Posts Tagged ‘van’
10 Tips To Help Keep Your Van Windscreen Clean
It has happened to most of us that drive any vehicle and in particular it has happened to those of us that drive a van – poor visibility at high speed. Having a clean windscreen isn’t just about your van looking good. It’s about safety as well. Vans more so than cars are prone to getting dirty windscreens. This is often because of the places that they are used and also because of the long hours they spend in service on the road. Cleaning your screen is a pain but can significantly improve your safety and your outlook. So OK, do you really need to read about this, surely it just involves a little water and a cloth? Well it all depends how clean you want to go.
Here a 10 screen cleaning tips for you.
- Add a little vinegar to your water and make sure the water is as hot as you can get it. Most commercial glass cleaning products have vinegar added. It’s acidic properties really help to cut through grease.
- Clean the inside as well as the outside.
- Don’t use the same cloth to clean your screen and your bodywork. The cloth will often have traces of wax on which is something you don’t want to get on your windscreen
- Use a squeegee. The dragging of rubber over the screen helps to remove a good amount of residual dirt.
- Use diluted windscreen wash. You can add the stuff that you use to put under the bonnet, in the washer tank, to a bucket of hot water along with your vinegar. This works very well.
- Use newspaper to dry your windows. Newspaper really absorbs the water and leaves no traces of anything that you don’t want on your screen.
Five Tips for a Clean Van – Your Van Reflects More Than Your Face
If you run a business that involves you using a van, have you ever thought what the van says about you? If customers can see your reflection in your van then that is a good reflection on your business. You wouldn’t turn up to a job interview without polishing your shoes or ironing your shirt, yet many business people do turn up to see a client, or even worse a prospective client’s house, in a dirty van. Of course there is dirty, and then there is dirty. A bit of dirt on your van is acceptable, but when it is so dirty that people have written on it, or even worse, your details are covered up, then this is perhaps a bit too dirty. Same goes for the interior of the van. If your client sees a messy interior, he might think that you are a messy worker. If you are a tradesman going into people’s homes then this really isn’t good. So here are 5 tips to help you keep a clean van.
1 – Now this is obvious, but wash your van regularly. Even a cold water spray with a hose just to knock off some of the dirt is better than no wash at all. The more often that you clean your van the quicker it is each time.
2 – Use a soft brush. A soft brush dipped in a builder’s bucket of soapy water really cuts through a lot of dirt. On vans it can save you from getting out the step ladders to do the hard to reach areas. Just make sure that the brush has no grit on it or you might scratch the paint-work.
Converting Your Van for Camping
Converting a van can give you unlimited opportunities to make your vehicle as personalised as you want it. Camping is a great example of the sort of specialised changes you can make to your van and the many accessories and extras that are available for a commercial van. You can turn it into the near perfect companion during a short break or long holiday away. The advantage of having much more space and more manoeuvrability can sway even the most affluent caravan enthusiast towards a well equipped and modified van.
In the past, when people thought about camper vans they would immediately conjure up images of Volkswagen vehicles, but with the popularity of vans such as the Ford transit many people are beginning to see the opportunities they hold. Here are just some of the accessories that can be added to your van to make it as camper friendly as possible:
Furniture kits
Furniture kits are a great way to include many of the features you are used to at home in your van and all of them are designed to be as space saving as possible. Everything from kitchen units with sinks and washboards right though to folding tables and storage cupboards can be fitted within your van and provide you with all of the mod cons to help you and your family enjoy a camping holiday.
Roof Conversions
Many people have roof conversions fitted to their vehicles to give you that little bit more headroom, this is not the case with larger long wheel base models but still applies to vehicles like the connect model van.
Windows
Lowering Your Van Emissions
With 2012 fast approaching it really is time to start considering how to lower the emissions of your Commercial vehicle to coincide with the new rules and regulations of the LEZ (Low Emission zone) in greater London.
The system has been in place since 2008 but 2012 sees the introduction of its more stringent and regulated rules meaning many more vehicles will be affected by the changes. Vehicles that do not comply with the zones regulations will be fined each and every time they enter the designated zone.
Bearing this in mind there are a few different solutions to get your vehicle ready for the scheme and with plenty of time left now is a great time to determine which will be the best course of action to follow.
Filters are one such option that commercial vehicle owners can have fitted to lower their emission rates. Once one of these have been fitted and checked the van will receive a certificate and be entered into the government’s database entailing that the vehicle is approved by law.
Replacing your vehicle may seem like a large step to take but considering if your business entails you to travel through the LEZ zone on a daily basis it can save you money in the long run. There are numerous commercial van dealers throughout the country that not sell only low emission vehicles, but also offer discounted schemes to make them even more beneficial for businesses both large and small alike.
Converting your vehicle to another form of energy such as gas is an option that many van owners take each year; there are many companies that offer the conversion service. Depending on your company and its budgets this can be an option that’s costs simply outweigh its benefits compared to investing in a different vehicle. One thing to note is that should you have your vehicle converted it is essential by law to register it to VOSA (the Vehicle and Operator services agency)
Different Types of Commercial Vans
Making sure that you choose the right commercial van can depend on many different factors and can at times be confusing. One of the most important points to follow when seeking a new van is to know exactly what you need for your business; this can mean knowing of any upgrades that you will be seeking to apply to the vehicle in the future that could well be cheaper at the first point of sale.
Depending on your budget you may well find that buying a used vehicle could be your best option, this of course is not always the case and ensuring your vehicle is straight out of the showroom can give you not only peace of mind but also a reassuring sense of security should anything happen to it during its lifetime.
Here is just a selection of the different types of commercial vehicles that are available on the market from the many great Commercial van dealerships around the country. Hopefully one of these will be suitable for you and your business.
Small panel Vans are very popular for small to medium sized businesses due to their fuel economy and easy manoeuvrability. More recently small panel vans such as the Ford Transit Connect have been designed to have one large cargo area at the back which can carry very large loads but also give plenty of driver / passenger cab space.
Large Panel Vans such as the Ford Transit provide the gap between fuel economy and a large carrying ability. Newer models are able to provide much lower operating costs and are often fitted with many space saving systems such as racking to further enhance the loads they can carry. No longer are large panel vans awkward to drive, newer models have everything from power steering to collision detection monitors for a much safer and easier drive.
