Newbie needing advice on a blank canvas or partial conversion

[Virtualmeuk]

Hi All,

I am new to this forum and T6's. I have a plan to get a LWB T6 DSG Van through my business and over a couple of years convert it into a camper (Pop top, Rock and roll bed, Kitchen, split charging etc.) for me and my wife to travel around in for the odd week, weekend.

Has anyone got any nuggets of wisdom on what sort of van to look out for or not look for ideally looking for a new van or nearly new.?
Would i be better buying a slightly older one that is already converted?
Are there any pitfalls to DIY van conversions?

Basically i am just after some advice on the best way to start to be honest.

 

[CRS Performance]

As someone who has 50 to 60 vans through Our workshop every month we see a lot of different styles and vans ,
it seems that listening to clients experiences I would say the following .
there seems to be lots of vans forsale at the moment. With COVID interest in campers sky rocketed and so did prices .
buying a base van and doing it your way can be appealing But. The general layouts are similar and after conversion there will still be things you want to change and put your personal stamp on . The down side of this is the waiting lists and conversion time frames are prohibitive , Searching for a van that ticks all the boxes for you and that is already converted means you can hit the road running now , not in a years time . You will still do stuff to it including getting us to sort the handling ride and comfort out but these are quick things to do ,
good luck

 

[jimc91]

Hi All,

I am new to this forum and T6's. I have a plan to get a LWB T6 DSG Van through my business and over a couple of years convert it into a camper (Pop top, Rock and roll bed, Kitchen, split charging etc.) for me and my wife to travel around in for the odd week, weekend.

Has anyone got any nuggets of wisdom on what sort of van to look out for or not look for ideally looking for a new van or nearly new.?
Would i be better buying a slightly older one that is already converted?
Are there any pitfalls to DIY van conversions?

Basically i am just after some advice on the best way to start to be honest.

If you have never owned or used a VW campervan before I would suggest renting/borrowing one first to see how you get on, it will help you work out what you need. Buying a van and having a full conversion - rock and roll bed, kitchen, pop top - will mean the van becomes less useful as a van (not sure what your business is and whether you plan to use it as part of the business) and if you only plan to camp or use it on the odd weekend away you will quickly find it sitting on the drive. Maybe consider a day van conversion around a kombi (lots of threads on here giving examples) leaving you plenty of scope to use it as a van/daily driver. When we had small kids a pop top was great on my old van but now its just me and wife I don't need one so wasted money. For me I would never cook inside a van so no need for a kitchen, others who camp all the time will have a different view, same around solar v EH. If your good at DIY, buy a good base van, do the obvious like insulation, sound proofing, leisure battery yourself and use the pros for suspension, windows etc. Your best start point is the search function, lots of cups of tea and plenty of reading the build threads

 

[JOG]

If you have never owned or used a VW campervan before I would suggest renting/borrowing one first to see how you get on, it will help you work out what you need. Buying a van and having a full conversion - rock and roll bed, kitchen, pop top - will mean the van becomes less useful as a van (not sure what your business is and whether you plan to use it as part of the business) and if you only plan to camp or use it on the odd weekend away you will quickly find it sitting on the drive. Maybe consider a day van conversion around a kombi (lots of threads on here giving examples) leaving you plenty of scope to use it as a van/daily driver. When we had small kids a pop top was great on my old van but now its just me and wife I don't need one so wasted money. For me I would never cook inside a van so no need for a kitchen, others who camp all the time will have a different view, same around solar v EH. If your good at DIY, buy a good base van, do the obvious like insulation, sound proofing, leisure battery yourself and use the pros for suspension, windows etc. Your best start point is the search function, lots of cups of tea and plenty of reading the build threads

Great post and sound advice

 

[Virtualmeuk]

Thanks for the advice, food for thought. I have spoken to a few people this week about vans and ALL of them said don't buy one now due to inflated prices. I currently have a pickup that is due for replacement in 18 months time so that's when i will probably get the van on the business. The van will only be used as a van in extreme circumstances to be honest. I think i may hire one for a long weekend and see how i get on with it. Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated

 

[JOG]

@BognorMotors have vans to hire

 

[Ads_Essex]

Thanks for the advice, food for thought. I have spoken to a few people this week about vans and ALL of them said don't buy one now due to inflated prices. I currently have a pickup that is due for replacement in 18 months time so that's when i will probably get the van on the business. The van will only be used as a van in extreme circumstances to be honest. I think i may hire one for a long weekend and see how i get on with it. Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated

Yeah, what @jimc91 says is bang on. You’ve got plenty of time now to get a few different vans rented - from day vans with no cooking facilities to fully blown campers. That way you can decide what you do and don’t like.
And like @CRS Steve says, if a partial conversion comes along, you’ll be in a better place to know whether it’s worth buying it to ‘jump the queue’ in the pop-top waiting list / shortage of ply queue / van shortage or whatever we’ll still have in 18 months time.
Christ, you might even find you hate the thing…
My brother-in-law bought a fully loaded Three Bridges conversion and only used it a handful of times, as he didn’t enjoy it at all!

Having built our own, I would say the pitfall to a DIY is the time waiting for it to get finished. But then I’m an inpatient bar-steward.