Van recommendations

[whitestone]

It took me a month or two after getting the van before I wasn't quite so "enthusiastic" with the right foot

Most roads round here outside villages are NSL, some probably shouldn't be but it's often the main routes that have "random" limits here and there.

[lune ranger]

The whole different speed limit thing is completely new to me. The way a lot of vans are driven certainly makes it hard to tell

[Misterg]

The chances of getting it re-classified seem to be slim to none at the moment, everything comes back as "van with windows". The only affect this will have is van speed limits, motor caravan limits are the same as a car.

I've looked into this quite a bit. The statement above is 100% correct, however the definition of a motor caravan with respect to speed limits is written into law, and *doesn't* depend on what the DVLA think or what the body type is on the V5. (Hence their statement that it doesn't affect speed limits.)

Speed limit law is in the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, Part VI.

The lower speed limits for "particular classes of vehicles" is section 86, and they are listed in Schedule 6 of the act. Schedule 6 in turn refers to Regulation 2(1) of the "Motor Vehicles (Type Approval) (Great Britain) Regulations 1979" for a definition of "Motor Caravan" which it specifies as

"motor caravan" means a motor vehicle which is constructed or adapted for the carriage of passengers and their effects and which contains, as permanently installed equipment, the facilities which are reasonably necessary for enabling the vehicle to provide mobile living accommodation for its users;"

Note: Nothing about graphics, windows, awnings, etc.

The snag is that ANPR cameras are likely to be programmed to use the DVLA body type to determine whether something is a van or a motor caravan when generating speeding tickets. This is not based on the legal definition above, so there is the possibility that a 'van with windows' which answers the legal description of a 'motor caravan' will wrongly flag up as speeding if detected exceeding the van speed limit. I am not one to condone speeding, or look for loop-holes, but in this case, I think there are strong grounds for disputing such tickets - the problem is that the DVLA are making rules up as they go along.

(NB the car speed limits only apply if the van is <3050kg unladen weight - i.e. almost all panel vans.)

There doesn't seem to be any problems with insurance, whether reclassified by the DVLA or not.

It's still worth applying to the DVLA if you've converted a van, as there's a legal duty to notify them of changes. If it comes back as 'van with windows' at least you've done your bit.

(Happily, I got our van reclassified before the latest DVLA silliness.)

Edit to add: IANAL!

[arkay]

On the subject of Ducatos, these chaps had one of their vans on display at Ard Rock the other week: https://www.leosv.co.uk/kinder

Looked very swish and only £54,545 for the display model

[boxelder]

More speed limit related stuff here: https://www.jerbacampervans.co.uk/campe ... ts-update/
EDIT: as per misterg post above.
Basically, if you convert your van with seats/bed, water, cooker and cupboards, you can challenge the reduced speed limits using......
"the definition of a motorcaravan as given in those 1979 Type Approval Regulations, which reads – a motor vehicle which is constructed or adapted for the carriage of passengers and their effects and which contains, as permanently installed equipment, the facilities which are reasonably necessary for enabling the vehicle to provide mobile living accommodation for its users."
Doesn't cover 'kombi' type vans obviously.

[yourguitarhero]

Here's my Leyland DAF van:


It is physically incapable of breaking the national speed limit!

[boxelder]

Are those net curtains available with a big VW logo on? That is a keeper

[yourguitarhero]

Weirdly, the net curtains actually work really well for semi-privacy...

[Lazarus]

It is physically incapable of breaking the national speed limit!

You just need a bigger hill

[johnnystorm]

Doesn't cover 'kombi' type vans obviously.

For Kombis:

https://www.bigvanworld.co.uk/blog/spee ... -vehicles/#

There are exceptions to the basic rule for van speed limits: car-derived vans and dual-purpose vehicles. The speed limits for these commercial vehicles are the same as cars.

Built-up areas: 30mph
Single carriageway: 60mph
Dual carriageway: 70mph
Motorway: 70mph

For what constitutes a DPV:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... e-vehicles

A dual purpose vehicle is a vehicle constructed or adapted for the carriage both of passengers and of goods and designed to weigh no more than 2,040 kg when unladen, and is...

(Snipped out irrelevant bit)

...permanently fitted with a rigid roof, at least one row of transverse passenger seats to the rear of the driver’s seat and will have side and rear windows - there must also be a minimum ratio between the size of passenger and stowage areas

[Piemonster]

I always think when I see a VW van - "to all viewers, this van is full of expensive outdoor gear, please break in and nick it"
Whereas a slight beat up Ducato (for example) is more likely to be over looked...

I think similar things with any generic white van, but swap “outdoor gear” for “work tools” which quite often will have a greater value.

[Piemonster]

Weirdly, the net curtains actually work really well for semi-privacy...

Best way really, keeping your semi private….

[kvragu]

I don't hang here that much, so I missed this thread when it was active, but maybe I can get someone's ear.?

I've been wanting to buy and convert a van to live from for a long time now, but I'm a student, and I don't have much money. Can this be done for under £3k? Please don't crush my dreams.