Best chassis for 3.5 to 4.5 tonnes lorries

blitznbobs

blitznbobs

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I'm thinking about getting a small Lorry commissioned and was wondering what is the best chassis to build on... I'm looking to do something on a new or nearly new chassis and the Renault and the fiat seem popular but seeing I know nothing about either (or any other for that matter) I was wondering if anyone had any words of wisdom? Thanks
 
I looked at the three mentioned, and preferred the Renault. I am not a mechanic, and my basis was that I liked the driving position, the solidness, the service intervals....

I did also get a good deal on the Renault, and the garage was helpful, whereas the Peugeot dealer did not have the van man working that day, and the Fiat man was a chauvinistic horror!

The Renault has been great. I got an auto, and it is fab. It changes itself down when we leave a downhill motorway junction, only need to touch the brakes if we actually need to stop. Also came with fitted sat nav, air con, airbags....

Mine was a 3.5 and is now 3.95.
 
Renault do seem the most popular, mine was an old one and I drove a new one (LWB) to move up to lincs and it was a lovely drive (for someone used to a small car)
Friend has a citroen coachbuilt but that has been nothing but trouble!
Other friend has an alexanders coachbuilt on a master and it is much nicer and in the garage much much less!
 
For small boxes, Vauxhall Movano & Renault are identical models (virtually!), but good reliable ones on the whole. We run both at work and the Vauxhalls just have the edge - mainly because the local main dealer is a gem & also 4 miles closer than renault.

Fiat 'can' have issues, I would def not touch a Peugeot or Citroen as haven't got anything nice to say about either...we've tried all these 3 at work over the last 6 years, suffice to say that we wont even mention them if the boss is about... the last 3.5 Citroen went in October, at 15 months old - had spent more than 3 months in the dealers workshop in its working life!

To add, if you are very 'flush' then the VW Crafter is well worth a look at, Merc Sprinters are excellent but far too tall to make horseboxes of, likewise Fords.
 
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The main reason the Vauxhall/ Renault vans are used are primarily because they have a low floor and long wheelbase therefore the centre of gravity is instantly lower and the floor is more suitable for a horsebox conversion.

A Sprinter is a better all rounder truck but very difficult to convert successfully!
 
I'm watching this with interest

I'm specifically looking for an auto and was told the auto gearboxes in the Renault and the movano were prone to issues, having been in a car with a broken auto gearbox I've no wish to repeat the experience with live cargo

Is the Vw crafter a better option maybe?
 
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