I’ve had my van (T5) with bikes for ~7 years now. I have my bikes on the rear tailgate which can still be opened with an ebike and an enduro bike. You should have bought a van with a tailgate. Soo much easier. Bike Security: Those locks are great. I would also suggest getting a tarp. Get a good quality tarp as well, not just some paper thin piece of rubbish. I also trimmed my tarp so that it wrapped around the spacers just under the stem so that only the handlebars were exposed. Then I used a separate piece of tarp to cover the bars. That gives a reasonably ‘snug’ fit on the bikes and stops the tarp from flapping in the wind when driving on motorways. I just use some tie down straps over the tarps to keep everything as neat as possible. Solar power: Yeah mate, those flexible panels are great. They don’t last as long as a heavier solid mono panel, but your it they are perfect for that pop-top roof. In ~1-1.5 years you might find that the panels only put out half the power that they used to generate. If that happens just sell them used and get new ones. I used extremely cheap Chinese panels before upgrading my setup a few years ago so maybe you will have more luck. Electrical / Power: Mate, invest in a lithium battery (~200AH) and compatible DCDC charger ($40A). Expensive up front, but it will change your life. Your experience in the van will be totally different. Also arguably cheaper than AGM in the long run. I put a 280AH in my van and it’s been the best money I’ve ever spent. Shower / Hot water: This is a tough one for you as I’m not sure how much space you have for hot water in the van. Consider that you may also need to carry water as well. I use a ‘12v Companion AquaHeat Lithium Gas Shower’ Works great, but is a bit of a faf to set up. If you want hot water for cooking/dishes inside the van then something else might be the go. Swivel seat: Try to find the company that made your swivel seat and sent them a message. Maybe there is a bolt/screw/etc.. that needs adjusting to make it easier to adjust. Shouldn’t be hard to turn around. Or maybe you have something on the floor, etc.. which is fouling the swivel. I’ve mentioned it before, but get a surf key cut to take with you riding and hide a spare key somewhere under the van in case you ever lose the key. Even if you just hide a surf key that can unlock the doors. Come ride in Australia, over here the mullets have made a big comeback.
I’ve got the same Thule bike rack and you are able to customize the 2 steel cables that hold the rack when you tilt it to you. We drilled 2 new holes closer to the swivel point. And we can lower our bikes horizontally and open our back door now. We only have a different back door, one door that opens from down to up.
Hey! I'm from Canada and I've got the Ford transit connect (which looks very similar to your model in terms of size) that we converted into a mtb campervan too. For the bike rack, we do have a hitch and a vertical 6 bikes rack (from brand Panache) and we love it. We can open fully one of two doors when it's on and tilted to the ground. We thought about adding a swivel, but with the weight of the bike rack and the bikes, and some kind of lever effect, we're afraid it's going to be to heavy. At the moment we've just organized the whole layout not around using the back so much and it's all going fine. If you do go with that option though, consider maybe lifting the suspension a little in the rear and make sure your tires are rated for heavy loads. Finally for the hot shower, we have a Yakima Road Shower mounted to the top of our roof. It uses the sun to heat water, and doesn't take up any space inside. We are loving it. Happy shredding!
love these van videos. I use to have a LWB auto trail was amazing but too big to be honest had to plan everywhere we went but had anything you could ever want. Also love the mullet had mine for 2 years now
Have a look at the Atera strada dl3 bike rack or the evo. The DL3 can carry 3/4 bikes and slides away far enough to open the barn doors with the bikes still mounted.
Wow 😮 one of the only people I’ve seen who’s actually able to rock a mullet……nah just kidding, looks horrendous. However the look could be saved by adding a tash 😉 Nice Van btw 👏
I lock my bikes up similarly to you on the bike rack, but don't leave them on overnight if I'm not sleeping in the van, and haven't had any problems over the last 4 years. Interesting that your fridge drains the battery so quickly, I can get two days out of my top loader. The solar panels seem to be a really good solution though. Looking forward to seeing what you do to the van in the future.
I thought the fold out bracket was a bike work stand to start with, but actually you could easily slot in a bike clamp instead of the table, get a cover for the bikes with a halfords logo on it....no one will ever go in there😆
I think now you have a tow bar you should try hiring a trailer to keep your bikes in just to see how useful it is, I saw a van with one on Cannock chase and they’d put a clamp on the wheel for security I guess.
Nice one! I'm not far from your base (ish) and I have the Transit Custom too. Only difference is I have the H2 L2. Also you have a professional job ... mine doesn't look as good yes as I need to work on the finishing. A couple of points ... I went with the high roof van so I could have a fixed bed with the bikes underneath. I have a tow bar too but I'm not keen on keeping the bikes outside. Love the table idea, I'll be buying that! I've just put the swivel bracket in and it's much easier now once you get the hang of it. Finally not sure what model you got but I would definitely recommend getting your van remapped as it will make a massive difference. 🏴❤️🏴
hi mate love the videos. maybe look for some space in the back of the van for your mtb just for 2 or so. im with the same taught i dont want to leave the bikes outside. if your on the road with more friends than look for a bike rack. im wondering how this project gonna end with the bikes because im looking also to find a way to handle bikes in my van with no big effort. love that table by the way realy practicle i goth myself a ecoflow batterybox its practical to use and handle and carry im using it in my van .caravan. camping. or on work. its cheaper than the whole electrical stuff maybe your able to connect it inbetween the electrical system. shower looks a cool idea maybe you could connect another hose on it to clean the bike
I’ve had my van (T5) with bikes for ~7 years now. I have my bikes on the rear tailgate which can still be opened with an ebike and an enduro bike. You should have bought a van with a tailgate. Soo much easier.
Bike Security: Those locks are great. I would also suggest getting a tarp. Get a good quality tarp as well, not just some paper thin piece of rubbish. I also trimmed my tarp so that it wrapped around the spacers just under the stem so that only the handlebars were exposed. Then I used a separate piece of tarp to cover the bars. That gives a reasonably ‘snug’ fit on the bikes and stops the tarp from flapping in the wind when driving on motorways. I just use some tie down straps over the tarps to keep everything as neat as possible.
Solar power: Yeah mate, those flexible panels are great. They don’t last as long as a heavier solid mono panel, but your it they are perfect for that pop-top roof. In ~1-1.5 years you might find that the panels only put out half the power that they used to generate. If that happens just sell them used and get new ones. I used extremely cheap Chinese panels before upgrading my setup a few years ago so maybe you will have more luck.
Electrical / Power: Mate, invest in a lithium battery (~200AH) and compatible DCDC charger ($40A). Expensive up front, but it will change your life. Your experience in the van will be totally different. Also arguably cheaper than AGM in the long run. I put a 280AH in my van and it’s been the best money I’ve ever spent.
Shower / Hot water: This is a tough one for you as I’m not sure how much space you have for hot water in the van. Consider that you may also need to carry water as well. I use a ‘12v Companion AquaHeat Lithium Gas Shower’ Works great, but is a bit of a faf to set up. If you want hot water for cooking/dishes inside the van then something else might be the go.
Swivel seat: Try to find the company that made your swivel seat and sent them a message. Maybe there is a bolt/screw/etc.. that needs adjusting to make it easier to adjust. Shouldn’t be hard to turn around. Or maybe you have something on the floor, etc.. which is fouling the swivel.
I’ve mentioned it before, but get a surf key cut to take with you riding and hide a spare key somewhere under the van in case you ever lose the key. Even if you just hide a surf key that can unlock the doors.
Come ride in Australia, over here the mullets have made a big comeback.
I’ve got the same Thule bike rack and you are able to customize the 2 steel cables that hold the rack when you tilt it to you. We drilled 2 new holes closer to the swivel point. And we can lower our bikes horizontally and open our back door now. We only have a different back door, one door that opens from down to up.
happy days alex im doing the same to my new van the swivel is a must !
Hey! I'm from Canada and I've got the Ford transit connect (which looks very similar to your model in terms of size) that we converted into a mtb campervan too. For the bike rack, we do have a hitch and a vertical 6 bikes rack (from brand Panache) and we love it. We can open fully one of two doors when it's on and tilted to the ground. We thought about adding a swivel, but with the weight of the bike rack and the bikes, and some kind of lever effect, we're afraid it's going to be to heavy. At the moment we've just organized the whole layout not around using the back so much and it's all going fine. If you do go with that option though, consider maybe lifting the suspension a little in the rear and make sure your tires are rated for heavy loads.
Finally for the hot shower, we have a Yakima Road Shower mounted to the top of our roof. It uses the sun to heat water, and doesn't take up any space inside. We are loving it.
Happy shredding!
love these van videos. I use to have a LWB auto trail was amazing but too big to be honest had to plan everywhere we went but had anything you could ever want.
Also love the mullet had mine for 2 years now
Get one of the swiveling shingleback vert racks so it’s away from the doors
I use Yakima Backswing to swing the bikes away from the Hiace rear door. Works really well and clears the access through the back.
They make racks that attach to the rear door - so you can open them with the bikes still attached.
Hair cut suits ya dude! 👍
mullet ftw!
Have a look at the Atera strada dl3 bike rack or the evo. The DL3 can carry 3/4 bikes and slides away far enough to open the barn doors with the bikes still mounted.
Vans looking great! Mullet…..no no no no no no 😂
Wow 😮 one of the only people I’ve seen who’s actually able to rock a mullet……nah just kidding, looks horrendous. However the look could be saved by adding a tash 😉
Nice Van btw 👏
I lock my bikes up similarly to you on the bike rack, but don't leave them on overnight if I'm not sleeping in the van, and haven't had any problems over the last 4 years. Interesting that your fridge drains the battery so quickly, I can get two days out of my top loader. The solar panels seem to be a really good solution though. Looking forward to seeing what you do to the van in the future.
I thought the fold out bracket was a bike work stand to start with, but actually you could easily slot in a bike clamp instead of the table, get a cover for the bikes with a halfords logo on it....no one will ever go in there😆
Was waiting on the bike clamp attachment for the table stand 🙌 has to be looked into if it can be done
I think now you have a tow bar you should try hiring a trailer to keep your bikes in just to see how useful it is, I saw a van with one on Cannock chase and they’d put a clamp on the wheel for security I guess.
Love the video and the mullet, can’t seem to find link for table tho? Could you repost? Ta
Nice one! I'm not far from your base (ish) and I have the Transit Custom too. Only difference is I have the H2 L2. Also you have a professional job ... mine doesn't look as good yes as I need to work on the finishing. A couple of points ... I went with the high roof van so I could have a fixed bed with the bikes underneath. I have a tow bar too but I'm not keen on keeping the bikes outside.
Love the table idea, I'll be buying that! I've just put the swivel bracket in and it's much easier now once you get the hang of it.
Finally not sure what model you got but I would definitely recommend getting your van remapped as it will make a massive difference. 🏴❤️🏴
Hi. Where is EP3? What did you do on the end?
hi mate love the videos. maybe look for some space in the back of the van for your mtb just for 2 or so. im with the same taught i dont want to leave the bikes outside. if your on the road with more friends than look for a bike rack. im wondering how this project gonna end with the bikes because im looking also to find a way to handle bikes in my van with no big effort. love that table by the way realy practicle
i goth myself a ecoflow batterybox its practical to use and handle and carry im using it in my van .caravan. camping. or on work. its cheaper than the whole electrical stuff maybe your able to connect it inbetween the electrical system.
shower looks a cool idea maybe you could connect another hose on it to clean the bike
Where's the link for the table bracket? Thanks
Have you moved the pin to make the rack drop further back ?
Van 10/10 Mullet 0/10