Car Top One

Top One Automotive World

Ice Cream Vans Meltdown in London, New Emission Regulations

February 7th, 2012 by admin No comments »

It is not a good time to be an ice cream vendor in London these days. Transport for London has a new legislation regarding larger vans and minibuses taking effect from 3 January 2012. I am a self-employed vendor and have made numerous enquiries along with my colleagues struggling with what to do regarding updating our ice cream vans or purchasing and fitting an approved filter that complies. Most of us found it very hard to afford to convert a new van as they can cost tens of thousands of pounds or more especially if you were to buy a professionally built conversion.

We have spoken to exhaust suppliers listed on the TFL’s website and we had a great deal of conflicting and technical information. We were also told from many sources that there is no perfect application for an ice cream van and that we were probably better off selling the vans out of London and replacing them with ones that are Euro 3 or above which would then comply. The filters can cost up to five thousand pounds, £5000, for a system and most if not all of these systems have not been tried and tested on the vans that are idle for up to ten hours a day. Our applications are pretty unique as we are often in one place and idle for a whole day (i.e events and pitch’s). Ice cream vans need to have their engines on in order to power a soft machine or the option would be to turn the engine off and just serve scooped vanilla ice cream.

Some cheaper and basic systems would most probably block up while trading and there were some regenerating systems that should clear themselves whist driving but you would need to go for a good old drive down the motorway in order to clear. There were a few that could regenerate while stationary but we felt that we were not completely convinced and could find ourselves in trouble come the summer months either looking to replace an exhaust again or to replace the van completely. We have not had a great season and the rounds had really been depressed this year but we felt that we would probably be much safer to invest in a new conversion rather going down the road of chancing an exhaust installation.

No comments »

Posted in Vans

Tags: Ice van vanilla ice vanilla ice cream

Looking for a New Futuristic Work Van for Mobile Auto Detailing?

January 2nd, 2012 by admin No comments »

Mobile auto detailers sell image. Therefore, they must also project a pristine image in their business. Perhaps, this is why on-site car detailers work very hard to have the best equipment, and a classy rig, or trailer. For those that operate in the city, it is often better to have a van to work out of. Working out of a truck is not always safe because people will come and steal stuff out of the back of the bed. In many places a trailer won’t work because there is no room to park it, as parking space is at a premium.

Okay so, how do you choose the best work van? How do you find a work van which is classy, showy, and yet, completely functional? Well it appears that at least one company may have the answer, it is probably a company you never thought of in considering a work van.

There was an interesting clip, gallery presentation, and article recently on MSN having to do with VW’s newest rage; a delivery van. The article appeared on December 9, 2011 just in time for a small business person’s Christmas and was titled; “Volkswagen’s Delivery Vehicle of the Future – Automaker partners with the German postal service to develop autonomous, electric-powered vans,” written by Ian Rowan. The article stated;

“The eT! concept is powered by two 96-kilowatt lightweight electric motors mounted on the rear wheel hubs, each powered by 33 modules of lithium-ion batteries with an energy capacity of 32 kilowatt hours stored in the underbody. With a top speed of 69 mph and a projected range of 62 miles, its capabilities would be more than adequate for a postal-delivery vehicle, Volkswagen says.”