Hi all, looking for your collective wisdom once again
I have a Volkswagen T5 and I'm intending to convert it into a camper. I assume there are folks on here that have done something similar, so I'd love to hear about any:
* mistakes you made / hard lessons learned
* resources you used to help plan / execute the conversion (youtube vids, design software, articles / forums, etc.)
* vendors for installing things you couldn't do yourself (e.g. I will need someone to do the walls / ceiling for me, as I don't have a jigsaw nor the technical ability for that task)
Wish me luck, and cheers for any advice!
A Bosch professional range jigsaw is 99 CHF at Hornbach.
They are easy to use. I'd hate to think of the thousands that someone could potentially charge you to do the work.
As for advice - glue and screw everything. Vibrations when driving down tracks will make everything loose.
There are some great Youtube van conversion channels which I am sure you have seen. If not, spend some time seeing what they do right and wrong.
The upstairs model
Did not do this myself but if it helps?
The effort to paint this in camo colours is really the pièce de résistance here
Or save your Coop Trophy stickers and get a full set of Bosch tools at great prices!
Sorry for ruining the party Just consider for 1 minute that out there, a person might be looking for an unmodified T5. While another person with a T5 already converted to camper is not in the mood of traveling anymore. If you happen to meet those persons, you can make it work and you get the van. Even if some repairs are needed, it's less challenging than starting a conversion from zero. Just a nice way to get into working with cars, having some problems, solving them and enjoying the win
Never had a camper van, only an old 4x4 that took to the mountains (in another country where it's legal). Lots of fun and lots of work. I got the engine rebuilt by a specialty shop and all I did was replacing bearings and suspension joints. It was easy, all nuts and bolts are huge, so no worries about breaking something. Just apply the right torque and drive until it fails again. I had the chance of having a friend with a shop where I could do the work.
We live in CH. You need a place to work where you can make all the noise you want. I don't know the word in Italian. The idea is renting a garage space in an industrial zone. Sometimes you see ads from people wanting to share places like this and the rent.
Do NOT buy Bosch tools. No, not the “professional” line either. Literally no professional uses them because they all know better. Get a Makita, Hitachi or Metabo one...
Good thing I'm not a professional!
Seriously, my little battery-powered Bosch drill and saw do very well for the 3-4 times a year I need them. And the battery is important, since there is no power at the garden.
Do you know what the word "Literally" means?
Anyway, I've had some Bosch tools (green line) for over twenty years, including a jigsaw which I used this week and they are fine and work perfectly.
They'll certainly be fine for a few weeks work for a van conversion.
A Porsche has four wheels and an engine. It will get you to Migros and to work, and down to Ticino.
A Dacia has four wheels and an engine. It will also get you Migros and to work, and down to Ticino.
I see this sort of thing a lot here. It's literally overkill.
Exactly. They’re absolutely fine for the sort of DIY jobs most people on EF want to do.
If you’re using them professionally day in day out and they get heavy use that’s a different matter entirely.
Reminded me of Parks and Recreation
EF thread evolution fascinates again… in one page we went from van conversion tips to the etymology of ‘literally’
thanks for the tips & wisdom as always. I do get Axa’s point about saving the trouble and just buying an already-converted van, but we have some unique requirements for ours (specifically we want a flat-out camper bed installed like this one here so that we can maximise space for our sports gear & mountain bikes) which we’re unlikely to find ready-made, based on our searches so far.
Plus, it’s a project that I’ve always wanted to try. It will be very satisfying to learn some new skills. I’ll figure out logistics and space for doing the work somehow.
And we're all going to help you along the way - even if you don't want that help.
Just be wary of listening to some of the advice - you may have originally planned a T5 conversion with a fold-out bed but you may end up with something like this:
We have several such spaces in Ticino e/o Italy.
I even use my chainsaw on Sundays!
Tom
I have a generator for when I need more power (like for the compressor to power the air tools)
Tom
Or Hilti if you are really serious.
Tom
There are many conversion kits available, especially in Germany. I was looking into it in Summer but unfortunately, it turned out that I was the only one in the family that was enthusiastic I used to have a T5 Multivan, and still like the car.
I'd check with the Strass' or whatever the Italian word is for it, and any show any plans/changes you want to make and ensure it won't be a problem compliance/conformity 1st.... before you buy any power tools.... Bosch or otherwise
A friend of a friend who is a fully qualified English chippy had just renovated a big Maison de Maitre, so no stranger to renovations and conversions. He bought and imported a Vito from Germany with the same plan, to tailor make a camper for wee days away for his buisness. I saw pictures of it 90% done and it looked great, but never saw it finished. Long story short he did finish the serious conversion and by all account looked the business, however he just couldn't get a CT for it, and ANTS insisted of a full inspection by the DREAL, which it also failed as he'd taken the specs to far from it's original, making the C.o.C invalid(?). So it meant he was unable to register it, and apparently it's now a had the wheels, engine, and running gear removed, a lot of his work undone, and it's a on blocks all plumbed in as walk up bar at the pool of his Chambre d'hote. A nice feature no doubt, but a long and expensive failure for what he originally intended.
Now this was France and they can be.... contrary, but I know the Swiss can be very strict on this stuff, so ensuring any work you do will not present problem at MFK/CT would be a starting point..... bon chance.