Car Suggestions - Pipe Carriers, Ladders

[DefyG]

Remember many years ago a plumber turned up on a job in an old car and the site agent implied he may as well brought his horse and wore a stetson.
Made me wonder what image is portrayed when a tradesman turns up in the family car.
Mind you, seen loads since so I guess it doesn't really matter if you turn up on a bike as long as the job is done well?

 

[brianmoooore]

Conversely, one of the worst cowboys I know of in my area owned an immaculate sign written van, never over two years old. Book.......cover?

 

[brianmoooore]

my van is 3500kg if fully loaded. it has a warning sticker saying a tacho may be required with a trailer.

..........unless covered by an exemption such as transporting tools & materials I am personally using up to 60 miles from base).

My matching car and trailer were classic Minis, so you'd struggle to get anywhere near 3.5 tonne, unless loaded with concrete blocks or similar.
The car I used for the majority of my career had an unladen weight of 1300kg, so again, I would have to be carrying building materials, rather than electrical or plumbing stuff to get anywhere near the limit. 3500kg all up would have also exceeded the towing limit of the car as well, not that I worried too much about tht detail.
These cars have always been stripped out to just the driver's seat, and a large flat load area fitted where the rear seats should be.
The car I've used in recent years (BMW 5 series touring) is not stripped out, but has a massive load space anyway. It has an unladen weight of 1700kg and a towing limit of 2200kg, so easy to go over 3500kg with that, but my licence is pre '97, so 8250kg limit anyway.

 

[UNG]

The car I've used in recent years (BMW 5 series touring) is not stripped out, but has a massive load space anyway. It has an unladen weight of 1700kg and a towing limit of 2200kg, so easy to go over 3500kg with that, but my licence is pre '97, so 8250kg limit anyway.

And over 3500kg you would need a tachograph fitted when used for business

 

[brianmoooore]

(unless covered by an exemption such as transporting tools & materials I am personally using up to 60 miles from base).

This covers 99.9% of my activities.

 

[DJAndy]

This covers 99.9% of my activities.

Mine too. Used to be a bit awkward occasionally when I towed with a car before they doubled it from 50km to 100km, but now I can get my kit for most jobs in the truck I don't care so much.

What I do care about is the derv bill, that's not so clever.

 

[brianmoooore]

What I do care about is the derv bill, that's not so clever.

That's the other advantage of using a car instead of a van. I don't have to get involved with that filthy diesel muck.
All my car's run on the only truly green fuel. LPG.

 

[Eric12]

The Dacia Sandero might be a cheap petrol option

 

[brianmoooore]

Dacia have just introduced some LPG powered models into their range. No idea if it includes the Sandeep.

 

[UNG]

All my car's run on the only truly green fuel. LPG.

And where does LPG come from that makes it green, ISTR that LPG was introduced and used as a cheaper alternative to petrol in large engined vehicles
Hydrogen is the only really green fuel the problem is in some methods of it's production that are not so green

 

[brianmoooore]

LPG is produced as one of the products from refining crude oil. The amount inevitably produced far exceeds its demand, so the excess is flared off.
The exhaust of my cars consists mostly of water and CO2 (I can work in my unventilated workshop with the engine running with no danger of harm).
If the CO2 wasn't coming from my exhaust, as a result of me consuming some of this excess product, then the same amount of CO2 would be coming from a flare stack somewhere.
My car qualifies in the lowest pollution category of the French Crit'aire scheme (1), apart from that awarded to pure electric vehicles (0).

 

[UNG]

LPG is produced as one of the products from refining crude oil. The amount inevitably produced far exceeds its demand, so the excess is flared off.
The exhaust of my cars consists mostly of water and CO2 (I can work in my unventilated workshop with the engine running with no danger of harm).
If the CO2 wasn't coming from my exhaust, as a result of me consuming some of this excess product, then the same amount of CO2 would be coming from a flare stack somewhere.
My car qualifies in the lowest pollution category of the French Crit'aire scheme (1), apart from that awarded to pure electric vehicles (0).

So it produces a gas whose emission levels we are trying to reduce in order to be green, just shows how stupid the French are when it comes to pollution

With regard to working in an unventilated workshop with the engine running it will deplete the ambient oxygen levels which would result in an incomplete burn and LPG does produce carbon monoxide which can kill

 

[brianmoooore]

Once the oil is out of the ground, to keep all your petrol and derv vehicles going, the CO2 from the LPG fraction will be going into the atmosphere regardless, whether it is from the top of a flare stack, or from my tail pipe.
My workshop is about 1000 cubic metres, and is far from hermitically sealed. Plenty of oxygen for me ans a whole tank of LPG.
It's not just the French, BTW. I could apply for a similar exemption certificate in many European countries. AFAIK, it's only the UK that won't.

 

[vwes59]

Gone with a 2006 Honda CR-V, 95k miles, 12 Months MOT, no advisories, fully serviced at a knats over £3k. One of the last to have a side opening rear door. I'll retrofit roof rails later.

 

[pc1966]

Jeep Cherokee 4L straight 6 petrol. sod the climate.

Sod the fuel bill as well!