A SWB VW T5 to be exact. Nothing special, but it does have an up-and-over tailgate, so can be used as a shelter when it rains. It’s really quite nice to drive and not at all like the Vivaro that I used to drive for work.

I’ve just spent part of the afternoon clearing out racking and stuff (saving it for later, just in case) and sweeping things out. I’m now trying to come up with a list of stuff that I need to do, but can’t get past insulation, carpet and lights. All I need it to do is carry me and the bikes to fun places.

I am happy. I might even drive it to work tomorrow.

Before you ply line and insulate take a good long think about what you want to install, leisure battery / split charger upgraded stereo , lights etc. putting in the cables now will save you a lot of bother later on.

Take a look at the T5 forum loads of info there

carpet and lights. All I need it to do is carry me and the bikes to fun places.

Sack off the carpet then, or try and make a bike area with none. Much easier too keep a non-carpet floor clean after having bikes on it all the time

Flashband for the roof and big metal spaces. Reduces vibration and lowers the volume loads.
Megavan mats for super-flexible carpet and spray glue.

Loads of inspiration on the VWT4 forum.

I’ve got a layer of foam under a 12mm ply floor with wood effect canvas on top. Canvas is easy to keep clean, or roll up and store if you’re gonna get muddy.

Loads of ways to do it, just get stuck in and have fun!

M8’s just gotten one (T5 2.5) and is wondering what the MPG should be? He’s not gunna be doing high mileage but reckons the 1st tank was around 21mpg and is a little disappointed.
Admittedly it’s got a huge Rhino roof rack, which is no doubt not helping.

That seems low, unless he’s hooning it everywhere. Early indications are that my recently aquired LWB 174 is returning around 30-32mpg for a mix of motorway (70-80mph) and general running around.

Don’t believe he’s hooning it, as he has a stupidly fast car to do that in and this is replacing a Freelander which he happily trundles around in (got them to trailer the fast car to track days). Maybe the tank wasn’t full on his run afterall, I was just wondering if the roof rack could affect it that badly?

Roof racks tend to have more effect at higher speeds as drag is a function of velocity squared. Little effect running about town, but more significant at motorway speeds.

2.5 130bhp here getting mid 30’s I think. Awesome on the motorway though with the 6 speed box. Got nearly 800 miles out a tank on empty euro-roads. Usually get 230-260 from the halfway point to the fuel light. I drive like a mincer though.

Fair enough, we’ll see what he says after the next fillup, as it a perfect biking waggon (2 rows of seats and load area).

Mine did seem to be getting through fuel on the way back from picking it up, but I have a strong feeling the fuel gauge will do what the one in my Passat does: live forever when full, then go through the last half quickly.

Thanks for the advice so far. I’ve already registered on the T4 forum and there are a lot of very serious van lovers there. Good advice though. As for modifications, the standard stereo will go soon and the interior lights will be replaced with [probably] Ikea Dioder LED ones, but other than that, there is not a lot that I can thinking of doing (apart from insulating it). Yes, I’ll get some nice carpet on the walls so that it looks nice, but I think I might just use old carpet tiles from work for the floor. They are waterproof and can be taken out easily enough, so would be a good fit.

last two tanks out of my T5 130 were 697 miles and just about to fill up after getting 688 miles out of this tank. That is driving like a sissy though, and will have to give it an italian tune up to blast the injectors and turbo through soon.

MUTDz

My 1.9 gives me circa 600 miles from a tank. 350-400 of them will be from full to half on gauge, so it does indeed drop quicker for the second half.

My 1.9 gives me circa 600 miles from a tank. 350-400 of them will be from full to half on gauge, so it does indeed drop quicker for the second half.

Ditto.

Before you ply line and insulate take a good long think about what you want to install, leisure battery / split charger upgraded stereo , lights etc. putting in the cables now will save you a lot of bother later on.

This. I’d add insulation to the list too.

And have a hard (i.e. not carpeted floor), makes cleaning much, much easier because you can dry brush it (or even mop it if it’s really bad). You can always use big cheap doormats to cover some of it to keep your tootsies warm 🙂

If you’re near Ciren or Swindon you can have a look at mine for ideas if you like. It’s practical rather than bling, but still is a comfy camper/bike bus.

Thank you for the offer, but I am sadly the other end of the country.

The initial list schedule is likely to be:

[list]
[*]Stereo[/*]
[*]Interior lights[/*]
[*]Flooring[/*]
[*]Insulation & lining[/*]
[*]Window(s)[/*]
[*]Bed[/*]
[*]Cupboards (if at all)[/*]
[/list]