Which side bars for this particular van?

[Cuiken]

There's tons of threads on this subject but none about my van specifically

So, thought I'd poll for opinion. Which side bars for this van:



I think the stock answer at the moment is black trapezoidal ones (which I agree, look great on dark coloured vans) but I've not seen many (any?) on a white van like mine.

Or... stick to the traditional 60mm round bars and maybe go stainless????

Anyone got any thought or (hopefully) pics to help me choose?

Thanks.

 

[WinFreak]

I would stick to black ones on that van, nothing else shiny so SS bars would look out of place in my opinion.

Can't see whether your wheels are gloss or not but i'd maybe match that, satin wheels satin bars or gloss wheels gloss bars.

Round or trapezoidal is a taste thing, I'm about to order some round ones myself

 

[david173]

agree with @WinFreak above, stainless would look out of place as you have gone black on everything else. Either shape would work well, its personal preference, I would go trapezoidal myself

 

[dubber36]

Black trapezoidal bars on my white van

 

[Cuiken]

View attachment 142081

Black trapezoidal bars on my white van

Thanks. They look great.

Possibly they look particularly good with the silver wheels. Which wheels are they BTW?

As to the general comments, I think you're probably right about chrome/SS being a bit much.

So, black bars and then explain to my wife that we'll also be needing a nice set of sliver wheels too

 

[dubber36]

Possibly they look particularly good with the silver wheels. Which wheels are they BTW?

19" Amarok Canteras

I think @Skyliner33 has a set for sale.

 

[Cuiken]

19" is a bit of a sweet spot it has to be said.

In the end I opted for 18" for easier tyre availability and softer ride (since it's a bit lowered). Of course, I now regret this

Ta.

 

[hunta]

I've been asking myself a similar question. My SWB is white with gloss black sportlines, but no side decals. I'm thinking gloss black 60mm round sidebars would work best.

Just trying to figure out which are easiest to fit as I seem to be capable of making a pig's ear out of the simplest task.

 

[Cuiken]

I've been asking myself a similar question. My SWB is white with gloss black sportlines, but no side decals. I'm thinking gloss black 60mm round sidebars would work best.

Just trying to figure out which are easiest to fit as I seem to be capable of making a pig's ear out of the simplest task.

Ahhhhh, but straight cut or slash cut or rounded...........

As to difficulty of fitting, my interest in side bars was at least partially re-kindled by a response to another thread of mine where someone reported that they were an easy fit. YMMV

Can you name a job you've done on your van that was actually easier than you expected?

Hardly my advice - I put a shout out to @Skyliner33 and @Texxaco before I did it as I was having a wobble about drilling my baby! (I’ll leave that one hanging for @CAB and @DaveD in return for all the lines they gift me!!!) "Barry White plays on the turntable .........."

www.t6forum.com

Cheers.

 

[dubber36]

I think that trapezoidal are a T6 thing, whereas tubes are a bit universal.

 

[Cuiken]

View attachment 142081

Black trapezoidal bars on my white van

BTW, nice stance on your van. Is it lowered?

 

[dubber36]

Not as such. Caravelle Execs are 20mm lower than a standard van from the factory.

 

[Cuiken]

Got you. Mine's a T32 so I think it started out life higher than a standard van.

 

[Bigsidavies]

My mate has the satin trapezoidal Leighton Vans bars on his white SWB with 20” Leighton gloss black wheels and they look good.
Took about 30 minutes to fit (after about half a day to remove the old ones that were rusted solid).

 

[Cuiken]

Okay, dropped the van off for its MOT and timing belt today (can't wait to see how much that costs) and spotted another white van with black trap' bars. Looked great (though it probably helped that it had just been cleaned).

So black trap's it is. Next question. Where from?

1. Vanstyle - Loads of reviews, generally favourable but mild steel so they're going to rust.
2. Leighton - Top tip in the post above and loads of love for Leighton's stuff generally but, again, mild steel.
3. Van-Tech - These guys reckon their black bars are made from stainless steel (big play about it being 304 grade too) so, theoretically, no rust and only a few £s more expensive. They don't seem to get a lot of love though.

Can anyone comment from experience? Especially interested in rust issues. Ideally, they won't need replaced every three years or so

Ta.

 

[david173]

Okay, dropped the van off for its MOT and timing belt today (can't wait to see how much that costs) and spotted another white van with black trap' bars. Looked great (though it probably helped that it had just been cleaned).

So black trap's it is. Next question. Where from?

1. Vanstyle - Loads of reviews, generally favourable but mild steel so they're going to rust.
2. Leighton - Top tip in the post above and loads of love for Leighton's stuff generally but, again, mild steel.
3. Van-Tech - These guys reckon their black bars are made from stainless steel (big play about it being 304 grade too) so, theoretically, no rust and only a few £s more expensive. They don't seem to get a lot of love though.

Can anyone comment from experience? Especially interested in rust issues. Ideally, they won't need replaced every three years or so

Ta.

Im going to be buying these as the reviews on here are great and they look good quality. Also no cutting the undertray

Sidebars from Ashton Engineering

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-Sportline-Style-Angular-Trapezoid-Side-Bars-NO-DRILL-NO-CUT-for-VW-T6-SWB-/402438703782?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286 Anyone got these ? Interested as they say 'no drilling, no cutting'...

www.t6forum.com

 

[Cuiken]

I've placed an order for a set of the Ashton ones.

I suspect they won't have quite the gloss finish I'd really prefer but the design of the fitting kit looks good and the nylon finish should be more durable than a powder coat. Plus, the company were really responsive when I asked questions. Seem like a decent outfit.

I'll report back.

Now, what unnecessary van bling should I research next........

 

[Cuiken]

The bars arrived and look good. I reckon they are a satin/matt sort of finish but should look decent on the van.

Only issue is that the brackets are unpainted so I'm thinking of giving them a coat of black smoothrite before fitting.

 

[david173]

The bars arrived and look good. I reckon they are a satin/matt sort of finish but should look decent on the van.

Only issue is that the brackets are unpainted so I'm thinking of giving them a coat of black smoothrite before fitting.

nice one look forward to the 'after' pics! do the brackets have any sort of rust protection on them at all?

 

[Cuiken]

nice one look forward to the 'after' pics! do the brackets have any sort of rust protection on them at all?

I've sent an email to Ashton to ask. I guess they might be made from galv'd steel bar but even then I don't think there'd any protection around the holes and cuts.

Maybe I'm wrong though, let's see what they say.

The bolts seem to be stainless though which is nice.