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MOST of the major manufacturers offer a variety of access points to their vehicles.
Page 55
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The driving compartment of forward drive vans are often restricted in the foot well area because of the intrusion of the wheel arch. This also applies to the door space, as its shape is determined by the position of the wheel arch — but with bonneted vehicles the door is normally placed further to the rear.
Sliding doors offer less of a hazard where the vehicle is unloaded adjacent to busy pavements, and for the driver who has to disembark from his cab regularly. However, they are usually more draughty, tend to rattle after prolonged use and are equipped with sliding windows in place of the normal wind-up type to be found on hinged doors.
The cab sliding door (sliding rearwards) virtually rules out the inclusion of the side cargo door unless it is placed well clear to the rear.
Slide cargo doors come in two basic types, as well. To provide the largest opening possible the door is normally situated between the B-post and the wheel arch. Situated here, the sliding door is a better proposition, as the objections raised for its use as a cab door are less relevant, although in many cases such a door does have a minor drawback by increasing the overall width of the vehicle by a few inches.
In addition to the normal single-hinged door, some manufacturers offer a double door. This provides good access and if allowed to fold back through 180 degrees produces minimum inconvenience.
At the rear on smaller vans a tail-lift gate, provided It lifts well above head height, can allow the best access_ Other options include the single or double doors. A point here to look at, is the positioning of the hinges. Often, owing to the shapes of the rear end, they are placed well down the edge of the door and have to bear extra weight as a result.
On the larger panel vans the double door is most commonly used, and here again the hinges are important. Large and robust units distort unless adequate support is provided.