Vans as bike transporters in Thailand

[KTMphil]

There is seems to be a growing trend of serious riders switching from pickups to vans. There are 3 main reasons:



1. With a pickup, if you park leaving it UN-attended, you have to transfer all your gear in back of the pickup into the cab, not so with a van.

2. With a Van, everything is out of site of opportunists & can't be touched

3. With a Van everything stays dry.


With the back seats removed you can easily get 2 bikes and all your gear inside, there's even space above the bikes in the rear for 2 fold-down beds.


Vans/ mini-buses are work horses full-stop. This means buying second hand/ used in Asia can be risky, you don't want to be buying someone else's problem (why are they selling their cash cow?).


New Vans, top of the pile in Thailand, is the Toyota Commuter 2.5 liter turbo diesel retailing at 1.15 million bht.





Details:

http://www.toyota.co.th/en/product.php?model=commuter


Specifications:



http://www.toyota.co.th/en/product-detail.php?model=commuter&opt=spec

 

[KTMphil]

The Hyundai H-1 Touring 2.5 liter, 1.1 million bht


Hyundai Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

 

[KTMphil]

The Hyundai Starex looks too fancy as a bike transporter, price starts at 1.9 million baht

Hyundai Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd.


Hyundai Motor (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

 

[Brian66]

I have to agree about the van option but I am biased as I have been using a van for 4 years now.

I have a Toyota Vigo but for all the reason posted above I sought out a van and I am very happy with every aspect of using a Van compared to the pickup.

I purchased a VW Caravelle van in 2008. This Van is in the luxury end of the van market. I choose the VW because of the length. I was able to fit two CBR 1000 RR and still retain the two bucket seats in the front of the rear section. I only did this configuration in Thailand as I drive this Van to to Singapore and transport my racing Blade to Sepang a Pasir Gudang.

To protect my carpets and also to eliminate any tie down shackles I designed my own aluminium platforms and contacted my friend in Australia, Murray Sharp from Sharp Racing products who built them to my design and dimensions. Luckily everything fitted perfectly

The platforms are fitted with see saw front wheel retainer. This eliminates any tie downs on the front of the bike. I purchased the over tyre type tie down for the rear wheel and the eye bolts that this attaches to are part of the platforms. I split the platforms equally in two so that they can be lifted easily in and out of the van which results in the whole package being fitted by one person.

I have dirt bikes also and these bikes can just fit in in terms of height to the handle bars. There is lots of room forward and back, just the height of dirt bikes is a minor issue.

 

[LivinLOS]

Nice setup.. Like I said to Phil, saw a Merc van going into auction soon for a very appealing (in Thai terms) price..

 

[KTMphil]

Very nice set up Brian. Well thought out.

 

[johnnysneds]

I seriously considered the Toyota Commuter but decided against it due it's lack of offroad ability. If you plan to take a couple of dirt bikes to the back of beyonder a 4x4 pickup is ideal. However a setup like Brian's is also very cool, just limited as to where you can go imo.

 

[KTMphil]

Brian - Any idea how much this VW van is in Thailand?

I have to agree about the van option but I am biased as I have been using a van for 4 years now.

I have a Toyota Vigo but for all the reason posted above I sought out a van and I am very happy with every aspect of using a Van compared to the pickup.

I purchased a VW Caravelle van in 2008. This Van is in the luxury end of the van market. I choose the VW because of the length. I was able to fit two CBR 1000 RR and still retain the two bucket seats in the front of the rear section. I only did this configuration in Thailand as I drive this Van to to Singapore and transport my racing Blade to Sepang a Pasir Gudang.

To protect my carpets and also to eliminate any tie down shackles I designed my own aluminium platforms and contacted my friend in Australia, Murray Sharp from Sharp Racing products who built them to my design and dimensions. Luckily everything fitted perfectly

The platforms are fitted with see saw front wheel retainer. This eliminates any tie downs on the front of the bike. I purchased the over tyre type tie down for the rear wheel and the eye bolts that this attaches to are part of the platforms. I split the platforms equally in two so that they can be lifted easily in and out of the van which results in the whole package being fitted by one person.

I have dirt bikes also and these bikes can just fit in in terms of height to the handle bars. There is lots of room forward and back, just the height of dirt bikes is a minor issue.

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[Brian66]

Phil, The VW is a fully imported vehicle so you get hit by the huge taxes that Thailand unfairly adds to Vehicle that have large cc motors and that are not assembled in Thailand. Same situation with our bikes!!
The top of the range Caravelle is around 3.4 million Baht. The cheapest is about 2.6 Million. Because the vehicle is considered a luxury Van, most are used to carry business people or politicians around. The current Thai PM uses one.
That means the VW is not your usual run of the mill commuter van that has been used until it is dead!!! In most cases they are serviced properly by VW so second hand examples are in good condition.
I have seen a number of used Caravelle's around ranging from 500,000 to 2 million Baht.
Mine is a 3.2 liter petrol and is thirsty (7 Kilometers per liter) if you push it over 120 KPH. From 2009 on the Vans were fitted with a 2 liter diesel with a 7 speed Auto gear box and these get up to 13 kilometers per liter so they are quiet good in terms of fuel but as you would expect from a 2 liter motor, the power is not exhilarating
I actually searched Thailand for an Iveco as these have a very high roof and are even longer than my VW however, none were to be found. I looked for a Ford transit also but same result.
My Van has proved to be an excellent all round vehicle, as it only takes me 5 minutes to remove the bike platforms and install the single bench seat in the rear and I have a large comfortable van for family trips.
The only limitations are front wheel drive and low ground clearance so you can't take it off reasonably smooth roads.

 

[LivinLOS]

http://goo.gl/sNW2o

c34 halfway down the page.. Cant seem to link to it only..


01 Merc Vito 2.3 with a starting bid of 380..

EDIT :: Link gets mangled for some reason.. shortened it.

 

[KTMphil]

Is that 380,000 bht number the finance companies reserve price?

http://goo.gl/sNW2o

c34 halfway down the page.. Cant seem to link to it only..


01 Merc Vito 2.3 with a starting bid of 380..

EDIT :: Link gets mangled for some reason.. shortened it.

 

[LivinLOS]

Yeah starting bid.. They seem to operate that way with union and tisco, not seen anything go under the hammer and not get sold, seems they 'start' from a reserve..

Usually dont run up too far either.. 10 or 20% maybe but not lots..

Theres 7% sales tax to figure in too..

 

[KTMphil]

Would be interesting to have a RideAsia auction evening in Chinag Mai, any idea the date and time of the next auction in Chiang Mai?

Yeah starting bid.. They seem to operate that way with union and tisco, not seen anything go under the hammer and not get sold, seems they 'start' from a reserve..

Usually dont run up too far either.. 10 or 20% maybe but not lots..

Theres 7% sales tax to figure in too..

 

[LivinLOS]

Union will have one Friday, and next week..

13 July 2012 Chiang Mai @ Big C Cars+Motorbike
18 July 2012 Chiang Mai @ Big C Cars
20 July 2012 Pitsanulok @ Big C Motorbike
23 July 2012 Chiang Mai @ Big C Cars​

 

[KTMphil]

[h=1]2014 Volkswagen Microbus Rendered [/h]









Remember the Microbus concept Volkswagen brought to the Detroit auto show in 2001? Styled under the direction of former VW design chief Hartmut WarkuY and a pet project of erstwhile VW CEO Ferdinand Piëch, it fell out of favor when Bernd Pischetsrieder took over as CEO and installed his own design head. Although the van had moved close to production—VW even had a plant in mind to build it—its lines did not fit former Peugeot and Mercedes designer Murat Günak's styling language, and the project was cancelled in 2006.
Piëch must have made a mental note, because now the Microbus is back, on the front-wheel-drive platform of the Touran, a Golf-derived compact minivan not sold in the U.S. The retro-futuristic van likely will be just slightly smaller than the original concept, but look nearly identical. It will be unveiled in 2013, and production is expected to start in 2014.
Motivation for the new Microbus will come from several engines in VW’s parts bin, including four-cylinder gas and turbo-diesels. Power will be channeled to the front wheels through a manual transmission or VW's six- or seven-speed dual-clutch gearboxes. All-wheel drive is a possibility, and VW might build a range-extended EV version in the style of the Chevrolet Volt.
U.S. sales are almost a certainty. The New Beetle had its greatest successes here, and the old "Lovebus"—which you can still buy new in Brazil as the Kombi—is still fondly remembered. Production of the Microbus will coincide with the launch of another new, bigger van, a replacement for the Chrysler-supplied Routan to be built in Tennessee on VW's own platform. It just goes to show that, in its race for world domination, VW will be paying equal attention to mainstream and niche. For that, we are grateful. View Photo Gallery



Car and Driver

 

[BWG950S]

Phil...Do you think your 990 would fit in the back of a Toyota Commuter without much trouble?

 

[BWG950S]

I was attempting to stick my bike in the back of a Ford Aerostar one time. Needed the head room plus be able to role the bike. Never did try to put it in the van since I did not have to go where I was intending to go.

 

[KTMphil]

I think you'd get two 990 s in a toyota commuter no problem

Phil...Do you think your 990


would fit in the back of a Toyota Commuter without much trouble?

 

[BWG950S]

I think you'd get two 990 s in a toyota commuter no problem

That is impressive. I think I will be looking into one of these when I get back to Thailand at the end of this year instead of a pickup.

 

[VietHorse]

Love to do so with my Ford Escape. But it seems too small for my VFR. 555....