Camper conversion company recommendations please

[Bob Turner]

Hi,
I have just bought a T6 T30 to convert to a camper van. I will need a pop top that will take a roof rack and 2 sea kayaks (2 x 30kg), so I think that probably means a Reimo pop top. I want a fairly standard side furniture layout, seatbed and poptop conversion for utlility and to preserve resale value. Kayaking is my hobby rather than a campervan(to which I am very new), so any help on the campervan side is much appreciated.

I have visited and quite like Revampervan in Bournemouth, and Vanworx in Portland, despite living in East Anglia. In the end I am looking for a converter with a solid reliable reputation, nice finish/detail and not unnecessarily expensive.
There are a lot of converters around so I would appreciate suggestions as to which other converters I might approach.
many thanks Bob

 

[Blitz]

Ha ha. After some recent threads on here members may be wary of offering whole hearted recommendations
Others I’m sure will post but advise is always keep an eye on what their doing and check final quality esp electrics etc before you drive away.

 

[Bob Turner]

Asking for recommendations is asking a lot. I am happy with suggestions on which companies to look at and then make my own decision. Hopefully, that will make folks less wary - suggestions will do!

 

[Roadrunner]

I think you need to check them out yourself, one converter who posts on here got a right slagging from an unhappy customer but you need to go and talk to them your self. There is another from Yorkshire that is good as well but gets a lot of flack. Check out what converters some of the members have used and ask them what they think. Everybody has differing opinions

 

[Davenjo]

There will be loads of smaller conversion companies in your area (Waveney, Dubmotion and Clockwork Campers are the first 3 to appear with a google search of "East Anglia Van Convertors) that, chances are, people on this forum will not of heard of and/or had any real experience of. Most will be relatively small outfits doing, say, no more than a couple of vans a month but the low volumes are not an indication of quality or finish - some of the best vans you will see come from these smaller outfits.

I'd suggest you just google a couple to see what you can find and then pay them a visit to get a feel for what they do, etc., and how willing they are for you to look at both completed vans and their works in progress. Once you have a couple of potentials share the details on here so that people can advise if they have had any dealings with them.

Be prepared to wait - one thing you will find is that the good ones tend to have lengthy waiting lists.

Happy hunting!

 

[Mark Woodward]

Take a look at hilo roofs also, as take roof bars. They will happily advise and are an excellent roof.

 

[Bob Turner]

Thanks for your replies

 

[VWRuby]

For what it’s worth Bob I’m in Bedfordshire and visited the NEC last October to try and view some of the bigger names. Vanworx was on my shortlist, and after seeing their stuff compared to others and the fit and finish, I placed my order with them. They are supplying my van and converting it and they are VW approved too so I hopefully won’t have any rows at Milton Keynes with warranty issues on the van side of things. Build date for my van is today 5th March, VWX hope to have it by end March for a mid April collection fully converted......watch this space. One other thing some might not consider, credit checking the conversion company. Some companies who appear quite big had a very poor credit rating of £500 or less with Maximum risk . So if you are paying money over or expecting them to honour any warranty how long will they be in business for when most of us have a better credit rating. Vanworx credit rating was very good, low risk and many many thousands of pounds, so I felt comfortable handing my deposit across.

 

[Mike52]

Cambridge Campervans converted a new T6 for me. I just picked it up 2 weeks ago, havn't had a chance to use it in anger yet due to the weather. But a good look over it and the conversion looks an excellent job. They are sort of a mid range size family run company. Anyway I live in Norfolk so they were not to far away.

 

[Chopman]

We visited a few - 3 Bridge Campers, Vanworx, Nomad Campervans and Uberbus - all had their strengths and all had good reputations.
We also rented a camper for a weekend which turned out to be very helpful for us in deciding our priorities.

Some offer standard builds and some are more able to be flexible. Some are also busier than others and you will have a longer wait.

 

[GoatBoater]

If you are looking in that the Bournemouth area anyway definitely speak to Clough at Uberbus as well (I feel like I should be on commission for the amount I've plugged them!). We got Sca hi-lift roof with Thule bars from them. Takes 2 kayaks quite happily - although need to be removed before "popping".

 

[Eyres'ee]

Asking for recommendations is asking a lot. I am happy with suggestions on which companies to look at and then make my own decision. Hopefully, that will make folks less wary - suggestions will do!

Hi Bob I am new to this game too and looking for conversion and also live in the South East. I think I have narrowed my search down to the following companies and intend to visit them all later this year to get a feel. New Wave (Wales) Celtic motorhomes.( I saw a couple of their vans at Busfest last year and very impressed) also in Wales. Exploria and Uberbus.
Like you I wanna get it right as will be spending a fair few quid so we’ll worth the hundreds of miles I will drive to meet and get a feel for them. This probably ain’t helped you much but maybe just some other firms to have a look at.

 

[Carndearg]

Three Bridge were superb, we love our camper

 

[VWRuby]

Three Bridge were superb, we love our camper

Do three bridges do the curved off counter tops?? If so, I personally felt you lost counter top space behind the driver seat and wherevti counter top swept vertically - looked cool though!

 

[Davenjo]

Do three bridges do the curved off counter tops?? If so, I personally felt you lost counter top space behind the driver seat and wherevti counter top swept vertically - looked cool though!

Yes they do - I'm with you, their conversions look great but the slopes make that portion of worktop behind the driver useless - I'd be forever picking stuff up that had fallen off. One possible advantage is that it looks like you can recline the drivers seat a bit more.

 

[Chopman]

I looked at three bridge and they looked very professional and very high standard of work. Their "signature" is the curved counter tops but they also do regular square stuff.
Tourer Range - Three Bridge Campers - VW Camper Conversions - VW T5 T6 Transporter Camper Conversion Specialist

 

[Carndearg]

We love our curved tops, we don’t put anything on the curves yet still manage to cook tasty meals

 

[VWRuby]

I looked at three bridge and they looked very professional and very high standard of work. Their "signature" is the curved counter tops but they also do regular square stuff.
Tourer Range - Three Bridge Campers - VW Camper Conversions - VW T5 T6 Transporter Camper Conversion Specialist

They need to publicise the square bit a bit more then as I switched straight off the curved look.

 

[Whiz]

Ha ha. After some recent threads on here members may be wary of offering whole hearted recommendations
Others I’m sure will post but advise is always keep an eye on what their doing and check final quality esp electrics etc before you drive away.

Well said @Blitz spot on advice ... Stay on top and get dates in writing ... not all but a good few companies will fail to meet the date ... be aware and good luck!!!

 

[femailkitten]