one point during the day but im sure I closed it...well nothing happened when I got back and im sure they would of jumped on it if the IB had found it unlocked.

on the fiat doblos if you hold the unlock button on the fob down after unlocking doors the windows open as well.
belissamo FIAT ( Fix It Again Tommorow)

[Mr_Pink]

well one of my windows was open :-/ don't recall opening it though?? I did at one point during the day but im sure I closed it...well nothing happened when I got back and im sure they would of jumped on it if the IB had found it unlocked.

on the fiat doblos if you hold the unlock button on the fob down after unlocking doors the windows open as well.
belissamo FIAT ( Fix It Again Tommorow)

Thats not a fault, its a feature. I've had a couple o cars that do this (and close windows if you hold the lock button down) its so you can let the hot air out in the summer before getting into the car.

[sprinkle]

Regarding IB and vans.You should come and work in the Scottish Borders. The Area Manager thinks nothing of going out his way to catch unsuspecting posties as he drives about in his own unmarked car! You really do need eyes on the back of your head. As for vans with electric windows,go manual for me anytime. My special????? van does 0-50(max legal limit) in about 3 days and can open both windows fully while taking mail out the back door.The answer to that one was it was a wiring fault and the makers know about it. So I've reported it ,dates,times ect' and can 't be responsible if it happens and the van is taken.This van is so special and eco??? friendly it also shuts itself down every one thousand miles or so and has to be regenerated to avoid air pollution or some s***

[arnold cheshire]

If you've left your van unlocked by accident and IB discover it do they leave any tale tale signs they've been there? Besides a bollocking when I get back to the office. Strange things with my van when I got back to it. Probably just paranoid.

yes they leave a harry potter book on the front seat and a magical mystery tour dvd on the dash

[mandelsons_toenail]

Connects were my favourite.



Combos are too low, why not put vectra adjustable seats in?

Fiat doblo s are fragile.

[toomuchcoke]

[Strangely I prefer both of the vans you mention, although the Fiat annoys by being slightly too wide, which almost caught me out the first time I drove one. Both drive better than the Peugeot which has a horrible clutch, resulting in most of them in our yard having their clutches burnt out at some stage.

I've also had electrical problems, with windows either stopping working or going upwards instead of down etc lights just stop working, engine warning issues, problems with the doors not shutting properly unless the window is open slightly.

They are just cheap horrible French tat. Even the RAC drivers say they are notoriously bad, but they like them because they keep them busy. The Vauxhall Corsa combo is the best van IMO - bullet proof in terms of reliability. Shame they are so low to the ground, as they play havoc with my back disc problem.

We had a hired Partner which had a drivers window which would randomly decide to descend fully (either upon engine start or, later on, closing the drivers door) which had obvious security issues! Now in the case of a hired vehicle we're the customer, so quite why our DOM didn't get on the phone and demand a replacement that worked I don't know ... I'd agree with you about the Combo, when in decent condition they're great but by the time they reach 100k this is generally not the case anymore. Transit Connects where/are okay too.