Impact of Watertanks on Van Suspension & Longevity

[Master Jedi Alejandro]

Good afternoon all,

Someone questioned me about this recently & got me wondering. We obviously all carry a lot of weight. Do you think carrying at the van’s max payload everyday will cause accelerated wear on weight bearing parts, like the suspension? For those of you who have been at this for a long time, have you found this at all?

I ask in part because I’m planning on settling my van finance next year. I want to keep the van for as long as possible, but a mate recons I should upgrade every few years to avoid repair bills. Obviously though that means having the system transferred, new waterproofing put down & new sign writing done every time, which is a hassle. 

What’s all your thoughts? 

 

[Cghwindowcleaning]

 A heavy load like water in the van day in day out will wear the tyres, brakes and suspension.I find buying the right van for the job is important it's what they are designed for and having a proper baffled tank and frame this will stop the water surging and rocking.These two things wear the van massively.

 

[Master Jedi Alejandro]

 A heavy load like water in the van day in day out will wear the tyres, brakes and suspension.I find buying the right van for the job is important it's what they are designed for and having a proper baffled tank and frame this will stop the water surging and rocking.These two things wear the van massively.

I’ve made sure the van is not overloaded, and yeah I’ve got a proper system installed so very rarely feel any rocking. 

 

[AW Services]

Good afternoon all,

Someone questioned me about this recently & got me wondering. We obviously all carry a lot of weight. Do you think carrying at the van’s max payload everyday will cause accelerated wear on weight bearing parts, like the suspension? For those of you who have been at this for a long time, have you found this at all?

I ask in part because I’m planning on settling my van finance next year. I want to keep the van for as long as possible, but a mate recons I should upgrade every few years to avoid repair bills. Obviously though that means having the system transferred, new waterproofing put down & new sign writing done every time, which is a hassle. 

What’s all your thoughts? 

The common issues with the suspension components is that they will be under a constant loading and compression which can accelerate their wear and maintenance 

You shouldn't get big repair bills if you understand vehicles and their preventative maintenance which should be carried out Daily, weekly, Monthly by the owner. 

I don't go through vehicles and look after everyone I've had and maintain to high standards 

 

[ched999uk]

It also depends on how handy you are. i.e. changing suspension links, wishbones, roll bar bushes, shocks, top mounts, brakes etc isn't particularly difficult if you have decent equipment but it does take time. Time that may be better spent earning ££££. 

To me when you rely on your van to earn a living I would say make sure it's regularly serviced by a decent garage. Even if the manual says service every 20K do it once a year. We tend to do a low mileage but potentially lots of stop starts. This causes the oil to cook in the turbo (if you have one but I'm assuming a turbo diesel), this heat soak damages the oil and can cause premature turbo failure as it gums up the drain pipe and the oil doesn't lubricate bearings properly etc. If you take it for an MoT and get advisories see to them asap. They will only get worse and if you schedule the repairs in sooner rather than later you wont have a unexpected failure at the worst time! If you normally just do short journeys then say once or twice a month go for a good burn up the motorway, use a lower gear than normal to get everything nice and toasty and hopefully the dpf regens. 

I would much prefer to have a vehicle  who's history I know than one that may have been on lease to a company where an employee has not treated it well. 

Look after your van and it will help you earn £££. 

 

[Davy G]

My van is around maximum legal weight at the start of every day. It's bound to increase wear as @Master Jedi Alejandrosuggested. I travel with everything needed for every job we are likely to take on.  Once we're out we're out for the duration. The soapwash trolley is normally carried but comes out on the rare occasion we carry extra water in cans to make sure we'll have enough, l have a trusted mechanic/good friend who maintains our three vehicles : work van, 15 years (170,000 or so miles), campervan, 13 years (110,000 or so miles) and wife's car 10 years (119,047 miles). They've all got several years (thirty eight years in total) on them but the maintenance is kept on top of and they're driven with a sensible but not excessive level of vehicle sympathy.

Personally, I'm in no hurry to get a newer vehicle. I don't need one and I don't want the depreciation in value.
My work is now all within about 10 miles. I have breakdown cover to get the vehicles to the garage. Only needed once up to now in seven years. I form an attachment for my vehicles and the memories made in my time with them. I get to know the sounds and feel while driving so can usually get problems nipped in the bud. A newer van won't earn me any more money so the plan is to change when the time is right. That's my personal thinking.

In your case, I suppose it would depend on your vehicle.

How robust is it?
Is it the right size and power?
Do you like the van?
Is it in sound condition for its age?
Does it look respectable enough to represent your business?

It doesn't need to be new to be reasonably smart. I'm hoping to get at least a few more years out of all our vehicles. I will be treating the underneath of all of them with rust inhibitor in the spring.

Tough and important decision to make. I don't envy you. ??

 

[ched999uk]

I will be treating the underneath of all of them with rust inhibitor in the spring.

Might be worth doing that asap as the salt will be coming on the roads soon!!!! 

 

[Davy G]

Might be worth doing that asap as the salt will be coming on the roads soon!!!! 

You're right @ched999uk. I just had the work van done by the garage but I intend to get a 3 tonne trolley jack in the spring and do it again myself as a top up, plus the other two vehicles. My intention is to do them in the spring and autumn annually. Secure the brakes and park in gear, lift the vehicles up an end at a time and support each wheel, chocked on sound 9"x 4"x"18 timbers is the plan. And slide under on a creeper trolley. 15 to 30 minutes a vehicle should do the job once lifted and secured. A good pressure wash on the underneath a few days before in warm dry weather to clear the way. I really can't be bothered to get under a vehicle at this time of year. Too old and stiff for that now, is the truth of it. ?

 

[Part Timer]

We had a Vivaro for 9 years and had to change the gearbox after around 7. We do more mileage then most and never had any other major problems, except from the injectors which was a common fault at the time.

 

[Pjj]

Good afternoon all,

Someone questioned me about this recently & got me wondering. We obviously all carry a lot of weight. Do you think carrying at the van’s max payload everyday will cause accelerated wear on weight bearing parts, like the suspension? For those of you who have been at this for a long time, have you found this at all?

I ask in part because I’m planning on settling my van finance next year. I want to keep the van for as long as possible, but a mate recons I should upgrade every few years to avoid repair bills. Obviously though that means having the system transferred, new waterproofing put down & new sign writing done every time, which is a hassle. 

What’s all your thoughts? 

The simple answer is yes things will wear quicker due to the weight , I find I only get around 8,000 miles out of a set of tyres due to stop start and constant turning on our local vans the ones that do longer distances do double that . As for suspension again the ware rate will be higher I am looking at putting 5 ton springs  on my new van as already it is tail low . I wouldn’t want to buy a high mileage window cleaning van that’s been used for that job for many years it will have had a hard life . Unfortunately it’s part and parcel of our job unless having a small tank of 300 ltr, 1000 ltr every day is a lot of weight slopping around 

 

[Iron Giant]

I bought my former lease van with around 55k on the clock it now has about 71k on the clock I've had the van 4 years in Feb, I have had both front springs and suspension top mounts done plus other bits on the front no doubt mine was abused,

my van payload is 675kg and with my 350ltr tank plus frame etc, so maybe 550-600kg fully loaded with x2 25ltr containers in so not maxed out

 

[dazmond]

My van is nearly 5 years old and has 15k on the clock...I've only changed 2 front tyres and an oil change once per year in that time...

I'm hoping I'll get at least another 10 years out of it before going electric 

 

[Davy G]

The thing is that the wear on the vans will be at about the same rate regardless of the age of the vehicle. Consumables will get the same work and wear. A tired spring is a tired spring regardless of the age. They all do the same type of work. I would think though that the depreciation in value would be greater and quicker on a higher value one. If the value/purchase price starts higher then the value has further to fall before levelling to a point where it becomes negligible. Therefore a bigger loss in value in the first few years. With an older but essentially sound vehicle I don't expect the annual depreciation to be as much, so slower depreciation. The nature of our work doesn't help in keeping depreciation at bay either. I would be reluctant to buy a former window cleaners van unless it was at a very reasonable price. This is my thinking. I may well be wrong.

I understand that many prefer or need newer vehicles especially for longer distance working. Which route is the more economical or tax efficient, I really don't know for certain.

 

[Martyn]

I'm hoping I'll get at least another 10 years out of it before going electric 

I'm hoping to get ten years out of my newly acquired T6, that should take me to retirement, but it all depends on the politicians. ?

 

[Part Timer]

I'm hoping to get ten years out of my newly acquired T6, that should take me to retirement, but it all depends on the politicians. ?

Don't worry about anything you can't control. Deal with and adapt to whatever is put in front of you and you'll succeed.

 

[Martyn]

Don't worry about anything you can't control. Deal with and adapt to whatever is put in front of you and you'll succeed.

I get where you are coming from but if I end up having to spend another c£25k on a van before I retire it will be.......sub optimal.

 

[spruce]

Just because a manufacturer builds a van to a certain gross vehicle mass doesn't mean that it will carry it's stated payload continuously. This was highlighted with a recent claim on Fiat for replacement rear springs on a motor home. The leaf springs on the rear had bowed the other way. Even although the motor home was within the payload of the van, Fiat rejected the claim as the motorhome had been built on a cheaper van platform instead of the van they supply especially for motor home conversions. 

They blamed the continual weight of the contents on the failure and as the body builders were at fault, claim against them.

I now always try to leave my van as empty as possible every night and now only fill up in the morning. 

On my 04 plate Citroen Relay I suffered a broken rear spring. Back then Citroen wanted £500 a spring + VAT plus 4 new U Bolts (I got such a shock with the price of the springs I forgot to ask the price of the U Bolts), and then there was 2 hours labour + VAT to fit them. Labour was £80 an hour back then.

I got some heavy duty motor home replacements from a spring manufacturer at around £350 including the U bolts. The downside was that my van no longer sat level. It was high at the back and reminded my of the A Teams GMC van back in the days of Mr T and Hannibal. It did settle a bit with time but never sat level after that.

 

[Iron Giant]

Just because a manufacturer builds a van to a certain gross vehicle mass doesn't mean that it will carry it's stated payload continuously. This was highlighted with a recent claim on Fiat for replacement rear springs on a motor home. The leaf springs on the rear had bowed the other way. Even although the motor home was within the payload of the van, Fiat rejected the claim as the motorhome had been built on a cheaper van platform instead of the van they supply especially for motor home conversions. 

They blamed the continual weight of the contents on the failure and as the body builders were at fault, claim against them.

I now always try to leave my van as empty as possible every night and now only fill up in the morning. 

I used to always fill my van on a morning to avoid potential issues, but these days I just don't have the time so it's far easier to fill on an evening 

 

[Davy G]

I used to always fill my van on a morning to avoid potential issues, but these days I just don't have the time so it's far easier to fill on an evening 

I'm the same. I'm not great in the mornings. It takes two cups of tea, a bowl of porridge and a shovel of coal to get me moving?. I prefer to fill the tank after work so when I'm ready in the morning I can just get in the van and go.

We have so many different ways of doing things between us all. ?

 

[dazmond]

I'm hoping to get ten years out of my newly acquired T6, that should take me to retirement, but it all depends on the politicians. ?

They said they will only stop selling diesel vehicles from 2030 so in theory you could get a new one in 2029 and run in for another 10-15 years taking you up to 2039-2044....

 

[Martyn]

They said they will only stop selling diesel vehicles from 2030 so in theory you could get a new one in 2029 and run in for another 10-15 years taking you up to 2039-2044....

I regard this situation as dynamic, what they say now and what they say and do in two or three years may be different, the pressure is growing by the day.