Remember sliding van doors?
Discussion
Did someone mention UPS vans again?
They're built on Mercedes chassis and judging by the excellent shape on some of the older 'Darth Vader' faced ones, I reckon there's a refurbishment plant somewhere.
Just recently I have noticed some ordinary Mercedes box vans in UPS colours, it would be sad if they are phasing the specials out.
They're built on Mercedes chassis and judging by the excellent shape on some of the older 'Darth Vader' faced ones, I reckon there's a refurbishment plant somewhere.
Just recently I have noticed some ordinary Mercedes box vans in UPS colours, it would be sad if they are phasing the specials out.
DennisTheMenace said:
good old health and safety i think , you could fall out (no sh*t) all they would have to do is fit an engine cut that wont start the engine untill the doors closed , my uncles old sherpa had them , was nice in the summer , drving along with the doors slid back , getting deafend by the austin diesel lump.
Plenty of MPVs have sliding rear doors, including our Mazda 5 (non-electric). As far as I know, there's nothing to stop you driving the car with both rear doors open so the kids can fall out (although I've never actually tried it). It's a boon in summer when parked with both doors open as you get a great through-breeze.Also handy for puking passengers when heading up the A5 through wales (read very twisty) late at night in a rush for the boat 
Mates in the back of our Mazda B2000 van on our way to a mountainbike event, think they'd stuffed their faces with Pizza or similar & had started on the beer on the way up.
Once one started that was it
Well it was quite funny at the time
Mates in the back of our Mazda B2000 van on our way to a mountainbike event, think they'd stuffed their faces with Pizza or similar & had started on the beer on the way up. Once one started that was it
Well it was quite funny at the time
52classic said:
Did someone mention UPS vans again?
They're built on Mercedes chassis and judging by the excellent shape on some of the older 'Darth Vader' faced ones, I reckon there's a refurbishment plant somewhere.
Just recently I have noticed some ordinary Mercedes box vans in UPS colours, it would be sad if they are phasing the specials out.
The problem is that the big UPS vans are over 3.5 tonnes IIRC, so you have to have a C1 to drive them, which is becoming rarer now because licenses issued after Jan 1997 are all limited to Cat B, and most people with a C1 can get better work than multi-drop parcel delivery. They're also subject to Tacho rules, which <3.5 tonnes are exempt from.They're built on Mercedes chassis and judging by the excellent shape on some of the older 'Darth Vader' faced ones, I reckon there's a refurbishment plant somewhere.
Just recently I have noticed some ordinary Mercedes box vans in UPS colours, it would be sad if they are phasing the specials out.
This is all to the best of my knowledge, btw. I could well be wrong.
Also, LHD vans would be an excellent idea. All postie vans are bulkheaded now for security and most of the Parcelforce ones I drive are (the last walkthrough ones are being phased out at the end of the year in my depot), so you can't walk through to the back and exit via the sliding door on the nearside. Getting out on the nearside would save a lot of time and be much safer, but there's nothing to stop me shuffling across and using the passenger door anyway. The posties in the little Combos though would have a bit of an effort!
Ah! the memories!
Used to have a CF in the 80's, always drove it with the door open.
Some kiddy on a bike once decided to overtake as I was turning right (chalk one up for Darwin). Luckily he hit just in front of the open door so I didn't wind up with a chav (well, he would have been if such things were around in 1984) embedded in my shins!
Used to have a CF in the 80's, always drove it with the door open.
Some kiddy on a bike once decided to overtake as I was turning right (chalk one up for Darwin). Luckily he hit just in front of the open door so I didn't wind up with a chav (well, he would have been if such things were around in 1984) embedded in my shins!
Petemate said:
More to the point, how about the scenario of pulling up quickly with your hand on the a-post and the door sliding forward - aaarrrghhh - I cringe just thinking about the severing of the fingers....
Sorry for anyone who has just eaten...
Pete
Happened at work not so long back - we drive electric tugs and most of them have sliding doors..and brakes for a 10 tonne load.Sorry for anyone who has just eaten...
Pete
Anywho matey was passengering when driver applied full braking (no load) and the door caught his left hand just below the knuckles
Cue lots of broken bones and never seen again. I didn't hear how the compensation claim went.
I had a MkI Transit in that colour..but it had the standard door.
1600cc and half a tonne of band equipment + 5 passengers; it was a bit slow up the hills but managed 70ish on a motorway. It must have been deperately slow by modern standards (and with no passenger side mirror it was a liability when pulling in) but it never missed a beat.
Carry on *nostalgic sigh*
1600cc and half a tonne of band equipment + 5 passengers; it was a bit slow up the hills but managed 70ish on a motorway. It must have been deperately slow by modern standards (and with no passenger side mirror it was a liability when pulling in
) but it never missed a beat.Carry on *nostalgic sigh*
wildcat45 said:
But why do vans not have this feature today?
Because they have side loading doors.Once the front doors slide it would interfere with any side loading doors, and side loading doors are far more useful than a slide opening front door.
You only see slide opening front doors for custom applications like UPS and USPS vans.
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