# VW T5 Shuttle Bus to Wild Bus Conversion



## wildebus

This is my second VW conversion. 

The requirement for this is to have an affordable multipurpose vehicle which is usable and practical as a day-to-day workhorse as well as a leisure vehicle which can be used anywhere without restrictions.
So had to be as much as possible not subject to typical width, height and weight restrictions, but still capable as a enjoyable campervan for two and able to wild camp at any time of year.

Simples 

Next post will be some info and pics of the base vehicle.


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## wildebus

Timescale for Conversion Completion was in time for the new Festival and Event season, so I can use the new van as a camper and also put my existing T4 up for sale to capture people who want to get into the VW "scene" straight away and don't have the time or maybe ability to make their own Campervan.

So to the base vehicle - a 2008 2.5TDi Volkswagen T5 LWB Shuttle 
I spotted this T5 in an Autotrader advert on a Friday night. It looked very good value and I slept on it, then called the seller on Saturday morning about 10AM, had a chat about the vehicle, agreed a deal and Saturday afternoon was on a train down from Scotland to Kings Cross to get picked up by the seller to be taken to the Shuttle for a test drive.
(As an aside, first impressions were very good even before I saw the vehicle as the seller picked me up in his Sprinter 17 seater Minibus which looked totally immaculate but was 3 years old with 100,000 miles on the clock)

Back home, took some photos ...











The VW Shuttle is very nicely appointed inside, and is essentially a car with a lot of seats (9 in total) AND still had a very big boot 
View from the drivers seat back ...




(Think there is enough seating there for the two of us :raofl: )
And the view from the tailgate ...





The middle double seat also folds forward and the rear seat is very similar and folds forward also ...




And it can tip forward for more boot floor space, and then can be removed entirely without any tools (but the seat looks to be very heavy!)




These rear seats at least are going to be removed to make room for the camper conversion, plus I really want to be able to have a long load space for a marquee and the seat base will prevent that.
However, rather then being an annoyance that they have to be removed, there is significant value in these seats and in good condition, the two rows of seats with their floor fittings and seat belts can be worth nigh on £1,000 :banana: - that will go a fair way towards helping with the camper conversion :cool1:
Talking about condition, they are undamaged and unripped, but going to need some serious attention with the Vortex compressed air cleaner gun as quite stained  :egg:

Oh, another feature that this Shuttle has are pull-out sunshades on all the rear side windows 
Now you see it ...
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



Now you don't




Last vehicle I had with these kind of blinds was a 1990 Citroen BX and thought it was a neat idea, so very pleased to see this here :cool1:

This Shuttle is very well appointed and could certainly perform double-duty as a nice daily driver, but one feature that is missing and I really want to add is Cruise Control. It has got Electric Windows & Mirrors, A/C and Central Locking, so C/C would just about complete the set 

Oh, as an aside, as some people who know me will recall, a pet hate of mine is adverts for vehicles that claim "FSH" but when asked to describe it, it suddenly becomes a partial history with dubious explanations  :rolleyes2:
Well, the FSH on THIS vehicle is pretty good ...




All Main Dealer for Scheduled Service and Ad-Hoc repairs :banana:
The service interval is 20k miles/2 years, which means with this on a service every 8 months or so due to the high miles, but all carried out, and last service was a year ago so shouldn't need to visit the dealer again until June 2017 with my own likely mileage :cool1: (in fact, I have carried out an oil change using VW spec 507.1 Long Life Oil)

So that is the starting point. Roll on the conversion


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## CavityandLacey

looking forward to seeing how you get on


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## gipsy_jo

Hi Lovely van you have, I'm also a lover of C/c and I am nothing to do with this company except for a very happy customer they gave me 1st class service fitting my cruise, this is them,  Shop By Car - Audi - Awesome GTI - Volkswagen Audi Group Specialists :wave:


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## Chris356

Nice colour A friends dad went to buy one these but backed out of the deal when he found out the tax group


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## wildebus

Chris356 said:


> Nice colour A friends dad went to buy one these but backed out of the deal when he found out the tax group


There was a period of around 9 months when the road tax went from £290 to £500 and then dropped back down to £290 - think it was an 07/57 plate time? So yup, I can understand avoiding from that time range, but most are not affected


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## wildebus

So the plan is an affordable multipurpose vehicle, which means external non-camper work as well as changes directly relevant for a campervan, and a few of those changes are for appearance 

So what have I done then?

Well, the first change was on the wheel front:




It was clear on the 400+ mile drive home on the Sunday that I needed a new pair of front tyres. They were still legal, but not nice on the slippy wet roads. 
While calling around and checking the web for prices, I came across a dealer selling a set of delivery mileage wheels + top branded tyres for a similar price of 4 standard loose tyres (so a free set of alloys in effect), so snapped these VW "Thunder" Alloys up and slapped them on.

Now these tyres are very much road-orientated tyres and not that suited to driving off-road (talking tracks and grass fields, not rally routes of course), so while good for most of the time, need a solution for festivals and events.
In a similar vein to my T4, I got a set of All-Terrain tyres  
On the T4, I ran Conti Cross-Contact AT tyres. For this T5, I opted to buy a known used set of General Grabber AT tyres from a friend who vouched they had never been repaired or knocked around and got them fitted to the original Steel wheels once I had them power-coated in a rather fetching Cream/Ivory colour (a little throwback to the original VW Bus days  )




Not refitted these wheels back on T5 yet, but they will go on when I have any plans to go on dodgy roads and fields.


Anyone who has driven a T5 Transporter will not have been over-awed by the performance of the Headlights :hammer:
The standard "commercial" headlights have a single H4 bulb in a fitting that doesn't make the most of it's limited ability. For the first few months (I bought this Shuttle last November), I just ran them with an upgraded Philips H4 Extreme bulb fitted.
These were better, but still not fantastic, so I opted to replace the actual headlight assemblies themselves.
So started with this ...





And after stripping down the front end ...





We end up with this ...




Caravelle projector-style headlights which are both a world away in appearance from the basic Transporter look and much improved performance with the H1 and H7 bulbs (I also used Osram Nightbreakers to maximize the improvement).
At the same time while the bumper was off, I fitted a DRL kit in the front foglight position (I know they create mixed opinions, but I am a great fan of DRLs and think they improve road safety), plus some chrome slats to complement the existing chrome outer trim (I am also a fan of chrome TBH, when applied in a relatively restrained manner  )
Finally, I decided to colour-code the door mirrors as well.
I really love the new front end and makes the Shuttle look exactly like a top-end Caravelle :fun:

Other bits of chrome I added do in fact serve a purpose 
The door handle were looking a bit tired after 8 years of being pulled, so rather then changing the actual handles, I elected to simply fit some chrome cover strips to rejuvenate the handles at a much lower cost.





At the rear, the bumper top had been marked by loading and unloading knocks (including one of my own while thinking about a cover strip  ), so I fitted an adhesive chromed stainless steel strip to both cover the existing marks and provide future protection.





So the above was all about enhancements for the actual vehicle and nothing to do with a camper conversion, but I _have_ also made some external changes relevant to camping :lol-053:

So Step 1 - Roof Rails




Now the relevance of this to camping will become clear in due course. These rails are heavy-duty items, bolted down using the standard VW rail mountings.

Step 2 - Awning Rails




I bought a pair of aluminium awning rails (one for each side) that also utilize the same roof rail mounting bolts.  The great advantage of this fixing method is there is no need to drill into the roof or apply adhesive when using OEM fittings.
The rails bought were finished in plain unpainted metal, so I etch-primed the rails and then painted in the 'Off Road Grey' vehicle colour to make the rails blend in as much as possible.
It is not obvious the rail is there until you see a Kador Strip slid in





Step 3 - Cross Bars
Well, not just cross-bars, but the start of the conversion proper :rabbit:




I prepared a mounting with aluminium L brackets and Riv-nuts and attached a pair of 100W Solar Panels to the Cross Bars.
This gave a Solar Panel kit that could be just dropped on and secured in 5 minutes 




And which again maintains the 'stealth-camping' look which could be handy if "urban boondocking" as our American friends might say.





Couple of final things externally ...
While the intention is to be able to wild camp without any hookup for extended periods, it will useful to have an EHU on occasion, as well as maybe a Leisure Battery home top-up in the winter months prior to a campout




I like the idea of a neat and easily accessible socket rather then one tucked away underneath.

And an item fitted just today ... something I am generally not a fan of in fact - Wind Deflectors!
I find them to create quite a bit of noise, but they are very good for camping of course, allowing the windows to be cracked open for ventilation without the traditional british summer weather pouring in 
But in fact, the Dubflector sleek deflectors I bought are very neat and in fact work well following the rear glass line and tint





And a head-on shot shows they don't protrude at all...





Fit well, the clips appear to be very secure and the electric windows go fully up and down still (not always the case with some deflectors from what I have read!) and without having yet road tested them, pleased with this purchase

So that actually completes the external modifications except for one further change which needs to wait for better weather.


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## caledonia

It's not just a van, it's a way of life. And a good way of emptying your bank, I know I have 2 T5s.


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## wildebus

caledonia said:


> It's not just a van, it's a way of life. And a good way of emptying your bank, I know I have 2 T5s.


You are right there :ditto:

I was actually pretty fortunate with the actual purchase as it was fully maintained by VW and all advisories on MOTs dealt with, plus a lot of the things that fail on T5s with miles had already failed and been replaced - so got new DPF, new Turbo, new Driveshaft, new Springs & Shocks all within the last two years before buying.
It did have a suggested DMF swap by VW 3 years ago that was not done, due to the cost I would imagine, so I knew that would be needed sooner or later (and was actually done just a few days ago) so factored that into whether the price asked was good or not (And it was. Have not seen another similar Shuttle within literally thousands of what I paid!)


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## Chris356

We called our T5 2.5 axd the money pit it had a turbo, camshaft,exhaust manifold, water pump, clutch dmf, drive shaft, alternator, gates couplings, drop links,ball joints, rear wheel bearings, rear springs and dampers, rear calipers disc and pads, heater motor and speed resistor, central locking motor and was due a power steering pump when we got rid also the low oil level light used to come every 200 mile so had to open and shut bonnet to reset but fitted a relay to brake pedal to get around that


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## caledonia

Chris356 said:


> We called our T5 2.5 axd the money pit it had a turbo, camshaft,exhaust manifold, water pump, clutch dmf, drive shaft, alternator, gates couplings, drop links,ball joints, rear wheel bearings, rear springs and dampers, rear calipers disc and pads, heater motor and speed resistor, central locking motor and was due a power steering pump when we got rid also the low oil level light used to come every 200 mile so had to open and shut bonnet to reset but fitted a relay to brake pedal to get around that



When buying a T5 lots of homework needs done. Took me over a year to find the right camper, T5 2.5. Had it 4 years and fitted discs and pads and regular servicing its done 89,000 miles and goes like the clappers. Love it too bits. Lots of them have had hard lives and it's easy to buy a shagger or botched up workies van.


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## wildebus

I have done some internal work as well of course (including for camping :wacko

Here are some at the business end of the T5 (i.e. The Cab)...

One of the first changes was the seats.
Now it was a 9 seater, which was a 1+2,2+1 & 3 layout. now while there are just two of us to use the T5, I did like the idea of being able to seat more on occasion so was trying to work out the best way to either keep some seats at the back and use as a bed as well, or reposition then, or .... A few possibilities there.
But one thing I WAS sure of was losing the double passenger seat 
The Transport front doubles are (at least IMO) not big enough for two and the seat back is too upright and non adjustable, so swapping this out for a Captains (so with arms) Chair was a definate.  The drivers seat was already a Captains Chair but had a worn through side bolster, so with one new chair and another needing retrimming, it actually made sense to check out how much complete new pair of seats would be.

Ended up getting a very nice pair of Caravelle seats from Poland in excellent condition, plus a used swivel base for the passenger seat.




Obviously they don't match the rear seat trims, but as they will be mostly/fully going, that doesn't matter  Plus I do really like the colour combo of these and think they look very smart.

Another 'Caravellesque' modification is some sound deadening.  The Caravelle has rubber-foam D Channel attached around the cab doors, just as you get with cars. For all trims below the Caravelle, this is either not available or is a cost-option. I purchased a couple of 4Metre strips of D Channel and fitted in the same location as the Caravelle strips go and the difference in sound when closing the door is seriously dramatic. This cost less then £15 and worth every penny and more:





Took out the basic VW Radio and fitted a nice Pioneer full-screen unit, with just about everything except Navigation, but I have an existing Garmin unit bought back in 2012 which works great, and there is a perfect place for that on the dash:




Also fitted a Pioneer reversing camera which is dead handy for reversing onto the trailer hitch:





I really dislike trailing leads hanging down on the dash, so whereever possible, I hide them away 
so for the Sat Nav, routed the power like this:





And for phone charging etc, I fitted a pair of sockets in the glovebox neatly out the way:





At the back of the glovebox, installed the "brains" of my Front + Rear Dashcam




Neat setup for this with the remote unit tucked away, so on the screens, all you have is a small camera rather then a large lump of gear. This is the system I bought and fitted:




What is handy about this unit is that you can use the radio display instead of the small integrated screen to make it easier to view





Something that I did straightaway when I bought my T4 was fit a switch that let me use the radio without the key in the ignition when parked up and sat in the back. Found it invaluable, so an early job for the Shuttle was to do a similar job with a 2-way Switch and custom wiring 




(If anyone wants one of these kits, I do actually make and sell them - they are proving very popular with T4 and T5 owners, and will work on any vehicle using non-canbus controlled radios :juggle: )


Now I mentioned on the first post I wanted to have Cruise Control.  I found that factory Cruise can be retro-fitted at a not to bad a price.  Because my Shuttle has factory Electric Windows, it means it can support Cruise without an update to the "brain" of the electrics (the BCM or Body Control Module), so just need to fit the control stalk and the wiring 





The installation was fairly complex, needing the airbag and steering wheel off, the battery removed to gain access to a connection in the engine bay and various connections on the steering wheel and the BCM.
So old stalks ready to be removed:




And the new stalks being fitted:





Once that is done, then you either have to take the vehicle to a dealer to get the cruise activated in the ECU, or if you have the control software, you can do it yourself 
I opted to activate this myself 




As it happens, my cruise install didn't engage reliably due to the clutch switch having an intermittant fault (this is a very common cause of Cruise Controls failing on T5s). A new switch for £15 and 20 minutes to fit and job's a good 'un 

I have one more job lined up to do around the cab, but have a few months to do this, as it is to fit the heated seat controls . 
The Caravelle seats I bought have seat heaters fitted, so it is a matter of buying a pair of original VW dash switches (these include the electronics for the heater, not just a reostat) and an special aftermarket loom from a German company.  Toasty 

This completes the updates to the Cab environment.  Next steps are behind those front seats and the campervan side :wacko:


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## Beemer

Wow... love your commitment to neatness.  A really nice van which, I see has been renamed caravelle. 
Looking forward to your further conversions.


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## wildebus

Beemer said:


> Wow... love your commitment to neatness.  A really nice van which, I see has been renamed caravelle.
> Looking forward to your further conversions.


Thanks.  
It has indeed  :lol-053:
As it is running a caravelle front, caravelle wheels, caravelle seats, it made sense to get a caravelle badge and make it posher . As an aside, the same vehicle (Shuttle) in Germany is called a Caravelle (and that is the name on my service book for that reason), and what VAG UK sell as a Caravelle is called Multivan in Germany

I guess I do have a touch of the OCDs when it comes to conversions (the OH would ask why that can't extend to in the house I think :lol-053:


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## Chris356

caledonia said:


> When buying a T5 lots of homework needs done. Took me over a year to find the right camper, T5 2.5. Had it 4 years and fitted discs and pads and regular servicing its done 89,000 miles and goes like the clappers. Love it too bits. Lots of them have had hard lives and it's easy to buy a shagger or botched up workies van.


My van had full dealer history when i bought it with 78k but all the troubles started happening from 95k first the turbo and the cam went at 115k and is a mamoth job costing £1250 everything else there after


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## wildebus

*Conversion Time!!*
Well, after waffling on about adding Chrome bits and pieces, Wheels, Cruise Control, etc, it is time to get onto the Camping Conversion bit I think :camper:
First Bit will be what makes a Camper a Wild Camper I think .. the right *Electrics *:dog:

As seen earlier, I have a pair of *100W Rigid Solar Panels* on the roof.  The cables from these panels go down via the gap between D Pillar and Tailgate and then enter in the vehicle behind the tail light (idea being to avoid drilling any holes in the roof and also where possible, visible holes)

I have a +ve and -ve line from each panel routing down (so 4 cables), and each solar panel pair goto a *Watt Meter* that provides information on each panel and how it is providing charge.




On the display, the top left always shows instant current, top right instant voltage and bottom right instant power, with the bottom left cycling through total Ah, total Kw, Peak Power, Peak Voltage and Peak Current.

I also have a device for usage, a *Battery Monitor*




This tells me total power draw from the batteries. But note, this is not actually total power used, as power supplied from the Solar Panels at the time power is used gets cancelled out. So if the panels are delivering say 4.0A and the fridge is using 4.5A, the Battery Monitor will report a current use of just 0.5A. This is where the Watt Meter and the Battery Monitor will compliment each other quite well I reckon to get the fuller picture

So from the Solar Panels to the Watt Meters, the wiring carries on to the Solar Controller, which is a *Amperor Associates P14/25 Power Integrator*
This is the device that controls the Solar Panel charging input, as well as providing a Split-Charge Device (so allowing the Leisure Batteries to charge from the Alternator when the engine is running), plus a Vehicle/Starter Battery trickle charge of 1.0A from Solar when the engine is not running (a bit like the Battery Master that many Motorhomers install). The Power Integrator also has an automatic Battery Equaliser feature, with every 10th charge boosting the charge voltage to the Leisure Batteries to equalise the individual cell voltages for maximum capacity.

Speaking of Leisure Batteries, I have installed a pair of Alpha *Xplorer 100Ah AGM Batteries*, which should eliminate the need for an EHU in most circumstances, and hopefully entirely in the summer months.

So that is the Power Source. We now need the distribution system, and for this, I chose the *Sargent EC155 Power Control System* - This is a power distribution system for both 12V and 240V, providing a multitude of 12V DC fused circuits, plus a level of control over some of them. Also integrated into this system is a Battery Charger when plugged into the mains (EHU/Electrical Hook Up) and the 240V AC circuits protected by MCBs and the whole 240V AC Input protected by an RCD.
This will provide me with the EHU Support, and while the Battery Charger in the Sargent unit is pretty basic, it will do the job as an essentially backup unit.

Even when off-grid, I do have a need for an 240V AC supply for certain devices, and to provide that, I have installed two gadgets. The most important one of course is an Inverter.  I installed a *Streetwize 500W 12VDC - 240VAC Inverter* I bought a couple of years  - As the name suggests, this converts 12V DC Battery Voltage to 240V AC Voltage, providing up to 500W of Power. This may not sound a lot, but it represents upto 40A of current draw and on a 200Ah battery pack will operate for just 3 hours safely at full power! This is a modified sine wave inverter, so will work on many devices, but is not as good as a pure sine wave unit (but those are much more pricey!)
I am combining this inverter with a *240V Auto Detect Relay* that by default (the NC side) uses the Inverter generated power, but if the Relay detects active EHU power (the NO side), will automatically switch the source to the Mains - so if available, the sockets will be powered from the EHU source.  This means the same AC sockets can be used for hookup OR when off-grid, which will be very convenient I reckon (often on a conversion, the AC sockets would be no use off-grid and there may be a single socket hidden away for inverter use). I think this will make it nice and simple to utilize the AC sockets with a minimum of fuss!

The EC155 is nicely tucked away in a cupboard ...




So the Sargent does the majority of the Electrics directly, but I do have two other fuse boxes (shown on the left of the picture)
_Top Fuse box_ - 12V supply from the Leisure Battery.
FRIDGE - The Sargent is really setup for use with a 3-way Fridge, typically found in Motorhomes and Caravans, but rarely in Campervans.
I have installed a Weaco Coolmatic CRX50 Fridge-Freezer, which is a state of the art (read Expensive!) Compressor Fridge-Freezer/Fridge/Freezer (you can set it up to work in any of the three ways). This needs a permanent 12V supply, and the 12V Fridge supply from the Sargent is only active when the engine is running, so I have a separate supply with some fairly heavy-duty cable to minimise volt-drop.
INVERTER - An inverter needs a direct supply from the battery due to the high current (my 500W inverter can draw over 30A)
RADIO - There is a permanent "radio" signal on the Sargent unit, rated at 5A, but I wanted a more substantial connection as the Pioneer unit I have installed can draw more.
2nd BATTERY - used the 4th connection to link up the 2nd battery. Slightly unconventional way to connect the two batteries using a 'shared' fusebox, but convenient and perfectly safe. When connecting mutliple batteries that are not adjacent, they should always be fused at both ends.

_Bottom Fuse Box_
Leisure Battery input to Sargent EC 155
Vehicle Battery input to Sargent EC 155
The Sargent unit needs both battery inputs of course to control, charge and monitor, and these inputs need to be externally protected by 20A fuses.

The Sargent EC50 Controller is situated in the kitchen area, with the Amperor P10D Solar Controller next to it.




This is a handy location as I can access both controller from the drivers seat and also when I open the Side Slider.
The left one is for the Solar Power Integrator. This is informational only and gives Leisure Battery volts, Vehicle Battery volts and charging current, plus where the charge is coming from (Solar or Alternator)
The right one is the Sargent Control Panel. This has a master on/off switch, which turns off virtually all circuits, plus a switch to select which battery to be used (Leisure or Vehicle), Pump Power (this can be used to disable the sink tap pump regardless of the tap position) and finally an Auxilary switch on/off. This I have used to control the Inverter relay so I can quickly and easily turn the Inverter on and off. This is really handy and much nicer then a seperate switch.
Oh, I should probably say I am not using the ECM feature on the EC155 as there is no benefit in doing so with a 12V Compressor Fridge and a Split-Charger seperate to the unit. 

If anyone is interested, these are my wiring diagrams for the Habitation Electrics ...
Power In (12V and 240V) and Direct 12V out
View attachment Wildebus.T5-PowerIn(comp).pdf

EC155 Power Distribution Out
View attachment Wildebus.T5.EC155-PowerOut(comp).pdf


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## KevDub

Top stuff :cool1:


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## wildebus

*Food!!*

Well, we have electrics in place, but man cannot survive on electrons alone :beer:

Therefore, we need a fridge :beer::beer::beer:
And something to wrap around the fridge as well.

So... Time to build a kitchen :banana:




Quite a small kitchen as you can see, but pretty functional with a Fridge/Freezer on the left (the Waeco 50CDX Compressor jobby) which is nice and roomy.
A Cupboard to keep general stuff in (needs a bit of a tidy!) ...




Some Drawers ...




Well, actually only got one drawer in the kitchen, but configured as a double-decker, so the frequent access stuff (tea, coffee, spoons, cups, etc) are at the top; with the food preparation and meal accouremonts under a shelf
Around the back of the unit, we have the potable water and the grey waste accessible via the 2nd sliding door.





And inset in the worktop, we have a black bit of glass 




Of course, bit more then just a lid ... And a useful bit of storage as well...




This is a SMEV 8302 dual-burner hob with sink, and with the modern wonder that is the silicon collapsible kitchen accessory, it also stores a bucket, the washing up bowl and a kettle, plus cloths  and all store away neatly ...





Around the outside, we have on the left a 13A socket and a dual USB power socket, and on the right side, a handy pair of 13A sockets (these 13A sockets are all on the circuit that can be supplied by either Inverter or EHU supply)
And to clip onto the Reimo table rail we have, not surprisingly, a table...




This can be fitted either side of the unit depending on what you want, and also elsewhere in the camper on another Reimo rail


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## wildebus

Kitchen talked about, what about the *living room and bedroom*?

I don't tend to go for the traditional and typical Rock & Roll bed as don't need rear seating generally plus need a long load area as my conversions are not just Campervans but working activity vehicles as well :drive:
On this build I also wanted a full-size bed available 

So went for a pair of side benches ...




A key benefit of the LWB version of the T5 is it is possible to get a near-full length bed without impacting and blocking up the area behind the cab.
This picture shows the end of the bench which still allows a 2-seat bench to be clipped into place in the standard position (which is why the floor mounts are still in place for that, and the kitchen unit set the necessary distance back for the removable seat width as well)





Now usually with conversions using side benches, access to the underneath storage is via a lift-up top. I decided to do this converison a little bit differently and have access from the side  
This is typical of many caravans I think.  However, again I decided to be a little different still from that!  Side access means bending down and maybe even lying down to get to the back half of the storage area which is a pain, so I fitted drawers to get the storage way more accessible  :banana:




There is potentially a degree of space taken up by the drawer mechanism, but I reckon that is offset by the ability to properly access the storage area  
Not all areas are via drawer though. i have kept some areas standard, just being behind doors:




The area above, plus another similar area is for general storage purposes, but there are other dedicated areas behind other doors for specific items.
This one has been seen preciously seen in an earlier post:
Safely behind this locked door:




Is the heart of the Electrics, with 12V fuses, 240V MCBs, distribution setup, Inverter and one of the Leisure batteries





Opposite that door is, oddly enough, another door:




Take the money or open the box (or door in this case)?  Well, if the money is question was a penny, could be the same thing, as lurking behind this door is a portable chemical toilet, ideal for spending that penny if caught short!




This cupboard can also be used for other storage uses if the camping destination is provided with services :juggle:


You may wonder why there are some black loops sticking out in the middle on the left? i.e.




Well, these are removable panels that you just pull up with the loops to gain access to the area below. This is the front one, pulled up to access the Solar Controlled Power Integrator, the 240V auto-select relay, plus various wiring connections.





The one on the rear lifts up in the same way and gives access to the standard storage compartment where the jack + tools live, and I have added little bits and pieces such as locking wheel nut key, repair kit, warning triangle, EHU lead, etc. Basically those bits that are important but you don't need regular access to :dnd:

As well as the upholstery which is still to come (foam due next week, but still not decided on upholstery!) there is the mechanism to create the bed needed.
Basically, the reason why there is a step in the bench tops is to accept slats (as shown in this mockup)




With the slats in place and the mattress sections in position, this will make up a nice big 6' x 4'6" double bed 

When in the "Day" position and the long load space is not required, they will form part of a 'U' shaped lounge, and a simple pull out to make the rear a full size bed 

Fitted the curtains as well.  These are Baimex curtains, purchased from Germany.
Very pleased with them, even though I still think they could be made to have a little less tension top to bottom.
I bought the set for the "T5 Multivan", which is their version for the T5s with the factory plastic panels and surrounds. I wonder if the curtains they make for the T5 Transporter, which would fit into the metalwork rather than into the panels might be a little bit longer, as the distance between top and bottom metalwork must be greater and so less tension? Something to consider if getting another set for another project maybe?

Anyway, few shots of the curtains ...

Offside rear window with blind up.





Nearside Slider, behind cooker




On this one I fitted the popper to mostly cover the door handle as it will very rarely get opened or pulled closed from inside

Rear Window





Cab Divider





And divider and both slider door curtains closed





I mentioned before I fitted a second table rail away from the kitchen?  Well this was attached to the tailgate at a suitable height which allows the table to also be used as a dining table 





And once brekkie is out the way, time for some work maybe? 





But forget work, we need fun!





Can't afford one of those fancy Avtex TVs like some have, so I went for an alternative brand which is popular in Campers, a Cello 
Nice spec 16" unit that runs off 240V AC or 12-30V DC and has Freeview as well as a DVD Player and USB playback

The mount I got is quite clever...




This is actually a standard wall-mount, but each of the hinged parts actually connect using a bolt which happens to be the same circumference as the VWs Head Restraint poles, so it is a simple matter of undoing and removing the bolt, lifting up the head restraint out the seat and then dropping it back down through the now free mount hole.
Seems most people using this method appear to use the hole nearest to the TV itself, but I decided to use most of the mount to give more flexibility    This should allow me to position it through the cab curtain gap and adjust the position in loads of different ways, but still fold away neatly ...





The Antenna is a Necvox magnetic mount unit which has excellent performance reviews by people here and currently is just placed on the roof at the front and the cable dropped through the driver doors gap. Plan will be to route permanently once the trial looks good :banana:

I bought a set of curtains for my T4 from a UK supplier (VeeDub Transporters I think it was) and they were decent curtains, but I feel after installing these Baimex ones, they are better in two specific ways ...
1) the pull-back loop has velco rather then a popper at the end. This makes them much nicer (IMO) to release and gather & resecure as don't need to worry about the popper pulling on the material
2) the pull-back has a popper at the back (curtain) attachment, so this can be clipped back against the frame, as per the photos.  Personally don't like the the look where both sides pull in to the middle, and on the VeeBub curtains I had to adapt then to stop that (can't recall exactly how now ). These Baimex with the poppers there are perfect in that respect 


Something that I'm very pleased I installed on this build is heating :cool1:
I went for the Eberspacher D2 Airtronic Heater and installed it under the drivers seat...





A fairly complicated installation I guess with a stripdown inside, and removal of underside body trays and heatshields needed before a very big hole to be cut ...





Seems a big hole to cut when you see what holes are needed for the pipework? ...





But this picture shows why ...




I used the standard supplied plate which has this large circular dropdown part which also has all the fitting parts.

Installed the Eberspacher 801 Controller, which needed some wiring adjustments to allow the temp sensor in the 801 to control the heater. The default standard wiring wants you to install an external sensor which is a bit daft!


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## Discokegs

Great write up. Surely can't be more you can do to it?


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## wildebus

Discokegs said:


> Great write up. Surely can't be more you can do to it?


Thanks 
Certainly on the home stretch :dance:

Got the foam for the seating arriving in a few days - getting some dual-density reflex foam for the seats and a mattress topper - so that is a key task to upholster

Want to make up some Midge screens so can safely leave the windows cracked open overnight :sleep-027: (plan on a NC500 trip very soon, so this will be fairly urgent!)
Have also made an addition to to help in that ventilation area  ...






Not a great fan of wind deflectors TBH, but they are a neccessary evil for camping to allow ventilation in the rain. The ones I fitted are actually the least obtrusive I have seen and I am pretty happy with them 




As you can see from the picture above, they blend in very well.

And the very last change to date is on the windows again ...
With windows all round, the Camper is a bit of a greenhouse both in terms of people being able to see in and also heat (was 38C inside last week even with blinds up). So I've had the windows tinted (and just realised this is the first thing I haven't done myself!).




Went for a dark tint to blend in with the existing window glass surround and to give maximum effect (you can see the difference by comparing the above photo with the top one in this post).  Had a similar level of tint built into the windows I had fitted to the T4 and that both worked and looked great.
A most useful thing is that you can't see the curtains anymore from the outside unless you look closely, so for stealth camping, this will be really handy

This is now giving the same sort of shade level as the pull-up blinds, so they can stay down generally unless I want more privacy. Tint + Blind + Curtain = Total blackout I reckon :ninja:
Something planned in time for the cooler months will be some thermal blinds. I think I should be able to make them to fit the windows exactly and keep in place perfectly with the pull up blinds which will work better than those suction cups that always pull out.

My end goal was to make this T5 into an affordable (seen the prices of VW conversions?!), multipurpose vehicle, suitable for camping and outdoor activities for two just about anywhere and in luxury (within the limitations of a VW Campervan) for both the Stay AND the Journey.  
I think I have managed that :heart:

If anyone wants more info on any aspects of this build, please feel free to ask. Happy to help where I can


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## phillybarbour

Van looking great, and a superb base vehicle to start with.


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## wildebus

Made a few tweaks to my T5 conversion over the last few weeks ...

*TV.* 
Orginally I fitted the support to the drivers headrest post, but I was finding that was a bit in the way of getting in and out of the sliding door as I tend to have the seat back reclined a lot when driving due to having orangutan-like arms!
Tried it on the passenger seat, but that would mess up with the seat swivel, so decided to mount on the B pillar.




Took off the existing grab handle, and using the original wall mount part and a extension piece fitted to allow bolting to the standard positions so very secure.

*Meters*
Added some different meters for the Solar Harvesting.




So I have a battery monitor for the Leisure Battery bank which allows me to monitor usage on the Leisure Battery side, and it also allows me to check the voltages on the Starter Battery as well (as it is wired up via the Sargent EC155), but to the left of that are monitors for each of the Solar Panels which lets me see what the panels are up to and also how much energy is being harvested.


Camping Weekend away in the Camper this weekend (so with all Awnings deployed... front is a Sun Canopy from Khyam, rear is a Driveaway Type, a Khyam Motordome Sleeper and the white jobby is a 4.5x3M gazebo)




Fridge running all the time, couple of hours of TV on (actually watching a DVD) and some lights, plus 240V inverter on for laptop and printer for a few hours Sat & Sun, and the Leisure Battery ended the weekend more charged then the start! (hooray for Solar  )


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## Moocher

*Silicone kitchen gear*

Hi, Great conversion, love the van, could you tell me where you got you silicone kitchen gear from please , i've been looking but I can't find the same gear you have.


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## wildebus

Jonned said:


> Hi, Great conversion, love the van, could you tell me where you got you silicone kitchen gear from please , i've been looking but I can't find the same gear you have.




The Bucket and the Bowl I got from Amazon:

Yellowstone Folding Bucket

Outwell Bowl - Large Blue
The price of these shifts all the time (it is currently £2 less then I paid in May) and also varies depending on colour, so if you see what you like and the price looks good - like that blue one right now - then worth getting rather then waiting possibly! (I might get another as handy to have)


The Kettle I think I bought from a local shop and is this - Kampa Kettle
It works well enough but I find I have to use the smallest gas ring and also not have it on too high so maybe a larger base would be better?

HTH


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## trevskoda

wildebus said:


> Made a few tweaks to my T5 conversion over the last few weeks ...
> 
> *TV.*
> Orginally I fitted the support to the drivers headrest post, but I was finding that was a bit in the way of getting in and out of the sliding door as I tend to have the seat back reclined a lot when driving due to having orangutan-like arms!
> Tried it on the passenger seat, but that would mess up with the seat swivel, so decided to mount on the B pillar.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Took off the existing grab handle, and using the original wall mount part and a extension piece fitted to allow bolting to the standard positions so very secure.
> 
> *Meters*
> Added some different meters for the Solar Harvesting.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> So I have a battery monitor for the Leisure Battery bank which allows me to monitor usage on the Leisure Battery side, and it also allows me to check the voltages on the Starter Battery as well (as it is wired up via the Sargent EC155), but to the left of that are monitors for each of the Solar Panels which lets me see what the panels are up to and also how much energy is being harvested.
> 
> 
> Camping Weekend away in the Camper this weekend (so with all Awnings deployed... front is a Sun Canopy from Khyam, rear is a Driveaway Type, a Khyam Motordome Sleeper and the white jobby is a 4.5x3M gazebo)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Fridge running all the time, couple of hours of TV on (actually watching a DVD) and some lights, plus 240V inverter on for laptop and printer for a few hours Sat & Sun, and the Leisure Battery ended the weekend more charged then the start! (hooray for Solar  )



There is a little unit that plugs into cigy socket and steps volts up to 19v for laptop,thing there about £19 ebay and uses much less power than a inverter,love the job you have done health to wear.


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## wildebus

trevskoda said:


> There is a little unit that plugs into cigy socket and steps volts up to 19v for laptop,thing there about £19 ebay and uses much less power than a inverter,love the job you have done health to wear.


Sorry, but really going to to have to disagree with this common statement about inverter inefficiency ...  My inverter is nothing special (500W MSW Streetwize brand from Towsure) and the actual power draw from the batteries compared to power draw from device is in fact very similar (difference being the waste of course) - I did some extensive calculations with meters and monitors on the household AC, and Camper DC and inverted AC side to check, and with various different devices (including Halogen heaters and an Oil filled Radiator.
So many people think inverters are bad and wasteful and they are really honestly are not! I have had one person says he bought an inverter 3 years ago and never used it as it is too wasteful. Well, yes, that is wasteful as he shouldn't have bought it as he clearly didn't need it 

Ref adapters .. if just one specific device it can be worthwhile possibly, but I want to run my notebook, sometimes my laptop, got a printer I want to be able to use, battery rechargers for cordless power tools (Dremel and Ryobi One+ 18V batteries), electric blanket plus a long mains LED Rope Light. Obviously not all the same time  but at various times.
It really is not worth trying to eliminate 240v AC in this situation with loads of different DC-DC adapters and/or DC products when a single Inverter lets me use what I have already at no extra cost.

Just my findings and opinions


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## Obanboy666

wildebus said:


> Sorry, but really going to to have to disagree with this common statement about inverter inefficiency ...  My inverter is nothing special (500W MSW Streetwize brand from Towsure) and the actual power draw from the batteries compared to power draw from device is in fact very similar (difference being the waste of course) - I did some extensive calculations with meters and monitors on the household AC, and Camper DC and inverted AC side to check, and with various different devices (including Halogen heaters and an Oil filled Radiator.
> So many people think inverters are bad and wasteful and they are really honestly are not! I have had one person says he bought an inverter 3 years ago and never used it as it is too wasteful. Well, yes, that is wasteful as he shouldn't have bought it as he clearly didn't need it
> 
> Ref adapters .. if just one specific device it can be worthwhile possibly, but I want to run my notebook, sometimes my laptop, got a printer I want to be able to use, battery rechargers for cordless power tools (Dremel and Ryobi One+ 18V batteries), electric blanket plus a long mains LED Rope Light. Obviously not all the same time  but at various times.
> It really is not worth trying to eliminate 240v AC in this situation with loads of different DC-DC adapters and/or DC products when a single Inverter lets me use what I have already at no extra cost.
> 
> Just my findings and opinions



You take your printer with you when out in your van ? Strange unless you are fulltiming.


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## wildebus

Obanboy666 said:


> You take your printer with you when out in your van ? Strange unless you are fulltiming.


Depends on the printer 
It is a mains label/barcoding printer and I go to festivals and have a trade stand, so want to be able to print off smart looking information labels


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## campervanannie

love the conversion i am a great fan of VWs if i did not need my mobility trike i would go back to a T4/5.


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## wildebus

campervanannie said:


> love the conversion i am a great fan of VWs if i did not need my mobility trike i would go back to a T4/5.


Thanks Annie 
A couple of years ago I helped out a couple when one had a trip in our pop-up shop (not our fault hasten to add!) and drove them around the doctor, pharmacy & back home that day, and got chatting about their mobility scooter.... Very smart folding jobby that packed away in the boot of their Prius.

Still fine-tuning the storage and how best to use it, but pretty happy with it :dance:


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## campervanannie

This is my T4 that I just loved.


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## Obanboy666

wildebus said:


> Depends on the printer
> It is a mains label/barcoding printer and I go to festivals and have a trade stand, so want to be able to print off smart looking information labels



That explains things !
Got to say your van looks awesome and puts the VW California next door to me to shame.


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## wildebus

Thought I would post a couple of pictures of my setup all out ....

So I use the Campervan as a base when trading at festivals - typically VW ones - and load up the trailer, plus fill the inside of the camper to the gunnels with all the stuff we are selling (really need a bigger trailer I think TBH!)

This is us at "Dubtoberfest" in Worcestershire a couple of weeks ago ... 




Got the Marquee up, driveaway awning at the back, suncanopy at the front 

And the weekend just gone we were at "VW Festival" at Harewood House, Leeds.




This was a bit of a challenge fitting everything into a 5M frontage x 10M depth plot, and had to angle the guy ropes to not encroach too much, but they needed to still be effective as damn windy (A few cheap pop-up gazebos bit the dust when their poles just snapped!)

Both events (in fact, all our events) are off-grid for power, and these typically run from either the Thursday or the Friday to Sunday, so very much rely on the Solar to keep the leisure battery bank healthy, and happy to say it is so far working well 
Took a snap of the Monitors connected to the Panels (one per panel as they are connected independantly to the Power Integrator) at around Lunchtime on Friday....




I was actually seeing an occasional peak of 95W for each panel, which is pretty good for 100W solar panels I think  The figures were bouncing around a fair bit as it was a pretty cloudy day, and the high winds keeping them moving so it was sun-in, sun-out constantly.


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## Sky

A most impressive conversion - well done.  You should be very proud. :bow:

I've just bought a Renault Master disability bus with tail lift (for my scooter).  It's too old to spend much money on, but I intend to fit a toilet, kitchen, curtains and solar.  You've given me some ideas to play around with - thanks. :idea:


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## wildebus

Sky said:


> A most impressive conversion - well done.  You should be very proud. :bow:
> 
> I've just bought a Renault Master disability bus with tail lift (for my scooter).  It's too old to spend much money on, but I intend to fit a toilet, kitchen, curtains and solar.  You've given me some ideas to play around with - thanks. :idea:



Thanks you very much for your kind words 
If there is any specific thing I have done that you would like more information on, just ask. I'd be happy to try and help.

My first conversion was actually a VW T4 W Plate which started life as a mobility conversion. It had the wheelchair lift/hoist already removed from it at the time I bought it, but I reckon I must have removed another 200kg of excess weight when I stripped it out, including massive steel plates that single seats were fixed to inside, and complimentary steel frames under the floorpan that they were then bolted through to.


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## Sky

wildebus said:


> If there is any specific thing I have done that you would like more information on, just ask. I'd be happy to try and help.



Thanks, I appreciate that.


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