Which VW van is the best for conversion

[gaz301058]

Hi guys
Complete novice to van conversions here had three Californians previous last one having corrosion issues on roof so we are now thinking of buying a van for conversion always wanted to do one before I go and kick the bucket lol so seeing that you guys are well into conversions and the knowledge you guys have I need to start with the basic question which is the best van for conversion whether it is long wheelbase or short wheelbase which is a good engine to go for whether I should try and buy a van with the added little luxuries like Front and rear reversing sensors we have not made our minds up whether it should be a a full campervan conversion or part like a beach at the moment we have a generation six and love it but it's not a campervan and we don't really want to cut a hold in the roof of his vehicle if you know what I mean

 

[Roadrunner]

First question is what do you need it for and what do you use in the Cali's you had. We had a Cali back in 2010 and never used any of the stuff inside apart form the fridge and cooker. never lifted the roof much after having problems with it either so this time I bought a Beach only because the resale is better than a Van. Had the beach been a option at the time we had a Cali we would have gone for that. If you have a Generation Six do need a camper as the seat should go flat and you have your bed. I doubt I'll use the bed in ours as I bought a Kyham Motor dome to sleep in. Looking at the conversions her I wish I had bought a Highline Kombi the gone to @slidepods for the work I needed doing to it. Plenty of threads on here featuring work done

 

[MikeB]

We were advised by our converter to order a Kombi, largely as it has rather a lot of the goodies we wanted and which would have probably cost more to have added to a basic panel van. The converter provides an acceptable buy-back on the redundant seats and the few other bits which will be removed anyway. Another converter we spoke to gave the same advice, but one VW van dealer we spoke to was adamant that we should buy a panel van.

Finally, I gather the Kombi has a slightly different (stronger) body shell, largely because of the extra seats and windows, which makes it stronger than an ordinary panel van. Which makes complete sense. Finally, it comes with two front seat, not the useless twin passenger seat. Although I believe it's possible to order a van with two seats.

All this wasn't cheap though. Mind you, we did order some spendy goodies like LED lights, comfort dash and the 204 engine. I suppose it all depends on where you want to start, budget and as noted, what are you going to use it for. We have two friends who both have vans which are essentially just day-vans. No cooker, sink, fridge etc. We wanted a full-blown camper, and didn't want to have the van speed-restrictions.

Another factor for use was that as we're both tall, we wanted maximum space so we went LWB. That alone ruled out the California right at the start.

 

[gaz301058]

Thank you for that guys a good bit of information there yes roadrunner I know what you mean if the beach was available as it is now before I had my last two Cali's I would have had a beach as well but my boss always wanted a Cali the beach is more user friendly and such a versatile vehicle as for the conversion that is just to keep me busy.