T6 Conversion - The Plan (Feedback Welcome/Needed)

[dhod]

Hi all,

My first post here - been reading and soaking in as much as I can over the last few months as I'm just starting out on my own conversion project.

The Van
VW T6 (T30) - SWB - 2018

The Plan
Every guide you look at seems to recommend doing things in a different order so some of this is still work in progress or subject to change. I've tried to break the conversion down into 10 milestones (even if some can be done in parallel)

Milestone 1 - The Roof​

Aurora Roof - Being handled by Jay at xtremevans early next month.
I figured there was little point in doing anything else until this is done

Milestone 2 - Sound Proof & Insulation​

Already Purchased:
Dodo Thermo Fleece 50mm Slimline
Dodo Thermo Liner Pro 10mm (10m roll)
Silent Coat 2mm Large 80 sheets

To Decide:
100mm Thermo Fleece (Dodo or Otherwise)

I struggled to find any of the 100mm in Dodo but found lots of other "ecotech" kind of thing. Unsure if the 50mm will suffice or if it's strongly recommended to get some 100mm for some of the cavities

Milestone 3 - Electrics​

Plan:
Figure out what on earth i need to do here

Electrics seems to be the one that people sometimes do right at the start or towards the end. Would appreciate as many guides/videos/recommendations here around what to do. I don't plan on powering anything huge beyond a fridge (more on that later). No TV, no microwave. Would like the option to be able to connect up to a campsite's hookup though so will look to have some sockets and usb sockets

Milestone 4 - Solar Panels & Batteries​

200 Watt 12 Volt Monocrystalline Solar Panel

To understand:
Will this work with a pop top?
Do i need to buy 2x 100w and have one fixed to roof and one portable given the angles of the pop top?
Figure out if i’m better off having leisure batteries (i've seen a big push towards lifepo4) to hold the charge or something like a goal zero yeti? And how to work out how much is enough as £500 a battery isn't cheap)
Need to learn about all the chargers, mppt's etc.. a whole world to learn about basically!

Milestone 5 - Floor and Walls​

Plan:
Purchase pre-cut 12mm plywood for floor and 6mm panels for walls
Due to weight considerations probably opt for vinyl floor vs wood.
Unsure what to do with walls after plywood attached.

Mainly for saving the hassle of intricately cutting out all of the necessary shapes and sizes of a t6 by hand. £250 for the full kit doesn't seem like the worst expense in the world?

Milestone 6 - Heating​

I'd really like the option to be in Europe in the winter (and i live in the UK) so figure getting a diesel heater is an absolute must
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Questions:
Is it safe to buy second hand or should I buy new?

Milestone 7 - Furniture​

Plan is to make this all by hand
Buy and cut foam bedding
Install water tank around wheel arch?
Decide whether to get a fridge or a good coolbox

Milestone 8 - Water​

Install sink and water pump
Figure out what to do about a portable toilet

Questions:
Waste tank needed or hole will suffice? What happens with insulation/noise?

Milestone 9 - Finishing Touches​

reupholster the seats and bed
Stove, gas canister
Kiravan side door panel
Space saving bits
etc

--

That's where i'm at so far. What do you all think about the order - anything you'd recommend changing or potential pitfalls i'm walking straight into?

 

[paddy26]

Are you fitting and additional windows?
Are you carpet lining the side panels?

 

[dhod]

Are you fitting and additional windows?
Are you carpet lining the side panels?

Thanks for the response.
There's already windows on both the sliding door and the other side so no additional windows to be fitted.
I wasn't planning on carpet lining the sides and instead would like to go with wood - something i need to do a little more research about

 

[jimc91]

My advice is decide what you want to use the van for first, lots of off grid camping then go big on solar and batteries. If using as a daily driver with some camping at official sites with hook up then a more basic system will suffice.

Get your wiring in place while doing the sound proofing, read and reread dells guides to everything electric then post a plan/wiring diagram and those in the know will advise on it. The important part is to use the right size of cable and correct fuses, loads of advice on here.

If you go for a full camping interior then consider upgrading suspension when done. And if you have time go to a meet and see lots of vans for ideas - also post lots of pics

 

[DXX]

Wallas XC Duo, Diesel heater with thermostat and double hob combined. Will easily cope with ambient temperatures well below zero and is very fuel efficient.
Plenty of info on the Forum.

 

[SAJO]

very much planned out in advance, and in stages too. For me personally as a newbie I had ideas, for me it was find the right van, stage 1 of a conversion; soundproof/insulate, and carpet line throughout, 2x windows, pop top, electrics both 12v and 240, along with a solar panel, then I can enjoy it in its basic guise, and then second stage put in rock'n'roll bed furniture to make it a little more civilised.

 

[dhod]

My advice is decide what you want to use the van for first, lots of off grid camping then go big on solar and batteries. If using as a daily driver with some camping at official sites with hook up then a more basic system will suffice.

Get your wiring in place while doing the sound proofing, read and reread dells guides to everything electric then post a plan/wiring diagram and those in the know will advise on it. The important part is to use the right size of cable and correct fuses, loads of advice on here.

If you go for a full camping interior then consider upgrading suspension when done. And if you have time go to a meet and see lots of vans for ideas - also post lots of pics

It's slightly difficult because the answer is "a bit of everything"
At the start the plan is to travel europe for 2-3 months so there'll be a mix of campsites, off-grid, daily driving or stopping off for a few days here and there. I don't see me ever needing to go longer than 4-5 days completely off grid because i don't plan on having full shower and toilet facilities - so that's how i ended up at figuring i'd need ~200W with some simple maths around appliances vs top up into batteries (but i could definitely do more research here).

Getting the wiring in place is really good feedback. Thanks!

 

[dhod]

The conversion starts in earnest tomorrow! Xtremevan's did a great job of fitting the roof and now the hard graft starts.
Plan for this weekend is to:
- Remove all side panels and floor from rear
- Clean everything down
- 2mm Silent coat side panels, slide panel tailgate
- Thermo pro same as above
- 50mm foam on upper panels
- if there's enough of the 50mm left double it up to stuff into the lower cavity's otherwise may be forced to buy some 100mm

Will take pictures throughout to get feedback

Question:

Been researching floor insulation and sound proofing this evening but haven't been able to arrive at a consistent answer. Torn between:
- doing nothing, potentially using up some left over silent coats if I have some and just going straight on with batons and ply floor
- buying the deadn duo mat to add as an all in one sound and insulation layer before the ply goes on

Would love to get others opinions. Conscious of it costing another £180ish plus the additional hours fitting

To Consider

To save weight (and a little bit of height) i'll probably just be getting vinyl on top of the ply floor vs a thicker carpet/wood - unsure if that should sway the decision.
As mentioned previously i'll be using the van around Europe full time for a few months travelling but it will then become an occasional camper for long weekends/weeks around the UK

 

[Bigsidavies]

I glued down the battens for the flooring then covered all the remaining floor area with dodo hex mat.
Then I covered the whole lot with the 7mm dodo thermal foam stuff.
Then put 9mm ply down. Chose 9mm instead of 12 to keep the floor height down and to reduce weight. Don’t forget, you’re only walking on about 1m2 of the floor. If there’s slight flexing it’s hardly going to be noticeable.
Then I put down Altro flooring, but the type that uses double sided tape so there’s no faff with contact adhesive.

 

[dhod]

Nice - i think i'll see how much silent coat i'm left with but if it's not enough to cover the floor then i'll probably end up buying the dodo deadn duo so i can just lay one piece down. 9mm ply is a good shout though when thinking about weight (and height!)

 

[drinfinity]

I’ll be doing some lightweight mat under my floor, and then 18mm ultralight XPS sandwich ply ( to bring it up to the right height for rails). I’m not sure deadening will add much apart from weight on the floor, as there are only a few flat panel areas. Agree with vinyl, our old T5 has Altro, stands up to any amount of abuse.

 

[dhod]

What lightweight mat are you looking at out of interest? Hadn’t heard of that ply - will check it out

 

[drinfinity]

Harrison’s trim for the mat, and Garnica ultralight from Atlantic Timber for ply.

CAMPER VAN PREMIUM GOLD UNDERFLOOR INSULATION 6M x 5MM THICK VW T5 + 2 X GLUE | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for CAMPER VAN PREMIUM GOLD UNDERFLOOR INSULATION 6M x 5MM THICK VW T5 + 2 X GLUE at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

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18mm Efficiency Ultralight Poplar Plywood 8' x 4'

18mm Efficiency Ultralight Poplar Plywood 8' x 4'. Plywood from Atlantic Timber. Efficiency Poplar Plywood is another product in the Garnica family. It's a lightweight panel composed entirely of European sustainable plantation popl

www.atlantictimber.co.uk

 

[JDC]

Is solar and batteries a necessity? I've been thinking the same but probably be mainly elec hook up. So I'm thinking using battery devices. Phones, tablets laptops can all be charged on the move or via site elec and been looking at usb powered lighting. Therefore I'm thinking of saving weight and cost. As for fridge, i got a cooler box with 12v/230v. The van is the daily driver/ work van mainly and hopefully be easier to convert when using to stay away.

 

[dhod]

Is solar and batteries a necessity? I've been thinking the same but probably be mainly elec hook up. So I'm thinking using battery devices. Phones, tablets laptops can all be charged on the move or via site elec and been looking at usb powered lighting. Therefore I'm thinking of saving weight and cost. As for fridge, i got a cooler box with 12v/230v. The van is the daily driver/ work van mainly and hopefully be easier to convert when using to stay away.

Mine was also a former work van (but with passenger seats)

Solar will probably be one of the last things I add once I’ve properly done the maths on how much power im likely to draw - compressor fridge will consume about 40 amp hours a day which is close to what an AGM battery will be able to provide before needing some charge - so there’s lots to think about!

 

[dhod]

Weekend 1 Update

Main feeling is how frustrated I was getting at constantly getting paper type cuts from the silent coat

Overall not too bad. In about 8-9 hours I managed to get all the panels off and silent coated all panels apart from the boot. Would have liked to have gotten that done and the wheel arch but realised I care far too much about appearance for something that will be covered in 3 other layers after this!

Notes
- Heat guns are a godsend in the winter
- Must wear gloves to avoid my hands being ripped to shreds
- I’m glad I didn’t take off the floor yet as the rubbery padding was a godsend on the knees
- I wish there was a word based/picture guide for what to coat - I found myself constantly referring back to videos and pausing at appropriate times to see what had been covered and how

Here’s a few snaps of progress

 

[dhod]

Weekend 2 Update

Managed to get back to the van this weekend with the intention the rest of the sound deadening and insulation done. Didn't quite make it but what i did manage was:

• Finished sound deadening (wheel arched) - one was a perfection of maths and angles. the other was a picasso of offcuts
• Thermo liner insulation for real side panels, sides (door and opposite) and tailgate

Would have liked to have got the thermo fleece on as well but ran out of time before as need to plan where all the electrics will go first and working in the dark losing scissors every 3 minutes.

Questions remaining:

1. Thermo fleece in the tailgate? My gut tells me I shouldn't due to brake lights and the potential for leakage?
2. How do you know how much is "enough" thermo liner? I basically when over everywhere there was silentcoat (apart from the wheel arches) and have been obsessively watching videos and reading articles.. maybe it's quite subjective? For e.g. one video showed thermo liner being applied over both sections of the rear panel and the other cut out the 2 slots (i opted for this one)
3. Is it worth applying a second layer of thermo liner anywhere?

Progress Pics

 

[Bigsidavies]

Thermal fleece the tailgate. There’s no brake lights in it apart from the high level one.
If it gets wet because of a leak then fix the leak, replace the thermofleece liner and carry on.

 

[drinfinity]

I stuck thermoliner everywhere I could. It’s light, so you can afford to put plenty on, unlike the deadening, which I was sparing with. I did that rear quarter in one piece, since my panel will go over it with void to spare.

Every orifice with the exception of the slam vents I stuffed with fleece, but after I did the wires, so it was easier to get the wires through into the panel voids.

I got some LED floodlights off Amazon to plug into an extension lead so I could carry on in the dark!

 

[dhod]

Weekend 3 is finally here after a long break.

Plan for this weekend is to finish the rest of the thermoliner and then get the thermofleece in. This will mainly just be stuffed in place for easy removal as electrical wires are next up.

One question I did have.. I'm using Deadn Duo for the floor but i'm wondering about a couple of things:
1. I have some leftover silentcoat (but haven't done the front cab) - is it worth adding this as well or just unnecessary weight at this stage
2. Should I add glue batons ready for the floor under the deadn or on top of it? My gut tells me it should go under and then the deadn will go on pretty flat but could be very wrong here.

Thanks
Dan