what equipment would you want inside of one? ie. bike hooks,sink,kit storage etc.?

I’d say it depends what you plan to use it for having had several. All of my basic vans have had hooks fitted to hang clothing etc and extra lashing points inside to make sure it’s easy to strap bikes in place. Some bits of batten screwed to the floor to stop toolbox and dirtowrker moving around and straps for a track pump.

Vans for racing and staying in have had various bits from bed right through to full camper with heating, shower etc.

Semi permanent bike rack,removable kit box that doubles as a seat,blacked out windows for privacy when changing/theiving scrote avoidance, extra lighting for night-time use. A diesel powered heater would be nice too.

Depends whether you want to use it for transporting bikes or use it when you go biking, ie to live out of. Once you’ve worked that out you want to work out what the biggest van you’re happy driving around is, and what options that leaves you. A T5 is quite a small van and ideal for carting bikes around, but you might want something bigger if you want to live out of it and definitely if you want to sleep in it.

How many bikes do you want to transport and do you want to be able to just chuck them in or are you happy to take wheels off and have them take up less room?

I want to do a Transit LWB medium roof type van with three seats up front, three in the back facing the rear, with a table. Bikes suspended from the ceiling at the back without wheels and bars turned, then storage for a lot of stuff everywhere else, but nothing down to the floor, so there’s room to put a mattress in. The idea would be to carry a tent usually, but would want to retain as many options as possible.

From there you can start adding as much or as little stuff as you like, depending on budget and use etc.

If I could afford a dedicated bikes van I’d want it to be able to accomodate full weekends of racing/camping so… full storage for tools/spares, cooking/eating/sleeping arrangements thing is once you start on the wish list it soon becomes a team bus rather than a van.
I do like the idea of an awning though, a pretty effective way to extend your pitch/pit area with minimal faff….

wowzer – remind me never to get in your van paul … thats a deathtrap in an accident – rear facing seats and bikes suspended from the roof

3 bikes (with only 1 wheel out of each ) and 1 6 foot 3 guy in a berlingo van no bother – just have to be creative.

ive got it perfected now !

I’m going for a rear mounted rack, with an internal Thule one for the road bike…. have had a set of lights mounted mid way up the tail gate internally too so they can work as a bunk light when camping and as a pool of light at the back of the van when changing after ride/fettlig pre-ride etc.
Had an extra 12v socket run near the internal rear too so I can run a pressure washer occasionally or a shower if we’ve been to the beach with the kids. Still a work in progress.
My Bike Van

How much was it to get the roof done?

I went for small so the mpg wasn’t too bad.
Built a bed (single, or two very good friends) Can fit tools, dirtworker, food, ect underneath it. Screwed very firmly to the floor but still removable, takes around 30mins. Fitted some curtains.
3 bikes fit in whole next to it, will take more with some disassembly. I’ve got a look of steel cable that goes under the floor and a padlock. Cook on a standard gas stove and if I’m staying in one place for long I have a pop up gazebo for mending bikes under.
Floor made of plywood and damp-proof membrane.
Total cost of conversion was around £200 (and £90 of that was a specially made mattress)
Came with 4 12v sockets, two front and two back and interior lights in the back.

Only hit one problem so far was the cheapest insurance quote I found wouldn’t cover me for a home-made modification. All the other were fine with it.

No pics as it’s in van mode at the moment and will be until the first race in March when the bed will go back in for the summer.

@R_R…
it’s part of a whole conversion but rough figures (including the roof bed) is around £3.5K with roof colour coding too. That’s for a Reimo, including strengthening to the roof cut out etc. You can get other alternatives like SCA and Vamoose as well as other cheaper ones too i guess.

any more pix?

Like I said a work in progress – floor’s in and wiring on the way – not all my own ideas – lots of inspiration from here esp. forge197 of this parish who helped with answering some PMs