If you could do it all again...what would you do different?

[Jonesy123]

So we always talk about what we want or what we would improve right...so if you could start from scratch what would you do again?

As a van builder. I've spent alot of my time desperately trying to tell couples with money burning a hole in their pockets who are cross eyed with hysteria about getting a van ... to think about what they need rather than what they want or have read about on forums etc.

So if you could start fresh knowing what you know now.....what would you do right first time?

 

[R8N XX]

Errr. As much as I love my van. I really don’t use it. I bought it 3years ago with 17k miles on it and to date it has 28k on it. So my answer it I would not buy one. That said I have had a great time on this forum. I am on it everyday several times. Could I sell my van. Well of course. But like most things I own I don’t use. 4 motorbikes. A 82 Ford cortina and an 87 Nissan Sunny. I have the choice. If I sold it all I would not so that’s my tail.

 

[topcat203]

In hindsight I would definitely not have gone for Euro 6 van ! I should have gone for an early T6 with a Euro 5 engine!

 

[Jonesy123]

In hindsight I would definitely not have gone for Euro 6 van ! I should have gone for an early T6 with a Euro 5 engine!

Literally did this exact thing .

 

[Jonesy123]

Errr. As much as I love my van. I really don’t use it. I bought it 3years ago with 17k miles on it and to date it has 28k on it. So my answer it I would not buy one. That said I have had a great time on this forum. I am on it everyday several times. Could I sell my van. Well of course. But like most things I own I don’t use. 4 motorbikes. A 82 Ford cortina and an 87 Nissan Sunny. I have the choice. If I sold it all I would not so that’s my tail.

Honestly especially post pandemic I hear so many people say this.
If I didn't use mine as a daily I wouldn't have one, hand on my heart

 

[moomin-j]

So we always talk about what we want or what we would improve right...so if you could start from scratch what would you do again?

As a van builder. I've spent alot of my time desperately trying to tell couples with money burning a hole in their pockets who are cross eyed with hysteria about getting a van ... to think about what they need rather than what they want or have read about on forums etc.

So if you could start fresh knowing what you know now.....what would you do right first time?

I wouldn't change a thing.
Hired 1 for a trial 2 week trip, to find out not what we did need but more importantly what we didn't need.
I have no regrets on any bit of the final spec / conversion we bought.
Owned now for 5 years and many happy family UK hols completed.
I tell folk who ask why we bought it, that it's the best mobile tent you can buy.
We don't want a motorhome, we don't want a caravan, we don't want a static
It's certainly a keeper for a very long, long time...

 

[Deaky]

My current van is my second. I wouldn’t change a thing. I made all my mistakes on the first one.

 

[Howzat]

I can't think of anything I've done that I've then had to rip out or replace mainly thanks to this forum. The only thing I can think of is some wheels I didn't like.

 

[Bigsidavies]

I’d have had the longer side of the u-shaped seating made longer so that it went across part of the door opening like they do in the SWB. Would have given a bigger sofa and longer bed.
230ah seat base battery, more solar, induction hobs, quooker tap and no gas.

 

[moomin-j]

I’d have had the longer side of the u-shaped seating made longer so that it went across part of the door opening like they do in the SWB. Would have given a bigger sofa and longer bed.
230ah seat base battery, more solar, induction hobs, quooker tap and no gas.

I feel another van purchase maybe on the cards?

 

[Bigsidavies]

I feel another van purchase maybe on the cards?

I’ll be looking when I get home from this trip. Fancy a 6.1 in Ravenna Blue. But prices are still pretty high.

 

[ginkster]

I’m really happy with the van but I would probably have one built specifically for me next time rather than buy a ready converted one. Things I’d look at in a Transporter sized van would be a slightly wider bed, easier to use sliding bed/rear seat and possibly a LWB to get a little bit more room when the bed is down or in the back with the seat forward for bikes. I’d consider an auto too, but that’s not a show-stopper as I already have one auto and one manual car.

For our current usage the van is great, but we are planning some much longer tours in a couple of years time so will probably upgrade to something Crafter size, taking on board the lessons we have learned from the T6 and previous campers.

 

[Shaun Witts]

Two things:
Requesting OEM heater outlet vents that are somewhat blocked by the side furniture (I was offered outlets under the seat, but thought OEM would look neater).
Allowing the side furniture to impede the rotation of the drivers seat. Yes I know that most do this, but my van was bespoke, so could easily have been altered.

A third would be getting a petrol Webasto heater, then converting my van to run on LPG with a large 85l LPG tank in the spare wheel well!

 

[ChrisBell]

I think the only major thing which would be easily reversed is swivel passenger seat... Only ever trialled once and don't like how mine sits around 70mm higher than standard. Perhaps I would have gone for 300 long F45S awning as opposed to 260mm. Other than that pleased with my choices and how my van looks and drives.

Obviously the big grey elephant in the room or big grey van, is the make and model... But hey ho, during COVID I think I saved around £10k equivalent on a base T6 and have had the luxury of trialling and testing most of the things I'd ever want or need again at possibly a lesser cost than having VW brand associated. Kids love it and it's been a good workhorse as well as day van so happy days! Some cracking vans appearing up recently for sale tho.. could I be tempted yes, however, also spend too much time on this forum and read all that can and will likely go wrong!

 

[rod_vw]

I began building my own campers in 2004 on a 2002 LWB T4 having owned various air-cooled VW campers since 1977. The T4 was followed by three T5s and a T6 all LWB High Roof versions ex dealer pre-reg stock and built by me. I consider every one to be a prototype! Believe it or not the original design of my own constructions had its design origins in a 1980 Devon Moonraker. Here is how the last one turned out which is now sold and been replaced by a LWB MAN TGE.

We had covered many thousands of miles in the five self builds and visited almost as many French Aires etc. There have been many hours discussing just how the next one would be that little bit different from the one that we were sitting in at the time!

Heaven knows what will follow the TGE but age is getting the better of my ability to continue constructing my own.

 

[cgtmiles]

I think getting it 5 years earlier would have been good, when the kids were younger and we could have used it as a family more. It wasn’t possible then though for various reasons (many money related) and we still had a lot of good trips tenting. The other plus side of this is that we are now getting to the stage where we can go away without them which is much more fun

 

[RobertO2023]

Wouldn’t change anything. My van does everything I need and a bit more- I love the versatility.Yes I know it has cost me more than a decent but boring 4 x4 - hey one life enjoy

 

[t6blo]

This is my second T6. The first was a panel van and I did the OEM Kombi conversion myself - I hated fitting the windows and hated removing everything underneath to fit the seats.

So, I learned from the experience and for the second van bought a factory Kombi.

With my current van I have also made mistakes.

My use case is that they were never intended to be a campervan, they were ‘supposed’ to be used as a day van - somewhere to get changed after a walk, picnic lunch or fish and chips by the sea, cup of tea or hot chocolate, taking our push bikes out.

Reality is that all of this stuff has been rarely done, mainly due to the ‘faff’ of swivelling the seat, fitting the table, steaming up the inside with the kettle. On the rare occasions we do go out we have both been sat in the cab facing forwards eating M&S sandwiches

Having leisure electrics is also pointless if you just use the van as a daily driver.

Just recently I admitted defeat and have made some changes - removing things I have bought and fitted and then obviously losing money after selling it again. This has all been removed….

Table
Swivel bases
Kitchen pod with hob and sink
Leisure battery & DC-DC
Solar panel and MPPT
Inverter and 240v sockets
Ecoflow
Wi-fi hotspot
12v electrics like USB ports
Relocated Kombi bench

It was just never used.

With hindsight I would have just kept the interior of the van OEM apart from the sound deadening, insulation, carpet lining and audio upgrade.

 

[JamesD]

What a good question. We hired both a motor home and a VW on the search for the right van. Very quickly fixed on a LWB V W - but despite that we have already made some modifications in the three years we have owned it. 1) converted from bench to single front passenger seat. This is a major benefit with only the two of us - getting more space flexibility and ease 2) converted the rock and roll bed to a rib bed. Again so much more flexible and space. 3) more three pin plug points at the front of the van for when I have to make the coffee in the morning. 4) solar panel just to add the flexibility to where we go 5) added a projector to the van for entertainment but that was a luxury really. Just about to retire later this year and can’t wait to do Scotland Ireland wales and Europe etc ….

 

[Jonesy123]

I think getting it 5 years earlier would have been good, when the kids were younger and we could have used it as a family more. It wasn’t possible then though for various reasons (many money related) and we still had a lot of good trips tenting. The other plus side of this is that we are now getting to the stage where we can go away without them which is much more fun

My kids grew up in vans... but....now my oldest thinks going away with mom and dad is embarrassing its quite nice saves us a few quid