anyone on here converted a van, either entirely yourself or having a company do all/some of it?

seems that its loads cheaper to source a van and go down that route, albeit using a specialist company to do most (roof, windows, lining etc) if not all, rather than buying an existing camper (i’ve been looking at VW T4 and T5).

anyone have any views, experience or links to site i can get more info from?

I bought my T4 conversion from Clink on here.

He had a commercial van converted by these guys
http://www.acareleisureltd.co.uk/www.acareleisureltd.co.uk/info.php?p=4

really high quality job.

I have the quotes somewhere…

Did it myself. I have loads of pictures but only stored for the purpose of boring friends on facebook.

I am looking to be doing this kind of conversion shortly, also with a T5. I will be interested to see how people got on. Im quite lucky though, a guy on my street installs the pop top roof and another fits-out the interior.

Id be interested to know how much people have been charged for the whole conversion when supplying the van themselves.

I had a Vito done by these guys;
http://www.exploria-online.co.uk/

Proper job with leather seats & smev appliances was about £12K

Id be interested to know how much people have been charged for the whole conversion

admittedly i’ve only contacted one company to get a rough idea… but for a double (fold out bed), lifting roof (with kiddie bunks), two extra windows and units on one side the price was 6700 for a late t4 and 1k more (apparently less choice of lifting roofs) for a t5.

from what i could see via a cursory glance at used vw t5 prices on autotrader an 05’ish van with sensible milage was 6-7k (happy to be corrected on that). so all up maybe 14-15k for something thats worth nearer 20K.

A friend of mine bout a hi top LWB transit and an old caravan – took the interior out of the caravan and put it in the transit – then scapped what remained of the caravan.

More general re t4/t5, but you’ll probably find some useful info here:

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/forumdisplay.php?f=147
http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/default.asp

Just be carful on what you start out with. A vans a van for a reason. Lots have had a hard life having loads lifted in and out of them. They get driven where they shouldn’t go and driven hard. I wouldn’t want one of our vans when we get rid of them (and i drive one now!!!)

Just take your time picking the van and make sure its not been abused!!

Think about what you want to use it for too. I have converted a T4 into a day van – insulated, carpet lined, fitted lights etc. Plus added one of these.

http://www.vwt4styleline.co.uk/products-kombi-sleepover.html

This way I have all of the space when I need it, can take 5 people/5 bikes for a weekend away, and it’s pretty comfortable for the occasional night away camping.

We thought the campers we saw lost too much space to all the cupboards/cookers/fridges etc.

if you buy a T4 panelvan for conversion be aware that the rear is not designed for seatbelts.

some people will fit them for you even though they are not safe. you can even buy bed/seat frames with seatbelt mounts but these are not proven either.

i think the variotech seat is the only one thats been crash tested (in germany though not in the UK) available on the market. its not cheap neither.

Plenty of people will fit belts but i`d be wary of them unless they are attached to the chassis. The C pillar is only strong enough is a reinforcement plate is fitted. any further back and the mountings are not safe.

moral of the story – buy a mulitvan/aa van as your conversion base. its easier.

alot of conversion companies are really really shite and do alot on the cheap. ask to look at real life examples of their work. if they are good they should have a bunch of people you can go to look at. ask for the oldest examples you can get out of them as time tells.

if you do it yourself it is really hard work but very satisfying. i really enjoy doing it.

Don’t overlook the Mazda Bongos. Not as big as the VW T4/T5’s, but certainly big enough for 2. Most have factory fit lifting roofs, which you can sleep in but are more useful as headroom, and a place to bung all your gear when you are inside the van. In theory they sleep 4, but it would be ‘cosy’

Some are 3-row 8 seater MPVs, some are 2+3+1 6 seaters with a factory fit ‘kitchen cube’ in the very back, and there are lots with UK campervan conversions.

Most are 2.5 Turbo Diesel, 4WD and auto, although 2wd, petrol (2l 4 pot and 2.5 v6) and manual versions are knocking around.

And they are a lot cheaper like-for-like than VW’s, or any of the other options – but smaller. Very car-like to drive too.