T6Ollie's T6 (point 1) kombi to camper self conversion

I put off starting the carpet lining for ages because I was dreading it, I wanted a high quality finish but have never done anything like this before. After watching the Combe Valley guide on youtube about 20 times I decided to go for it. As I needed my "spare" to be at the top rather than the bottom it was a little bit trickier but with some masking I managed to keep the spray adhesive exactly where I wanted it.

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End of day 1 I was here:

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The carpet is actually quite forgiving and because you can do the sticking in sections, you can stop and take a break or redo a small bits if you need to. In the end I quite enjoyed doing it.

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You can see here I had the excess at the top so the roof installers could use it to trim the pop top:

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I also filled the cavity and installed the new ply panels:

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For some reason I haven't got photos of the other side yet, I did make a couple of mistakes around the window and the wheel arch where the jack is mounted but I think I can repair them. Overall I'm really happy with how it turned out.
 
Quite a lot has happened since August and I've been a bit crap at remembering to take photos but here's what I've been upto.

First of all, I started the leisure electrics install. I did loads of research on here and on youtube about what I wanted and decided to start with a relatively simple install that I can expand later when I know more about what I want. I'm starting with a 105ah lithium battery with a dc-dc charger, no EHU, no solar (for now at least) and no invertor. I'll be wanting to power some lights, a fridge and some USB ports which I think are all relatively low consumption and if I want 240v then I'll look into one of those portable power stations.

I decided I wanted it all under the passenger seat as I plan to have a diesel heater under the drivers seat in future so I ordered some bits and then started working out how I was going to fit it all in and I wanted to be able to access the blade fuses and isolator from the rear of the seat. I took a lot of inspiration from a post I saw on here from @Hythe Auto Electrics and I see they have now made it available to buy!


So I started mocking it up with off cuts and cardboard:

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And then once I had finished cutting up bits of wood and finding appropriate brackets, I took it apart and painted it all black and ordered black hardware. The 12mm ply base is screwed in from the bottom:

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And then I've used modesty blocks and 2 straps to secure the battery to the base and then I've added 2 more bits of wood for attaching the charger and fuse box:

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The back plate isn't finished yet, I still need to run all the cables although I have installed some lights but I haven't got any photos yet. I've got an AMT12 arriving this week so I'll take some more photos when I install that.

The next job was to prepare the van for carpet lining, which I was doing before the pop top was being installed because I wanted a continuous one piece of carpet from the floor to the edge of the trim (this will make sense later). By this point I was well and truly bored of sound deadening (I know, my fault for going OTT) but I finished the other wheel arch and then started covering holes so the carpet wouldn't get dirty marks on it later.

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For the big holes by the back window, I know you can get plastic inserts from VW but because I just wanted to cover the holes they would be an unnecessary expense, instead I cut some bits of can into squares and stuck in over the holes with tape (shout out to whoever suggested that, I saw it in a post here somewhere):

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Love that seat base thing.
 
I’m having a bit of trouble deciding how to insulate the floor. I’ve got the 9mm battens and a 12mm one piece floor but I’ve read mixed reports about what insulation to use and still get everything to fit under the kombi step - I really want to avoid having to buy a deeper step if I can.

Dodo recommended me a duo product that’s 4.5mm thick but I’m not sure I really need the sound deadening. They also sell a 5mm foam and a 6mm foam (twice the price of the 5mm stuff!).

I think ideally I want the 6mm stuff for the most insulation possible - I suppose then I have the option to cover the whole floor or just in between the batons.
 
I just added some bits in between the battons.

Nothing too major
 
While you’re there surely you want to add the sound deadening?? Once you’re done there’s no going back.

I can't decide, the butyl stuff is just to reduce panel vibrations and I don't think that's really a problem when the floor isn't flat - happy to be corrected on that of course.

I just added some bits in between the battons.

Nothing too major

What did you use?
 
I can't decide, the butyl stuff is just to reduce panel vibrations and I don't think that's really a problem when the floor isn't flat - happy to be corrected on that of course.



What did you use?
This stuff.....



.


It's very heavy.... So was careful where to install it.

To much will make the van over weight. Once the rest of the install is done.
 
I used wood battens glued down to screw floor in to as is standard. all the remaining gaps I used left over thermal vapour barrier foam cut into strips and stuck down. I agree with you that sticking dodo mat to everywhere (rhe peaks of the floor ridges) is a waste of dodo mat and raises your floor unnecessarily.

You shouldn't need a deeper step as you had a kombi floor in so I think you have the deeper kombi step so 9mm floor board plus altro should fit under that step lip okay. My van had the shallow step so was no good when the floor was down as the shallow panel van step finishes flush on the steel. I had to install it underneath and quickly ordered a deeper kombi step

Original panel van shallow step with window trim applied over edge of floor and altro - no good
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I used this 6mm closed cell foam as well..... Super lightweight.

Adds sounds proofing, and helps as a thermal barrier..... Used this stuff on all the other skins.










.

So you have 9mm buttons, sound deadening and a 6 mm foam all under a 12mm or 9mm floor? With what door step?

I used wood battens glued down to screw floor in to as is standard. all the remaining gaps I used left over thermal vapour barrier foam cut into strips and stuck down. I agree with you that sticking dodo mat to everywhere (rhe peaks of the floor ridges) is a waste of dodo mat and raises your floor unnecessarily.

You shouldn't need a deeper step as you had a kombi floor in so I think you have the deeper kombi step so 9mm floor board plus altro should fit under that step lip okay. My van had the shallow step so was no good when the floor was down as the shallow panel van step finishes flush on the steel. I had to install it underneath and quickly ordered a deeper kombi step

Original panel van shallow step with window trim applied over edge of floor and altro - no good
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Is your floor 9mm?
 
IMHO there is no requirement for the 2mm Deadn layer. The Deadn butyl vinyl stuff is to stop panel boom or resonance in large metal areas. The sixaflex'd battens and the ridges in the floor will stop this, you'll just be adding weight for no effect. We put 6mm Thermo liner straight on top of our battens and then screwed the floor down . It doesn't screw down flush but will compress the foam a little. 9mm Batten+6mm thermo liner+12mm ply (use 4x30mm screws) all fits well under the deeper kombi step.

I saw this in another thread somewhere which is why I got a 12mm rather than 9mm floor
 
So you have 9mm buttons, sound deadening and a 6 mm foam all under a 12mm or 9mm floor? With what door step?



Is your floor 9mm?
My floor is 9mm ply and solid, plus 3mm altro makes it a12mm up from the ridge tops of floor corrugation. Kombi steps fits okay.
 
Hi, I have bought some of this stuff from Wickes,it is £30 a pack of 10square meters, its the stuff that goes under click type laminate flooring . i'm going to stick it to the underside of my 12mm plywood floor, it's only 2mmm thick , going to bond 2mm thick Karndean Knight tile LVT on top of the ply hopefully will still be able to get my deep step over the top.lADxS84YS+CAd00MsNoIJw.webp
 
Excuse me whilst I have a little grumble... I'm desperate to order both the kitchen and the bed, the build has been dragging on too long and the weather is not helping. I want to get the kitchen decided first so I can have the bed upholstered to match. We've been to Evo Motion design twice now, both times is a 4 hour round trip plus a day off work, I thought I was decided on the unit colour after the first visit, but then I decided I wasn't sure so we went again. I'm 100% happy now in what I want, it's in the basket I was just double checking it and then I noticed....the colour we want is out of stock until the end of March 😭 😭
 
Gutted Ollie. However, 5 weeks will fly by. What else is on your list?
The list is long but the budget is shrinking …I think that’s what they say? 🤔 I’ve been talking to Evo via email, they have been very helpful. Kitchen will be ordered very soon.
 
I am in the process of fitting curtains and so I wanted to finish off a couple of snagging bits left over from the carpet lining. The first one was not actually near a window but around the wheel arch which I was not happy with:

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Working out how to repair it and masking up (is there a non-spray contact adhesive? It's not easy making small repairs with spray cans):

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I love how forgiving this carpet is, you can hardly see the seam:

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All cleaned up and tools reinstalled!

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Pleased with that!!
 
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