turbotoaster

Hi guys,

I was wondering if you could help me.

I work for a company that custom builds minibuses, anything from lightweight school one to wheelchair access, taxis, campers and everything in between.

Being the trackday lover that I am and being only 29 I know the problems that comes down to towing a vehicle.

Mainly due to not going over 3.5ton and trying to get a towcar, a trailer and the vehicle under that weight.

Now after doing some thinking im currently designing a race van that will allow a single car to be transported inside along with tools and a place to sleep and eat, based on using a van with a GVW of 3.5T.


This has multiple benefits that I can see by getting rid of the trailer.

Meaning you now have one less thing to store and try and protect from being stolen.

You will have less chance of VOSA potentially pulling you over to check your weight, as unless you have the vehicle signwritten, its not obvious what you are carrying.

You have a secure storage area for your vehicle when your travelling or stopping anywhere, keeping dirt and dust out if its an open top and stops potential thieves knowing what your carrying, that also applies to all your jacks,wheels and tools aswell.

You have a set of sleeping quarters if its a race weekend and somewhere to have meals if we are having our traditional english weather.

A final useful feature is the speed limits for towing, which dont apply to this vehicle so travelling across the country/europe will be faster, meaning you will have more time at the track.

In terms of size it will only be for vehicles that have a maximum dimensions of 1750mm x around 3700mm(will confirm that second bit) and weigh no more than 1200kg

Im running a lotus s1 exige and it will just fit, but things like kitcars, older hot hatches and single seater will have loads of room.


What im wondering is, is there a market for these? seems to me it would solve alot of problems people are having and you can use it everyday if you need a van for day to day use so its not going to sit around for 50 weeks of the year.

If anyone has any input aswell I would be most grateful.

oriurbo

sounds good to be but for many people i would imagine will all depend on the price ?
And as you say getting the weights right

DazC

iTrader: (1)

What chassis are you thinking of using?

I think Sprinters and Crafters are out of the question as they are already a heavy van before you start mounting anything on them.

Don't know if it helps but my S1 is 1.9M across it's door mirrors give or take a CM or 2.

turbotoaster

Well basically the conversion will cost X amount no matter what age of vehicle I use, I basically adjust the final price by the age and mileage of the base vehicle.

But from 2007-2013 would be what im working from.

L4H2 boxer/relay/ducato, out of all the vehicles we convert daily they are the lightests and have the widest floorplan, plus they are pretty well priced, hence 90% of our builds are them.


You couldnt really go wider than 1750mm as the internal width is 1800mm, anything bigger than that and we would be looking at box vans and then they get rather heavy

You would need to look at wing mirrors and either have them fold up or removable.

I cant find any van wider than would work in this application, because the heavier the van is, the lighter your vehicle needs to be