Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2017 i VWt

“the idea of hovering over a Smev 9222… fills them with dread” Toilets in Campervans? A contentious issue amongst Transporter owners, and something that most probably crosses the mind of many of the people who pick up this magazine in the hope their future will be a brighter, better, more exciting one with a VW Camper in it. For from what we’ve heard and witnessed, the one thing that prevents a lot of people fully embracing the Campervan way of life is the toilet facilities, or lack thereof. It’s alright for us blokes. In the most desperate of situations, we could resort to using the sink because anatomically it’s slightly easier for us but, for many of our better halves, the idea of hovering over a Smev 9222, or fumbling…

Brothers gonna work it out Afternoon VWt-ers, I submitted my Van for your Readers’ rides pages the other week, and thought you might like to see my brother’s T5.1 as well. Before I built my Van I built one with my brother, Darren. It’s not a Camper in the same style as mine, but we turned his into a Kombi, fitted genuine seats, facelifted the front end and did a tailgate conversion. The real wow factor with his is the incredible amount of work we have done getting his Van slammed on air! We’d go so far as to say it’s one of the lowest around. Danny Parker, Rotherham VWt: Thanks for taking the time to write in Danny. Both your Van (see p24) and your brother’s look…

Gary and Kelly’s 1.9-litre diesel T4 is colour coordination personified, and is colloquially known as ‘Ginge, due to its orange top! “When we bought the T4 it was already painted orange, but needed some bodywork repairs so, after the rear wheelarches were replaced, we had the lower half of the body repainted again,” says Kelly. “The interior was all pretty much finished, too. The seats had been re-trimmed in marine vinyl so we have just fitted new blinds, carpets and lighting, but plan to have a friend paint the cupboard doors at some point to match everything else.” Gary and Kelly also fitted the 18in chrome wheels. Then, in the summer of 2016, Daystar Campers of Ilkeston, Derbyshire were entrusted to fit Ginge with a pop-top. The couple say they…

“[the show] now encompasses all facets of the modern VW scene” “One family, different generations – that’s what we’re going to live by from now on” “such a diverse and entertaining day out” You don’t rack up over four decades’ worth of show heritage without doing something right, and Stanford Hall backs up that exceptional record with a purity of enthusiasm, outstanding organisation and a damn fine selection of everything that’s good about the VW scene. Traditionally a vintage-focussed concours event, it has grown beyond all measure in recent years, and now encompasses all facets of the modern VW scene, yet it has retained the feel of the smaller, more personal event it started out as. In our mind, it is unquestionably one of the best one-day…

“the roads out of Poland were slow and uncomfortable” Last month we left you in Poland at Camping Stogi, about to head to the ‘Living Dunes’ at Rabka, via Leba, a small fishing village just outside the Gulf of Gdansk facing the Baltic Sea. After finding my choice of campsite full, we drove to the site recommended to us by German neighbours at the previous site, only to be told they were also full. This was unexpected, but it was evident this was a favourite holiday destination for the Polish. In the end, we found ourselves racing a couple in a motorhome to try and find the last space on a site. Winning the ‘race, we were thankful we had a small, nippy Volkswagen! The Living Dunes are an area…

Chatting to someone you have never met, and are never likely to meet, online at 3am on a Friday night, you’re never quite sure if they’re a total liar, drunken party goer or inspired genius. “Yeah, I’m from New Zealand mate, and I’ve just finished building a T4 with a 1.8T 20v engine conversion. Is it the sort of thing you might be interested in for your magazine?” Er… hell yeah, of course we would, but are you sure you’re sober, completely lucid and not 13 years of age? Came my slightly sarcastic response. “They’re not very popular over here. There’s a big air-cooled scene, but not much going on with the water-cooled stuff – unless you’re into Golfs. “You know what us Kiwis are like though. When we visit…

2017 Campervantastic fleet The 2017 Campervantastic fleet of California Ocean and Beach derivatives are now available from the high-end, Forest Hill-based rental specialist. With either the range-topping 204bhp Ocean or 150bhp Beach to choose from, you’re guaranteed to have a mighty fine weekend away with one of these. All come with ACC (adaptive cruise control) and are extremely highly spec’d to ease your time spent with the very best that VW offers from the factory. Prices start from £385 for a weekend in the low season, so hit them up with your requirements to start your Campervan dream now. Who? www.campervantastic.com How much? Hire from £385 per weekend / £630 per week Pioneer AVH-X7800BT A new single DIN, flip-out offering for those without the dash space, or desire,…

My Van started out as a 140bhp, T30, Highline Kombi. I then set about updating the outside with a genuine Sportline kit and rear lights, LED headlamps and DRLs, finished off with a colour-coded splitter from JPL. It’s been lowered 80mm using V-Maxx Xtreme coilovers and is sat on 9 and 9.5J banded 17in steels. I have fitted these with 235/55-17 tyres as I’ve no plans to go ‘proper’ low. The engine has been re-mapped by Pendle Performance and fitted with a K&N air filter so it’s now giving somewhere in the region of 180bhp. It’s had a Pop a Top high-lift roof fitted with a Skyline roof bed supplied by Fat Chilli Campers. Interior-wise, I have lined it using sound deadening, polyurethane foam and a quilt layer, all from…

In a pitch black workshop in Exeter there resides a T4 of almost unheard of secrecy. It is an enigma and owner, Martyn Wilson, would probably like to keep it that way. We simply couldn’t allow that though. It must be, nay, it has to be in the public domain, and in VWt. It took a couple of years of persistent nagging from our regular snapper in the south west before Martyn finally caved in and agreed to a feature, and we were beside ourselves with excitement when he did. All we’ve got to do now is try and do it justice, but don’t go expecting a full confession, there are certain elements of this Van Martyn is keen to keep very close to his chest. “I bought it sight…

June Bristol Volksfest* 9-11 June Birches Farm, Bristol www.bristolvolksfest.co.uk Alive & V-Dubbin’ 9-11 June Haughley Park, Suffolk www.aliveandvdubbin.co.uk The Bus Stop Over 16-18 June Newark Showground www.thebusstopover.co.uk Players Classic 17 June Goodwood Motor Circuit www.players-show.com International drive your VW to work day 22 June VDub At The Pub 23-25 June Wimborne, Dorset www.vdubatthepub.com European Bug-In* 30 June – 2 July Chimay Race Circuit, Belgium www.europeanbugin.com Kent Coast VW Show 30 June – 2 July Quex Park, Kent July Camper Marmalade 7-9 July Horam, East Sussex www.campermarmalade.co.uk Dorset Volksfest 14-16 July Pikes Farm, Poole www.dorsetvolksfest.co.uk Volksweald 15-16 July Penshurst Place, Kent www.volksweald.co.uk Bug Jam* 21-23 July Santa Pod Raceway www.bugjam.com Dubs At The Castle 21-23 July Caldicot Castle www.dubsatthecastle.co.uk Camping at the Castle* 28-30 July Eastnor Castle www.volksworldshows.com Dubtoberfest…

James Wilkins, 33, is a longterm VW lover and has been building this T4 for the best part of four years, slowly adding parts and improving it along the way, mostly with parts imported from overseas due to the lack of a domestic Transporter modifying scene. “The wheels and the engine swap are my favourite changes. I’ve no plans to sell it, it’s too useful, and too much fun, so I guess I’ll just have to make it faster.” That’s not going to happen overnight, though, as his ’68 Squareback project is taking up all his attention in the meantime. It’s also worth noting this Van has been inspected and certified by the NZ authorities following the engine swap, so it complies with every legal obligation to be road legal,…

If you’ve found yourself cursing the heater in your T5, and can’t quite seem to get the airflow comfortable, it’s quite likely the problem is the twisted Bowden cable used by VW in the heater controls. There are two of these that translate the rotary motion of the control knob to either the heater valve or the air distribution flap in the heater system. Of these it’s the air distribution cable that tends to fail, since it kinks as a result of the design requiring the cable to ‘push’ as well as ‘pull. The problem is said to be worse on those older models without markings past the 12 o’clock position, and many owners reckon it’s turning the control clockwise past this position that causes the problem in the first…

The buoyant, not to mention refreshingly creative, nature of the UK’s Campervan scene inspired Pioneer, long regarded as one of the world’s foremost in-car audio experts, to commission a demo Van of its own, one that would act as a showcase for its products and their amazing functions. The catch? It had to be designed, devised and built in time for the Motorhome and Caravan Show at the NEC in October last year, a hard and fast deadline at the time only a mere handful of weeks away. Pioneer realised it would have to turn to a specialist if it was to have any hope of meeting the deadline, and it was Rolling Homes in Shrewsbury that got the nod. “The Pioneer project actually came about through my own build,”…

After selling the last T5 I built to fund our new house purchase almost four years ago, we have been eager to get back into the scene. So, once the house was completed last year, we started saving again. I bought the Van though eBay. A good solid base, which had spent most of its life transporting Motocross bikes to and from the track. It was perfect as I also had plans to use it for my Enduro bike. As can be seen from the images, the Van didn’t need much panel work. I did, however, change both rear doors as they had some bad repairs from previous incidents. These were replaced with doors from a 2015 model. I then started pulling in some favours from a mate who fitted…

Lowdown Transporters club member, Gary Pearce, is the proud owner of this very sharp T5, which he’s had converted into a full-on Camper. Gary has lowered his T5 as much as possible and has air ride, along with 19in wheels from a Range Rover, which have been painted gloss black, with the outer rim picked out in white. “Replacing the wheels for something different is next on my list,” he says. “There’s a huge choice out there and many owners tend to fit what’s most popular, so I want to go for a design that’s quite different. The only trouble is, that’s probably going to cost a lot of money!” The Van’s 2.0-litre engine remains stock, but body modifications include a Sportline kit, bumper and rear spoiler, de-badged front grille…

For a lot of people, the concept of building their own Camper simply isn’t feasible. Perhaps they have no interest in the process, or don’t have the facilities to carry out the work themselves, or maybe they just want a Van that’s ready to go straight away. In their case, there are numerous high-end converters in the scene who can satisfy their requirements with either an off-the-shelf option or a bespoke one, depending on their taste. And their budget, of course. For others, part of the allure of owning a VW Transporter-based Camper is the process of creating it themselves. They are among the proudest of all owners, revelling in the knowledge that every feature – and potentially, fault – is the result of a choice they made and work…

It’s been a testing and decidedly uninspiring couple of months with Project shed. All of my best laid plans to have a rock ’n’ roll bed in the back and get away somewhere nice have been put on the back burner due to a number of dull maintenance issues that are necessary just to keep the high miler ticking by. They’re no less relevant though, as I’d imagine they’re exactly the sort of issues plenty of other people have to contend with day to day on Vans with 210k+ on the clock. However, I’ve also managed to squeeze in a couple of little jobs that have really changed the demeanour of the Van inside. The swanky parts I’d like to have seen in the Van by now haven’t yet materialised,…

If you keep sending your pics in of your favourite Vans, we’ll keep putting them on here. It’s a bumper way to showcase what you’ve been working on and, if we really like them, there’s a good chance you’ll be elevated to Readers’ ride or full feature status, too. So keep them coming, and keep us posted with your build progress and any updates you’ve made to your Vans by emailing vwt.ed@kelsey.co.uk We’re also on Twitter now @vwtmag and you can #vwtmag on Instagram too, so there’s no excuse not to keep in touch…