Heaver than thee

[VWD]

Prompted by the post on HGV ,BUT going down a few tons , but the problems still exist .

Those who like to coin a phrase were quick to come up with the term "white van man " - to tag anyone driving a van ,most likely a 3.5 t one .

Since i drive quite a few miles at work in one ,let's dispel a few myths ,and perhaps do some educating .

Firstly - Merc Sprinters are the ideal of all van makers , where the throttle pedal is something to control the speed of the vehicle(as in a car ) -all others-that pedal is an on/off switch .

Perhaps that comes as a surprise to car drivers - but that's a fact of life when in charge of a Transit - press the throttle and sometime in the future (up to about 5 mins later ) the engine might get some extra go and after another five minutes of work ,you get from 50 to around 70 . Keep going and the speedo shows wiered things .

OK-but if you can hold that speed , you'll get places - till you have to slow down (as when plonker decides to pull out in front -usuall without warning) .

So next time a Transit driver gets upset(as you pull out in front,usually without indicating0 - think on - you can accelerate to 60 in seconds - in a Transit ,think days .

But one thing Ford has given us Transit drivers - a LARGE CRYSTAL BALL - with car drivers programed in as dumbos .

Be nice to see members of this forum educating drivers to start thinking about driving .:thumbup:

[Babs]

Can't say I've ever had that problem in any van I've driven, lastly a fully-Ikea-laiden SWB LDV van.

Seemed to get up to speak fairly briskly if driven appropriatly.

[TeflonTom]

iirc the throttle on a ford model t was merely a on/off switch

note: if the aformentioned transit/sprinter/3.5t/etc were to travel a little slower in the first place it may help to resolve the issue of slowing down to kindly let a car into the traffic flow

p.s, and yes all vans should be barred from the roads, along with caravans and motorcycles

[trundlenut]

I've found there is nothing better to instill fear in other drivers than those immortal words VAN RENTAL or VAN HIRE on the front of your white transit. People do tend to get out of your way and it means your allowed to park in at least 4 spaces at the motorway services.

Also I like the fact you can hit the rev limiter at under 10mph in 1st gear in a transit. Loads of noise whilst going nowhere.

[devonutopia]

Most merc sprinters I have come across FLY! Don't know what's usually under the hood but for a big, high, long wheel base van I've seen some really moving.

Transists were never too bad to drive. WAY better than the LDV sheds, with their sliding front doors that would open going around corners. Astramax vans? Very much just a car with a van back-end. Drove a crewcab flatbed thing once. Scared me, as I'd never driven anything as wide before (and haven't since) - Didn't damage it though.

[VWD]

note: if the aformentioned transit/sprinter/3.5t/etc were to travel a little slower in the first place it may help to resolve the issue of slowing down to kindly let a car into the traffic flow

How slow do you suggest , to let Mr Plonker move out . Problem I was mooting ,was not about merging speed ( something that we3.5 van driversdon't have with HGV drivers ) , but the fact that having to hit the brakes big time to let mrc pull out (at any cost ) meansthat for next stretch we are trying to get back up to speed ---

Suggest you try driving one of these before commenting . can assure you there not like Vrs .

[gadgetman]

I've driven sprinters, Transits for many a year.

If you cant get your's to shift, then something's wrong with either the van, or your driving style in the van!

[TeflonTom]

i suggest that they are driven between the hours of say midnight and 4am..

:confused: i have driven them and they are painfully slow for a reason...

and i recall one incident when i was ousted by a sprinter van at the traffic lights grand prix too, those things can shift

[trundlenut]

Most merc sprinters I have come across FLY! Don't know what's usually under the hood but for a big, high, long wheel base van I've seen some really moving.

Transists were never too bad to drive. WAY better than the LDV sheds, with their sliding front doors that would open going around corners. Astramax vans? Very much just a car with a van back-end. Drove a crewcab flatbed thing once. Scared me, as I'd never driven anything as wide before (and haven't since) - Didn't damage it though.

Astramax van, the fastest production vehicle ever! at least on the motorway

Sprinters are definately better than the tansits I have driven.

Once had a transit with a tank containing about 500 litres of water in the back. Cornering was fun and it took about 5 minutes for it to stop rocking backwards and forwards when I stopped.

[gadgetman]

Sprinters are ace. The mk1's you really just crunch the floor mounted gearstick and concentrated on the go lever and direction.

The Mk2/facelift with the stupid dash mounted stick left me with a sore wrist as if I was a 13yr old with his first glimps at the womens undie section in a freemans catalogue.

Speaking of which what was the name of the VW version? The current ones seem to have a different name.

[TeflonTom]

i must admit i dont like driving the vw LT vans, they give me terrible ache in my right ankle because the of the position of the throttle pedal

[gav_vrs]

i remember driving an iveco turbo daily and the gearbox was in upside down if i remember correctly

[Guest musky]

this cr*p applies to anyone pulling out in front of you without indicating and too slowly so you have to brake - whatever you are driving. In my experience it is more often than not some tw*t in a van, lorry or coach though, who know they are larger therefore can get away with it:thumbdwn:

[AlphaPapa]

We have a VW Transporter T5 2.5 130bhp DSG which really flies for a van, the 5 cylinder engine sounds aweseome at about 4000 rpm as well

We also have a Citroen Berlingo 1.6HDi which unfortunatley i normally end up in, its slow by most standards but its a hoot to drive, its like a go kart :P

I think the new VW sprinter type van is the Crafter, it looks awesome! Doubt its as fast as a sprinter though

[Neo_VR]

transits handle better... sprinters are much faster.

did they ever solve the "habit" of the sprinters cracking windscreens because of the amount of flex in the chassis? lol

[KenONeill]

I never had any problems keeping up with the traffic in a Transit! Problems with some **** underestimating how fast I was going yes...

[cheezemonkhai]

I've driven the last four generations of transits and none were as bad as you describe.

Yes the nice large v6 petrol one (oldest) went very nicely and the turbo dervs move pretty well too.

Sure the non turbo dervs were never rockets, but if you look ahead you'd never have any issues with getting up to speed.

Me thinks the transits you mention must have sub-povery spec engines.

[TeflonTom]

Me thinks the transits you mention must have sub-povery spec engines.

or overloaded:O

[dou91e]

i used to drive vans be4 i got into lorries and i could do ahhamm speeds in the spinter but on 'fun' b roads in the damp mornings all i got was the esp light always aflickering everytime you tried to get the back end going a bit frisky.Even turning it off was not 'turning it off' just dumbing it down a tad

pity cause it was a comfy van with all the toys and if i lay down on the seats my head just touched the passenger side door panel and my feet sat on the drivers side door panel lol.(i once slept for 4 hours and only the phone call for my boss woke me)

[skodayouth]

I used to drive vans on a regular basis. Mercedes Vito 118 even without a load is very difficult to get moving quickly, reckon it took in the region of 30 seconds to reach 60:rofl:. You just have to anticipate the slowness and adapt your driving style to suit, however it is nice once up and running on the motorway if you can keep your speed. Lane hogs e.tc become very frustrating as you have to spend so long building speed back up

Does anyone remember the accelerator pedals on the old school transit, cant rememer quite what they did, think they folded in (or out) when you reached the stop?