NJSS wrote:

How many pallets do I shift? Not a large number but when I do they are important including:-

[...]

NJSS

Yes, I can see why it's an issue for you.

I have once had a pallet in the back of an RRS but it was being taken home for firewood in the finest DSL tradition. So nothing on it and easy enough to get it in with the seats down.

NJSS wrote:

How many pallets do I shift? Not a large number but when I do they are important including:-

Pallet load of ancient bricks collected from Somerset, loaded with fork lift.
MGA Engine from home (Hampshire) to Derbyshire, and a second trip to collect
Gearbox, bellhousing etc.. home from Bristol
Full load of champagne from France to UK for a friend's daughter's wedding, loaded & unloaded with fork lift.

I could hire or buy a trailer, but they are not so secure, and would have been a pain on the last pick-up as it was preceded by a touring holiday in France.

A standard pallet is IIRC 1200x1000mm so I would need a trailer with a bed quite a lot larger, hard-top, spare wheel etc.. When last I priced it up c. £1k. I'm also unsure how one lifts a laden pallet into & out of a trailer.

Stick it all on a euro pallet ?

NJSS

Nasher wrote:

Unfortunately the only reason, and I genuinely mean this, is that the rear seats in the FFRR don't fold completely flat.

Actually, I would have brought one instead of my D4 if not for the back seats.

I test drove a couple of really nice 2-3yr old TDV8s and was all set to go until I tried to put the rear seats flat in the last one I test drove.
I was very dissappointed.

Nasher.

The smaller (relative to the D3/4) boot and the rear seats not folding flat is a compromise for sure. However, in practise I've not yet found the slight "rise" in the load space due to the rear seats (L405 not L322) to be a big issue. Helped I think by having the extended Hatch Bag liner, which makes for a low friction surface.

I've also seen a neat "homemade" solution, which was made of ply. Basically a shallow ramp with a supporting strip of wood underneath. Again this was on a L405 not a L322.

As I've said many times, there's no direct replacement for the D3/4. I made of list of requirements and desirable features and put them in order of priority. The FFRR fared better than the D5 for me.

The positives of the FFRR help to outweigh the negatives most of the time.

Dusty wrote:

Why do they feel the need for the camouflage paintwork when it looks exactly the same as the old one.

Nobody would notice it if was a normal colour, or is that the point, they want it spotted so ‘camouflage’ is the best policy.

I don’t come from a marketing background, so apologies if it’s a really daft observation

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