Kitting out a VW T5 for mountain biking

Hi all,

Just looking for some inspiration for how to do up a T5 SWB for mountain biking.

I want to keep 2-3 bikes inside the van but also want storage for other stuff such as climbing gear, inflatable canoe, surf board etc.
I won’t be sleeping in the van as I have a tent for that kind of thing but would like somewhere to sit in the van for days when its raining or to get changed.

Has anyone done this with their van and if so any pictures would be great!

Wouldn’t a decent rack do the job if you’re sleeping in a tent? You could put the bikes inside over night..

Get some straps on the underside of your roof and that will take care of your surf board, I can get a 9’1″ and a shortboard in mine but it does depend on the rocker – I’ve got a pop top so i put a lot of strapping points into the bed base

I put a vw bike rack on the back of mine for the bikes, and kitted the inside out with a sliding rock and roll rear seat (reimo) and loads of storage – I can still fit 4 bikes inside if I take the wheels off and have somewhere to kip. I don’t think that my set up would work for what you’re after though – it based around carrying gear and sleeping 4/5 with the top up.

The other thing that I did that worked really well was fasten some cargo nets onto the inside of the van just below the roof, they’re great for shoving helmets and pads in – so they’re up out of the way and not festering in a box.

my t5 is kitted out complete with bed, compact pod (with hob and sink), fridge and a fold-down tv. there is enough space behind the back seats to put 2-3 bikes with a further bike down the side. i have a bench seat at the front which gives shed loads of storage inside, and i have a very funky swivel for it, so the entire double seat can rotate and face inwards when required.

i’ve taken it to the south of france before with 2 bikes, inflatable kayak, driveaway tent, more crap than you could ever imagine, and the wife…. no problems at all!

i also have a thule 2-bike tow bar rack which is an excellent piece of kit and can rotate on the (removable) hitch just enough to allow me to open the back doors without taking off the rack.

definitely my favourite toy… it’s also great fun to drive (mine has been remapped) and easy to park (in swb format with rear parking sensors!)

^
You’ve spent some money on that

my wife does regularly point out that for the same spend we could stay in 5* hotels every year and have kept the porker which went ahead of it.

i think she’s missing the point though… it is male perogative to spend silly amounts of money of rapidly depreciating assets (see my barely-used £2k giant anthem in the classifieds up for £750) lol.

more fun than diamonds though!

t5’s rock… everyone should have one imho.

Nice van freddie.

Are those seat covers on the front, or a retrim?

seat covers… they’re pretty good all things considered

Where from? My T5 seats are a bit tatty.

Are they vinyl and, if so, are they not a bit sticky when it’s hot…

it is male perogative to spend silly amounts of money of rapidly depreciating assets

Amen to that. Nice bus 🙂

that’s one nice van mrfreddie.
I’m finding myself drawn to them there T5s

Alex – The last time I saw that bus, it was considerably more basic looking than that! You’ve been a busy 🙂

Buy a VW rack for the back, its the best one. You can open the rear door with it on, well as long as you hold it up 🙂
Oh and tell her you dont get as good a room with a view as this one 🙂

Beer store

Cupboard space

chojin – Member
Alex – The last time I saw that bus, it was considerably more basic looking than that! You’ve been a busy

well, i get bored and like to tinker…

My T4 is alot more basic than that T5, very nice by the way. Mine is more rustic charm…
I use mine for biking all the time. Its an L-shape seating arrangement which makes getting the bikes in and out a doddle.. The L turns into a full bed too. If you just want a seating area the L shape is great and plenty of room for mates to huddle round a pot noodle when the weather turns!
😉
Plenty of storage for gear too. You can also get a gear loft which fixes to the roof for light items.

Oh I’d also say Vinyl flooring is good for biking. Carpets will get ruined with mud, a quick washdown and it looks good as new.

oh, and one VERY important point for anyone considering one of these (T4 or T5) and intends to ferry their kids around in the back.

you can buy a ‘rock’n’roll’ bench/bed for buttons and put it in along with seatbelts and it will be road legal (as long as you have registered the number of seats with the DVLA and your insurers). HOWEVER, some of the cheaper ones are quite woeful in the way they are attached to the van floor.

there are some companies who will sell (at vast expensive) crash-tested seat units. The uplift in price can be huge (although the costs have come down now that the development and test costs have been spread over more units produced).

the RIB Altair seat in my van was £3k when new, but can now be picked up to that spec for nearer £2k.

ultimately, i wouldn’t risk the life of my 5 month old son in something that hadn’t been fully crash-tested by an independant body.

just my 2p’s worth.

Freddie, that swivelling double seat…

Off the shelf product or homemade/custom built? Designed for a flat floor or specific to the T5?

Thanks 🙂

Is it possible to have a rock n roll bed in the swb and still have room at the back for a couple of bikes? I think it’ll need a lwb 😕

I’m just about to get a rack for my T5 to carry the bikes.

I’ve gone a slightly different route and have a caravelle rear triple seat. Fully crash tested all original vw parts.

This folds flat to form a bed (I’m just making up a board for the rest as the multiflex board from VW has gone through the roof price wise).

T4 for me, have two bikes behind the seats width ways so can lock em to the seat and home made fold out double bed. Bikes live on front seats when sleeping. I’ve got a bike rack but not used it yet. Sea Kayaks on the roof and climbing gear etc stored in plastic boxes under bed. Not much use without photos but ain’t worked out how to do that yet.
Get a big comfy bed in your van bugger sleeping in a tent. Oh and an awning as living room when on official sites.

Kristoff, are they T5 Caravelle seats there? I’ve got factory leather in mine but the bases are black / grey. Never seen a “full-on beige” seat before.

In case you’re interested, Inca will have waterproof covers for that seat shortly. (black and grey might already be available). I lent them my seat so they could template it and I should be getting a “cream” set at the end of this month (hopefully) when they come into production.

What are you going to use for the uprights for the multiflex alternative?

Crell/Kristof

I’ve gone the same route with the velle seats. About to sort a multiflex for summer – had a chat with Andy at Wickedvanz re the supports – he’s using VW parts to lock into the rails. Well cheaper than the multiflex too.

http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=1809618#

re. 2 bikes behind a r’n’roll bed in a swb t5… yes… that is how mine is configured.

i’ll try to take a photo tomorrow of the boot space and post it up so you can see.

re. the seat covers. they were £130 last year from this chap:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/hsohail90/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=25&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2654

re. the double swivel… absolutely 100% not home made (i wouldn’t dream of putting anything that wasn’t crash tested in the front or the back). it’s a proper work of art and you just wouldn’t believe that it is possible to do. the linky is here:- http://www.kiravans.co.uk/t5-double-seat-swivel.html … it does however raise the passenger seat quite markedly, so if you have 6’4″ mates, they will struggle (my wife is 5’2″, my best mate is 5’6″ and my son is about 1’6″ at the mo’, so no probs for me)

See the Vivaro thread from today OP

Kiravans T5/T6 Double Passenger Seat Swivel (UK RHD)

Cheers for all the info guys.
I have found a nice T5 Kombi with captain seats and removable 2:1 seats in the back so I can keep 1 seat in the back of the van and still have room for a few bikes too.
Love the idea about netting near the roof – will certainly be doing that.
Will be going for a SWB as it will be my daily driver and think it would be easier to park etc (I live on a terraced street so lots of tight parallel parking.)
The ultimate plan is to get a pop-top for the van so the bikes can be kept in the van whilst sleeping ‘upstairs’.

Before I put furnishings in and bought a bike rack I fixed a length of “Unistrut” between the anchorage points with unistrut right angled brackets you can then fasten the front forks to the floor with the QR with the front wheels out, It saves them moving about.

Want.., how do they compare with a converted Vito?

Vitos do seem to rust away before your eyes.

If you want something just as good but don’t want to be a sheep and pay through the nose for the ‘trendy’ VW (like me!), then a Vauxhall Vivaro is definitely the pick of the bunch.

I’m in process of getting my T5 Caravelle ready for the summer. Going to get the VW rack about 450 ouch and a nice fridge. I’ve got 3 kids and wife didn’t want a van so had to go for the Caravelle. Seat swivels to make a nice living room. Agree with a above 4 of us slept in the van in the snow on saturday, miles cosier than in a tent.

Hi
Love the idea of a T5 – just stick the bikes on the back & get away for the weekend or longer….

I’m browsing the forums at the moment window shopping & daydreaming.
Q – is the 1.9TD I powerful enough? I know they tend to get re-mapped.
Q – is there a ‘best’ one as a base for the conversions?
Q – is the 2.5TDI too juicy? And is the 2.5 auto any good (DSG) as I know the Audi CVT gearbox of 98-2004ish is an absolute lemon..

The T4/T5 forum seema a goog place to look – but is there a better place to look/buy….

Many questions I know…

I’ve got a 130bhp 2.5,SWB, with Vamoose pop top and RIB double seat/bed.
It’s my daily vehicle and it’s ace. Three kids who love it too.

Love that swivel. Best solution I’d seen for my van (Iveco) was someone removed the double seat, grafted in the floor mounts for the rear seats from a Renault Scenic. With a couple of adjustments, you can have forward facing seats (or the centre one folded for the cupholders on the back) and then when parked up, unmount them, turn around and clamp back in.

The grafting of the floor mounts, and the fact the seats aren’t really full size adult seats, put me off the idea. Its a shame that no-one does a swivel for the Iveco double, I made a ‘prototype’ plywood swivel and the shape of the dash means a simple offset swivel with no sliding trickery would allow the double to turn simply by opening the passenger door.

Hello,

Looking to do similar to Campfreddie by the looks of it but was leaning towards a LWB for the bike storage with a bed. CampFreddie or anyone else have you any pictures of storing 2 bikes at the back of the bed in the SWB T5, or on the front seats – is the SWB really enough then?

Great if so!

Adam.