Best Car For Woodworkers?

[custard]

What vehicle (estate car or 4x4) can carry the longest board?

Most of the statistics quote volume, which is great for bouncy castle operators, but I'm interested in buying boards and selling cabinets, desks, and chairs!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Buy a decent trailer.

 

[deema]

The E Class Merc before the latest one they have brought out. It's got the biggest, widest deepest tallest load bay of any estate car I believe. I got my first work bench in the back of mine when I had one. Go for the 2.5L Diesel auto, it's also got rear air suspension. Fabulous car. I did 120K miles on two sets of tires and nothing else. I now have a 5 series estate which is pants for load space in comparison. The new Merc cabin I felt was awful.

 

[NickWelford]

Citroen c5 estate has loads of room

 

[marcros]

the discovery 3 is very good for cabinets and general load carrying. Boards however are not so good- roof rack or trailer would be useful here. This is partly due to the electric front seat which can only tilt forward a few degrees, rather than the old fashioned manual type that could tilt a long way forward or back.

 

[Mark A]

A van?

 

[Lons]

A van?

+1
I have a VW transporter LWB which carries just about anything. Otherwise buy a trailer and good tarpaulin.

cheers
Bob

 

[mseries]

I hired a Skoda Yeti a few months ago, the rear seats are removable and by folding the front passenger seat forward I was able to get 8' x 2' boards in. Not sure it's the best but it worked for me. I had booked a class D car, Astra or something but they supplied this class F Yeti. It was perfect for what I wanted, picking up supplies of timber and a couple of tip runs with rubbish. Vans are not permitted at the tip.

 

[John15]

The VW Passat Estate is very roomy. I can easily get 2m lengths in and for the odd piece up to 2.4m between the front seats.

John

 

[flh801978]

Mercedes e class I regulary have 3 metre lengths in can put a 4x8 ft board in with tailgate tied and I've put 400kg machines in the back

 

[gasman]

Ive got an old 5 series BMW touring (E61 chassis) and you can fold the front passenger seat flat and the rear sets forward so that you can put 12 foot lengths of timber into the passenger well. Also its got a small glass door in the boot which allows timber to stick out of the boot as well. I looked long and hard at lots of cars before getting it for this very reason

 

[Penny]

A mk3 Ford Galaxy is an excellent load lugger. The only reason I don't have one anymore is because the Ford automatic transmission is rubbish. My 2012 Nissan X-Trail Is fabulous for load space, and a trailer for the things that you don't want inside.

 

[sammy.se]

It's a bit old now, and they've discontinued it, but I used to have a Citroen Synergie (same car as the Fiat Ulysse, and Puegeot 806) was a people carrier where all but the front seat can be cleanly removed, turning it into a flat bed van. In fact, that same model was available as a van.

Electrics left a bit to be desired, but I had the 2.0 HDI engine and it was excellent.

My relative is a kitchen fitter and he had a Chrysler Voyager people carrier, with the 'STOW and GO' feature - which was downright genius! The seats fold down into the floor, flush, and I mean right under the car - and gives you flat bed van storage space just by pushing a button on a seat. It's an american car design with an american engine so MPG isn't that good.

 

[JakeS]

A van?

I rented a LWB Sprinter recently specifically for carrying boards and sheets - which was much more economical than either buying a van and driving it to work and back every day or buying a van as well as my regular commuting car and motorcycle!

(It was also much nicer to drive than I remember vans being in the past - it seems like they've finally invented power steering for commercial vehicles! ;-)

 

[Mark A]

(It was also much nicer to drive than I remember vans being in the past - it seems like they've finally invented power steering for commercial vehicles! ;-)

I prefer my Vauxhall Vivaro to my car - it's infinitely more practical, the high driving position provides much greater visibility and it has no problem keeping up with motorway traffic. And it was cheap - less than £10k new but pre-registered.

 

[DiscoStu]

Well I'd say a discovery 3 or 4 would be hard to beat. Especially with a rack on it. I have a D3 with an expedition rack on it and I don't think much would beat that without getting into mid to big van territory. A Nissan patrol might be longer.

 

[memzey]

What about a pickup like the Nissan Navara or whatever it's called?

 

[Lons]

A van?

(It was also much nicer to drive than I remember vans being in the past - it seems like they've finally invented power steering for commercial vehicles! ;-)

Must be a long time ago. My last 3 vans over 12 years have all had power steering and car like driveability. ( 2 x VW Transporters & a Renault Trafic )

Vans are not permitted at the tip.

Are you sure about that?
Most local authorities will supply you with free permits for your van as long as it's your own rubbish and not commercial. You have to apply and give the reg number and rough description of what you're dumping.

cheers
Bob

 

[Tortion-Stephen]

+1 for the Older E-Class and E61 5 series. Nowadays I have an L322 Range Rover and use a trailer for sheet goods

 

[mseries]

Vans are not permitted at the tip.

Are you sure about that?
Most local authorities will supply you with free permits for your van as long as it's your own rubbish and not commercial. You have to apply and give the reg number and rough description of what you're dumping.

cheers
Bob

Yes, permits are possible for small vans, trailers etc. Just checked the city council website and one can even get them for temporary hire vehicles so that's something I could do next time.