Van for Towing - £3k budget

[dabooga79]

I am currently exploring a business idea with a good friend.

As part of the venture we would need the internal load carrying capacity of a small van but also the ability to tow cars (although not at the same time). The van would also be doing a fair few miles empty, hence the reasoning of a smaller van for fuel economy reasons.

I've been looking at SWB transits around 2001/2 but the towing capacity of these doesn't appear to be sufficient. Does anyone have any suggestions? We reckon we would need a towing capacity of around 2000kgs?

The most difficult part appears to be finding the specs of vehicles in our budget regarding towing capacities.

Happy to look at pick-ups or 4x4s providing they would be fairly presentable for turning up at customers with.

Any suggestions?

[cptsideways]

Very few vans have legal tow limits suitable for towing cars on trailers, yes you see them about but VOSA are hot on the heels. Also a liveried/commercial van used for commercial towing needs a tacho I do believe.

[andymach23]

A Discovery 300 tdi Commercial could be an option. 3500Kg towing capacity and the manual will give at least 30 mpg on a run. Obviously towing will drop that a bit. Less than 3K should get the best available.

[dabooga79]

cptsideways said:

Very few vans have legal tow limits suitable for towing cars on trailers, yes you see them about but VOSA are hot on the heels. Also a liveried/commercial van used for commercial towing needs a tacho I do believe.

TBH That's the main reason for the post as I thought I was missing something on the van specs?

A Discovery may be the way forward then, would one of these need a tacho in?

[jagracer]

dabooga79 said:

cptsideways said:

Very few vans have legal tow limits suitable for towing cars on trailers, yes you see them about but VOSA are hot on the heels. Also a liveried/commercial van used for commercial towing needs a tacho I do believe.

TBH That's the main reason for the post as I thought I was missing something on the van specs?

A Discovery may be the way forward then, would one of these need a tacho in?

It can be a grey area but if you are carrying other people's goods on the trailer then you need one.

[stone-islandV8]

2001 onwards Ford Ranger Double Cab towing capacity 2200kg.
2000 on Nissan Navara towing capacity is about 2300-3000kg dependant on engine IIRC
1999-2005 Mitsubishi L200 circa 2700kg.

Hope that helps.

[danyeates]

We have two big vans at work, but we can't tow with them, even if they're empty because of tacho rules. We have a VW and a new Citroen 3.5 tonne jobby. LDV do a big van which will tow 3.5 tonnes. I would stick with a 4x4 though personally.

[CDP]

cptsideways said:

Very few vans have legal tow limits suitable for towing cars on trailers, yes you see them about but VOSA are hot on the heels. Also a liveried/commercial van used for commercial towing needs a tacho I do believe.

Is this to keep the gross weight under 3.5 tonnes?

[cptsideways]

Just buy a landcruiser & take the seats out, mine is as big as most vans inside its just not got the same roof height. 3.5ton tow limit & a 1.0ton payload too. From experience hey'll happily cope with 6.7tons GTW legally on a daily basis. Try that with a van! That's an 80 series btw the big one.

[jagracer]

CDP said:

cptsideways said:

Very few vans have legal tow limits suitable for towing cars on trailers, yes you see them about but VOSA are hot on the heels. Also a liveried/commercial van used for commercial towing needs a tacho I do believe.

Is this to keep the gross weight under 3.5 tonnes?

No, it's because they aren't designed to tow the weights.

cptsideways said:

Just buy a landcruiser & take the seats out, mine is as big as most vans inside its just not got the same roof height. 3.5ton tow limit & a 1.0ton payload too. From experience hey'll happily cope with 6.7tons GTW legally on a daily basis. Try that with a van! That's an 80 series btw the big one.

I assume that must be an Amazon you have as my LC will only legally tow 2.8 tons. Agreed about the size inside, my one is far bigger than my Disco.

[Stubby Pete]

I've towed with a Transit, Iveco and Sprinter. In thise there is absolutely no comparison. The Sprinter out performs the other two (which used the same 2.5td engine) by a huge margin.

Double check your licence for towing weights and the van's plated weight etc. From memory (so probably inaccurate) a 3.5 tonner is ok to tow with but a 5 tonner requires additional licence (as long as you're old enough to not have trailer restrictions). Someone will be along to explain more about this shortly no doubt.

[cptsideways]

jagracer said:

cptsideways said:

Just buy a landcruiser & take the seats out, mine is as big as most vans inside its just not got the same roof height. 3.5ton tow limit & a 1.0ton payload too. From experience hey'll happily cope with 6.7tons GTW legally on a daily basis. Try that with a van! That's an 80 series btw the big one.

I assume that must be an Amazon you have as my LC will only legally tow 2.8 tons. Agreed about the size inside, my one is far bigger than my Disco.

Yes mine is an Amazon/VX 80 series, best thing ever for towing stuff about