This DIY VW T6 Camper Conversion Shames The Factory Effort For Less Money
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- Опубліковано 19 лют 2021
- Today, Josh from @CorpsMedia has brought me his Volkswagen Transporter conversion. Modified entirely by himself, this really is a work of art and has a few features even VW won't sell you.
But, is it any good?
This van is now for sale: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143947908963
#VW #Transporter #CamperConversion
Want to see your car on the channel? Email me on talk@jayemm.com
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Myself and wife are seriously thinking of buying a VW camper. We found your video so very informative. Well worth watching. Thank you.
Great review , you did good out of your comfort zone. Although not a proper camper review without spending the night in it!
Yet another very different vehicle being reviewed, i love these!
Was great to see you again Jay, let's not make it 3 years before the next time 💪😜
was it less than three years until the next time?
This was pretty cool. Across the pond, folks don't really customize vans like this. But we also don't get vans like this across the pond either, ha. Thanks for getting outside your comfort zone Jay.
Most US folks get old school bus's or old transportation bus's and customize them as a small traveling home. Or they get a 20'-40' trailer and build a tiny house on that.
I did see once, and never again, a limousine van conversion. Pretty cool. Extremely rare. It might have been the only one.
Great vans and a great video as always , enjoyable to watch
Fully recomend van life. Freedom for us is our vdub and we are in our 60s. Got at least 15 trips booked.
Great video, really enjoy this kind of content!
Been converting a Peugeot Boxer I bought new four years ago. Transporters are great, drive nice but just a bit small for me. Did everything myself from fitting windows to solar, and plumbing for gas and water. Cutting the holes for the windows in a brand new van was one of the scariest things I’ve ever done.
Loved seeing a van for once. Many of us car lovers spend more time in vans than cars for a variety of reasons. Maybe you could feature more? Perhaps a modified van or two? Or maybe something the manufacturers came up with to try to make us petrolhead types less upset with driving a van, like the Transit Custom MS-RT.
Nice conversion job, a friend has one of these and loves it...something to think about in the future or just stay in a hotel 😂
We did the maths and the hotel would win out every time - but then where we go, hotels are few and far between, and the ones that are there, I probably would not want to stay at.
@@DoctorFish10 I can imagine, Having any sort of tourer really is more about the adventure than anything else. I was just being tongue in cheek there. Love the idea of having something like it to just take off for a few days without much need to plan. 🙂
@@CarBore (o:
Having a cup of tea in the back of my van is so much fun so I imagine a camper conversation would be even better
My parents have a camper van, it sits on the driveway only being used once a year or so. Neighbour has a huge one that takes up too much room so it's difficult to get out of the parking area. Also never moves. Cool van though.
The beauty of a vw california style camper, is you can use it as a normal car I suppose, as it'll fit in carparks etc.
Id use it because I like to travel and fish
This is normal for most vans its cheaper to use top star hotels trust me !
Yepee my car (albeit a T5.1 Caravelle) being featured on James's channel. We love ours and it lugs everything we throw at it, we even have the same brown colour but mine is on black 18" Sportline alloys...
That's a really nice van, he did a great job on it.
Thanks man 💪
Josh did a fantastic job, some really neat touches and professional finish.
Thanks dude, good to hear you like my build 💪
I use mine all the time, (well Covid allowing) so comfy at night, quite and warm. Days out, going to F1 this year, gigs, beach, even during lock down drove up to local takeaway, and sit in the back, warm comfy and easy to eat, and as for that cult following don’t forget to wave and don’t forget to sign up to the charity run around the M25, it’s not a camper, it’s a way of life!!
I would have this over an RS5.
Incredible work!
Love your honest commentary!
Nice conversion, very much like the carbon fibre roof. I suspect must have quite a capacity of batteries to run the Nespreso. I have the same unit in my van, but haven’t got a inverter yet, job for the summer.....I like the change in feature on the channel, but I’m biased having a T5 camper....would to see more left field reviews of things Jay.
All you said at the start about folk having grand ideas re camper can buying and travel....that's me!! Lolol
Itll prob never happen but I love the idea. Now theres 4 of us, it's a bloody American style winnebago we'll need 🤣
Definitely one of your top tens your pal did a cracking job
I once saw a VW transporter that had no modifications. Very rare. 😁
😆 🤣 rare sight
A blank canvas
@@Zero_Ninety Some would say unspoilt. I'm willing to forgive it for camper conversions but when they lower them so far that they can barely navigate a normal road, let alone load it, I have to known to refer to them as Volksw@nkers.
@@Jesus_Iced in inbetweeners bus wanker?
No your deluded .
I have flagged my best mate Vincent’s he has an abundance of knowledge on this subject.
He’s owned loads including the latest T6 which is where I draw a blank! 😂
Great job always liked these.
One of the best van conversions I've seen
Fantastic job. Josh is living my fantasy life!
It's being sold, my van life is coming to an end 😞 but it's making way for a mad car Jay is helping me pick 💪
I converted my Berlingo for £500. Did come already though with a £1000 roof conversion though. Beauty is it does 65mpg. Can park anywhere.
Something different, nice review 👍🏻
Mad to think I found James when he had just over 11k subscribers
Hi J,
As we aren’t getting anywhere any quicker .. bad traffic, road surfaces, speed limits and cameras etc.
Does it make a van the ultimate daily?
As reliable as a golf with all the mod cons making it as easy to drive but with literal “van like space” in the back!
Plus you can pull up and have a fresh coffee and or a nap whenever you feel like it 😁
Next door neighbour has an R reg one and she has 18 inch rims on it,I sat in the back while my girl and the neighbour sat up front. Travelled to Barmouth about 70 miles from home....my back was in pieces when we got there,I would be running 16 or 17 inch rims to go any distance. Also hate the click around VW so if I built one I would do a tranny(um err) or a sprinter just to be obtuse
Looks great, I cant wait to tackle a T5.
I never understood why people pay so much money for those VW's as they are too small to really do proper camping at least in comfort. That said I can see the appeal of using one as a daily vehicle with the odd bit of use for camping. I myself paid about 9 grand for a 1.9TD Peugeot Boxer autosleeper that sleeps 4, has an oven, toilet, 2 sinks, shower, fridge, heating, TV, solar panel etc and I use it as my daily. It's great :)
Great shout out to the Toyota Alphard, a popular import amongst the second hand camper conversion scene who want something a bit different/can't afford VW's. Meanwhile, 40k new in Japan would be substantially more by the times it's UK registered, not to mention the fact you can't import a car less than 6 months old.
Would love to see you do a test of one of the Japanese people carrier behemoths that are imports. They are very popular in Bradford and some are amazing
Nice van, looks better than most 'professional' conversions. Don't forget all conversions are based upon a commercial vehicle, so the speed limit should be 60mph on a dual carriageway. Whereas a coach build VW California is the same classification as a car, so is allowed to do 70mph. Also, the California is available with 204bhp. Not necessary but still, it'll be rude not too ;)
Test case law means you can do 70 and challenge any tickets now.
Im a carpenter. Gonna start converting q van later this year myself. I've build a thousand houses and done a shit load of bathroom a kitchen renovations. Should be a walk in the park . . . Hahahaha. Wish me luck :)
That’s an absolute peach. It’s easy to see why they have such a cult following, they’re a cracking looking van👌🏼
Thanks man 💪
Well done James👍👍
My boss had the nigh on 200bhp diesel version of this (i think Sportline spec?) It was a hoot to drive with other drivers just not expecting to be overtaken by a big black van, especially with a grinning me behind the wheel haha! He had his heart set on the 200+bhp Mercedes offering but the price was too high for the company, so he 'settled' for the VW. Im pretty sure that although the VW was down a little on power, it was actually quicker (top end and acceleration!) Never a fan of diesels and their lack of revs, i was very impressed by the large serving of torque you could play with. Great fun as id been used to driving a far from rapid Citroen van.
Very nice video a welcome change 🤠
My colleague saved 7k£ and she built her own also for full time living. It was a delivery van short wheelbase, also put solar and batteries did insulation bed frame kitchen etc and you can stand inside w small compost toilet and shower bag. Will live in for 8 months touring UK
Thanks for the video 😎👌
Price of these things pays for many, many comfortable hotel or bed and breakfast rooms.
And then can you sell those receipts for your hotel rooms, lose £0 over 3-5 years and have all your stays for free? Exactly
@mstrbkr No but comparing a camper to staying hotels being cheaper is ridiculous. Not like you spent £25k and it turns to dust when you’re done with it. moronic comment. Move along
but you can use this like a regular car, its same size as most SUV, my wife has her car and i drive our VW T6 camper to work etc but then we can use it to go away, its been great owning one
Thank you eavesdropper!
Def a retro brown, but the bronze is a good combo. A man after my heart, a coffee machine built in!😀
🤣❤️
Amazing conversion job, but what about about the suspension, which is clearly not standard? Didn't hear you mention it.
That certainly is a very smart camper conversion.
Thanks, glad you like it 💪
It sits too low at the back, imho, but i love the design of the wheels, the Sportline look, and that colour is gorgeous. Overall a very tasty looking van. Kudos to the man who put it together for some nice solutions too.
Nice spot.
they do spring kits to level up the extra weight 🤙🏼
Yeah it's a good spot. It's adjustable so I should really level that out 🤣
I want this van Jay, it's my dream machine
Next week: The MarsRover, is it better than a RangeRover? 🤔
A MARS bar in a rangeROVER.
Looking forward to your F1 van modders.
Anyone got a tag axle Kon-Tiki for him to review? That'd be fun to see although it does depend if his license allows him to drive up to 7.5 tonne.
In to my mountain biking and keep looking into van for road trip, same as you have said, there’s great but too expensive to make it a worth while investment. A car and hotel work just as well for a lot cheaper. Better to hire than buy
Saw a guy in the Lake District who was into mountain biking, him and his wife used the downstairs to store there expensive carbon bikes and both slept in the pop top roof.
Try booking that hotel in some remote area and you'll know why people buy these ;)
@@pdcichosz but day campers like this still mean you need a camp site unless you want to join the bears...
I end up going deepest darkest wales for riding on a regular (well not this year as least) so know how much of a pain it can be
@@mattvanders i go all over the UK in mine with the wife and 2 kids and ive occasionally wild camped in lay-by and once up in the mountains in Scotland somewhere because i was tired and couldn't be bothered to drive anymore., i know your not supposed too in England and Wales, but havent been bothered yet.
@@mattvanders True, the point of having a camper (for me) is to be able to join the bears and not panic over every tiny noise a bear makes ;) Because you're in a tin can instead of a fabric cocoon. Sleep at the head of a trail to start the hike early. Go back after riding/climbing/surfing and chill for a while before heading back home. Or don't head home at all if you don't feel like it. This is what sells it to me.
Hi tere, enjoyed your vid on the camper, as you say you are not fully conversent with them, and the one yoj tested looks like an excellent effort from your friend, who seems to be styling snd equiping it to his personal taste. As you say you are a bit lacking the knowledge wrt the types, so with zero critisism or malise may I just furnish you with a few facts regarding the converted vans vs the factory prepared items. Firstly I can think of 3 factory built vans of the type reviewed, the Ford Transit Nugget, the Merc. Marco Polo, and the VW California, of which I am a proud owner. Your friend rightly says they are pricey, but for the £70k quoted, it would very much be a top of the range vehicle, I on the other hand picked my 3 year old van up for £40k. There is alot of quality not at first seen in the Cali, not matched by home conversions. All Calis are based on the T30 vans and come with higher weight ratings and bigger brakes fitted.They all also come as std with air con, higher powered 6 speed engines, cruise control and heated and fully swivelling front seats The majority are fitted with 2 heater systems, one for the cabin area, and one that pre heats the engine should the outside temp be lower than 4 degs. The furniture is aluminium/corregated plastic for lightness and when constructed, no insulation is fitted, other than to the cab area for soundproofing, the furniture itself forms a monocoque within the van and is in itself sufficient air gap insulation.None of that furry cladding is to found anywhere in the van, which is a blessing as anyone who has cooked a curry in a camper will testify the lingering odour caused retained by said carpetting. Battery charging is done very efficiently via a split charger to both the engine battery and the two leisure batteries, All water tanks fresh and waste are mounted inboard, the fresh tank being a work of art as it provides a safe area for the small gas bottle to be sited and kept cool when in hotter climes. The windows arfe double glazed, so there is little to no condensation, a huge problen in other converted vans. The electric roof is aluminium, and electrically operated and has a fully sprung bed fitted, rather than the board style offering of other roofs. The only annoying thing for me is that its not fitted with hot water facillities, but I rarely cook or wash up in the van as I always tend to use sites, so a lack of a toilet is also not a problem, and do you really want to shit in your van, gross. The other makes mentioned are also providing a similarly well packages product, but lets face it, Iwanted the original, the VW bus, and was prepared to pay the 'Cali tax'. Oh and just FYI, they dd try a petrol Cali/Transporter and it was in production for about a couple of years, but the mpg was crap, struggling to achieve mid /low 20's sOL LONG REPLY i know, but hope you can see where and why the Cali appeals, it's basically another model in the VW line up with all the warrenty back up, and tremendous residuals, making it the least depreciating vehicle out there. Carry on with the good videos and content.
Regards John.
Very good if you know what your doing
Great video
I just brought a vw t5 bluebird 2.0tid 7speed DSG to convert to a motorhome
Is it possible to get your hands on the refreshed KIA stinger? Does the update bring it to 20's standard?
Singletrack Sampler. Check out his build (and lifestyle). If I had the balls, that's what I'd be doing.
Following the pandemic Van's like this are massively in demand for UK staycation use.
For me I would want a camper that I can stand up in, have a toilet shower and kitchen built in, so something based on a 3.5t van.
But that would then be a motor home a different beast all together.
Once saw mike and edd do a conversion on a old builders van, similar result but one hell of a lot cheaper, wrapped it in a unique wrap,i am sure that this van could have been wrapped in this exact colour.,table chairs and a bouble bed,even max and paddy did the camper van shit on the cheap.
Love these VW Vans 😎🤙
Excellent 😀
At 9:10 the air bag warning light is showing on the dashboard. Is this related to the seat swap out, and won’t it fail an MOT with this light on?
I love my T6 campervan, and I love those front seats, and the replacement head unit.
I would like to improve my leisure battery situation, and I am trying to think how I beef up the battery bit, and find a solution to keeping it charged (It sits under a cover in a secure storage facility during the week so solar doesnt workout). I am thinking of upping the batter to a category A, and then using a portable solar panel that I can plug in and leave outside the covering. But not sure that will work either.
A pal of mine has a stunning one, bought nearly new for well over £50k. He has two kids and therefore has a massive awning off one side to house the four bikes, the kids beds, the BBQ, the outdoor furniture and of course the bog tent! They therefore mainly live in the awning and only use the van part for boiling the kettle and to keep the milk cool. Anyway, he didn’t quite know what to say when I asked why he didn’t just buy the best tent, or trailer tent, money can buy to use with his Audi A6 Avant and save himself 40 grand?
True
Not knocking the quality of Joshs' work but one advantage of the official California is when any bit of trim or gadget is covered under warranty and available to buy off the shelf. My pal runs a camper van dealership and when they get a px first thing they do is check every bit of 'furniture', gadget etc as to replace them is a bloody nightmare. I don't see the value in any of them but fair enough if you do.
Unless it has a hot shower, and the toilet with a good way to get rid of what results, forget it
Agree as a motorhome owner the most important things - a proper bed, cooker, toilet and shower plus a decent fridge freezer.
I don't know about the UK, but in the United States those vans are a great way to spend more money, and get a lot less, then an ordinary motorhome. People definitely convert Mercedes sprinter vans into campers. And I believe there's a factory version also
As a campervan owner I totally agree that a motorhome gives you more for your money. The big disadvantage is size. I use my van as everyday family vehicle and a camper at weekends. I could not do that with a motorhome. A big American Motorhome would never work over here in Englandshire with our narrow country lanes
The States is built for big ass trucks. Europe and the UK have small roads, particularly around cities, small parking spaces etc.
You can get this thing everywhere.
If I could only keep one car in my life, a camper van would be the only one.
Well done for going bit off track .
Isle of Skye! Won’t be ABLE’s to move it for the thousands of RVs already there.
Have you been? I can't remember it being that bad. It was 20 odd years since in went though.
@@Jesus_Iced September 2019...even that late lay-bys were full...numerous hire companies!
Why did you park it in a puddle? Nice van though!
Always get a 2.0 tdi the 2.5 turbo will blow at the drop of a hat . Plus the 2.0 has better fuel economy .
Where I work in healthcare, we now have the standard 1.9td Vans. We did have many years ago, the 2.5tds. Man, for a van those things were rapid!!
@@psircos yeah the 2.5 are quick but temperamental. A mate had the 2.5 in 50,000 miles he had 3 turbos let go . The standard fitted by VW is the same as the 2.0 . It's just not strong enough for a 2.5 . The last time it went he managed to get a subaru forester turbo put on by making a mount adaptor. Lot of work but as far as I know its lasted the last 7 years fine .
I had a 2.5 and the Turbo lasted 140K. Lovely engine much better than the 2.0L I have now
@@cliveyboyb5770 yeah the turbo were so hit and miss on the 2.5 . One person would have one that lasted 140,000 another 20,000 . Which is not what you want on a van . I mean 140k the engine is just bedding in . The turbo vanes are just to light from VW . At least the after market non VW turbos had heavier vanes but a slower spooling up speed (only marginally though) .
There was stuff you can do to protect them . Much like the turbo on my Xtype jag .
@@edmundscycles1 I would definitely have another 2.5. The engine was still sweet at 140K the turbo needed replacing but still ran it was just very worn. Really good economy
I only sold it as I need a 4x4. My 2L, 4Motion with DSG is like a tortoise compared to my old 2.5.
Just dont get me started on the lousy paint quality and corrosion issues.
It’s got a duff dsg box that he changed hence the sale of the van👍
Like the brown,,really stealth
I wanted to import an American Ford van but it's a foot too long for my drive. I might instead get a Peugeot Boxer and put Jaguar seats in the front and a bed in the back.
3rd podium! 3rd Like! Mobile Espresso's are underrated!
He did that because he likes his coffee, but can't even get a proper coffee machine 😂
It would have been some electrical install if I wanted a full on machine 🤣
Yep .. Aldi lookalike wont get you there....
@mstrbkr there is quite a bit more to inverter than you think. Especially if you wanted to install a kettle for your instant coffee 😜
You don't actually need any sort of machine for a seriously good coffee unless you're the espresso-only kind of person.
Stick a Mocha pot on the hot plate, job done.
I do like a nice cuppa but I think I'd put up with whatever coffee I could get. Or take a flask.
Admiral: "Are there any modifications we need to know of..?"
Funny.. I'm a Brit living in Australia. I remember 20 years ago(in UK) I was rear ended when parked(hit and run) and when my car was "assesed" by my own insurance company it was 'voided' because of an aftermarket turbo heat sheild. They claimed the car had 'chromed engine parts' and didn't pay out(obviously)..
A few years back I bought a car here which had an aftermarket exhaust so I enquired to my insurance and they said you need to pay extra for it to be declared as a 'modified vehicle' which was maybe $100 or so...not much BUT it covers everything and anything you want to change including the engine.
Be very mindful with UK Insurance..They will pull your pants down and have you over a barrel at any given opportunity😝
Should mention if anyone wants those wheels I’m a distributor and can get a discount off retail 😉😁
You can do miracles with a used ford transit, some plyboard and some bodged diy electrician skills
I recognise this one @detailcorps 🤣😂
Agree on the wheels. Would look and ride better with meatier tires.
How do you insure these diy conversions?
I do not see the advatage for as my usecase exactly meets the factory layout and i do not have the time for customization hassle and do not plan to own an own as far too expensive in any case, so i just lease.
Never get one done from the factory. They are so expensive!.
Yeah agreed! When i saw the price of a new VW camper in a car mag i genuinely thought it was a printing mistake! Insane money for what is basically a very, very basic and incredibly small caravan.
I have converted a van in the past and currently converting my second one.
There are incredibly expensive. A lot of the price is buying the donor van. A real top end conversion can be £20K (plus price of van). The only advantage is they do keep their price.
Not a fan of the VW California. I would always recommend getting a van converted yourself .
JM on old fogie vehicles, LOL. Sure you're on a quality level above the DIYers!
Blimey that is rather nice .
If I've ever heard anyone mention a dual mass flywheel, it's always been in relation to its unreliability, in a multitude of cars. What problem are they fitted to solve? Why do manufacturers use them over solid flywheels, that tended to last longer than the car?
Better NVH
I love camper vans. But I dont like this setup with low suspension and low profile tires. Id want an offroad setup.
Yes more modded stuff 👍
Well, the VW factory built T6 camper and all before from VW are appauling. for the price, it ridiculous. Josh made a good choice converting it himself.
3:32 is that mould??
Even at the best of times there would be a cacophony of rattles going on with all that household equipment on board ..and with that low profile rubber ...I'd settle for a nice motel room and maybe a portable cook top and a couple of chairs out the back of a Range Rover...not to mention avoiding less than salubrious showers and toilets.
Decent conversations like this on nearly new vans are silly money in my opinion. (There’s a local specialist near me with a host of £55k plus vans using 101bhp base vehicles). Real California’s are expensive but I’d rather have a nearly new low mileage Ocean for that money.
I totally agree with your opening statements. I’m one of those who could spend £35k on a good used M3 but have convinced myself I need a camper in my life. I’ve talked myself into believing I’ll use it every weekend and tour Europe in it. It would probably get more use going to Asda once a week in truth. Still, I’m leaning towards the Marco Polo. I’m an old git so luxury and a nicer drive are more important than a scene.
Yeah Marco polos have a great reputation and reviews. I feel like transporters have inflated in price because of their reputation in the camping scene ,there's plenty of other perfectly good base conversion vehicles , got a vito myself 😄 buying a used vehicle fairly new and converting can work out cheaper than paying through the nose for the VW pre packaged campers
@@thelegendofdf287 Be careful. The Merc is NOT nicer to drive than the VW. It has more bling but the California is a much better camper than the Marco Polo