VW Camper Conversion costs/ideas

M

mark421

New Member
Hi All,

I am completely new to all this. Me and my wife are thinking of converting a T6 panel van into a camper.

We have a young baby.

Ideally we would like a 4 berth c/w kitchen and heating. Beyond that we are happy to go fairly basic.

Could anyone recommend any companies for the conversion, we are based in York.

As i am new to all this if anyone could give me a indication of budget that would be a great help!

Thanks in advance!
 
Sky is definitely the limit when it comes to conversion costs and the available options are massive. Would suggest visiting a few companies if you can to get an idea of what you like and works for you but the best advice I could offer would be to hire one for a weekend as this will give you a much better idea what you need.

Good luck
 
Get yourself to a couple of shows, as they have a wide number of companies touting their wares, and where better to actually look at a great number of vans all in the same place. 1. it will give you an idea of what is possible and how you may like to spec your own build, and 2. it will give you an insight to which are of a better quality.

Even if you don't opt for the shows, go and see a good number of conversion houses, you don't want to settle for the first one you ever see having never had a VW camper conversion before. You may well come back to that same company 3/4 or 5 visits down the line, but you won't have made the error of dumping a whole hell of a lot of your hard earned reddies down the toilet when you get something back that is not as good as what you thought it was going to be.

Do it once and do it right. There are unfortunately some unscrupulous companies out there. Take a look at the "recommended businesses" thread for some inspiration, because this lot will soon tell you if they've had a good experience or not, so that is a sound starting position.

Good Luck.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice!

I did a lot of research last night and its a complete minefield! Im going round and round in circles on ebay at the minute.

I will have a look at the bits you've sent me.
 
First cost it up then look at the price of one from a converter then a California from VW, you might find even a good second hand one will come in cheaper
 
I would ideally like a T6 highline with a decent bed, 5 seats and heating. The price ranges so much!

Which heating would you recommend (we have a new baby).

Also which Bed?

Thanks
 
I dont think you are going to get a finite answer to most of these questions, the options are broad and vast
Most people spend months planning and weighing up options, you really need to speak to conversion companies and get their opinions and views
Most companies have their preferred products and methods, some will only install SCA roofs while will go down the Reimo path
 
For under £500 you can rent a motorhome converted van for the week before tying up £30K+ in something, it’s a bloody good investment....
 
I have spoke to 8 Ball yesterday and they seemed very professional.

I have decided to get a SWB highland T6 with a Tailgate and pay a company to carry out the work.

I have got a few prices off different companies and they seem to vary a few Thousand.

It which roof to go for and rear seats, all a bit confusing!
 
Prices will vary by thousands based on which components go into the build. Everything is a bit of a compromise, e.g. you want 5 seats - if you go for, say, a high end RIB bed (circa £2-£3k), you will have to go for one of the wider ones to get 3 seat belts - as well as paying for quality, the compromise here is that it eats into the available width in the van meaning narrower cupboards. Similarly, with your pop top, you would pay around £4-£5k to get, say, an SCA 194 expertly fitted but there options for shaving a couple of grand off of this if you are prepared to settle for something less tried and tested - compromise would be in quality of materials and higher potential for rattles leaks, etc..

As per advice above, the best thing you can do is get yourself to a couple of shows where you will be able to crawl around a variety of vans, talk to suppliers and owners, etc, to work out which bits you want. This coming weekend there is camper mart - Home (a few members are meeting up there on Sunday) or, if that is too far for you, there is a caravan and motorhome show in Manchester the following weekend - The Caravan & Motorhome Show, Manchester EventCity - the North's biggest outdoor leisure show

Have fun!!
 
Thanks for the advice on visiting the shows.

I’m going to have a drive to a couple of converters today.

Sorry when you say a RIB bed. Is that a brand. I would only need 2 seats in the back.

Which brand of roof would you recommend? I will be using it in winter!
 
There are many poptops to choose from to fit different budgets, have a search on the forum as there are many discussions already but here are a couple to get you started:

Which roof...?
Pop Roof, which one?
Pop Top Roofs

RIB is a make of bed, again there are many different makes but would always recommend finding one that is M1 crash tested. (most seem to be now)

Our van goes in next month to be done, it will be nearly 12mnths from starting out on the journey and we have made many changes to the spec as we saw/learnt/experienced more about what is available. Take your time and enjoy the research. :)
 
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We've camped quite a lot before and rented an RV in the US for a weekend in 2011. However, we rented a converted T6 from Bunk Campers for a short trip before making our final decisions and even after 3 nights away, we changed our plans quite a lot for our conversion.
E.g., we'd rather have a bigger bed than a wardrobe and we decided that we don't need a pop-top.
That rental was the best money we spent.
 
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Yes, RIB is a make of bed. They are one of the most popular beds for conversions as they are crash tested and offer very flexible storage options behind and below - the way they work also means that you have a nice contoured seat with headrest and a flat sleeping surface (you flip the seats forward/down so that you sleep on the underside of the seat). The downside of the RIB beds is that they are fairly high meaning that if you have short legs they will dangle in mid air when you sit or if you are particularly tall you may need find you are close to the roof - neither a problem for us.

We love our SCA pop top and have used it all year round in pouring rain and temps down to minus 4c (my son sleeps up there). It is well fitted, has no rattles or leaks or road noise, raises/lowers easily without snagging the material, etc., etc.. Fixtures all look/feel the part and the canvas feels a lot thicker than others we have looked at. That said, we have no experience of living with any other sort of pop top.
 
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We also hired a van for a week, it was a T5 with the most uncomfortable bed I’ve slept on and we weren’t impressed with the conversionwhich was very basic. However, it didn’t put us off and whilst we were away we ordered our new Kombi which was converted by Three Bridge, the guys at ThreeBridge were great and we are delighted with the quality of our camper which we collected a couple of days before Christmas. The rental was worth every penny as it gave us an idea of what we would want and what to avoid. We visited the workshop before ordering and this easily justified the cost as we could see the quality and options available, the pop up bed is an SCA and we added hot water and heating system by Webasto. Many of the companies we looked at didn’t do the conversions themselves and sent them away.
 
With many head aches I've made a bit of research this week.

I am favouring 8ball for the conversion.

With further thought i think i'm going to go LWB. We will need the pram, bouldering matts and mountain biking equipment in the back. It might be a bit of squeeze in a SWB.

I have seen a Kombi van (the only snag is it has a sun roof). its all carpeted out. Its not much more than a panel van, do you think this will be better?
 
Mark we've gone for a Lwb panel van. Lwb for the extra bit of space for family camping and all the extra stuff we’ll end up taking! Is there any point buying a Kombi if you’re going to rip those seats out it will come with to fit a typical campervan set up with a RIB bed? I'd recommend going to see the 8 Ball guys in person. They were really friendly and helpful with us and showed us around the vans they were working on at the time.
Think I mentioned before they do have a waiting list so get booked in sooner rather than later if your hoping to have it done this year!
 
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