Hi All, with a few moments to spare in retired life I thought I’d give an update about how things went after selling the T6 campervan and moving to a panel van conversion.
. So , going back before Covid, I had a nice team white T6 campervan that I really enjoyed having and particularly getting all the great tips from this forum .
I’ve attached a picture of the old van, I do wonder whereabouts it is now. We decided to change the van mainly because we have a German Shepherd dog and we were just finding the short wheelbase that little bit too small for us as we got older and we kind of thought we needed a toilet facility for those night time relief visits !
We’d had the standard white box big motorhome before and frankly didnt like it, the van itself was a nice modern Benimar make but I didnt like the width and we tend to spend our time outside anyhow not watching tv inside.
Found a very low mileage partially converted panel that had potential, the disabled owners had spent good money on making it into a perfectly acceptable day van for themselves with a full length wind out awning, a basic cold water onboard tank and a hob set up. It had a toilet fitted but no shower etc as no electrics bar lights.
It had a bed set up but it was a bit (very)odd, catering for a wheelchair access and the bed slats in the middle were basically sawn planks , the conversion had been done by a firm that does disabled vehicles, not a campervan converter, so they were very good at some bits not so much at others. It had a webasto heater fitted but that needed a good overhaul.
Little 15 inch wheels gave a harsh ride looked odd and the tyres were the originals so the fun began ……
I ought to say I have ‘lurked ‘ on the forum ever since and have got most of my info and ideas from you lot, hope you dont mind.
So, new wheels beckoned from Elite wheels reading. Very very happy with the Davanti terratourer tyres despite the silly name. A pvc was never gonna be a swamper , I always wanted that look for the VW.
Inside , we ditched the planky things and swapped swingy ( ooh err) floral curtains for blinds, much nicer and then found a small firm near Hull ( like 200 miles away from my house) to do some work . EHU fitted, 2 leisure batteries, and an interior modification. So happy with the firm ( Shoreline campervans in Tickton Hull that it was worth the journey, and then had thoughts of new layout.
Now, for those of you, who feel that the rock ‘n’ roll style beds are a bit tight in the T6, if you make up the full width length wise beds in the PVC, it turns out you have a massive bed that is actually way too large for what is needed. so we found we had a need for some more storage space, (as you do) so made a decision to have a bit more work done on the van and stripped the existing beds out and have a new pull across bed made with some nice units and tambour doors . I’d like to say thanks to all of the forum contributors for giving us these ideas and also pointing us in the right direction for so many tips. Whilst it was there having the work done, we had a small hot water system fitted, not a massive tank but also a small waste tank enough to have a decent offsite shower
, we also modernised some of the light fittings et cetera and added a new removable table and a side table by the sliding door which I think you can see on the pictures. Had some upholstery done as well and the windows dark tinted so you can see out, but not see into the rear of the vehicle .
You can probably see the silver things on the floor there which are the remnants of the disabled fit out. They are just so well fitted that it’s pointless trying to move remove them and they don’t get in the way. You can see we’ve got some nice storage now and the bed is a good double. Bikes go on the back on a towbar fitment and one of the things I really like about a PVC is the electric step. (You can tell I’m getting older. )
I don’t have those paper, folding blind things fitted inside the front windscreen, because I find they restrict your vision if you’re tall like me and actually as former T6 campervan users we know that good insulated outside screens stop condensation to a large degree.
The van has lots of other Tim Curry ( that was aito spell what the hell I said ‘ tinker’pieces ) on it that I’ve pretty much stolen from ideas on this forum and it now feels like home , its used pretty much every day as a dog van . When people ask, I always say that it will go anywhere that an Amazon delivery van can get to and it’s true that I’ve never had any problem really parking it . Just sometimes you may have to walk a little bit further in the Tesco’s carpark. Of course you lose the advantage of a low roof and anything with a barrier will be a problem but in general terms I never feel like I’m driving a great big plastic box on wheels .
It definitely makes camping in the winter easier than using the T6 with the awning, but don’t get me wrong. I absolutely loved the T6, especially the driving position and quality and comfort of the seats, whatever you do to these vans ( oh I forgot semi air fitted on the rear) they are still the peugeot, citroen, fiat ducato base delivery van, even those big A class landboats.
Ridiculously, I do miss the ‘wave’, and also miss the ability to stand under the tailgate. We do have a home-made cover for the barn doors on the PVC but it’s not quite the same.
Overall, I’m really glad we made the change but miss the T6 every day as a daily driver and I’ve no doubt that should we have a lifestyle change that I shall return to the ranks of T6 owners, as one of the things that we are now encountering is the need to take grandchildren with us in the vehicle, not for camping trips, but just for ferrying around, and of course the PVC is only a two berth. If we ever downsize and reduce our camping nights we will look around for a lwb, auto box. The manual gearbox in these panel vans are sweet as a nut but I’m getting lazy in my old age and prefer driving our autobox car. I wouldnt go for a comformatic if you do change to a pvc at anytime, theres a lot of moaning about them
Well, I hope that that has not been too boring and is of interest for those of you who may be thinking. ‘Oh I wish I had more space, ‘ or if your lifestyle is changing, but trust me you’ll always miss your T6!!
Still lurking….
. So , going back before Covid, I had a nice team white T6 campervan that I really enjoyed having and particularly getting all the great tips from this forum .
I’ve attached a picture of the old van, I do wonder whereabouts it is now. We decided to change the van mainly because we have a German Shepherd dog and we were just finding the short wheelbase that little bit too small for us as we got older and we kind of thought we needed a toilet facility for those night time relief visits !
We’d had the standard white box big motorhome before and frankly didnt like it, the van itself was a nice modern Benimar make but I didnt like the width and we tend to spend our time outside anyhow not watching tv inside.
Found a very low mileage partially converted panel that had potential, the disabled owners had spent good money on making it into a perfectly acceptable day van for themselves with a full length wind out awning, a basic cold water onboard tank and a hob set up. It had a toilet fitted but no shower etc as no electrics bar lights.
It had a bed set up but it was a bit (very)odd, catering for a wheelchair access and the bed slats in the middle were basically sawn planks , the conversion had been done by a firm that does disabled vehicles, not a campervan converter, so they were very good at some bits not so much at others. It had a webasto heater fitted but that needed a good overhaul.
Little 15 inch wheels gave a harsh ride looked odd and the tyres were the originals so the fun began ……
I ought to say I have ‘lurked ‘ on the forum ever since and have got most of my info and ideas from you lot, hope you dont mind.
So, new wheels beckoned from Elite wheels reading. Very very happy with the Davanti terratourer tyres despite the silly name. A pvc was never gonna be a swamper , I always wanted that look for the VW.
Inside , we ditched the planky things and swapped swingy ( ooh err) floral curtains for blinds, much nicer and then found a small firm near Hull ( like 200 miles away from my house) to do some work . EHU fitted, 2 leisure batteries, and an interior modification. So happy with the firm ( Shoreline campervans in Tickton Hull that it was worth the journey, and then had thoughts of new layout.
Now, for those of you, who feel that the rock ‘n’ roll style beds are a bit tight in the T6, if you make up the full width length wise beds in the PVC, it turns out you have a massive bed that is actually way too large for what is needed. so we found we had a need for some more storage space, (as you do) so made a decision to have a bit more work done on the van and stripped the existing beds out and have a new pull across bed made with some nice units and tambour doors . I’d like to say thanks to all of the forum contributors for giving us these ideas and also pointing us in the right direction for so many tips. Whilst it was there having the work done, we had a small hot water system fitted, not a massive tank but also a small waste tank enough to have a decent offsite shower
, we also modernised some of the light fittings et cetera and added a new removable table and a side table by the sliding door which I think you can see on the pictures. Had some upholstery done as well and the windows dark tinted so you can see out, but not see into the rear of the vehicle .
You can probably see the silver things on the floor there which are the remnants of the disabled fit out. They are just so well fitted that it’s pointless trying to move remove them and they don’t get in the way. You can see we’ve got some nice storage now and the bed is a good double. Bikes go on the back on a towbar fitment and one of the things I really like about a PVC is the electric step. (You can tell I’m getting older. )
I don’t have those paper, folding blind things fitted inside the front windscreen, because I find they restrict your vision if you’re tall like me and actually as former T6 campervan users we know that good insulated outside screens stop condensation to a large degree.
The van has lots of other Tim Curry ( that was aito spell what the hell I said ‘ tinker’pieces ) on it that I’ve pretty much stolen from ideas on this forum and it now feels like home , its used pretty much every day as a dog van . When people ask, I always say that it will go anywhere that an Amazon delivery van can get to and it’s true that I’ve never had any problem really parking it . Just sometimes you may have to walk a little bit further in the Tesco’s carpark. Of course you lose the advantage of a low roof and anything with a barrier will be a problem but in general terms I never feel like I’m driving a great big plastic box on wheels .
It definitely makes camping in the winter easier than using the T6 with the awning, but don’t get me wrong. I absolutely loved the T6, especially the driving position and quality and comfort of the seats, whatever you do to these vans ( oh I forgot semi air fitted on the rear) they are still the peugeot, citroen, fiat ducato base delivery van, even those big A class landboats.
Ridiculously, I do miss the ‘wave’, and also miss the ability to stand under the tailgate. We do have a home-made cover for the barn doors on the PVC but it’s not quite the same.
Overall, I’m really glad we made the change but miss the T6 every day as a daily driver and I’ve no doubt that should we have a lifestyle change that I shall return to the ranks of T6 owners, as one of the things that we are now encountering is the need to take grandchildren with us in the vehicle, not for camping trips, but just for ferrying around, and of course the PVC is only a two berth. If we ever downsize and reduce our camping nights we will look around for a lwb, auto box. The manual gearbox in these panel vans are sweet as a nut but I’m getting lazy in my old age and prefer driving our autobox car. I wouldnt go for a comformatic if you do change to a pvc at anytime, theres a lot of moaning about them
Well, I hope that that has not been too boring and is of interest for those of you who may be thinking. ‘Oh I wish I had more space, ‘ or if your lifestyle is changing, but trust me you’ll always miss your T6!!
Still lurking….
