New to the forum from Bedfordshire!

[Veedan]

Morning all. Just wanted to drop a quick message and introduce myself. (New to this forum and the T4 forum, same name and avatar).

I'm a mountain biker (very much amateur) and family man from Bedfordshire, completely new to vans of any kind! I've been carting my gear around on roof racks and rear bike mounts for years and the time has come to invest in a van.

I've been a huge veedub fan since I was a kid, just love those clean lines and boxy bodies. So I've decided that I'm going for a T5 and have spent the last few weeks researching and reading all over the internet to get an idea together in my head of what I want to do.

I plan to buy a standard SWB panel van, insulate, carpet, side windows, caravelle rear triple with rail system to give me maximum flexibility for space I'm the rear of the van for hauling bikes, whilst also having the option to do the odd overnight with the kids when the bikes aren't on board.

I'll be dropping into conversations and asking questions over the next few months as I line the money up to buy the van, look forward to getting to know all of you and learning a bit more in the process.

 

[Bigsidavies]

Out of curiousity why SWB? The extra 40cm that the LWB gives makes a huge difference internally, especially if you have the caravelle seat rails.

 

[Veedan]

Morning Bigsidavies.. are you from my neck of the woods with a name like that?

I went back and forth between SWB and LWB and decided on SWB because a) I need to park it on my driveway and b) my wife wouldn't be comfortable driving a LWB.

One of my main concerns with a SWB is not being able to fit the MTBs in the back, but I figure with the caravelle sliding rails I can reduce the passenger leg room and still fit 4x bikes in the back with the front wheels off. I just need to figure out some clever storage for gear and some mounting points to secure the bikes. Any and all suggestions welcome.

 

[Bigsidavies]

Morning Bigsidavies.. are you from my neck of the woods with a name like that?

I went back and forth between SWB and LWB and decided on SWB because a) I need to park it on my driveway and b) my wife wouldn't be comfortable driving a LWB.

One of my main concerns with a SWB is not being able to fit the MTBs in the back, but I figure with the caravelle sliding rails I can reduce the passenger leg room and still fit 4x bikes in the back with the front wheels off. I just need to figure out some clever storage for gear and some mounting points to secure the bikes. Any and all suggestions welcome.

No I’m from West Yorkshire. If you tap a persons name then their location pops up.
My LWB is converted to a camper so I put my mtb on a little towbar mounted Thule carrier.
I have friends with SWB Kombis who can get MTB in the back no probs.
Driving a LWB is really no different to a SWB. My wife drives it and has never known any different.
Obviously if the drive length is the limiting factor there’s not much you can do about that. But I’d say get your good lady to have a drive of a LWB. It’s only a few cms longer than many estate cars.

 

[Veedan]

Ah ok, I'll keep that in mind thanks.

Good to know that your friends SWB is up to the task! I drive an A6 Avant daily and she will happily drive that.. I think the driveway is the most limiting factor though, I can only just fit two cars on it at the moment, one of which will be getting demoted to street parking when I get the van!

This might be the wrong place to ask, but where can the sliding rail system be bought? eBay seem to sell the rear triple bench but not the rails?