What vehicle should I buy!

[Ian Lennox]

With the demise of my Ford Connect van, I am forced to replace it, but with what? I use a 500 litre tank that I wish to continue to use. I'm not going to go down the diesel road again, so my options are:
• Electric van - expensive!
• A car and trailer.
• A petrol car with a 500 lite tank in,
I'd really appreciate any comments and experiences with either of the above. One guy on the forum has a Toyota Proace electric van but has anyone else had an experience with this? I've been window cleaning for 36 years, but I'm always open to new ideas. What do you suggest?

 

[Lukeyprice]

Why wouldn't you go with a diesel van? Surely a newer diesel van is the best option in almost all cases?

 

[Ian Lennox]

Thanks for your question. I haven't kicked diesel into touch in fact I'm still thinking of getting a diesel. My dilemma is my round is so compact, the van doesn't get anywhere near hot enough for the dpf to burn off the soot, leading to the dpf clogging up; so I was wondering if other window cleaners used electric vans. If I do get another diesel van then I'll have to incorporate a motorway journey once a week to get the exhaust hot enough.

 

[mkn8382]

Hi mate have you looked at petrol or hybrid vehicles I am the same as you not many miles. I will be going petrol or electric on my next vehicle

 

[tench0771]

my mate has a bilingo thats petrol not shore on payload though think vw do a caddy petrol as well

 

[Deleted member 7446]

With the demise of my Ford Connect van, I am forced to replace it, but with what? I use a 500 litre tank that I wish to continue to use. I'm not going to go down the diesel road again, so my options are:
• Electric van - expensive!
• A car and trailer.
• A petrol car with a 500 lite tank in,
I'd really appreciate any comments and experiences with either of the above. One guy on the forum has a Toyota Proace electric van but has anyone else had an experience with this? I've been window cleaning for 36 years, but I'm always open to new ideas. What do you suggest?

I'd stay away from Electric EVs as they are a waste of money and when things go wrong you'll be bankrupt.
Petrol has no power / torque and when there's another panic buying fuel crisis you'll be running on fumes

Get a diesel but don't buy a knackered secondhand

 

[spruce]

With the demise of my Ford Connect van, I am forced to replace it, but with what? I use a 500 litre tank that I wish to continue to use. I'm not going to go down the diesel road again, so my options are:
• Electric van - expensive!
• A car and trailer.
• A petrol car with a 500 lite tank in,
I'd really appreciate any comments and experiences with either of the above. One guy on the forum has a Toyota Proace electric van but has anyone else had an experience with this? I've been window cleaning for 36 years, but I'm always open to new ideas. What do you suggest?

I don't think you will find a car that will carry a 500 litre tank. Someone around here fitted a tank (not sure of the size) in a Vauxhall Astra estate. That car was flat on its suspension when I used to see it in the morning.

The Astra van had a payload of 600kgs

The original 1.9 diesel Citroen Multispace had a payload of 450kgs. The van was either 600 or 800 kg payload as it had stiffer suspension.

 

[Ian Lennox]

All good worthwhile comments! Thanks! I feel electric is too soon to invest in as the technology isn't quite there, the infrastructure certainly isn't, and petrol lacks power. I'm thinking why are most motorhomes diesel and why do people with caravans tend to use diesel vehicles? - it must be because of the power; so with a heavily laden vehicle full of water, surely its better to use a diesel and put up with the dpf issues, and incorporate a motorway journey once a week.
I wonder if any window cleaners who have electric vehicles could make a comment?

 

[Pjj]

Hi mate have you looked at petrol or hybrid vehicles I am the same as you not many miles. I will be going petrol or electric on my next vehicle

What options are there for petrol hybrid vans ?

 

[spruce]

Our window cleaning rounds are mostly local which means we do around 3500 miles a year. I have a 62 plate Peugeot Boxer van and in 6 years I haven't have a dpf issue.

I have no gauge to tell me when regeneration is occurring. A customer once worked as a trouble shooter in our local Peugeot workshops and he said that regeneration can be complete when traveling just a few miles.
We live in Saltburn by the Sea and he said from here to Redcar.
The other day i did a couple of miles which included a steep incline in 2nd gear. When parking I opened the driver's door to check I was parking between the lines and I could smell the exhaust. I'm guessing it was in the process of regeneration then.

When Dpf filters were first used on Citroen C5 2.2hdi they were a nightmare. They needed expensive dpf fluid which had to be topped up at citroen workshops and the ecu reset on Alexia.

Dfp has come a long way in 25 years.

 

[Deleted member 7446]

Thanks for your question. I haven't kicked diesel into touch in fact I'm still thinking of getting a diesel. My dilemma is my round is so compact, the van doesn't get anywhere near hot enough for the dpf to burn off the soot, leading to the dpf clogging up; so I was wondering if other window cleaners used electric vans. If I do get another diesel van then I'll have to incorporate a motorway journey once a week to get the exhaust hot enough.

I've never had a dpf issue touch wood however I do purposely take a motorway trip down the motorway twice a month for a job and do forced regens with my OBD2 tool

Owning a vehicle needs a degree of preventive maintenance done by yourself but nowadays most have a "mechanic" which you'll only ever see when you have problems

 

[Master Jedi Alejandro]

I've never had a dpf issue touch wood however I do purposely take a motorway trip down the motorway twice a month for a job and do forced regens with my OBD2 tool

Owning a vehicle needs a degree of preventive maintenance done by yourself but nowadays most have a "mechanic" which you'll only ever see when you have problems

Oil change once per year instead of once every 2 years (if that’s what your handbook recommends) is a good shout due to us doing such short trips all the time.

 

[ched999uk]

Oil change once per year instead of once every 2 years (if that’s what your handbook recommends) is a good shout due to us doing such short trips all the time.

Also make sure you use fully synthetic oil if at all possible.

We tend to do lots of stop start journeys and carry heavy loads. This means the turbos may well have been worked a bit hard to lug the load then we shut off the engine and the turbo 'cooks' the oil left in it. This oil, over time, clogs up the oil return pipes eventually causing bearing and seal failures. Synthetic oil can stand the high turbo temps and doesn't tend to clog up the oil return pipe.

 

[Deleted member 7446]

Oil change once per year instead of once every 2 years (if that’s what your handbook recommends) is a good shout due to us doing such short trips all the time.

I change my oil & coolant twice a year regardless of cost. I'm hot on maintenance and also have detailed records

 

[Johnboi]

Electric is great if you are a local window cleaner that has a driveway.

My 50kwh proace does about 120 miles to charge with a 500 Ltr tank (plenty for a full days work with a univalve)

50kw at 7.5 pence per kw is £3.75 a charge
(Charging overnight on octopus go tariff)

Vans with 75kwh battery packs are available now.

Low maintenance and excellent to drive.

Look on autotrader there are lots of electric vans at good prices with low miles and long warranty’s. (Toyota has 8 year warranty)

Don’t listen to the daily mail readers.

Do you have customers in affluent areas?

Do you notice there is a lot of Tesla model y
Kia ev 9 bmw i3 etc in those areas

Do you think the people in those areas are stupid or don’t have a choice what car they buy?

 

[Part Timer]

Do you notice there is a lot of Tesla model y
Kia ev 9 bmw i3 etc in those areas

Do you think the people in those areas are stupid or don’t have a choice what car they buy?

Probably because this is the most tax efficient way to get a company car

 

[Yogi1872]

Thanks for your question. I haven't kicked diesel into touch in fact I'm still thinking of getting a diesel. My dilemma is my round is so compact, the van doesn't get anywhere near hot enough for the dpf to burn off the soot, leading to the dpf clogging up; so I was wondering if other window cleaners used electric vans. If I do get another diesel van then I'll have to incorporate a motorway journey once a week to get the exhaust hot enough.

Same issue as me with not traveling long journeys, I might or might not have paid £200 to remove adblue and dpf so that won't be an issue in the future.

 

[Johnboi]

Probably because this is the most tax efficient way to get a company car

Of course that’s a reason. But my point stands these type people like that have the best houses cars holidays etc…

They won’t drive electric cars if they are as bad as the daily mail or some people on here make out.

 

[ched999uk]

Definitely take an electric van out for a test drive.
The smooth power delivery is amazing and the instant torque is great.

Yes they have limited range especially when loaded but you can charge at home if you have a driveway for about 7.5p/kwh (you home also gets 7.5p/kwh from 11:30 to 5:30am - Octopus). So no need to go to a fuel station to fill up.
I would say you need 3 x the stated range to be safe doing your work. i.e. if you do 30 miles a day you need a stated range of 90miles to be safe.
The charging infrastructure is a lot better than people think - there are apps that list charging points and most vehicles sat navs have the chargers listed - you will be paying big amounts if you have to use public chargers - I would say it's uneconomical to use just use public chargers.

 

[Ian Lennox]

These comments are just what I'm after! I thought I was very conscientious about maintenance of my van, until I read some of the above as to how to maintain a diesel when doing short journeys all the time - I hadn't thought of changing the oil twice as much as the recommendation from manufacturer.

Good to get comments from window cleaners who are actually using electric vans.

Johnboi - may I ask how long you've had your proace? Did you buy it new?

As for Tesla - if electric is so good, why has Elon musk slashed prices? Also, why are dealers finding it almost impossible to sell electric vehicles?

I'm also considering buying a really old euro 4 van, as they don't have dpf's, but is this a wrong move? Answers on a postcard - or on this forum!

 

[steve garwood]

You could buy a modern diesel and get it mapped out.
2 of my mates have done this and it’s something that I’m considering.
No regens, no add blue, no vaporiser problems.
It does help if you’re friendly with an MOT place