Why and how we have modified our new VW California campervan into a swamper style adventure van.
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- Hey guys,
Welcome to our first UA-cam video where we explain why and how we have modified our VW California van into a swamper style adventure van.
Below is a list of modifications we have added to our van after taking delivery from the VW Dealership:-
vwt5-t6upgrades.co.uk supplied & fitted:-
17x8J Modular Steel Wheels
245/65/17 BF Goodrich K02All Terrain Tyres
Bilstein / Eibach 35mm Lift Kit
Black Moulded Bumpers
Black Moulded Wheel Arches
Black VW Badges
Lazer Lamps
Mudflaps
Hess Campers Black Rear Bike Rack
Hess Campers Black Spare Wheel Mount
Hess Camper Black Peli Box Mount
Hess Campers 1600nm Tailgate Gas Struts
1670 Protector Case - purchased from peli.com
frontrunneroutfitters.com supplied:-
Y61 Slimline 2 Roof Rack
Recovery Board Brackets
Maxtraxx Recovery Boards
Wolf Boxes & Stratchets
snugcampers.co.uk fitted:-
x2 105watt Solar Panels - supplied by Campervanculture.com
Victron Bluetooth Smart Solar Controller - supplied by Campervanculture.com
800nm Pop Top Roof Gas Struts - supplied by Hinscha.com
Lithium Leisure Battery - supplied by snugcampers.co.uk
60mm Full Width Slide Out Boot Tray - supplied and fitted by campervanbits.com
Limo Tinted Glass and Black wrapped B-Pillars - fitted by Willtints
Dometic CFX3 r35 32L Compressor Fridge - purchased from outdoorxl.co.uk
x3 Interior Airline Rails - purchased from Amazon
Nimlok 310L Exhibition Flight Case - purchased from eBay
Below are the Instagram accounts of the fab small Independent businesses who have helped us on our journey:-
@vwt5_upgrades
@snugcampers
@campervanbits
If you have any questions or need more info on suppliers we have used please fire over a message to our Instagram Account @bertiesonbaycation where you will also see lots of cool photos and short reels of our van plus a few of our mini adventures.
OVER THE COMING WEEKS WE WILL BE UPLOADING MORE PRODUCT INFO AND DEMO VIDEOS SO MAKE SURE YOU HIT THE SUBSCRIBE BUTTON RIGHT NOW!
Thank you for watching 🚐
Oh and if you like the look of our clothing please checkout our website:- www.bertiesofbay.co.uk ⚓️
Love the Staithes Gansey, and the way you have kitted out your VW Cali! The adaptations and enhancements to your Beach are far more aligned to what we do for off-road adventure Kombi vans here in Oz, where only the Beach is available (albeit with a very different spec to the UK variant). Nice work Matthew, thanks for sharing.
This is great !
I’m thinking of buying a VW & converting to the same !
Need it as a day van & daily driver but for me to go away on my own of grid so this channel will be great info for me 👍🏻
Love the roof rack
Thank you, it’s a Front Runner rack and a new video is going live this evening at 7pm based on our pop top roof and roof rack. Hopefully you might find it interesting 🚐
Thank you, a new video focussing on the roof rack and how we have adapted the pop top is going live at 7pm this evening 🚐
Hi, thanks for sharing your rationale for the upgrades you have done. I’m embarking down a similar path, I have a 4motion Ocean with Bilstein lift kit and BSG tyres. So far I’m surprised just how capable it is (I have diff lock too), the main inhibiter so far is my desire not to bang it up! For longer trips I plan to use the roof rack quite a lot and an considering a Front Runner ladder, my question is would the 1600nm gas struts you fitted be overkill for the tailgate in your opinion? The ladder weighs about 5kg I think, it already struggles to extend fully with the chairs and a few other bits in that cavity but I also don’t want the tailgate snapping up like a mousetrap either! Any advice appreciated. Thanks
We started with a Kombi had three, now we have a beach no way could I go back to a car. Love love love my van and the lifestyle it brings. It’s our only vehicle and is so practical. Live in rural area and it’s no problem down narrow tiny lanes. Use it all year round for camping. With work we have Ford transits, Peugeot lwb, Mercedes Sprinter and ive driven them all but the build quality and wear and tear and reliability just isn’t there.
Completely agree with you, in the past having worked for Mercedes-Benz for 14 years and JLR for 5 years I have certainly experienced the build quality and reliability on certain models but the VW transporter / Kombi / California is absolutely brilliant and just hope this T7 is going to continue in its predecessors footsteps. Like you we had a Kombi and then upgraded to a Beach so very similar journey and even though the Beach was fantastic having the Beach is a whole new level of refinement. Wishing you all the very best vanventures and hope you keep watching our channel 🚐
Ive ordered a VW Beach 4 motion (the wait is killing me), my reasoning from choosing this van is very similar to yours, i just dont understand why you choosed to swamperized it but you didnt choose the 4 motion,it kind of defeats the purpose, i understand some people do it for the looks but from what you said, you actually have the intention to go off grid. Im Portuguese,a surfer and a van owner for more than 5 years,and let me tell you,getting stuck in sand is getting old,my next van had to be 4x4,no questions about it. Thanks for the video,i will check everything on the links you shared to help me understand the must have toys :)
Hey there, thank you for watching and sharing your comments as it’s great to have interaction. At the point of ordering our van we couldn’t order a Beach variant with 4Motion. Only the Ocean could be ordered with the 4Motion engine but we didn’t want the kitchen inside as from time to time we need to use the full interior capacity as a van for moving large store fittings and fixtures. With this in mind and having worked for JLR for many years from experience you don’t need a full 4x4 drivetrain in lots of cases if you have the right tyres and the ground clearance. As we aren’t planning on taking it bouldering or rugged 4x4 green lane courses modifying it the way we have enables us to take it down rocky farm tracks and places where you wouldn’t take a regular car. If we do get stuck (we have once in deep snow the we do have a snow shovel and maxtraxx recovery boards to get us out. Hope this explains our reasoning and really hope you get your van sooner than later as it is soooo frustrating having to wait.🚐
@@four_wheel_adventures im sorry,i forgot you cant order a Beach with 4motion in the Uk. And you are right,a proper set of tires and some recovery boards and you will be able to progress in really hard terrain.Keep up the good work,i really enjoy your videos!
Thank you, we will try and keep the content interesting 🚐
Any chance of a video showing the mods, how you fitted them, where they came from etc? I’d love to add the arch extensions to ours.
Hi Bryan, thank you for your comments and video request as this interaction is what we are hoping for. Yes we will certainly be uploading more videos on the different modifications and enhancements we have carried out on our van and of course who fitted them and where. Hope this helps and a new video is going live this evening at 7pm 🚐
@@four_wheel_adventures Brilliant, thank you. Look forward to them.
You are welcome 🚐
Thanks for this I am going down a similar road to yourself, our Ocean just arrived to Ireland after a years wait, I have boxes of parts to go on including wheels for a swamper look, I am fitting 245/45R17 Goodrich KO2s i did a lot of research and these are supposed to be the quietest but now im a little worried of the road noise coming through on this video is the camera emphasising this or is it quieter in reality?
what did you finnally get? That was my idea but in this video it does look really noisy
@@jollystuff6775 not noisy at all a slight humming noise on smooth fresh tarmac but that’s rare, not sure how the mic on this camera has picked up on it but in reality for me definitely not an issue. I have fitted Goodrich KO2’s 245/45/17 on 17”Tomahawk wheels.
@@vannyboxadventures7327 thanks !!! One last question..you can fit them without changing anything on the van right ?? Thanks 😉
@@jollystuff6775 straight fitment make sure you order the black wheel bolts if ordering same wheels they come standard with chrome ones
Hey there, I’m also in Ireland 🇮🇪 just bought a Cali beach and I want to go down the same route, where did you get your wheels and tyres from? Is yours 4motion? Have you instagram? Sorry for soo many questions I’d love to connect as I’m a bit lost on where to start 😂🫢 Thanks
Do you have any tips for stops on the west coast of Portugal?
Hi Tim,
Exploring Portugal by van was amazing. A few of the places we liked down the West Coast from memory were:- Guincho Beach, Praia Do Bom, Lagoa De Obidos, Esposende, Santo Andre and Quinta Do Lago. Hope you get to visit a few of these but then again Portugal has so many amazing little beaches off the beaten track. Wishing you all the best on your vanventures 🚐
Although interesting too much talking without visuals. Sound quality not good. Road noise is distracting.
Love the Staithes Gansey, and the way you have kitted out your VW Cali! The adaptations and enhancements to your Beach are far more aligned to what we do for off-road adventure Kombi vans here in Oz, where only the Beach is available (albeit with a very different spec to the UK variant). Nice work Matthew, thanks for sharing.
Thank you Spike and all the best down in Oz for many future vanventures 🚐