New Member Alert! Which spec would you recommend?

[Jamz]

Hello there! New to the community and on the cusp of putting a deposit down on a new T6.1 conversion...

The question is, which of the following would you go for?! Price is about the same and I think I'm just choosing between looks and practicality, but would love to get some more seasoned opinions... Options are below:

GREY - Expedition Campers (Camper King)	RED - Revolution Campers
110BHP - 5 Speed	110BHP - 5 Speed
T6.1 LWB St Tropez 4 Berth Conversion Pure Grey	2021 VW T6.1 Transporter Manual Startline Business pack - With full conversion
Rock and Roll Bed	RIB Bed
Single passenger seat	Double Passenger seat
Side bars	LWB Sidebars/Steps
Speaker upgrade and front door sound deadening	Speaker upgrade and front door sound deadening
Rear Camera (mirror mounted)	Reversing Camera Kit (integrated)
Bike Rack with upgraded struts (4 bike)	4 x Bike Rack
Dometic wind out awning	Fiamma F45 Awning (Fitted)
Upholstery upgrade	Upholstery upgrade
Diesel Heater	Diesel Heater
18" Black Allow Wheel upgrade	Standard VW Allow Wheels
	60 Litre Underslung Water Tank
Solar Kit (100W)	Double Solar Panels (150W)
Spoiler kit
Starter kit (Gas bottle, Screen covers, hook up lead and adapter)

Any advice would be amazing! Thank you lovely people!

 

[Skyliner33]

Strange choice of username if you are not connected to the event.

 

[Pete C]

Does either of them come with aircon ?
I don’t think the 6.1 Startline comes with it as standard, so that would rule it out for me.

Pete

 

[Morris67]

You can have air con on a 6.1 startline if you add the business pack
air con
colour coded bumpers
and mirrors
reverse sensors
upgraded steering whee with functions
that’s what I did hope this helps

 

[Saint Paul]

Neither of them for me as I would not want to go below 150 bhp.

 

[Ozi]

Neither of them for me as I would not want to go below 150 bhp.

Same for me. Tested a 110 and felt that with full conversion weight and a 5 speed gearbox, I’d always feel a bit underpowered. So went for the 150 and very glad I did. Looks like you’re thinking LWB, so I’d say the 150 is even more important as that extra 400mm adds extra weight in the base van and fit out and load carried.

In terms of fit out, give a lot of thought to what you actually need, and how you want to use the space. Your first questions ought to be LWB or SWB, tailgate or barn doors, and engine size. Then what do you need in the conversion.

Also consider if you feel you need air con? If so, you need a Highline or Business pack model as your base van. Highline will also come with parking sensors front and back. For me a startline just means you end up compromising, or adding extra things into the build cost.

Personally wouldn’t be without the reversing camera, but that can be retrofitted if needed.

 

[Ali-G]

Neither for me as I wouldn’t buy a manual but there’s no right or wrong answer really as everyone has different wants/needs.
I would also want a RIB bed over a Rock n Roll bed and a single swivelling passenger seat over a double seat.
As has been said before, concentrate on the things that are difficult/expensive to change, things like wheels and suspension can be changed after you’ve got your ideal base van.

 

[Salty Spuds]

None of the above, partly for the reasons already stated. Also I’m not a fan of Camper King’s work.
Neither of your options state what the base chassis is, t28/30/32. I wouldn’t go lower that t30 for a conversion.

 

[Jamz]

Thank you all so much for the advice. I think I need to reconsider the base model and go for the 150bhp. I’m fine with the manual, but pretty sure that I’m going to get a bit frustrated with the lack of power. These options both come with AC as they have the business pack, but are also a T28 chassis, so that’s something I’ll look into now as well.

Again, thank you all for taking the time to respond!

And apologies for the name, shows how new I am to the whole community! What an unlucky coincidence! It’s been picked up by an admin and will be changed shortly.

 

[Skyliner33]

Thank you all so much for the advice. I think I need to reconsider the base model and go for the 150bhp. I’m fine with the manual, but pretty sure that I’m going to get a bit frustrated with the lack of power. These options both come with AC as they have the business pack, but are also a T28 chassis, so that’s something I’ll look into now as well.

Again, thank you all for taking the time to respond!

And apologies for the name, shows how new I am to the whole community! What an unlucky coincidence! It’s been picked up by an admin and will be changed shortly.

Couple of suggestions, for the T28 chassis, you could get them weighed and that would then let you know how much was left over for people/luggage/contents etc.

As for the beds, I believe the RIB beds are very comfy for sleeping, but for me a problem is with their height, giving a lack of headroom for sitting, and floor to seat height means people have problems with dangling legs. It's worth sitting on one to try out for yourself.

 

[Ozi]

Thank you all so much for the advice. I think I need to reconsider the base model and go for the 150bhp. I’m fine with the manual, but pretty sure that I’m going to get a bit frustrated with the lack of power. These options both come with AC as they have the business pack, but are also a T28 chassis, so that’s something I’ll look into now as well.

Again, thank you all for taking the time to respond!

And apologies for the name, shows how new I am to the whole community! What an unlucky coincidence! It’s been picked up by an admin and will be changed shortly.

Whether you need to go to a T30 also depends on the extend of your fit out, and its weight.

So worth taking some time to look at the materials being used by different converters (they do differ quite a bit) and what this does to the overall weight of the van before you load people, luggage and all that other “essential stuff” we take with us