How long is my van going to be?

Submitted: Thursday, May 28, 2009 at 23:28
ThreadID: 69286 Views:2154 Replies:4 FollowUps:7
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Hi all,

My wife and I are just looking at buying a Fiat Ducato to be fitted out for travelling. We are trying to decide for one of two sizes, a 6 metre and 6.4 metre long van. I have been looking around for a strong reasons to take the shorter one. A salesperson told me there is some sort of 6 m limit when it comes to parking, but I could not find any confirmation on that.

So my question is, has anyone come across that mysterious 6 m threshold, or can anyone give me a good reason why I should pick the shorter van?

Cheers
Meini
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Reply By: _gmd_pps - Friday, May 29, 2009 at 01:35

Friday, May 29, 2009 at 01:35
my 4x4 truck is 7m long (including bull bar) and apart from using 3-4 parking bays when I go shopping with it I have had no problems or would be aware or any 6m boundary.
Go for the longer one ... 40 cm is quite a bit and on the road not that much.

good luck
gmd

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Follow Up By: Meini - Friday, May 29, 2009 at 08:59

Friday, May 29, 2009 at 08:59
Thanks for your reply gmd. Yes your are right the 40cm makes a huge difference inside. It sounds like 7m would be a bit too long for me though, as I still like to fit into one bay if possible.

Cheers
Meini
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Reply By: Member - Doug T (NT) - Friday, May 29, 2009 at 01:36

Friday, May 29, 2009 at 01:36
Meini
I have seen signs to that effect but cannot remember where, probably in the larger cities, outside those it would be rare,

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Follow Up By: Meini - Friday, May 29, 2009 at 09:07

Friday, May 29, 2009 at 09:07
Thanks for your reply Doug, you gave me the idea to put the phrase "Vehicles under 6m only" in Google and surprisingly there are some results. But the impression I get is that this 6m limit is, as you said, very rare. Although it seems to be a "magical number" when councils think up new restrictions for longer vehicles.

Cheers
Meini
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Follow Up By: Member - Fred B (NT) - Friday, May 29, 2009 at 10:46

Friday, May 29, 2009 at 10:46
Hi Doug,
I don't think the "tow hitch" on the front of that machine (from your Mt. Isa pic.) would fit your truck's tow bar.... lol..! You might have to weld an adaptor plate for the "tow"... lol. (:

Fred B
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Reply By: Member - Craig M (QLD) - Friday, May 29, 2009 at 07:00

Friday, May 29, 2009 at 07:00
I know of one fully fitted out for sale here in Townsville if you are interested. It's not mine, one of the blokes at work owns it.

Regards

craig
AnswerID: 367300

Reply By: KennyBWilson - Friday, May 29, 2009 at 09:09

Friday, May 29, 2009 at 09:09
There is another rule that councils use and thats if any vehicle is over 7 metres long if can't stay in the stay place for more than 2 hours.

In a Car and Caravan situation you would need to disconnect the car and carvan and you can park on the road for up to 24 hours

This rule was used in the Campbelltown City Council many years ago but not sure if there use stick to that or whether other Councils use it
AnswerID: 367344

Follow Up By: Louie the fly (SA) - Friday, May 29, 2009 at 09:17

Friday, May 29, 2009 at 09:17
I think that's a fairly universal thing from my understanding. I used to work in the metro area and we always had trucks parking out front of our premises. We contacted the council and they said what you said. Didn't take many parking tickets for the trucks to disappear.

Louie

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Follow Up By: tim_c - Friday, May 29, 2009 at 16:31

Friday, May 29, 2009 at 16:31
So how does that work when a driver of a heavy vehicle has to have an 8 hour continuous break?
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Follow Up By: Louie the fly (SA) - Friday, May 29, 2009 at 16:57

Friday, May 29, 2009 at 16:57
tim_c, as far as what I was talking about, it relates to parking on the side of the street in residential and commercial areas. If you had someone else's truck parked outside your business for 6 hours a day I'm sure you'd quickly get as annoyed as we did. Especially when we approached the owner of the truck many time and he fobbed us off. Still, I'm sure all truck owners aren't wankers like this bloke was.

Louie
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Follow Up By: tim_c - Friday, May 29, 2009 at 17:06

Friday, May 29, 2009 at 17:06
Ok, cheers Louie - wasn't aware of that law before now.
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