Luton vans for maintenance

Having driven 40K+ in various luton in under a year delivering furniture I can comment thus:

As you say, the extra height can be a right pain and I can't see it being all that useful, also due to their nature a lot of lutons are long wheel base, which makes them a pain to park in residential areas. Also you have to watch for people parking right behind you, so close that your tail lift won't go down - they do do it annnoyingly often!

Fuel consumption is generally worse than a panel van due to high wind resistance.

Racking on the inside would be a pain to install, unless its an older van and you plan to bolt straight through the walls, it is difficult to secure anything as the walls are only ply or fibreglass. The tie on rails ripped out of a brand new Sprinter within 2 months and the older one we got as a temporary replacement was even worse!

Also insurance can be more expensive (I know we found it was virtually impossible to insure anything in there overnight)

Also a lot of lutons out there secondhand are ex rental, or ex furniture removals and are about had it, we had one that we send back to the rental compay as it felt positively unsafe to drive (2006 Sprinter with 225K on the clock)

If you need a really big van, have you though about an Iveco Daily LWB with a ramp for the mowers? Just a thought.

Replies

Adam Pilgrim March 17, 2011 at 9:30am

Having driven 40K+ in various luton in under a year delivering furniture I can comment thus:

As you say, the extra height can be a right pain and I can't see it being all that useful, also due to their nature a lot of lutons are long wheel base, which makes them a pain to park in residential areas. Also you have to watch for people parking right behind you, so close that your tail lift won't go down - they do do it annnoyingly often!

Fuel consumption is generally worse than a panel van due to high wind resistance.

Racking on the inside would be a pain to install, unless its an older van and you plan to bolt straight through the walls, it is difficult to secure anything as the walls are only ply or fibreglass. The tie on rails ripped out of a brand new Sprinter within 2 months and the older one we got as a temporary replacement was even worse!

Also insurance can be more expensive (I know we found it was virtually impossible to insure anything in there overnight)

Also a lot of lutons out there secondhand are ex rental, or ex furniture removals and are about had it, we had one that we send back to the rental compay as it felt positively unsafe to drive (2006 Sprinter with 225K on the clock)

If you need a really big van, have you though about an Iveco Daily LWB with a ramp for the mowers? Just a thought.
Mic Watson March 17, 2011 at 9:54am

I have an Iveco Daily high roof MWB and its pleanty big enough , i dont think you would need anything as large as a luton apart from a tail lift for really heavy things i cant see any other benefits at all ..
Bespoke Lawncare March 17, 2011 at 9:58am

raising and lowering the tail lift every time I wanted somthing out the back, no thank you
Charles Langford March 17, 2011 at 10:40am

General consensus is a big no then. Probably explains why I don’t see many maintenance guys in Lutons. Has anyone ever fitted a tail lift on the inside of a panel van or does everyone just use skids?
AndyCharles-EnborneGardeningCo March 17, 2011 at 12:50pm

I agree with the no vote. My only thought is that a tail lift would be handy, but only if you also had a side door on the van for quick access to light stuff. Not sure the cost of a tail lift install would be worth it though, compared to ramps.
choughman March 17, 2011 at 10:30pm

in this vane, last time i bought a van i was very tempted by a combo sized van that was wheelchair converted. Thought the inbuilt ramp would be perfect. plus- previous owner unlikely to have hammered it!

Luton= awful MPG and down here in cornwall wouldn't fare well on the country lanes!!
Mic Watson March 17, 2011 at 11:30pm

Takes a couple of seconds to shove a mower up a ramp , a tail lift takes ages , as said above perhaps a tail lift for really heavy stuff but i wouldnt use one for anything i could push up a couple of planks ..!
Benjamin O'Neill June 5, 2013 at 6:52pm

i have been looking into a drop down steel mesh gate that can be used as a ramp for my mowers any thoughts ?
Andrew Knight June 5, 2013 at 7:13pm

Tail lifts are ok, just look at them as a big step when 1/2 way up
Richard Boyd June 6, 2013 at 1:49am

For what you guys do no. Brilliant for what we do, although we hit other problems not big enough...but as you don't need a tachco...we can pull 24 hour days...and not worry, which for events is a major plus.