Little upgrades

I love my T5, but I'm always looking for little improvements where I can.

So far I've sourced a nearly new steering wheel, to replace the aged and cracked one I have now.

The centre console light has been upgraded to one from a Mk4 golf, which has two map reading lights built in.  Bargain too, at just £8 off eBay.

And lastly, I thought I  would try to improve the standard headlights of the van, with some chameleon tint film.

I'm still not decided on it though..

Finally, I've had the badgless grill painted gloss black, which I think looks loads better than the basic textured black.

Doorstore improvements

So from ealrier in the blog you'll see I bought a Kiravans DoorStor.  Which I love!  Such a great idea, and mega useful.

However, it's always bugged me that it didn't match the rest of my interior.  As such, I set about carpeting it.

Im quite impressed with the outcome.

Looks loads better now it's covered, and the carpet hides some of the rough edges on the plastic.

It's been a while

So it's been an age since I updated this blog with anything useful!  I've been out and about using the van, and enjoying it.

In March I took the van away for a long weekend, and we used the new Outwell Country road awning for the first time.  Ended up wanting more kit to go with the awning, but it worked well, and it was a blessing having the extra space with all the kit we took for Kensie.

Also I've managed a day out by the beach on Anglsey.  Lovely day, and a very quiet and isolated little spot we found.

Not too long ago, a friend has finished converting his own day van, so we gave it a test run on a local site.  The weather was terrible, but the company, BBQ and drinking made up for it all.

Finished!

Well maybe not 100% finished, I'm sure I'll find something I want to add or change in the future, but essentially for now the van is functional, and ready to go.

It's taken a bit longer than I had hoped, but with my daughter being born, a few months were soaked up with no progress being made on the van.


All in all, I'm really pleased with how it's turned out, and can't wait for some time off to get out and use the van.

I appreciate you all taking the time to follow this blog, and I'll carry on with periodical updates.

Anyway, here is the finished article.

Finishing Touches

Once again it seems like an eternity since I updated this blog.  however, thankfully this time, I have some reasonable progress.

The main kitchen area and storage unit is now finished and secured down, the gas pipe is fitted, there is now the gas fallout through the floor, and the waste water outlet plumbed in.

I've also started the final part of the kick panel storage too, the door to hide the porta-loo, next to it will be  a drawer for further storage.  This is still to be finished, and find some suitable

Finally, I've added another small shelf at the back of the cupboard.

Hopefully another few hours, and the vast majority of this build should be complete.

Spring Update

So it's been quite a while since my last update, our first family Christmas has been and gone, and then it's been some pretty awful weather, which has limited what I could do.

Now the better weather has arrived, I've been busy on the van again, and I finally have some progress to share.

First up was a re-work of the rear flooring.  I'd cut it a bit short, as I didn't have the  rear threshold panel when I originally did it.  I cut back the flooring to a point which after much measurement, would be under the seat frame, and thus hidden.

Then after much more careful measuring and cutting, the new flooring is done, and looks much better now it all sits under the threshold.

The next big job I had to tackle was the propper fitting of the 112cm RIB Altair seat.  This was quite involved, as I had to remove most of the plastic under panels from the van, to get access to the securing bolts.  This pretty much took all day, and involved a lot of measuring and head scratching.  There was even a strop thrown in for good measure.  Thankfully I've a very understanding fiance, who was able to help, and actually came up with a solution!  (You've no idea how much it pains me to write this)

Here is the full installed finished article.

The main wardrobe/cupboard unit is now in place, but not secured down, while I route final cables, and set mounting points up.  One job I'd yet to do, but had not been looking forward to, was installing the power controls. Eberspacher controller, and the mains switches.  I really wanted these to be dead square, and  well placed, so lots of measuring, and checking, and a few cardboard templates were used.

I'm pretty happy with the result, and I still have space to add an LED spot light, which is something I've been considering.

Plenty more to come in the next few weeks.  Thankfully the addition of my little helper has been invaluable.

Eberspacher Fitting

So one thing I loved about my old T25, was that I had an Eberspacher D2 fitted, which meant year round use, and lots of cosy evenings in the van.

It will come as no surprise, that I've planned on fitting the D2 in the new van  However, given the different layout it has taken a bit longer to figure out the best place to fit it.  I opted to fit it under the drivers seat, pulling cold air from the cab floor, and direct the rear vent directly into the rear space.

Fitting the unit was pretty straight forward as usual, being careful with the cutting, and ensuring all the new holes in the floor were rust proofed and painted.  There was a little bit of trimming the rubber flooring away to get a snug fit, but nothing too major.  The most complex part was dropping the tank to fit the fuel pick-up stand pipe.

The wiring is still loose in the back as the cabling for the controller and power etc need hiding away.

Heater tucked under the drivers seat.

 The tell-tale exhaust poking out from underneath.

If I can offer one piece of advice to anyone wishing to fit their own, don't do it on a very cold dark winters day!   Think ahead, buy it and fit it in the summer / autumn. You wont regret it!  If you use your van daily, they are a god send,  no more defrosting the windscreens in the morning, set the timer, and let the van warm up for you before you get in it.

If you look around on eBay you can pick up some bargains in Spring and Summer.  Especially ex BT van units, which come with a built in 1 hour timer, but there is an easy way to bypass this, or simply swap the controller out for a non BT software version one.

Furniture Progress

Just a very quick update for now,  the vast majority of the furniture construction is now done.

Just a worktop to shape and fit, a small rear shelf to add, and some holes to cut for sockets, and the Sargent controller etc.

I'd love to hear your comments on the work so far.

Furniture Update

So yet again it's been a while since my last post, but this time I've got something to show for the time.

The main cupboard / wardrobe, with the tambour door fitted.

The lower shelf isn't secure in yet, as I need to make a trapdoor in it to access the Leisure battery.

Central  cupboard finished which will house the water carrier and gas cylinder.  Also behind the door will be a small concealed cutlery drawer.

The 'ikkle drawer!

Next up will be fitting and securing the furniture in place, then starting to wire up the electrics.

Start of final construction

After finishing the mock furniture, it's time to start the proper units.  I have opted for a driftwood units, topped with a black granite effect worktop.  All constructed with 15mm lightweight ply.

I've started on the large unit at the back, and the unit to house the fridge and the gas/water.  I'll get some more photos as the build progresses.

Lots to be getting on with over the next few days, I'll try and keep this updated as much as possible.

New stoppers

In a break from the usual blog posts about converting the van, this one is about basic maintenance.

The discs were looking a bit crusty on the front and back, so its time to replace the lot.  Ok crusty might be an understatement, these things were knackered!!

Only one small snag, and that was the NSR calliper was seized, so that's been replaced,

New stoppers all finished!  Now to get back on with the conversion.

Mock Design Complete

I've finally finished mocking the interior for the van.  I've changed a few bits around and chnaged my mind countless times, but I've now finally settled on a configuration that works for me.  I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Now to work out a small cutlery draw

Mock Layout

Ok, so with the large gap between posts, I've been busy planning the layout.  I decided to mock the units out of basic 12mm ply.  This has allowed me to easily change the layout and positions of stuff.

Granted I had to buy 5 sheets of ply to do this, which cost around £100, but I think it was well worth it, and I can use the panels as templates when I make the furniture out of lightweight ply.

Either way, im a log way of being finished, but here is a quick look at my progress so far.

I've still got the rear contour cut to do, but the cardboard template is made for it.  

One issue I do yet still need to work out, is where I can have a drawer.

Im also debating where to situate the 907 gas cylinder, so if you've any thoughts on this, I'd love to hear them

Great News!

Apologies for the lack of updates, It's been a hectic few weeks.

I've found out I'm becoming a Dad for the first time, so lots of exciting times ahead.

Also after 6 years I finally got down on one knee, and asked my better half to marry me. Amazingly she said yes!

Now to get cracking with the van before the little'un arrives.

The right floor for the job

So as the weather is improving I've wanted to get on with the conversion.  So next on the list was the flooring.

I wanted something that would last, and suited the furniture I've planned to make.

So after much deliberation, I opted for the Polyflor Modena PUR, in Jetstone.

First up, was to bond in some 9mm inserts into the recesses in the floor.

Next up was to carefully cut out and screw in the 12mm ply flooring.  Before fitting the flooring, I lay the Polyflor over the top and trimmed it to an exact copy of the ply flooring, this way I new I'd only have minor trims to do once in the van.

Now because I dont want to see any screw heads or lump in the floor, I tightened them all down so they were flush, then gave the flooring a good covering of the F60 adhesive.

A little tip for you, keep all the doors and windows open, as after a few minutes in there you wont remember what you were meant to be doing!  

And after a bit of massaging the bubbles out with a heat gun and a roller, the end result looks like this.

Now to mock up the furniture and make the wiring loom for it all..

A VW Design Flaw - Resolved

So since I picked up the van almost a year ago, I've had a slight problem with has been getting slowly worse.

When starting the van and sat stationary, there was a smell of diesel fumes in the cab.  A quick look under the bonnet revealed the suspected culprit of a cracked exhaust manifold.

There was plenty of visible soot around cylinder number 5.


So after some online research, the VW parts bill was over £1000!

I was then suggested to look at Darkside Developments, as they do a cast iron kit which is a direct replacement for the stock VW part. (And wont crack after a few thousand miles - thanks VW)

I gave Darkside a call to just double check a few things and place the order, and a day later the kit arrived.  I have to say, I'm really impressed with it, the manifold is of excellent quality, and came with all the necessary gaskets, bolts, nuts and new studs.

So this weekend with assistance from my brother-in-law, we set about taking the old one off, and getting the new one installed.

So as for the parts, its out with the old and in with the new. Upon inspection after removing the old manifold, it was actually cracked around cylinders, 1,2,3 and 5.

It's made a huge difference, the boost seems to kick in sooner, the engine is quieter, and certainly more torquey.  It's also nice to not have to turn the blowers off each time I start up or stand still in the van.

So if you've got one of the 5 cylinder AXD/AXE engines in your van, I'd really recommend the Darkside Development kit.

Fitting 20s

So a little earlier this month I picked up a bargain set of 20" Calibre Exile wheels for the van. The tyres that were on them were pretty shot, and not load rated enough for my T30.  Although the wheels themselves are in excellent condition.

So I've ordered and fitted a set of 275/40/R20  106 rated Haida tyres.

Using these wheels I had to source some slighly longer bolts, but also tapered, not radius ones like the standard bolts.

Anyway, a picture speaks a thousand words, so here they are:

One this that is now painfully obvious, is how desperately it needs lowering.  How much by I'm not sure, but I'll hold off doing this until the interior is finished, then I can level it off nicely.

Carpet Lining

So as spring is now in full effect, and the arrival of the easter bank holiday meant I could get on with the carpet lining of the van.

I've never done this before, so a few hours of studying video's on youtube, and a little thinking about how to tackle it.

So here is the before...

During -  and I'll add this now, an extra pair of hands is invaluable in getting it done in a large single piece of material.

And the finished article.

I used the Van lining carpet from MegaVanMats, and they also supplied the high temperature glue, and I replaced all the standard VW panel clips with blind clips.  The material is very forgiving, and works really well, Just take your time, there is no rush, as if the glue dries, then you can just apply a bit more.

It takes a little bit of time to get used to how it stretches, and how to work out any little creases etc, but from start to finish, this took me two afternoons, and I'm really pleased with how it's worked out.

If you're considering doing this yourself, then I would really recommend the MVM carpet, and giving it a go yourself, it makes a huge difference to the feel of the van, and the back end is now much quieter too.