What 3.5 tonne van can carry the most weight?

Question

hello

After many many hours trying to find my ideal solution, i have drawn a bit of a blank.

I have a quite particular requirement for a van purchase

1. the van needs to be under 5metres in length becuase i travel via ferry to the scottish islands a lot, anything over 5 meter's is placed in at commercial rates which costs about 3 times as much .

for example a car or van under 5 meter costs 70 pounds with a van at 5,5 metres the cost is 198 pounds, as i travel this journey every couple weeks this is very very essential.

2. the van needs to be able to have the biggest payload possible, what i carry is heavy, and the more weight i can carry the better it is for me.

3. i want a van that has a very good mpg, or even a lpg fueled one would do, im trying to keep costs to a minimum.

if you know what would be the best please help me out.

many thx

Answer 1

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Depending on your budget there are several options.
The 190 mwb shr transit with no ply lining use to carry 1.5 tons.
For more money the mwb (3m) sprinter will carry 1.6 tons
Both vans are around the 5m mark.
Removing the bulk head and wood flooring and panels will save you around 100kgs on most vans.
I would look for the sprinter they tend to be more economical than ford however you will more likely find an ex fleet delivery van made by ford with an lpg conversion.
It is possible to get shorter wheel base vans such as 2m load lenght sprinters but they tend to be only 2.8 ton gvw.
Vauxhall/renault and nissan all do a variant of a small van.
The swb vivaro will carry 1t and the lwb will carry 1.2ts both are less than 5 metres.
Finally the ford connect van is very short and i believe they make 1 with 2.8 gvw which will carry at least 1.2ts.
Is it worth opening an account with the ferry company as they often give discounts for regular travellers?
As a thought,you obviously earn more money the more you carry and if you are going to incurre extra charges for longer vehicles,I use a Vauxhall vivaro with a trailer which comes in at 7 meters however i can put 1 ton in the van and 600kgs on the trailer.
The van has a gross weight of 2.7 tons and the trailer 750kgs.
The combined weight is 3450kgs with a1.6t legal payload.
I have weighed both the van and trailer to make sure this is correct and you do not need a tacho to use this combination commercially.
Just a thought,hope it helps.

Answer 2

you would be better with a car which you can fold down the seats flat, the new Grand C4 Picasso thing or the Citroen C8.
a Ford Transit Connect probably or the new Expert from Peugeot....

Transit SWB is only 4863mm in length, go for a Diesel

Answer 3

Hi,

A 3.5 tonne van of any make or description is designed and licenced for carrying 3.5 tonnes. Not one ounce more!

To do so, especially if you are doing it continually, would render you likely to fall foul of either the police or the Customs and Excise people neither of whom would be very pleased to find your vehicle overweight.

As a 3.5 tonne van also falls on the licensing limit for weight/licence, so you may find yourself unlicenced. (If the total weight exceeds the -I think, from memory- 7 tonne 'all up' weight limit) As I'm sure you know anything heavier than a 3.5 tonne needs a heavy goods vehicle licence according to the type of vehicle used. Driving overweight and/or unlicenced will be expensive and far more likely to make you lose money than it would be to gain it by illegal overloading.

I would advise you to seek an economical van (probably diesel is best) The load carrying will be the same for all. Then you can take advantage of the extra economy and LEGALLY save money, rather than to set out along an already illegal path which is destined to end in failure.

Sorry, but that's how the law stands...

Luton style vans, with high roof heights are probably favourite for getting the lengths down, though they are not normally as economical with all the extra wind resistance generated by the high front. I believe the Renault Traffic comes in under 5 metres, though I am not absolutely sure. (I had a Master, which was over 5 Metres and therefore liable to all the extra charges)

Cheers and good luck,

BobSpain

Answer 4

a boat would be better for smuggling drugs.























just a joke, no offence meant.