Work van recommendations

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Giant Cranium

Hiace. I’m no Toyota boi. But the new Hiace is good and so very ugly

I’ve driven and worked out of all the usual characters and the hiace is the one I would buy.

Must admit I agree, could quite easily see myself piloting one of them on my travels and to be honest our old ones have done some hard work and just keep going.
Its just the side door opening that restricts them for our fleet needs.
The Boss is a bit of a Toyota fan, has a few Corollas and Yaris' as company/rep drive cars

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Must admit I agree, could quite easily see myself piloting one of them on my travels and to be honest our old ones have done some hard work and just keep going.
Its just the side door opening that restricts them for our fleet needs.
The Boss is a bit of a Toyota fan, has a few Corollas and Yaris' as company/rep drive cars

As much as I think a HiAce would be a safe choice, if it's not able to be used as intended, what the point?

[kevino]

Bent
I can tell you that there are 3 or 4 Crafters in the L Fox fleet in Bris that are getting up to nearly 400000 kms!

They are 6 speed manuals in fact they are the only manuals left in the whole Bris Fix truck and van fleet.

They have been flogged mercilessly on metro and country runs by different drivers lots of casuals over the years.

They are tired now heavy clutch stiff gear change but when they were much newer I remember driving one from Chillingham Nsw to Nerang Gc in time to get to the bank at Nerang before closing. That’s a winding mountainous road. The van handled it with ease particularly with the 6mt.

The vw diesels in performance terms will blow the Toyota diesels away big time on country runs.

The Crafter was is a van I have respect for.

However I think you ll end up with whatever is in stock ... shortage of new vehicles etc.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

As much as I think a HiAce would be a safe choice, if it's not able to be used as intended, what the point?

Agreed, thing is, different aspects of our work require different styles of vehicles.
We need good height in our metro fleet but sending an ELWB Sprinter into the city makes finding parking and maneuvering difficult, so we have a shorter wheel base for that.
Our express service doesn't need to have height or length but needs to be quick and nimble so we use a Renault Kangoo.
The country run doesn't need height or capacity either but it needs to be efficient, comfortable and reliable so we use Hiace.

The metro boys need side access for pallets no ifs or buts, the express doesn't.
My country run is in the middle, yes it would make life easier but its not a deal breaker as the quantities that I put in it dont need fork unloading at the other end for 99% of the time and can be hand loaded in short time avoiding the need for pallet width side access.
I put that to the Boss this afternoon when we we're discussing using the Staria next week.

In an ideal world we could find one brand that covers all of those requirements and has stock or a reasonable ETA but it seems hard to pin point it if its possible at all, probably explains why we have so many brands currently.
This is why I like the idea of the VW, the Crafter has all the layouts we need and the express driver could move to a Caddy.
The brand ticks all the boxes, it just comes down to availability.

One thing is a certainty, the Sprinters are going as soon as we source an alternative.

[Giant Cranium]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Must admit I agree, could quite easily see myself piloting one of them on my travels and to be honest our old ones have done some hard work and just keep going.
Its just the side door opening that restricts them for our fleet needs.
The Boss is a bit of a Toyota fan, has a few Corollas and Yaris' as company/rep drive cars

What’s wrong with the side doors?

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Giant Cranium

What’s wrong with the side doors?

Wont accept a Chep/Loscam pallet.

[XR Martin]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Wont accept a Chep/Loscam pallet.

What about the SLWB?

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by XR Martin

What about the SLWB?

Overkill for my needs and not enough payload for the metro guys.
As I said, I dont need volume necessarily but there are occasions where I need side door access for pallets.
The SLWB will give me the latter for those occasions but for the remainder Im dragging its big **** around the twisting roads of the Adelaide hills and beyond.
My area stretches from the eastern suburbs to Murray Bridge and Birdwood to Victor Harbour.
Its an option but still a compromise for my needs, I might aswell get the standard version and hand load as I said before.
The city guys would max out its payload before it was half full and they fill their ELWB Sprinters daily.

It gets complicated earlier on in the process, and as im not up to date with all the aspects of warehousing Im only going on a basic understanding, but our freight comes in via shipping containers, to put it on our racking system and to utilise space effectively it must be put on Chep or Loscam pallets to be put higher than 2 levels, cheap pine pallets cant stack any higher.
So to get the freight from a Chep/Loscam pallet to a pine pallet to fit in the smaller vans requires the pallets be broken down, restacked and rewrapped, thats man hours and cost of wrapping twice from container to van.
Finding a fleet of vans to take the bigger pallets without compromising in other areas is the challenge.

We currently breakdown and restack/wrap around 10 pallets every afternoon, each pallet contains 80 units and each unit weighs 12.5kg, thats a lot of manual handling at the end of a long day of picking general freight for our warehouse staff.

[.:4:.]

A lot of warehouses i used to do work for refused to fork pallets into vans due to insurance reasons. Tray backs, smaller pantec trucks with boxes with curtains like small isuzus etc yeah. But vans were a no.

[PG2]

Hey BENT

Can you give us a list of what you know is not suitable in regards to pallets and door openings? It seems that you have a fair idea of what won't fit a pallet through the side/rear door.

That way we don't have people suggesting things that you already know won't be suitable.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

A lot of warehouses i used to do work for refused to fork pallets into vans due to insurance reasons. Tray backs, smaller pantec trucks with boxes with curtains like small isuzus etc yeah. But vans were a no.

Maybe thats what could be in order? One of those Jap trucks.

They're junk to drive compared to vans, but could probably be a lot more robust I reckon and loading/unloading would be easier on both ends.

https://www.isuzu.com.au/our-range/series/n-series/

[.:4:.]

Theres also the tailgate loader option. Use a pallet jack not a fork.

[BENT_8]

We have a light truck on order for our bulk pallet work, when it arrives is anyones guess.
We currently have an old Fuso, drinks like a sailor and has already had the frame on the back bent in the hands of one or our drivers who cleaned up an overhead gum tree branch, first time he drove it and only got the chance because he sooked that I was being asked to drive it and he hadnt.
Theres a reason these guys are mere delivery drivers and cant be trusted with anything bigger than a van.
Mind you, all the Sprinters are banged up too so even they are beyond some..
Id sack the lot and start again but ive been known to be brutal in assessment, lol.
When the new truck arrives I suspect It'll be mine as I think he realises now that my spacial awareness having driven 57 seat coaches is slightly better than theirs.

The Boss actually mentioned getting a LT for my run but I quickly reminded him that there isnt much defence from frontal attack when you're rounding blind bends at 80-10kkm/hr in one hence the request for a bonneted van, he agreed.

[Crazy Dazz]

I don't know exactly how this is effecting stocks of new vehicles, but one thing to consider in the current market is that many of the new engines (such as the Ford) require Ad-Blue, which is a real ****er at the moment.

The issue with pallets is that many of these vans are now being designed for Euro pallets (and vice versa I guess.) Euro pallets aren't square, and the smaller dimension is around 80cm, so they can be loaded through the smaller side doors.

One of the weird drawbacks with the Hiace, is that they don't offer barn doors, so that can make it difficult to rear-load using your average fork.
However you do have the choice of sizes. The extra height of the SLWB gives a bit more wriggle room when loading from the back, and IIRC the side door is wider. Should be able to side load a pallet.
(But I also believe that Tojo dealers are incredibly short of stock.)

Depending on what you're carrying, you may also want to make sure that it's easy to source a suitable cargo barrier. Toyota I know offer a choice of solid or mesh, and there are also after-market versions available. Again depending on what exactly you're carrying, solid has the advantage of keeping the cab extra cool.

Depending on how many k's you do, if looking for something compact and cheap, I reckon the Express is worth considering. It's basically a Renault with a 10 year warranty. (But it's still limited to 200kk, so if you do much more than 20kk a year, it's of limited benefit.)

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

A lot of warehouses i used to do work for refused to fork pallets into vans due to insurance reasons. Tray backs, smaller pantec trucks with boxes with curtains like small isuzus etc yeah. But vans were a no.

I wish they had that policy where I work, the panels both sides of the side doors on our current vans are well battered by incompetent forkies, makes me shudder to think of what they'll do to my new van, hence the offer to hand load if a smaller van is the path we choose.

A few weeks ago I got asked to deliver 5 pallets in the old Fuso, I said to our newly accredited dispatch forky load it reverse from the drop order meaning first off last on so theres no cavity in front of anything at any stage, forky 101.
I returned to find him loading from the backboard 2-1-2, I said thats no good you cant load that way the rear two can shift around the middle one and the front 2 have a cavity infront.
Got told not to question him, I said COR says I bloody well can but decided the best way to teach the guy was proving my point.
Before I got 5km down the road it had moved exactly as I said it would and fortunately the receiving forky at the drop helped me square it up.
Got back and told the dispatch Manager I wont drive it unless I get it competently loaded to my satisfaction and in accordance with COR rules.
Im dealing with incompetant millenials though it does have its moments of humour.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

Theres also the tailgate loader option. Use a pallet jack not a fork.

Yes had considered that but wont work on a lift gate Hiace.

[DFB FGXR6]

I would also recommend the VW Transporter.



That said, a DSG does concern me.

That's one of the reasons why I like the Crafter, it has a 8-Speed torque converter auto. It actually shifts in a similar manner to a DSG, as in very quickly, but without the slow speed jerkiness.

Also, I have found the diesel VW's to be much more refined than other cattery diesels. This makes them much nicer to ride in for extended periods.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by PG2

Hey BENT

Can you give us a list of what you know is not suitable in regards to pallets and door openings? It seems that you have a fair idea of what won't fit a pallet through the side/rear door.

That way we don't have people suggesting things that you already know won't be suitable.

Standard Hiace, iLoad/Staria, any of those smaller vans would be limited in use.
Really needs to be in the same mould as Sprinter but without the reliability issues we have.
Our Metro guys load them to the hilt and do 50-60 drops per day every day, they get pushed hard.

This is why I think Crafter or even the Iveco etc. Is the answer, many configurations to suit our variety of needs, just remains to be seen if we can source them and if they can handle the workload.

[BENT_8]

Just want to say I really appreciate the suggestions being made, many examples I hadnt even considered and whilst not necessarily suitable it helps to better understand what we should be looking for.

[Franco Cozzo]

1982 Ford F350 LWB tray back,

Then the $50,000 you save on purchase price to spend on juice for the Clevo, with the side benefit of getting invited to the Christmas party at a couple servos

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

I would also recommend the VW Transporter.

image

That said, a DSG does concern me.

That's one of the reasons why I like the Crafter, it has a 8-Speed torque converter auto. It actually shifts in a similar manner to a DSG, as in very quickly, but without the slow speed jerkiness.

Also, I have found the diesel VW's to be much more refined than other cattery diesels. This makes them much nicer to ride in for extended periods.

We did a few of those for Vic Police - they have bangin' stereos

As much as I really hate VAG - they understand how to make a nice car to drive, there is no doubt their cars are good to drive, I just question longevity.

[kevino]

Re Vw transporter

I spent about 200000km driving various Transporters from 2014/2021

Cons
The DSG s do break
The steering is slow tiring your shoulders neck arms
and for the driver ... the seats are the wrong shape and are made with poor quality foam which flogs out at 80000km bloody uncomfortable
Big turning circle

Pro s

Size
Engine and gearbox (when ok) are a good combo

Crafter ..yeah Transporter nah

In my vi

[Swordie]

Crafter - from Graysonline. Shows how pallets fit in the back.

[kevino]

Oh yeah also the Crafter has a far smaller turning circle and quicker steering than the transporter.

And new one has a torque converter auto not a DSG..

Mind you i d buy a six speed manual.

But i guess your millenials dont know how to drive a six MT.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by Swordie

Crafter - from Graysonline. Shows how pallets fit in the back.

image


image


image

Those Crafters are the Sprinter based one

[Yellow_Festiva]

What about the previous iLoad?

They are in runout at the moment.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

.
Im dealing with incompetant millenials though it does have its moments of humour.

Last time I did a drop and pick up of a pallet, I specifically said to my colleague organising it that make sure they only give me one pallet as we only have one ratchet strap - drop off one pick up one.

I get there, drop off the one, they give me two pallets to take back, then they wouldn't consolidate it into one pallet.

Call back and my colleague is all oh well deal with it...


So I'm like alright then I'm rejecting pickup, your problem bro

They whinge and bitch about it,

Spend about 45 minutes trying to tie it down in different ways to no avail, then between all of us boffins at the drop we come up with the idea that we get an empty pallet, chuck it in the middle across the two pallets I received and tie that down across both.

It was sketchy AF - I'm like keep an eye out for me on the news tonight when all this **** flies off the back of the ute on the freeway.

Its the only time in my life I've ever driven with any care and consideration

Long story short - if it's not them having to deal with it then they don't care and make sure your delivery vehicle has multiple load restraint options onboard.

[hayseed]

I'm starting to see a lot more IVECO Daily's in My Travels..!!

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

What about the previous iLoad?

They are in runout at the moment.

I noticed that, not badly priced either.
Very similar to the Staria specs though.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by hayseed

I'm starting to see a lot more IVECO Daily's in My Travels..!!

I dont know much about them but they tick a lot of boxes too.
The 9m3 cargo 35s model takes a pallet through the side, is shorter than the SLWB Hiace and has the optional 132kw engine and ZF 8A.
Then theres the bigger versions and hi roof options for the metro guys.
Will certainly mention them.

So far I think we should be considering
VW Crafter
Iveco Daily