Car trouble

P

Philip Inzani

Guest
Not sure if anyone else out there has been in this predicament…I am about to change car
And I am leaning very heavily towards getting a small van rather than a “normal” car. For years I have used a variety of different cars some great for fishing, some not so great….my first was a Mini 850….imagine that when your 6 foot 4 and attempting to carry enough stuff for an assault on Everest!
The main issue for me is that in none of them can I hide made up rods out of sight. This is a real pain as if I want to say walk round a venue before fishing as I have to hump everything with me for fear of someone breaking in. On paper a Van sounds ideal plus I can even get a bed chair in it. Trouble is I just cannot get my head round the fact that it’s a Van! All my non fishing mates think I am insane….what do you think, is it taking a hobby too far ?
 
S

Shrek

Guest
A friend of mine bought a Transit van and a conversion kit of sorts to make it into a people carrier. This might be an option worth considering.
 
R

Rob Brownfield

Guest
Word of warning, most vans (not all) have pretty crap security. Having had a mates Transit van broken into twice whilst we were "walking around the lake", i feel that a van is a bad idea. It almost says "I have stuff worth nicking inside".

A Volvo estate takes a lot of beating. u can get a cover for the back that covers right up to the front seats, and the security is spot on. Alarms etc..no probs!....

just a personnel thought..
 
G

Gerry Castles

Guest
I'll second the Volvo Estate and I'm on my third. Takes 9 foot rods made up, as much junk as you could ever wish to carry, is as comfortable as anything else I've driven and if you stick to a 4 pot, is not expensive to run. I'm currently looking for number four, a decent 850 T5R, does all the above at 155mph (or so I'm told)
 
C

Carp Angler

Guest
Vans are definitely better than cars.
No seats to cover in slime and muck after a wet session.
Plus you don't get roped into carrying passengers anywhere.
 
J

John Pleasance

Guest
Security wise if you decide to go for a van make sure you have a grille on the rear window,one common way used to gain entry is to run a Stanley knife around the rubbers on the rear window.I have a grille behind the seats as well,with a 100mm hole for rods to go through.
 
J

john conway

Guest
When my horses went I thought long and hard about keeping my 4x4, image and all that, but common sense ruled in the end and I bought a second hand British Telecom Ford Escort Diesel van straight from the dealer who gets them off the BT. Mine was three year old and only had 34,000 on the clock. BT vans have generally only had one driver post office vans several. Grill behind the seats and one hell of a security lock and van key is chipped, no way of hot-wiring it. Be warn though, if the back door slams to when you are inside, that’s it you can’t get out. I’m getting 50 to 55 mph where as the 4x4 it was 25 mph. However, no windows in the back doors so if you are not comfortable about using only your wing mirrors this may be a problem? Our lass wont drive my van because of that, but it may also be the fish and bait leftovers etc that put her off, plus her mate’s would pull her leg if she turned up at work in the van.
 
D

Dave Feeney

Guest
Phil, I got myself an ex-British telecom 55 escort diesal van and never looked back, it came with a rack system ( buy the boxes from B and Q) in the back and I'm able to store loads of spare gear, ground bait etc in these boxes, can even sleep in the back if need be.
As for security it came with a steel cage that separates the driving area from the back, and some vans come with top of the range locks on all doors, my van has solid back doors as well, must be because of all the expensive phone gear they carry!! One consideration is how often do you go fishing and can you make full use of a van as your sole piece of transport??
Lastly it's slightly more expensive on the insurance ( don't know why!!!! )
 
R

Richard Barrell

Guest
I would suggest any estate car of any of the following makes:
Ford Escort,Vauxhall Astra,or a Volvo. For just carrying tackle & a friend. But If you want to be able to convert, why not try to get a hold of an ambulance
 
F

Frank Curtis

Guest
I've hired a few vans over the past couple of years and the best had to be the Astravan 1.7td. It's as comfortable as a car and the engine is smooth and reasonably quiet.
But the main advantage is that like the Astra car it has deadbolt door locking including the rear door which is the lift-up type.
John's advice regarding the fitting of grilles makes sense.
 
M

Mike Parker

Guest
I use a Volvo estate (it comes complete with flat cap and pipe). The 'rubbish' you can get in it has to be seen to be believed' it can take the best part of a day to clean it out. However, to take care of the beady eyes of thieving little gits I purchased a long roof box (people think I'm a skier) all the rods and tackle that I don't take to the bank get put out of site. As an added security measure I put round one of the alarmed cables.
In the words of that chap on Talksport, Sorted!!!

Gerry, I had a T5R the most awesome 'proper' car I have driven. The only problem being is that you need to be a lottery winner to run one!
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

Managing Editor
Joined
Feb 23, 1999
Messages
9,773
Reaction score
1
If it has to be a car rather than a van, and you want a modern one, then the Ford Focus Estate wants some beating. Several of my fishing mates have bought one. Loads of room for two angler's tackle and, equally important, high off the ground. I can get down some farm tracks in mine that my previous Ford Mondeo estate wouldn't look at.
 
T

Terry Mann

Guest
Graham,
Like Phil I,m looking around for a new car but mine has got to have the ability to carry five people at times. I,ve looked at the Focus estates and must admit they look good value for money,have you gone for the diesel version ?

I,ve had a Peugeot 405 D estate for many years, 0 to 60 in half an hour but it has been great fishing car,but the new 406 estates look too low for some of the tracks I use.
 
P

Paul Williams

Guest
Van for me!......bed on the one side tackle on the other and i can leave home, even have a little telly for it, as far as security goe's they are all easy to get in!!
I suppose i'm lucky though, in as much as the missus has the "clean" car if the family want an outing.
 
GrahamM

GrahamM

Managing Editor
Joined
Feb 23, 1999
Messages
9,773
Reaction score
1
The ideal is obviously a van for fishing and a car for family outings but when you're poor like me you can only afford one or the other.

Terry, no, I've got a petrol version, but Gary Knowles and his pal Steve Plant (Gay Emblem) have got diesel Focus's and they're excellent. No doubt they'll tell you when they come on line.
 
W

Wendy Perry

Guest
i am thinking of getting a van as well as the car there isn't enough room in my car to swing a cat and it's not a hatch back so i struggle with everything in there a friend of mine is selling a nissan praire so i think i will be going for that they are massive inside ;)
 
M

Mark Frame

Guest
at the minute i have a van with a raised floor by 8" and i can store my rods underneath this helped when my van was broken into and I had my tools and drills nicked they didnt think the raised floor had any thing to do with it the van is a citreon dispatch ugly to look at mind
 
C

Carp Angler

Guest
Is the plural of Focus, Focii?

I'm lucky that I'm an overpaid IT bloke, so I've got a van just for fishing.
You can buy old Escort diesel vans for about ?500, cheap enough to avoid all the hassle involved with cacking up the family motor.
 
J

Jon Moores

Guest
Graham's hit the nail on the head, one of the most important factors is ground clearance. I'm looking to change our estate car (Sierra) and would be very interested if anyone has information on comparitive ground clearance for similar sized estates.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top