Any information would be appreciated

[lee finnerty]

Hi
Im a gas engineer/plumber who is contemplating converting a vw t6 swb into a camper myself.....apart from the roof and windows. Most companies out there seem to be charging between £15-20 k which seems a lot to me....Although some do look very nice. Can anyone please tell me of their experience of converting their van themselves and if they saved a decent amount of money. I know i would enjoy doing a conversion but it would be nice to save a bit.
I've been sifting through stuff online to get an insight into the process but i can't find anything which is a thorough step by step from the floor up. Does this exist to buy or download.

Thank you for any response

Lee

 

[rod_vw]

Hi Lee,

Welcome to the forum. You have come to the right place for conversion information.

I've got a bit of experience having done five during the past thirteen year but am by no means an expert. What I will say to answer your question about money saving is that if you convert to anything near 'industry standard' with a few bell & whistles to satisfy your own whims you won't save much money BUT you will have a camper finished to your design of which you will be proud and have the satisfaction of having done it all yourself.
One thing I always keep in sight is that one day I will want to sell it, then it will have to appeal to another. A vehicle that is too personalised is likely to have a restricted audience when sale day arrives.

I've always been a LWB High-roof fan myself and have used Reimo roofs with a Reimo seat/bed but they do add well over £8000 to the cost. However sitting here on an Aire in eastern France in glorious sunshine does make the expense seem well worthwhile.

Good luck with the conversion and keep asking the questions.

Rod

 

[lee finnerty]

Hello Rod in eastern france......lucky boy !

Thanks for the reply.....im just a bit apprehensive about using a t6 as my first project without a proper guide.......is there a comprehensive guide available that you know of......do you mind me asking where you gained your installation instructions for your first build.
Cheers

lee

 

[rod_vw]

There is a book 'Build your own Motor Caravan' but I wouldn't recommend over information that you can get on here and on the web generally.

As for my information, you will see from my signature I have been a Camper owner for over forty years so in that time some of the things that I liked and those that I didn't rubbed off. Back in 2004 I had bought a new ex-demo LWB T4 for which I was looking for a converter when my employer made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Hence I had the time to convert it myself. Since then I have learned as I have gone along keeping each one three or four years and moving on, each time with a new or ex-demo vehicle.
None of it is rocket science, just take your time, do the research, find the suppliers and get on with the job. Usual rules, think ahead, measure twice and cut once and of course if in doubt ask.
My avatar gives away my devotion to the Volkswagen Marque, it's far more valuable than the campers and far harder to get parts for!!

Rod

 

[DaveyB]

@lee finnerty, welcome to the forum. Take a look at this thread
T6 LWB T30 140 Acapulco blue - Build Thread
Which is all about a member converting their own van. It may be well worth having a PM conversation with @xpfloyd

 

[lee finnerty]

Thanks for your kind advice Rod.......one final thing..........do many campers have a sliding windows on both sides.

 

[Colinlp]

We converted our van for about £3500 but that is without the poptop which will cost us another £5000 but they are available for half that depending on what you want. The trick is, the more you can do yourself the more you'll save, we did everything ourselves, even made the furniture but also a lot will depend on the spec of the parts you choose. We opted for non sliding windows as we never used the sliding window on our old camper at all and the slider is just one more thing to leak, break etc.