James Day attends the 2017 Stanford Coachworks Vehicle Expo on July 2, which took the form of a garden party for colleagues and customers as well as a vehicle showcase
The annual Stanford Coachworks Vehicle Expo gives the company the chance to showcase its vast range of vehicles and catch up with many customers and valued partners. Held for the last five years, it has become a regular summer staple for the firm.
After inviting attendees to the Brands Hatch race track in Kent for the last three years, Stanford decided to change things up on this occasion,[wlm_nonmember][…]
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The event was well attended as always, with glorious July sunshine, a live band complete with a harmonica and drinks and canapes all helping to create an enjoyable day.
CBW would like to say thank you to Dave Wiggins, Production Manager at Stanford Coachworks, who kindly walked through the entire vehicle line-up at the event.
The Monaco range
Stanford’s range-topping Monaco was given plenty of space with three vehicles on show – a pair of the usual converted Mercedes-Benz Sprinters and a Fiat Ducato, the first ever Monaco-specification minibus to be built on something other than a Sprinter.
The Ducato has been designed to offer the Monaco level of luxury at a lower price point, using the same seating and luxury additions like TVs and coolers as seen in the usual Sprinters. It is also the first Monaco vehicle to feature a panoramic glass roof. The vehicle has been created for port operator DP World, and is intended to pick up passengers from an airport and take them to a port, where they can view shipping cranes. So that passengers do not need to leave the vehicle, the bespoke roof was installed.
Now that the first panoramic roof Monaco has been produced, the specification will be available on all Monaco vehicles if the customer requires it.
“Panoramic roofs have been on the market for a while, so they were always coming to the Monaco range,” Dave explained. “When DP World asked for it, we said were happy to provide it and take the opportunity to add it to the available options for Monaco vehicles.”
As well as a ‘standard’ Monaco Sprinter, if such a word can be used to describe a Monaco specification minibus, was a more unusual accessible version of the vehicle. With a rear wheelchair lift, the vehicle had been specifically designed for a young tetraplegic, who had suffered a spinal injury.
The vehicle is actually the second of its kind. The first had been created for Matt Hampson, a former England Rugby Union player who became a tetraplegic after a serious accident during a scrummage practice. It was him who recommended Stanford Coachworks to the youngster.
The vehicle has been entirely built around its main user and intended to be a family vehicle. Alongside the wheelchair space towards the rear is a seat for a carer, with two rear-facing seats behind the driver’s cab for parents. The usual fridges and TVs have also been put in, matching the high-specification Monaco Sprinters which have attracted several A-list celebrities.
“With the Monaco range, we put in any and every luxury we can think of,” Dave said. “We improve every time we make one.”
Stanford has been pushing the Monaco’s status as an elite vehicle much recently. The Monaco has been given its own dedicated website, monacobystanford.co.uk, and an example of the vehicle was displayed at the Elite London Show, where it was seen amongst supercars, private jets and helicopters.
Usual suspects
Several 15-seater minibus conversions were present in various configurations, including a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Citroen Relay in London Hire livery with Phoenix seating and Unwin floor tracking. These vehicles perhaps best outlined a standard vehicle from the range, though Dave was keen to stress that all Stanford Coachworks vehicles are bespoke to a certain extent.
A front-entry 15-seater Mercedes-Benz Sprinter destined for Enterprise was also present. To replace the usual sliding side door, a GRP pod is place on the nearside front of the vehicle, replacing the usual passenger door. This pod adds the step entrance, and the length of the nearside door is extended to cover it.
“Some people find the step entrance easier to use,” Dave said. “The cost of a step entrance or side door entrance is about the same, so it is entirely down to customer preference.”
The vehicle also carried a PLS underfloor cassette lift.
Patient transport
Representing the patient transport side of the business was a Renault Master conversion for Enterprise.
The vehicle is intended to have a highly variable seating capacity, as the requirements of non-emergency patient transport operators vary considerably, influenced somewhat by whether or not the vehicle needs to carry a stretcher. The example at the event was set up with eight passenger seats, including a rear-facing tip-up, along with storage space and oxygen.
“Our ambulance conversions have a flexible, configurable specification,” said Dave. “We build exactly what the customer wants.”
Dave also explained that the conversions are highly bespoke, reflecting the range of applications which need to be filled.
“A lot of companies use GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) kits, but not us,” he said. “Everything we add to the vehicle is hand cut.”
For community transport
One of 20 vehicles destined for Ring & Ride Birmingham was displayed to showcase a dedicated community transport specification.
The Fiat Ducato 11-seater will be the second vehicle to arrive at the organisation, with the first already delivered. Much of its specification was similar to other vehicles on show, such as the PLS cassette lift, though the vehicle is also specified with wipe-clean surfaces to make it easier to maintain the interior.
“Community transport operators tell us exactly the specification they need, and we build it,” Dave explained. “They then have a chance to visit our premises and inspect the vehicle for themselves, to make sure it is right.
“Everything is bespoke on these vehicles.”
The Ducato was significant as it is the first vehicle to feature a fold-out double-step made specifically for Dial-a-Ride services. The step was initially launched by Stanford Coachworks two years ago and is of its own design. Dave said that the step has proven to be a popular innovation since its launch.
“We use different brackets for the Dial-a-Ride version,” Dave added. “It has also been carefully put together to ensure that the steps do not drop down. You have to pull the steps down into position, or they will not move, because we have tuned the gas struts which regulate the movement very carefully.”
The steps are stowed inside the vehicle, folding out of the sliding door to make it easier for passengers to board, with three short steps to take rather than one big one. It is ideal for Dial-a-Ride minibuses, which rarely operate to full capacity and can afford to displace some seats to ease passenger access. The maintenance of the step is also easier because it is not stowed beneath the vehicle, avoiding dirt and damage accumulating when the vehicle is driven.
A lighter option
The smallest minibus on show was a Renault Traffic conversion. Though it only accommodated six passenger seats, along with a rear tail-lift, the vehicle still had a spacious interior, with plenty of space for wheelchairs and a tracked floor. The spacious feel was aided in no small part by a raised roof, which allows passengers to stay standing after they climb aboard.
“The Renault Traffic is about as small as we go on the minibus side,” Dave said.
The vehicle has a short wheelbase, but has been converted with a high roof.
“People produce vehicles with the usual low roof, but it doesn’t work very well,” Dave added.
“We also add a number of small details which set us apart, such as the trim on the inside of locker storage and on the ceiling.”
Small vehicles
Three vehicles at the event were smaller conversions designed to carry a single wheelchair in a vehicle not much larger than an ordinary car. These were a Ford Tourneo in Enterprise livery, VW Caddy and Fiat Doblo with Q’Straint wheelchair securements.
Along with the driver and four passenger seats, each of the vehicles has a rear ramp, allowing a wheelchair-bound passenger to be secured in the space usually occupied by the rearmost seats and boot.
Though the single occupant market is not something which Stanford Coachworks gets involved with as much as other providers, it does output around 40-50 of the vehicles each year.
The Taverners relationship
The Lord’s Taverners charity is an organisation which Stanford Coachworks has worked with for many years. The charity is a youth cricket and disability sports charity, and transports disadvantaged and disabled children to sporting events and activities.
As usual, one of its distinctive green minibuses, a Ford Transit conversion, was on display this year, though unusually it was not handed over at the event this time.
The 15-seater carried a rear lift and can be reconfigured to accommodate three seated passengers and three wheelchairs if the charity requires it. Three-point seatbelts are specified throughout the vehicle.
“This Transit is one of 50 vehicles we are supplying to Lord’s Taverners this year,” Dave explained. “It is a big contract which we have had for a long time.
“We’re always telling people to keep a look out for the distinctive green vehicles. The colour is so well established with Lord’s Taverners now that it is even called Taverners Green in the factory.”[/wlm_ismember]
