I am starting to think about another vehicle other than my current one - Lancer sedan....
I noticed down Inverloch an abundance of vans - how do most wsurfers get their gear to the bay/beach?
I find it annoying having to strap the board on the roof every weekend, and even more so when I am staying away overnight and have no where to stash the board when going to cafes, pubs or whatever with the gf... and you have to think about parking the car near a viewing point in the cafe etc....
You guys have a second car as well, or happily roll with your van during the week?
What's your wheels? Kombi's? Express'? and how do you find it?
Am seriously considering a van...
I've got a Mitsubishi Delica. Its not bad but its a complicated vehicle which means as it gets older there are more things to go wrong. You get a lot for your money though and if you want a 4WD van then there are not that many besides Delicas around.
They are a grey import but support is reasonably good. Parts are not a problem, some mechanics don't mind them and there is a huge knowledge base at the delica club website. They are getting to be reasonably common too. For windsurfing you probably want a long wheel base Delica. Mine is SWB, its okay but a few extra cms would come in handy.
If I was going to buy a van again I'd probably get something cheap and cheerful like a Econovan or Express.
My daddy lets me take his van whenever I want. 
LWB Hiace - but you knew that;)
But seriously its a van or trailer for me in the future. More incluned on the Van side.
If you want some luxury and size take a look at the Nissan Imports - a Nissan ElGrand gives you space and luxury.
Me personally I love the WV Kombi - what a icon of a van. Or something like the A-Team Van.... hmmm
I used to use a Nissan Pulsar. Of course that was in the old days before wide-style boards.
Lay down the passenger seat, put the nose in the foot well and the tail (fins down) on the rear seat back rest.
Sails, 2-piece mast and boom on top of the board.
Wettie, harness and stuff in the tub in the boot.
Back seat was free for the girlfriend (I only got away with that once.)
Alternatively, lockable tie downs are excellent. http://www.stickprotection.com/pro_surf.htm
I had a '91 L300 Delica for a while in Europe. Loved it, but I wouldn't buy one over here - soooo expensive. In the UK they're virtually free. 2.5 TD that went pop after about 50000 very hard kms on mountain roads in the snow.
I now have a 1978 VW kombi panel van. Much better than a camper because you're not putting wet gear in on the bed. If you do want to go away for a while then a queen air mattress goes in the back with the dry gear under it during the day, and at night it gets put on the roof / underneath the van. Not bad on economy, and once mechanically sorted they go on forever. Mines a 2 litre, so it'll happily do 100kmh up hill. Also because you sit so far forward there is loads of length in the back.
Type 2 panel vans are ridiculously difficult to find though.
Got a mate who might be selling his 1989 Type25 panel van (very nice too). PM if interested.
If you go for the board-inside-the-car option, beware that the saltwater drips off the nose and rots the footwell in the passenger side... Rover 800 bangers were best for that. A year of solid use and it looked like it was owned by Fred and Barney.
Hi, K Dog,
I have a van for windsurfing and a car for other stuff. During summer, the van goes to work and after work, windsurfing. During winter, the van has a rest whilst the car takes over. Van only used for w/s at the weekend during winter.
There are plenty of 2nd hand van outlets around, but most of them sell ex-courier vans that are VERY high mileage and VERY high prices. You pays your money and you takes your chances.
If you look at new, then Hyundai's are very attractive (subject to the amount of gear you have), followed by the usual suspects of Transit, HiAce, Vito, Transporter etc. If you go new, suggest you get the best warranty available for the driveline, followed by a warranty against corrosion. Also ask about the service periods and service costs. As diesel engines get lower in their emissions, they require special oils that could cost $80 for 5 litres and some vans require an oil change at 7500km, whilst others are around 15,000km.
Most cost-effective way for w/s gear is a trailer but the chassis needs to be hot-dipped galvanised after manufacture or made of galvanised steel for rust prevention. Had a trailer for about 3 years and it was OK, but prefer the van.
Hope this helps.
What about WorkUtes and Wagons?
WorkUtes
+Cheaper in almost every aspect
+More Diverse
+Easy to Maintain
+Easy to Unload and Load
+Lockable (w/ hardtop)
-Two Seats
-Long Boards + Big Stuff dont fit in a shorter styleside <lockable
-Longer Alloy Trays, Not lockable, but hidden underneath cover
Note; SportUtes have shorter trays and dont work aswell (i have one :P)
Wagons
+Cheapest in every aspect?
+Potentially 5 seats
+Easy to maintain mechanically
+Lockable
-Two seats with gear loaded
-One seat if short wagon, or longer gear
-Hard to Maintain Interior wise
-Failure offroad, unless of course you go for a subi awd, which is still a **** fwd.
Feel free to edit my +'s and -'s
You can use lockable ties. They're pretty tough. They have a steel cable in them. You can jury rig something similar with a bicycle cables, a pad lock and couple of bits of back to back aly angle as a mast track lock. I haven't used either of these by the way 
I used to use a van. Now I use a wagon. I miss the convenience of leaving everything in the van a bit but I get better fuel consumption and better driving with the wagon. I occasionally dream about getting a van again and moving into it. Then I can run away from home.
i recently switch from a bomby old excel that i could barely give away to a new car.
the excell could fit everything inside. 2 boards, 4-5 sails etc etc. it had so much room.
the new car is a ford focus. i took the tape measure to the yard to make sure i could fit everything in. wasn't long before i realised that the way the rear seats fold down would mean issues getting everyhting in.
then i took it for a drive "on my own". i quickly decided i didn't care that the gear had to go on the roof.
what an awesome car to drive!
awesome economy also. can get 5.8l/100k on the freeway.
K Dog,
It has to be a van, After a year of loading gear into and out of my SUV I just got the s#*ts with it and went out and got this.
Turbo diesel, Good on fuel and heaps of power...It's already done 2 WA trips(20,000km) and I'm loving it. It's my everyday car, My gear is always with me when needed and my bags always packed. If it windy I just jump in and go, It has a bed in the back if I need to crash and there's 2 spare seats if I want to take some mates. It holds my 3 boards, 4 booms, 5 masts, 9 sails and all the other crap that goes along with windsurfing and there's still room for my mates crap as well.
It was the best decision I made...Besides taking up Windsurfing that is.
Cheers...Jason.
Its' looking great Jason.
Not to mention the Fanatic boards 
They had some petrol models for under $30K.
How much would a Diesel models go for?
If your going to keep it fro a while pop the bonnet and look to see if you can change the water pump without removing the motor
i got the 2009 ford transit crew cab chassis short wheel base i use it for work and play & its great the tray is usually empty .I have trundle tray & large tool boxes so everything i used to have in a tray is now away so all the boards can fit in & go to work with me for a sail after work and if i need like when i take the family away i can fit 6 bikes in the back a canoe and my boards on the roof racks its a great I can still leave my tools on heap of room in cabin 6 seater and if we really go away i take the tools out and all the camping gear etc fits in tool boxes so all my stuffs locked up when im away thats handy all my sails & 4mt mst fit in trunndle tray booms in toolbox boards & 465 mast cabble locked in tray to tied down loops i fitted
Personally I think vans are a bit of a pain to own if it's your every day car, however not everyone may see it that way. Personally I'm a wagon man, I rolled a VL wagon for about 10 years and it was sweet, I could fit an absolute shirtonne in it and it still was basically an everyday car apart from the rear seat being permanently down ;)
However all good things must come to an end (it's going to track car heaven) and I recently bought a VY Berlina wagon. First impression...massive, my boards fit in without even having to fold the front seats forward (which I had to do in the VL). It's got just about every electric creature comfort know to man and is sweet on the highway. Sure, it's a commodore but that means parts are plentiful and cheap...although being a V8 it's not particularly cheap to run haha
I think at the end of the day it comes down to how much you want to spend, what you can live with and how much gear you regularly cart around. If you're a windsurfer that travels often to get to a spot I think there's two things you can not live without, aircon and cruise control. These days I wouldn't drive a car without them...particularly any sort of great distance.
^ my "other" windsurfing car is a vt wagon (V6) and i definately agree. tons of room and drives like a car. trips away aren't an issue and when i have it family free i can fit everything plus more into it.
most of the local brisbane guys have wagons, and a lot had/have commodores also.
the downside is they suck the juice around town.
just get a hiace. or if your loaded and have a spare 60g's go a vw transporter. but hiaces are cheap reliable and loads of room. drive around and just take note of how many people drive them! couriers,surfers,tradies there are thousands!!!
I have a BA falcon wagon with my gear in a trailer.
Chris-fords are even bigger than your holden,they are huge inside
Mine is factory gas and does 600 km on $50 of gas towing a trailer
Bought it on Ebay a couple of years ago with 80,000 km for $11k
I used to tow a trailer behind my F100 that I have had for 20 years,but now I have 2 kids ,and the wagon is working out a treat.My BA is now my tradesmans van(with tool trailer)delivery van ,grocery getter and surf cruiser. I havn't even driven it in the last year and my wife is making me sell my old(bet very cool)F truck and plans on using the money on a windsurf holiday to europe -If it keeps my wife happy,I'm happy
Trailer fits 8 boards with 10 sails ,with room up front for kids rigs,esky,kids bikes and wetties .harnesses,unis ect.
It is homebuilt with roller doors on both sides and rear,brakes and angled racks so nothing needs tying down
In Greece we a similar setup ,but I made the rear door lift up and then slide into the roof,but you can leave it half out for shelter
Both cars have got 1.2m wide roof racks to carry 2 boards wide
