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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
aaawww those were the days of the best windsurfing van
. 
. 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 
. 
.....
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.
Transits... what works in England doesn't work in Australia. Widely known as Tragic vans.
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?
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
