r6pauls T6.1 day van build

[r6paul]

Morning all,


In 2017 I bought a 2013 Caddy Maxi as I wanted a van but couldn't afford a Transporter at the time. I kitted it out to be a micro camper and although it was very cramped I just about could do what I needed with it....
- Daily car
- Rear seats for the kids
- Boot space to be able to chuck stuff work kit and all of family related stuff in the rear
- Tip runs
- Solo camp in
- Carry all my Scuba diving kit in it.

I put a leisure battery in there, and a fold down bed. Then I had a 15L Alpicool fridge and chemical toilet that I'd put in for when going away and then the middle row of seats would come out to fit all my diving kit in for diving trips.





After putting 100,000 miles on it in just over 7 years I finally was able to afford and upgrade to my original, and long standing dream of a Transporter. I didn't get all my 'wants' (4motion, soft closing doors, automatic boot) but it was close enough:

- T6.1
- 150ps
- SWB
- Automatic
- Twin slider
- LED Headlights
- Air Con
- Heated Seats
- Captains Seats
- Parking Sensors front and rear
- Reversing Camera






I wasn't taken on the colour to start with, in fact I wasn't keen at all, but it had most of what I wanted and it was in budget.

It was from a VW garage so they sorted out all the small 'imperfections' before purchasing (damaged trims, cup holder, air vent, USB socket, missing parking sensor etc). I also got them to give it a service and change the DSG gearbox oil. As I drove it out of the garage the gear selector warning light came on which wasn't ideal but they replaced it under warranty.


I do miss the size of the Caddy when it comes to a daily runner and also the MPG but I don't regret the decision and love the extra space for what I need it for and its amazing just how difference it makes having a vehicle with LED lights! I also need to say that I now actually love the colour!


Thought I would use this thread to document everything I do to it and also to help others with some of the problems and I've come up with already that aren't fully covered in other threads.



Thanks
Paul

 

[Chippie1]

I to wasn’t sure about the colour when looking at mine but it is a great colour and looks good in the sun!

 

[doncarlyon]

Don't mind the colour

 

[r6paul]

The first purchase for the van was a wireless CarPlay adapter. I actually purchased this before I picked up the van so that I had it for the journey home.

Lots of options out there but I decided on the AAWireless Two





I'm quite happy with it. It hooks up via USBC and it connects automatically. So far so good and I've not had any issues with it.



Thanks
Paul

 

[r6paul]

I picked it up on the Thursday and on the Friday we were off to Centre Parcs.

As soon as I got it home I whipped out the bulkhead and ply panels so that I could get all 4 of our bikes and stuff in the back (I also removed the single seat to allow the adult bikes to squeeze in:





(All the ply panels, grey panels and the carpeted Motion Bulkhead are available if anyone wants them)



Thanks
Paul

 

[r6paul]

I already had VCDS which I purchased when I bought the Caddy so I thought it would be rude if I didn't make some adaptions.

Needle Sweep was the first one.

Then with the help of this thread from Skyliner33 I also activated the 'one touch' mirror fold on the key fob lock so that they fold when just locking the van (rather than having to hold the button)



Thanks
Paul

 

[r6paul]

The next thing to sort was my private plate.

This was taken off of retention, placed onto the T6.1, and some new pressed plates added front and rear. (With the old rear pressed one from the Caddy kept for a trailer).

Sorry, no pictures of this, as I am one of 'those' that doesn't upload photos with my numberplate on.

You'll just have to take my word that they look nice. (Well I think so anyway, and that's all that matters )



Thanks
Paul

 

[r6paul]

The next purchase was some wind deflectors.

On the Caddy I had Heko but I was never too keen on the clips on the inside of the groove and how the glass sat on them with the window up.

After a lot of research on this site I decided to give ClimAir ago. I really wanted black but they were a lot more expensive than the smoked version.

I found the cheaper smoked version on an offer from Auto Car Parts sister company 'Carparts4less'.

The part number was: 953660881 and I paid £33.19.


These arrived and were installed, but I just wasn't a fan of the smoked version. The whole point of these, for me, were to keep the windows slightly open on a hot day or when camping. Being security conscious I didn't want anyone to know the window was open but with the smoked version you could clearly see, from a distance, that the window was open.

These quickly got taken back off and were sent back for a full refund. I then ordered the black version from Amazon which was the cheapest I could find them for at £61.95

However when they arrived and I got them fitted I was much happier and loved the look of them! Definitely the right choice for me.







Before:






After:







I much prefer the fitment of these to the Heko. I did read a lot about the older version where you had to drill to fit them, but these ones had the 'new' clips supplied which are great.

Instal was super easy and both were done within minutes.



Thanks
Paul

 

[r6paul]

Next up were some side repeaters.

I really like the LED sequential side repeaters so I picked some up from Transporter HQ at £25.95

I really wasn't sure whether to get the clear ones or smoked but eventually settled with the clear and I am happy with this decision.


Original:




New:






I was hoping to upload a 4 second clip of them working but the clip is .mp4 and the 'insert video' doesn't appear to allow this file extension. I don't upload anything on to FB, Instagram or anything so I'm unable to link it across. Anyone have any ideas?




Thanks
Paul

 

[r6paul]

The next purchases were from Van-X:

- Glove Box cover
- Rubber inserts for the doors and glove box






The rubber inserts slip in nicely and are a great fit:

Before:




After:

(Sorry for the poor focused picture)





I am really happy with these. They stop the rattles and the scratches.





Then the glove box cover went on:

Before:




After:




This was easy enough to fit. I won't lie I would have much preferred it to be on a hinge and find it annoying to use... however it's better than having that area open. In my opinion it finishes off the dash look and its nice to have somewhere to hide things I don't want on display but quick to hand still.




Thanks
Paul

 

[r6paul]

Moving on to the next Job... Roof Rails, Awning Rails & fitting them both.


Awning Rails:

After looking around at the various options for Awning Rails I decided to go for Van Styles 'concealed awning rail - black' at £49.99 each. The reason for this is because they would blend in with the rails due to being black and the same length. Plus they could fit both sides of the van, allowing me to have an awning on whichever side I wanted when I parked up, or even both sides if I really wanted. (Handy with the twin sliding doors - and also a bonus for when I am away diving).

They were soon delivered but they somehow sent the wrong ones:






Not only were they the wrong length (so they would stick out past the rail) but also they could only be fitted one side.

Annoying, but not the end of the world. I thought a quick phone call would sort this out only to be told, after providing my order details, that they needed to 'investigate' how this has happened before they would send out the correct ones and arrange collection of these ones.

I was quite confused and explained that this wasn't my issue or my fault and surely their investigation could be done once they've sorted the issue out, but clearly this is not how they work. Fortunately a few hours later and after having to provide numerous pictures they agreed to swap them.


The next week I finally had the correct rails delivered but they arrived with the box missing an end cap for one rail and then end of it was slightly damaged:




I rang them immediately before opening the packaging (the third picture with it out of the packaging was taken after I got off the phone to them). I opened the packaging whilst on the phone to them and also realised that there was tooling marks on both ends of the rail, and on both rails (looks like its where the rail is held whilst being powder coated - 2 very small sections both ends):




I mentioned these issues whilst still on the phone and was asked to send photos in which is what I did. I got a phone call back a couple of hours later to be told "THESE ARE THE SECOND SET OF RAILS WE'VE HAD TO SEND YOU OUT AND THE MARKS ARE ONLY SMALL SO WE AREN'T SENDING ANOTHER SET OUT".

I very politely reminded the advisor that if they had have sent out the correct rails in the first place and not a completely different part number I wouldn't have had to have had a second set sent out...

I was then told that the tooling marks are fine and they are "ALL LIKE THAT". I kindly suggested that if the are 'all like that', maybe they should mention this in their advert and provide a picture of this on the site so that customers can decide if they would like to purchase them or not with these markings on.


I know the damage is only small, as are the tooling marks, and, for me,I wasn't actually too bothered by these as the damage would file down and it could all be easily covered with a bit of touch up paint but this wasn't the point. The level of customer service I received was just poor and rude. In the end we agreed on a partial refund of £20.




Roof Rails:

After lots of research on here I decided to buy the OMTEC rails from my local VW garage. These came in at around £125 if I remember correctly.

I thought I had some pictures of these boxed up and during the unboxing but I can't seem to find them.




Roof Bars:

For the bars, I went with the Turtle 'Cross Bars 3 Pack Black' from DST Automotive at £98.25 with a load rating of 75Kg. I did want Thule bars like I had in the Caddy but with lots more van purchases required I just couldn't justify the cost this time round.

Again I thought I took some pictures of these before fitting them but I can't find them.





Fitting...

 

[r6paul]

Fitting the Roof Rails and Awning Rails...


After reading the 'Roof Rail Leak Free Fixing' thread by .50 I decided this would be the route I would take! I want to thank everyone who contributed on that thread to make my job a little easier:


- 1m of M6 Threaded Bar (Stainless Steel) - Enough spare incase you cut the lengths wrong.
- 6x M6 Nylon Locking Flanged Nut (Stainless Steel)
- 6x M6 Nylon Locking Nut (Stainless Steel)
- 6x M6 EPDM Bonded Sealing Washers (ID: 6.6mm OD: 16mm, Thickness: 2.5mm)
- 6x M6 Washers (Stainless Steel)
- 1x Domed M6 Nut and 1x normal M6 nut (Not actually kept in place - although the normal nut isn't shown in the picture below but it was used in conjunction with the domed nut to help screw the threaded bar in place.)
- 6x Original rubber washers


I placed the original rubber washers on first, then the awning rail, then the bonded sealing washers on top of the awning rail, then the flanged nut, then the roof rail adapters (which were modified/cut to sit over the flanged nut), then the roof rails, then the washers, followed by the final nut:










(Tooling marks can be seen in the last photo as they haven't been touched up yet)



On the holes that aren't used by the roof rails I used the original screw and rubber washer:






Final result:





The Roof Rails were a pain to put on but I got there in the end with a long magnetic stick to keep collecting the final nut as it kept refusing to go on. Eventually, after a while of swearing and shouting, once I'd worked out my way of getting them on they went on ok.

As per all the other reviews with the OMTEC Rails, the adapters fit like sh1t and the holes don't line up to be able to use normal sockets. They are really poor for the price of them and if I was doing it again I would probably use the Turtle Rails as they work out much cheaper especially when buying as a pack with the bars.

However saying that, overall I am happy with the Awning Rails and the Roof Rails now they are on.




Thanks
Paul

 

[r6paul]

The next purchase was a floor mat for the front of the cab. I decided to go with the 'Elite' THQ floor mat at £59.95

This quickly arrived but there was an issue with their packaging:




The person packaging it up rolled it up and before putting it in the postage bag secured it with masking tape. Unfortunately because of the material used for the underside there was no way of removing the tape without damaging the mat and I didn't know it would do it until I started removing it.

Because of the bad customer service with Van Style I wasn't holding much hope. I took the pictures and penned a polite email to THQ advising them of the issue and they very quickly replied apologising, stating they would speak to warehouse staff, and asked me if I wanted to return it or be partially refunded.

I replied that I would be happy with a partial refund and before I knew it they had refunded me £20! (33%). I replied thanking them for the quick replies, refund and service. I also explained the issues I'd had with Van Style and that I would be back buying from them again once I'd saved up some more money! They then sent me a 5% off discount code for my next purchase!

I replied back and thanked them again for the brilliant customer service!

I would also like to publicly thank Bailie at THQ as this is above and beyond what I was expecting/hoping for and I think it was more than required.



The mat quickly went in the van:









Thanks
Paul

​

 

[r6paul]

Next was a mobile phone holder.

I used to have a Brodit holder/charger in the Caddy and I really liked it but they don't make a mount in the position that I wanted in the Transporter. I didn't want a suction mount and I didn't want an air vent one either.

I liked the look of Quad Lock but I was worried how bulky it would make my phone with the case.

My mate has Quad Lock and he also has a T6 so I took a drive over to see how they both worked together. That evening I put an order in:




Whilst making use of their 10% off first order I also ordered myself the mount for my bike.


I decided to fit it on the centre console next to the radio:




It's in a good position here. The only two things that I don't like about this product are:
- They don't supply a 12v wiring system to hook it straight to the cars battery, they only offer a cigarette lighter option which I think is pretty poor for 2025.
- It's not cheap! (£62.98 for the adhesive mount and magnetic 'wireless' charging head and another £31.99 for the phone case - £95)

At the moment the charging wire hangs across but my plan in the near future is to drill a hole in the surround/trim and put a grommet in to hook it up to the cars electrics so that it runs off an ignition live feed and the wiring is hidden.

I will say though that I've been on some real bumpy tracks and the magnetic holder has held the phone securely as the adhesion hasn't loosened at all in the hot sun!




Thanks
Paul

 

[r6paul]

Towbar...

Next was buying and fitting a Towbar.

Just like everyone else I wanted a removable Westfalia towbar. After speaking to PF Jones I was advised that the UK distribution has stopped, they are still trying to sort it out and there are none in stock anywhere. They recommend a Tow-Trust instead. After having a look on their site I decided to go with a Tow-Trust Flange Towbar (non removable) with their 13 pin vehicle specific wiring kit (typically my van does not have Trailer Preparation), Alko ball & cover and a 13 pin to 7 pin adapter.

The code for the Towbar is: TVW9 and all of the above came in at £349.28

With the cost of fitting being a similar price on top, and after reading the instructions for both the bar and the wiring, I opted to give it ago myself, after all how hard can it be?





The fitting of the actual bar wasn't too bad, but the electrics were a real pain! Reaching up behind the BCM Module B and C was just not fun. Much easier with the drivers seat out though. Then due to draining the battery whilst fitting it and unplugging everything during the fitment VCDS did not like running a scan:




After some more screaming / shouting and asking for some assistance from the brother-in-law we managed to clear down all the errors and she worked as she should:




It took much longer than I planned / hoped but the tow bar is fitted and running well.



Thanks
Paul

 

[Mike_Robbo]

What bike rack is that? Does it tilt far enough to allow you to open the tailgate with a bike fitted?

 

[r6paul]

What bike rack is that? Does it tilt far enough to allow you to open the tailgate with a bike fitted?

Its the 4 Bike Towbar Mounted Bike Rack from Halfords.

It does tilt for access to the boot but not enough for the tailgate on the Transporter which is annoying!



Thanks
Paul

 

[r6paul]

Next I purchased the Kiravans 'No-Squeaks, No-Rattles' Single Seat Swivel - Full set of 2 bases and handbrake kit:





I was amazed at how easy these were to fit. Within an hour both seat bases were in and so was the handbrake lowering kit.

The only issue I have is the new cover for the handbrake lowering kit has been made to sit flush on the floor and the THQ mat is in the area that this needs to sit. I just need to dremel out a small section on the cover to allow the edge of the mat to slot underneath it.


Loving the passenger side swivel and they both definitely don't squeak or rattle, but so far I'm finding its a pain to swivel the drivers side. In hindsight I may not have done the drivers side if I was to do it again... although saying that I've not been away with the family yet so may be worth the hassle of spinning it round when they've been used in anger.

I haven't taken any pictures of the installation or with them in yet, but I'll add some at some point.



Thanks
Paul

 

[r6paul]

The next items on the list were some Ovano swing out tables. I bought these direct from Ovano.

I opted for both the nearside and offside so that both kids would have a table and when all 4 of us are in the van as a family we could all face each other and use the tables as a dining area. (Hence the drivers side swivel as above).

Whilst making the order I also ordered their 'seat base covers'.


I must be cursed as there were blemishes in one of the seat bases and one of the table legs wasn't particularly straight:



The blemish didn't come out well in a picture but in real life it was really noticeable, and the the leg was enough of a pain to stop the whole leg coming in and out of the B Pillar holder even when loose.

A quick email with the pictures to Ovanos customer service and they responded that they would send out replacements immediately. Great customer service and they were with me within a couple of days.


The tables are now in place but the seat bases are not. I will upload some pictures once they are in place.


I love the quality of the items but the only issue I have found is as the tables are so big and heavy, a couple of times they have fallen from the table legs whilst driving along, or the table leg has become loose and swung round. Not ideal when they fall on the kids!! I think I may have to take the table tops off and store these elsewhere in the van which is a pain.



Thanks
Paul

 

[r6paul]

When visiting my mate who showed me his Quad Lock I also clocked his Wolfbox Dash Cam.

I think in this day and age a dash cam is quite important and had been trying to decide which one to get. After seeing his and the quality of the downloaded footage I decided to take the plunge with the Wolfbox.

I ordered the G900Pro 12MP camera with the rear view camera, hardwire kit, 128gb memory card, and polarising lens. I also ordered the bracket for it at an extra £17.99. For the whole package including their discounts and 'sales' it came in at £245.29.

Again, after looking at several threads on here, and mostly the T6.1 interier mirror replacement thread I decided to 'frankenstein' the original VW mirror bracket and the Wolfbox bracket:



Excuse the newspaper, it was donated by my stepdad. I also thought I had taken another picture of the araldite drying and once it was dried but I can't seem to find those on my phone at the moment.

After 24hrs of drying I installed it and all was working as it should.

The camera was easily hardwired and is currently hooked up using the supplied fuse taps. I'm not particularly happy with this and would like to hardwire it into its own empty fuse slots so for a grand total of £10.99 I bought this fuse relay box:




I plan to butcher it for the required parts to hardwire the camera and mobile phone charger so fuse taps aren't required.

Although this is a job that will probably sit on the 'to do' list for a while.



The only issue I have at the moment is I now have an error when I select the lights to 'auto'. As the sensor is in the original mirror which is no longer connected. I normally leave the lights in the 'on' position anyway so this isn't an issue for me, but it is one I would like to resolve in the future.




Thanks
Paul