Best car for transporting scopes?

[cyborg421]

Hi all,

I have a Skywatcher 10" Dob and at the moment I am transporting it + kit around in a Peugeot 206. Not the best situation. I am looking to purchase a car that has the following specs.

1) Low tailgate for ease of lifting scope into car + flatboot shelf (no lip) and large/high enough to get the scope in. I don't care if the backseats have to go down to get the stuff in.

2) Not too large. We are a 5 person family but usually only 2 people will use the car (the kids are grown up now). I don't want a huge or medium people carrier.

3) Max engine size 1.4

4) Not looking to purchase a brand new car. So age immaterial (but not too old).

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Simon

[NGC 1502]

Hi Simon. Is your 206 a three or five door ? My 2008 Fiesta (five door) takes the tube

of my 10" Dob across the back seats, and is no problem to load through either

of the rear doors. ( Would be a struggle with a three door ) The mount and other bits

go easily in the boot. No need to fold the rear seats, and both front seats are free.

HTH, Ed.

[brantuk]

If it's any help I get a 300P, CPC800, Meg72 along with two substantial tripods and a dob base all in the back of a Volvo estate (seats folded down). It pretty much fits all your criteria above and is a very comfy ride unloaded. You get all the bells and whistles and a D5 will have enough grunt to tow a caravan and give you 50 to 55 mpg. We like 'em so much we've got two lol (unfortunately it's a 2.4).

[vulcan]

A Toyota Yaris's back seat dissappears into the floor leaving a huge flat load space. I used to carry all my band gear in one - 2 guitars, amp, full size keyboard, keyboard amp, PA system and all the accessories.

[inksmithy]

It just struck me that one of these would be just about the perfect scope transport.

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/velden/4021253953/

I'm on the wrong continent now though

Essentially, its a V8 Holden Panel Van, that particular model is known as a Sandman.

When I was growing up, you would see these things heading beachwards with surfboards on the roof, the rear section made up as a bed/living area and two or three people squeezed into the front.

While that might be unattainable (although hmm, how much would an import cost?) I seem to remember someone - I think it was swamp thing - saying they were modifying an old ambulance to be a mobile observatory, which struck me as a great idea.

Personally, I've been looking at ex-army vehicles to do something similar. The price is generally pretty good and if nothing else, the vehicle has been designed to take heavy loads of bulky equipment with ease.

http://army-uk.com has a load of vehicles cycling through it. Just be careful not to stray too deeply into the Armoured Vehicles section. The is an undeniable appeal to turning up to a star party in a tracked FV434 armoured repair vehicle, but the missus might feel the need to Have A Strong Word about parking it in the yard.

Alan

[inksmithy]

Please disregard the above, I just properly read the requirements, mine is just silly.

Alan

[cyborg421]

Thanks for your thoughts guys. I have a 5 door Peugeot. I put the OTA in the back and the base on the back seat. Even though it is 5 door this is the one that is a problem.

I am trying to balance getting a new car to fit the scope whilst placating the wife that is suitable for "normal" use . I don't think it's sensible to run 2 cars unless you really need to.

Brandt- I think the Volvo is a bit big for our needs but it must be great for transportation.

I had a look at the Fiesta and the Yaris and I think the Yaris fits the bill. Thanks Vulcan and all the rest of the guys for your thoughts.

Simon

[Viv]

Simon - just keep in mind, if you're going to a star party - think you may a bit more than a Yaris .......

[Sparrow]

Simon - if you're familiiar with the Peugeot, have a look at the 207SW - we've got one and it's proving to be superb - it's like a "mini" estate - We've travelled the length of the country in it with 5 adults and luggage, but it's still small enough for just the two of us normally. The back seats fold down completed flat giving loads of room. - We call it the Tardis for obvious reasons.

Ours is the petrol 95bhp 1.4 version and it's got plenty of power for its needs. Realistically it does about 45 per gallon on motorway/long runs as long as you stick to 70mph.

Regards

John

[vulcan]

The Yaris is great - just avoid the 'automatic' version. I have a year old Fiesta now and there is nowhere near as much room in the back - but then I don't play in the band anymore.

[DOBBY]

Honda Jazz...takes our 400p flextube & base + SW 200 + HEQ5Pro...batteries...lens cases...viewing stool...wifes seat..& kitchen sink...well feels like it

took some working out...but fits in

[cyborg421]

Mmmmm. Just looked at some reviews for the newer Yaris. It seems that people either think they are brilliant or rubbish. I had a older Nissan Almera which was bombproof until some idiot ran up the back of it. The next Nissan Almera was useless- poor quality components but trading under the Almera "reliability". I don't want to purchase a Yaris where the same thing has happened. The Peugeot 207SW seems to get decent reviews all round.

Simon

[Collyer911]

gotta be a prius simon

loads of room and can fit all the family in plus great fuel economy no road tax and cheap insurance dont forget there bomb proof aswell

andy

[cyborg421]

Sorry Andy, Prius is beyond my price range without silly number of miles on the clock.

Simon

[Adz]

I can strongly recommend a 5 door if you are going to have the OTA on the back seats. Mine fits really nice and snug there, but it is a real pain to get it in and out being only a 3 door.

HTH

[Collyer911]

yea seem to hold price well but i read online that some new york taxi firms are running them with 500000k and above!!!!!

hope you get something that caters to your needs!

andy

[rfdesigner]

I use an older Merc.. an E320CDi estate.

You could get the whole scope and mount in the back without having to dismantle it

seriously, The car that came to mind was the Audi A2.. they do a teeny tiny diesel for it which people seem to like and it seems quite adjustable.

Derek

[Doc]

I can get my 16" dob in the back of my little Fiat Punto, admittedly theres no room for anyone except me

[Ant]

I used to get a 10" F5 Fullerscopes tube and a MKIII BCF mount and pedestal in a old R reg mini.

I think that providing that the tube will fit in the car, you could go with almost anything. I would suggest a hatch back though.

Cheers

Ant

[malc-c]

Hi all,

I have a Skywatcher 10" Dob and at the moment I am transporting it + kit around in a Peugeot 206. Not the best situation. I am looking to purchase a car that has the following specs.

1) Low tailgate for ease of lifting scope into car + flatboot shelf (no lip) and large/high enough to get the scope in. I don't care if the backseats have to go down to get the stuff in.

2) Not too large. We are a 5 person family but usually only 2 people will use the car (the kids are grown up now). I don't want a huge or medium people carrier.

3) Max engine size 1.4

4) Not looking to purchase a brand new car. So age immaterial (but not too old).

Any suggestions?

Thanks

Simon

Best car... difficult, but I find this useful for carrying almost everything in, from a 200P and all the camping gear for SGL6 to an electric cement mixer ! - Volvo V70

Problem is only points 1 and 4 are a match...

Its a long wheelbase so fairly large, and with a 2.5ltr 5 cyl petrol lump it really needs motorways to hit 40 mpg - around town and on short hops it averages 19 mpg !!

[ollypenrice]

I brought our 20 inch down to France in an old Astra estate. Pretty cavernous for a small car.

I now run a Panda wth the multijet engine. It is the best small car engine I have ever come across, max torque at 1500 rpm, 72 mpg, perfect for the Alps where we live. A bigger Fiat with that engine is something I'd consider. 100 percent reliable over 4 years and snow can't stop it!

Olly

[Kevdan]

Del boy and Rodney used a thre wheeler for ages to carry there stuff around and they are considerably lower than 1.4,

[Beulah]

Its a long wheelbase so fairly large, and with a 2.5ltr 5 cyl petrol lump it really needs motorways to hit 40 mpg - around town and on short hops it averages 19 mpg !!

Thanks for the heads up. I am currently carless, and was seriously considering one of these. The urban MPG you state is very poor.

Back to choice #1...a Ford Focus estate...

[RikM]

Olly beat me to it, but I was going to suggest an Astra estate. I carted my band stuff around in one for years. My 2x bass guitars in their cases were about the same proportions as a 250PX OTA and my amp was bigger than the dob base.

[malc-c]

Thanks for the heads up. I am currently carless, and was seriously considering one of these. The urban MPG you state is very poor.

Back to choice #1...a Ford Focus estate...

The low urban mpg is mainly because I'm lazy and drive the 2 mile to work and back, so the car hasn't had a chance to warm up hence the thirst. On an average mix of A roads and tow driving it's a lot better, around 28 - 30 mpg...

I used to have a Rover 214 SEi which had a nice 1.4 16v engine, but as it was so sporty and was driven a lot harder the economy between the two isn't much different