Looking for my first vehicle

[oldwoodcutter]

A while ago I was passing the time of day with a forestry commission fellow and I asked about his berlingo, which seemed a little out of place in the forest.
He explained it had some kind of pack on to raise it a bit, but the trick was it was 4wd.
Whether it was factory fitted or a fc conversion he didn’t know.
The latest small van the commission run about up and down the ride ways at the moment are Ford couriers in the familiar green livery.

[Andy2873]

Will be getting into tree felling within the new year. I'm looking for my first vehicle in the forestry industry. I'm tied between a small van like a Berlingo or a pick up truck like a L200 as I will be going down a lot of forest roads which I know are in most cases horrendous. 
 
If anyones got any photos of there set ups that'd be great also. Cheers. 

I’ve tried every type of vehicle. Small van, big van, 4x4 pickup, 4x4 suv. Whatever you get, you will wish that you had done different. Each vehicle has pros and cons

[doobin]

4 hours ago, Steve Bullman said:

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These are getting harder end harder to find 

Dated, and will require constant maintenance. Lots of rot also unless it's been exceptionally well treated. For that money you'd be better off with an old Ranger IMHO- they're not exactly good on juice either,

 

Fond memories though- was my first diesel 4WD- so my first proper tow motor.

[Donnie]

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/823976969384493086/924615036285120533/IMG_1359.png?width=363&height=645

I was looking to start up on something like this maybe. 

[Donnie]

18 hours ago, GWYNFIL said:

mines the older shape 53 reg. time for a change me thinks. dont get me wrong i love it fantastic load space if i take the seat stays out and trim i can get an ibc  in it.

How do you get on with the older model?

[GWYNFIL]

2 hours ago, JDon said:

How do you get on with the older model?

starting to act its age. its 2.0 lt 40+ per gallon cheap parts and tyres. Its been ok for family and working with. not that i do much. easy comfy drive. old mans car but i am lol I had a l200 pick up before that nothing but bother and fuel dont go there! since heard unless new dont touch a pick up. But i do love em.

Edited December 26, 2021 by GWYNFIL
spelling

[spuddog0507]

As mentioned above the FC did run 4x4 berlingos and they where pretty good, i know a few cutters in the Lakes who purchased them off the FC, all so know a stalker with one and he swears by it, I know 2 lads with Jimneys and they are happy with them, I managed for many years with a 2,0 ltr Peugeot 406 estate and i cant say owt bad about that either, reliable, good mpg at 44mpg, and got us to where we needed to get, then got the chance of a very cheap L200, ran it for 4 yrs and first thing i noticed was there was a big difference in the weekly fuel bill as compared to the peugeot, L200s are ok but lack speed and seem to be reving there arse off at 70mph and thats where the fuel goes, got shut of L200 and now run a LWB Shogun, 3,2ltr good off road and its much better on fuel than the L200 and when you put your right foot down the Shogun picks its feet up well as compared to the L200 where 0-60 you need a calendar, towing a 10ft ifor tipper with a couple of tonne on the l200 was doing 17-19 mpg the Shogun is doing 25-26mpg so a bit of a difference there, I think most of the small 4x4s are all about the same my Dad has a Toyota Rav 4 on a 04 plate he has had it just over 12 years now and its hardly had a penny spent on it and its been a very good car in my eyes, i think its a 1,8 petrol quite nippy and he gets about 36mpg, my mother had a Jimny from new on a Y plate up untill about 12 mth ago and that was pretty good as well, one thing with any off road 4x4 is tyres, decent off road tyres are worth there money if its something you are going to use to your advantage on a regular basis,,

[Dbikeguy]

Rav4’s are cheap, cheap to run and will get you just about anywhere a std bigger 4x4 will get you.
Budget for some decent tyres and you are sorted.
My Hilux is ace but i fill it regularly so can justify it, just hate the fuel bill.
You can get guards to go on the rear windows to limit smash and grabs or just get a cage made up

[LGP Eddie]

On 24/12/2021 at 20:12, Haironyourchest said:

Thinking outside the box here: a Transporter or similar, medium sized van, with a tracked mini dumper in the back. Configure the dumper to hold all your gear and keep it all on the dumper. If the track is undrivable, back the dumper out and go the last bit with it. Can go into the trees as well, less walking. Couple of planks for crossing deep trenches etc. Save energy by not carrying your gear, take your gear to the work in one trip instead of two or three. Dumper can even pull trees around, within reason. Plus, you have a mobile base for your stuff, so it doesn't get scattered around the woods and lost.

 

SWB low roof Transit MK7 AWD with 50mm lift and BFG All Terrains all round would be an ideal candidate to run an iron horse or the like in the back, and be one handy setup.

 

Brilliant steering lock on them too which saves driving miles to turn a double cab with rudder around down a track.

 

Best move I ever made was into a panel van for my own uses, far more useable space, much better on distances.

They can double as a bit of welfare/workshop facilities too which is handy if working remote.

 

The MK7 Transit still has a good few years left in them, most places can fix them and parts are readily available new/used.

[josharb87]

16 hours ago, JDon said:

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/823976969384493086/924615036285120533/IMG_1359.png?width=363&height=645

I was looking to start up on something like this maybe. 

Looks sensible.

 

Last used one of those nearly 10 years ago, diesel, not sure about the size. 

 

Good tough little vans

 

Better to have a good nick older vehicle than a buggered newer model.