To be fair, the E2000 I owned was a carby model, whereas I suspect the fuel injection models would be better in terms of power.
I have rented vans in WA for windsurfing trips and they almost always gave us Hiaces. I felt they all had more power than the E2000, but they were probably all 2.4L or above, and were all newer fuel injected models.
The standout van as far as quiet goes was the iLoad, and felt like a car, but was too short for long term use of my long boards. They had to go in diagonally because of the safety cage.
The biggest was an Iveco from Budget. You could fit anything in these things, but from what they told me spare parts cost a fortune.
Its a shame transits have a bad reputation for engines and gearboxes as they seem to be in plentiful supply.
back in the day l had a old Bedford (ex ambo) it had the priority 1 engine.this vehicle could hold a dozen boards plus sails mast etc.remember post 1995 boards were all 270cm or longer if you find one in good nic buy it Awsome truck
Select to expand quotegavnwend said..
back in the day l had a old Bedford (ex ambo) it had the priority 1 engine.this vehicle could hold a dozen boards plus sails mast etc.remember post 1995 boards were all 270cm or longer if you find one in good nic buy it Awsome truck
Yeah back in the day when real young men fitted V8's sucking down straight LPG at 13c/Ltr to their bitchin windsurfing vans 
aaawww those were the days of the best windsurfing van
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Did a YouTube search recently and found my first van I owned and spent many hours augmenting with a 350 V8. Looks like it's still going strong.. the motor anyway, body was getting rust issues. Somewhat wish I could of just kept the motor on a stand for a rainy day, it was a ripper and sounded sick with tri-Y headers/single system
. Had heaps of room in the back even though it was a SWB due to its wide body. You could take the engine cover off inside the van and adjust the distributor as you listened to that sweet throaty induction sound at full noise 
Had it on a dyno and it put out 529Nm / 150kw at the rear wheels, heaps of torque down low matched with diff ratio/tyre diameter helped it launch it's mass off the line or shoot sand at the beach
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.....
Select to expand quoteWindmanV said..
Hi, Yuppy,
Isn’t this fun? You think you’ve got it sorted, then somebody helps more and you’re back to square one.
Looking for comments from Bondalucci on his Mazda E2000/Ford Econovan.
Glad that others raised the engine noise issue. When you’ve got the engine sitting alongside of you, its noise can get vey noticeable on a trip. The older the van, the less sound-proofing in the engine compartment. Petrol engines are MUCH quieter than diesels, so please be aware of this.
On a test drive, you might care to roll all the windows up and see how much engine noise there is. You can quieten the engine noise down by using aftermarket sound absorption material on the engine-side, but make sure it can stand the heat. Similarly, you can add insulation within the cabin. If worst comes to worst, ear muffs are a cheap alternative (and you’d be surprised how the radio is not deadened).
I agree with others that, the later the van, the quieter it’ll be. And I still reckon that, all things being equal, the way to go for you is a HiAce.
Hope this helps.
Spot on wind man. I am considering bondalucci econovan. If no good then hiace all the way
Formula Nova said “It’s a shame Transits have a bad reputation for engines and gearboxes as they seem to be in plentiful supply”.
With the release of the VM model in 2006, Ford turned that poor reputation around. I have a report from England taken over 30,000 fleet vehicles, which came to the conclusion that the VM Transit was more reliable, durable etc. than the equivalents of MB, Renault and VW.
Yuppy, when you get your van, you need to talk to the JMan and others about rust prevention inside the van. Also, there’s quite a bit of info on this forum.
Hope this helps.
Select to expand quotekeef said..WindmanV said..
Renault and VW.
LMAO
You knocking my new van Keef?
Transits... what works in England doesn't work in Australia. Widely known as Tragic vans.
Select to expand quoteikw777 said..
Transits... what works in England doesn't work in Australia. Widely known as Tragic vans.
Have you actually had first hand experience with this, with the newer models?
Surely if Ford recognised a common problem, they could fix it over time.
Select to expand quotealbentley said..
For $10k you might just be able to afford one of the newer Hiaces, I got mine for $12k a couple of years ago.
These have all the advantages of the older Hiaces but also much more fuel efficient, and airbags/ some kind of safety features help. Also they are 'semi' long wheel base which is perfect for windsurfing, not crazy long, but enough space to have a changing area in the front.
This is mine... which I took skiing last weekend... with all my WS gear under the bed... just in case hah!
Where can you ski in WA? Either that or you had a LONG trip!
CAUTION: long reply ahead.
IKW said “Transits... what works in England doesn't work in Australia.” And this is absolutely correct. But wait. On these crazy home video shows, I’ve seen vans in England driving up footpaths in order to beat traffic at traffic lights. Not slowly, either, thus stressing the suspension as they mount the gutter, then 1st and 2nd gear and the engine as they drive up the footpath. Never seen this done in Oz.
Now, let’s say that you might be interested in some sort of new van to replace the MB van that you currently drive. If, say, you knew you had to save for X amount of months before being able to buy said van, what you’d do would be to talk to many of the courier drivers that come into your work and ask them about their vans. You’d very quickly find out that VW T5’s are REALLY hard on their discs and pads (not covered by warranty) and that MB drivers love their vans when they’re driving them, but wish they were a Toyota when it comes to the cost of repairs. Why, this might even be your own experience with your MB when it failed 3 x constant-velocity joints in less than 30K klms @ $1400 each (plus labour).
You’d also find that the Renault Trafic’s were not popular until recently, when a new management at Renault revitalised the Australian operation and managed to displace MB for the last 2 fleet buys of Australia Post. Also, dropping the Renault price has made them more popular to couriers, these last facts allowing Renault to make a 600% sales increase this year, compared to last and causing VW, Ford and Fiat’s sales figures to drop.
You’d take into account the van reliability survey from England, comparing all makes to each other. After doing all the research you can, at some stage you just have to bite the bullet and buy the best that you THINK will do the job for you. Without doubt, your research shows that the best-value van is the Hyundai iLoad, backed by courier and other windsurfer opinions.
Only time will tell if my purchase was sound, but I’ll tell you one thing: I ENJOY driving my van, compared to the old MB.
And I still think that the HiAce is the way to go for Yuppy.
You guys are great. Thanks for the tips.
I'm buying kdog's hiace. It's 1993. 330km
Very basic. Drives like a van. Feels like I'm going to fall out the front window.
As for rust. He has coated the whole floor with bitumen.
It's a standard length and I can fit my 275cm starboard go in it. Albeit on an angle.
I'm getting myself set up for summer!!!
A message for whoever runs Seabeeze. I want to make a donation as thanks. How can i do this?
Select to expand quoteYuppy said..
You guys are great. Thanks for the tips.
I'm buying kdog's hiace. It's 1993. 330km
Very basic. Drives like a van. Feels like I'm going to fall out the front window.
As for rust. He has coated the whole floor with bitumen.
It's a standard length and I can fit my 275cm starboard go in it. Albeit on an angle.
I'm getting myself set up for summer!!!
A message for whoever runs Seabeeze. I want to make a donation as thanks. How can i do this?
green thumbs for Yuppy , ill send you a PM with my bsb/acc n/o thanks for the donation
Yuppy said “I'm buying kdog's hiace. It's 1993. 330km”.
HiAce, tick.
1993, tick.
330km, kazillion ticks. Appears he only drove it to Parkdale Yacht Club from Foam Street, Parkdale, then home again.
I got this for 9k
2 boards and 5 sails in the roof. Campervan underneath and I can go anywhere.
It also has a fridge that keeps the beer at -1
