Camping It Up

[Walesy 0]

I haven't bothered with a members gallery for years as i've not really done much, but i'm planning on converting my new purchase into a campervan so thought i'd document it on here, i'm quite excited about it which is cool as i've not really had much of a buzz for any of the cars i've had for the last few years.

 

I picked this up earlier, it's a 2002 2.5TDI which has been remapped to god knows what - i'll be popping to RK Engineering tomorrow for the guys to have a poke around it and to put it on the RR to see what BHP and torque it's giving because it's certainly quick for a van :lol: the seller reckoned he was told it should be around the 150bhp mark but I think that's 'optimistic' but it's quick enough for me.

 

The conversion should be pretty quick as i've insured it as a camper van and the insurance company have given me a month to do it in, i'm also going to be buying most of the units and the vans already insulated and carpeted inside so it should be fairly straight forward.

 

Anyway here's a few pics as it stands. It's on 18" wheels with standard ride hight, i'll be whacking it with the lowering stick and putting some smaller wheels on it at some point, and also having a window put in the rear tailgate and having limo tints done on all rear windows.

 

 

And before anyone says it, no im not a pikey, the pics are the ones from the advert of it outside the sellers holiday home :lol:

 

:awesome:

[g60greeny 0]

that looks like a good base mate,i wouldnt go smaller wheels though,my mates just banged 19's on his an it looks rate well

[Walesy 0]

Yeah I know they look better but I gotta think of tyre prices dude! :(

[delfinis38 1]

looks like my mates van.... but his has Herbie stripes and number 53 on it :lol:

[mattnorgrove 0]

before anyone says it, no im not a pikey

 

I was gonna say just that, then thought better of upsetting the PC brigade, so I'm glad you said it yourself!! :lol:

 

Cool van though, good luck with the conversion. :D

[CorradoVR6-Turbo 0]

very nice,always fancied one of them,good looking for a van.

[the delta force 0]

Unusual caravan colours....

 

A nice van though, a friend of mine has just bought an almost identical one with the chequered front.

 

He's having it fully kitted out by a camper conversion company at the moment.

[Philuk 0]

very cool mate. would love to have one to motor to shows in that are abroad!

 

what you making into how many you gonan sleep in it?

 

btw tyre prices will prolly be not much cheaper fdor the 17's with right profile tyre and the 18s that you on now.! i say stick with those wheels and bash it with the lowering wand!

[KIPVW 0]

Nice one Walesy,

 

I'd love one of these and tootle off to france every year and park up a mountain to watch the tour go by :clap:

 

As for lowering it :cuckoo: ya cant drive across a muddy field if you do decide to use it for camping in which i know you intend to :grin:

 

On tarmac maybe but for camping????? I think not anyway :ignore:

[Walesy 0]

Cheers guys, i'm sure it wont interest everyone as it's pretty different to a rado! :lol:

 

Just in case you didn't realise, the chequered bonnet is a bra :camp: (may be obvious but just thought i'd make that clear! :lol:) and i'm not sure about it, it'll probably be going tbh as it's not really 'me'

 

I think you're right with the wheel/tyres - i've been thinking i'll probably stick with these ones for now and see how things go, the van came with the original steelies thrown in so i'll probably sell those to pay for some new tyres on the 18's - I was thinking of maybe getting some 17" LM reps in black but who knows, tbh my priority isn't with how the van looks for now, i've gotta concentrate on getting the interior sorted first!

 

I need enough room for me, my better half, my son and my dog! i'm going for a full width rock and roll bed and a bunk bed at the rear for the sprog - then the kitchen units will go parallel to the back of the driver/passenger seats. The thing with the short wheel base T4 is that you have to compromise somewhere as there just isn't enough room for loads of storage/kitchen units aswell as sleeping space. The other option is to go for a 3/4 width bed and the kitchen units all along the side of the van but I can't be doing with cramming into a 3/4 width bed tbh! I've been looking at doing this for a couple of years now so have paid close attention to how people have gone about doing the interiors at the shows i've been to in the last couple of summers, we've both decided that the full width bed and less storage space is the best option for us.

 

The downside is that theres not much room in the cab, with a baby seat fitted and the dog on the floor it leaves little room on the double passenger seat for someone else to sit, it'll do but it's lucky neither of us are particularly 'large' :lol: My missus loves driving it too so I can see arguments over who gets to drive in the future tbh!

 

I went up to RKE this morning, I was surprised when I got there to see another t4 on the rollers when I walked in! this fella had done a little bit more to his engine than mine has had done and he made 147bhp, mine came in at just under 130bhp which is exactly what I expected and i'm happy with that for the minute, I think if I have some nozzles fitted and remove the cat it should be up near 150bhp which would be epic! :)

 

It's AWESOME to drive, you just cant help grinning - sat there in the captains chair with all that torque under your foot - the 2.5tdi is definitely the one to go for. I'll be having cruise control fitted as it's only £65! we're planning on a Euro trip at some point as my dragon in law lives in S.France so CC will come in very handy :) - in the meantime though we'll be regularly doing 1 nighters here and there, living in Cornwall we're spoilt with hundreds of fantastic spots to camp for the night so it'll be getting a fair bit of use 8) - even if we're not camping though it'll still be bloody useful as we're out and about at beaches/woodlands most weekends so having the room on wheels will be awesome, especially now we've got the little man :grin:

 

I'm going to try and get some of the interior bits and bobs like lights/speakers etc ordered this week, and will hopefully pick up the bed/sink/grill/burners etc etc next weekend :grin:

[g60greeny 0]

think my mate bagged his cupboards from b&q in the bargin bucket section lol,always worth a look mate

[Phil K 0]

Nice one matey! Looks like a fab project and I look forward to hearing how it goes from here 8)

[Guest]

Please post up your progess as I am very interested.

My Mum & S/Dad did a VW home conversion years ago and used it for many years following the Tour de France and other bike races.

 

Since my S/Dad retired they have gone up in the world with a brand new caravan pulled by an ex demo VW van (I should know what type but I dont) to put all the heavy stuff in as they 'packed up' in Jan 2007 and buggered off to Europe chasing the sun. We have visisted them twice and each time Kip comes back wanting a camper van to follow bike races in...... and use as 'base' for riding a few mountains himself.

[mic_VR 3]

Loving this, should be brilliant when you're done. Those T4's are great for loads of shuff, and I've seen the VW own camper conversions of them and I really like them

 

Good on ya mate and keep us updated.

[craigowl 0]

Aww sheet!...................I just went and bought a new tent last year.

 

-----------------Great idea Walesey! Have fun!!!

[Walesy 0]

Tent you say? pah! that's budget accommodation! :lol:

 

I'm quite looking forward to the first show I go to in it, when everyone else is faffing around putting tents up etc i'll just roll up, put the handbrake on and get a cold beer out of the coolbox and sit in my luxury pad watching a bit of telly :smug: :lol:

[g60greeny 0]

thats what its all about mate lol

[chubbybrown 0]

Webasto night heaters are handy if you feel the cold at night.

you dont need a big one and and ex truck 24v with a dropper works fine.

[Walesy 0]

Yeah, that's another thing i'm going to have to sort out at a later date, you wouldn't believe how much money this is all costing - it's more like doing a house renovation than modding a car :lol: - buying sockets, lighting, sinks , plumbing etc! Obviously having a gas heater will be dangerous without proper ventilation and I expect electric heaters will zap too much power - i'm going to sort out a 240v hook up so I can plug the van in at campsites but I expect most of the time i'll have to rely on my leisure battery so need to make sure whatever heating I choose wont kill the battery!

 

I've ordered £250 worth of bits for the electrics this morning - i've gone for 6 spotlights that can be turned on individually, and a strip light for each side of the van - it sounds like a lot of lights (which it is!) but I want the ability to have it as dim/light in there as possible and also need to be able to have it dark at the back of the van where Jay (my son) will kip and light in the front/sitting area for me and Mrs W. I've also ordered a double 3 pin socket and a split charge system so the leisure battery will charge from the alternator :awesome:

[joby 0]

Looking smart there walesy :) Im doing my conversion at the moment! Be prepared to empty your wallet, ive spent over £6500 so far including buying the van and still no where near finished, Ive enjoyed every minute so far though, The 2.5 Tdi engine is great, loads of torque and surprisingly quick for a van :shock: Ive used a cannons forge bed and ikea units The bed is a three quarter and plenty big enough for two and im a fat tw :censored: t :lol: Heres a couple of pics of mine

[Leonard 0]

Hey Joby that is looking really smart with the IKEA units. Have you got the sink and stove in there as well?

[joby 0]

No sink and stove yet, but looking at the smev combination one, There about £240 though so its gonna have to wait, maybe after xmas

[Walesy 0]

Nice one mate, it's looking sweet - How much is it dropped by? Those side bars make them look a bit lower 8) Those wheels look great on it! Just needs the bumper/mirrors colour coded now :lol:

 

I've spent the day cleaning the inside of mine, and i'm off to have the side windows tinted tomorrow - then hopefully i'll get the spotlights in and the split charge sorted on the weekend :)

 

My total spend is looking like it'll be around the £7k mark which isn't too bad considering what you get for the money!

[coolrado 0]

A mate of mine has just bought the units, sideboards ect from a company called Norton conversions in runcorn, appearently they supply a few other companies who then add their bit on top, but you can buy from them directly and save a fortune.

 

The guy to speak to is John Grice

 

6 Dewar court

Astmoor.

Runcorn

Cheshire

WA7 1PT

 

tel 07850 747694

[Adz The Rat 0]

Love the van!!!

 

One of my mates has converted his to a camper, even has same chequered bonnet cover.

His is green and slammed over 18in RS6 rims