I knew what you meant, just thought it was a bit of degoratory term to use.
Review: Exploria
- Thread starter mopardave
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- exploria france suspension
Nope nothing wrong with them especially if your featured in one 
Bwahahaa!! I like you a lot sir.
Funniest post in ages.
Spent a few days touring around in the Cali and saw some real tragedies driving around. What is it with naff matt black wheels that look like an unfinished, rusty wire basket? And vile wraps? And big "territory" marking flags?
A nice thing about the crazy yoga camp; a few vans but none had been ruined. Yet here in Polzeath where there are hundreds, so many have been hit with the chav stick.
Anyway if they can deliver the goods and do a good conversion, make sure you post pics!
I totally get the "custom / mod" thing - and no doubt I'll do some myself once I've got my hands on the van, and my good lady isn't looking
Each to their own I guess. We certainly won't be trying to get the thing down in the weeds, nor will it be getting massive wheels no matter how cool they might look. But the ability to take a basic vehicle and convert / mod it to suit your own style and needs is no doubt a big factor with these vehicles. We toyed with the idea of doing just this as we have the space and I already have most of the tools from my days playing Land Rovers, and I like doing that sort of thing. At the end of the day though, I don't have the time.
What does bother me though is the quality - or lack of it - on some of the home-brewed vehicles I've looked at over the years. Dodgy at best, lethal at worst. And when I read questions on forums or in the mags about whether a gas vent is needed (for example) then I really worry. I've found electrical wiring "insulated" using Elastoplast - and fuel lines held on with tie-wraps.
The best one was the eejit who attached a tow ball to the front bumper of his Series III Landy, but only used ordinary washers and nuts instead of a big spreader plate. Watching the ball rip out during a snatch recovery was not amusing. Even less amusing for the driver of the recovering vehicle as the ball went through his back door, took the passenger side headrest off and exited thro the windscreen.
Off road towing is a whole World of potential disaster. I did drag an Audi A3 out of a ditch (up a steep hill) with ours but the clutch was not impressed.
Just back from our latest 'appointment' at Exploria and as usual we got coffee to drink and we got the undivided attention that comes with making a time to discuss in detail what we want from our VW conversion. This morning we even got a couple of apples to eat from the fruit bowl.
Our experience is that customer relations are important to the business and that nothing is too much trouble. No really.....nothing is too much trouble.
This is our second conversion at Exploria.
It's a busy place and the workshop is full with a waiting list for some months. The reason for this is simply that the quality of the work is so good and that over the years their reputation for quality has grown as the business has grown. We had five years travelling across Europe in our T5 and had no problems selling it on so we could get a T6. We had no reservations at all about going back to Exploria with our new van. We just had to get in the queue. That seems fair enough.
The guys in the workshop are always busy but friendly. Some have been around for a while so we think it must be a good place to work and some of them look young but so what? These days everyone looks young to us. It's the work that matters at the end of the day.
All in all it's not cheap but it's good value and nothing of quality is cheap is it? Let's face it if all we wanted was cheap we wouldn't have bought VW vans in the first place!
Our experience is that customer relations are important to the business and that nothing is too much trouble. No really.....nothing is too much trouble.
This is our second conversion at Exploria.
It's a busy place and the workshop is full with a waiting list for some months. The reason for this is simply that the quality of the work is so good and that over the years their reputation for quality has grown as the business has grown. We had five years travelling across Europe in our T5 and had no problems selling it on so we could get a T6. We had no reservations at all about going back to Exploria with our new van. We just had to get in the queue. That seems fair enough.
The guys in the workshop are always busy but friendly. Some have been around for a while so we think it must be a good place to work and some of them look young but so what? These days everyone looks young to us. It's the work that matters at the end of the day.
All in all it's not cheap but it's good value and nothing of quality is cheap is it? Let's face it if all we wanted was cheap we wouldn't have bought VW vans in the first place!
@Exploria Ltd
Graeme, what is the offical line for the Exploria body kit that was on shiw at CCM and your single demo van.
Last we spoke (which was a few!) It was under a dispute with the moulding company and you were still using ABT kits (as mentioned).
Are they good to go yet pal?.
Thanks
Fish
Graeme, what is the offical line for the Exploria body kit that was on shiw at CCM and your single demo van.
Last we spoke (which was a few!) It was under a dispute with the moulding company and you were still using ABT kits (as mentioned).
Are they good to go yet pal?.
Thanks
Fish
Just a further update for thoes that maybe interested..
Still no kit available from @Exploria Ltd or even made!.
So another month on from last enquiry and no closer.
Still no kit available from @Exploria Ltd or even made!.
So another month on from last enquiry and no closer.
How long did it take for Them to provide you an answer?
I emailed quite a detailed list of what I wanted and got prices within a couple of days
Just got back from a couple of weeks touring and camping in the Kombi with the family down through France to the Hossegor and Biarritz areas. While we were in Biarritz which was our furthest point from home the van developed a nasty loud knocking from under the rear end while going over even the smallest of bumps. I feared the worst that one of the H&R 40mm lowering springs on the back left had given up the ghost after miles of bumpy french country roads and a full load (still probably nowhere near the T32's limit though). We limped in to our campsite and after crawling underneath I couldn't see anything due to much of the spring being covered with a rubber shroud. Anyway, I had my daughters and wife rocking the van from side to side and I could hear the sound coming from the spring and could also feel it clicking violently when I touched it...
My fears confirmed and wondering how we were going to get home I gave H&R a call to see if there were any dealers / stockists near to us for a replacement etc. or failing that sending one to our location, all I got was a fairly disinterested bloke at the U.K. office telling me that before they could do anything they would need photo evidence of the spring so they could submit a report to Germany HQ etc. etc. and this could take about a week or more! Not much help under the circumstances as we needed to be heading back north in about five days.. In the end he suggested I get in touch with whoever fitted them.
Not really what I needed to hear...and by now feeling a little stressed by the situation and the thought of the 1200 mile journey home, I gave Exploria a call as they had fitted the springs originally.
Well what a total contrast! The guys (and girls) at Exploria couldn't have been more helpful, nothing was a problem and they said they would send one out straight away! Kate emailed me the tracking numbers etc. so I could see its progress and the whole way they dealt with the situation gave us all a massive sense of relief and probably prevented the whole situation becoming a holiday ruining nightmare...
Great to know that there are still companies out there like Exploria that actually still care about their customers months after the work has been completed and can be bothered to go the extra mile for them..
A big 'Thank You' to Graeme and the gang at Exploria! I am still undecided as to get booked in for a line-out and combi bed etc. or wait a little while and go full camper with my van but I know who will be doing the work when that day comes!
As a footnote to anyone with H&R springs fitted it turned out that it hadn't broken a spring after all Doh!..the consensus seems to be that as it was the first time the van had had such a heavy load and the springs had compressed and settled a little lower than before and they possibly chewed through the very material that was intended to make them quiet..Anyway, this aside, the guys at Exploria have fitted a new spring buffer product and road tested my van for me no questions asked and it now runs quiet as a mouse! Cheers!
My fears confirmed and wondering how we were going to get home I gave H&R a call to see if there were any dealers / stockists near to us for a replacement etc. or failing that sending one to our location, all I got was a fairly disinterested bloke at the U.K. office telling me that before they could do anything they would need photo evidence of the spring so they could submit a report to Germany HQ etc. etc. and this could take about a week or more! Not much help under the circumstances as we needed to be heading back north in about five days.. In the end he suggested I get in touch with whoever fitted them.
Not really what I needed to hear...and by now feeling a little stressed by the situation and the thought of the 1200 mile journey home, I gave Exploria a call as they had fitted the springs originally.
Well what a total contrast! The guys (and girls) at Exploria couldn't have been more helpful, nothing was a problem and they said they would send one out straight away! Kate emailed me the tracking numbers etc. so I could see its progress and the whole way they dealt with the situation gave us all a massive sense of relief and probably prevented the whole situation becoming a holiday ruining nightmare...
Great to know that there are still companies out there like Exploria that actually still care about their customers months after the work has been completed and can be bothered to go the extra mile for them..
A big 'Thank You' to Graeme and the gang at Exploria! I am still undecided as to get booked in for a line-out and combi bed etc. or wait a little while and go full camper with my van but I know who will be doing the work when that day comes!
As a footnote to anyone with H&R springs fitted it turned out that it hadn't broken a spring after all Doh!..the consensus seems to be that as it was the first time the van had had such a heavy load and the springs had compressed and settled a little lower than before and they possibly chewed through the very material that was intended to make them quiet..Anyway, this aside, the guys at Exploria have fitted a new spring buffer product and road tested my van for me no questions asked and it now runs quiet as a mouse! Cheers!
I would be interested to know what they have done to it, do you have any pictures ?
I have H&R 40mm springs and they make a fair bit of noise, I tried three sets when first fitted and the third set seemed ok but they are getting louder with time and speed bumps and potholes reveal the invisible bag of spanners I seem to be carrying in the back
I have H&R 40mm springs and they make a fair bit of noise, I tried three sets when first fitted and the third set seemed ok but they are getting louder with time and speed bumps and potholes reveal the invisible bag of spanners I seem to be carrying in the back
Hi Pauly, they did show me the product in it's packaging but I can't for the life of me remember it's name...they said it was new and had been specifically designed for H&R springs to eliminate the dreaded knock that seems to be more prevalent on swb vans. It also clips on and is self adhesive so no need to pop out the spring to fit...Maybe give Exploria a call, they had plenty in stock...
I could crawl under and get a snap if you want?
No worries, got to be cheaper than B14s, probably only ten or twenty quid (not sure as they didn't charge) but I can say mines quiet nowNo don't worry mate think I will get in touch with them, I had been considering B14s but if I can get rid of the knocking will keep what I have thanks for the reply
btw I'm going to have a look under as it's bugging me that I can't remember what they are called!
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