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VWt Issue 143 (Digital)

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16 Articles

PRACTICALLY PERFECT Hello and a warm welcome to edition 143 of VWt magazine. I am writing this having had a day out yesterday with the family in my Transporter. In the pouring rain, no less. My son, Max, is big into cycling and is trying to become professional and he was doing a race locally so we were following him. It was 160km (100 miles) along the most gruelling Brittany roads in the grottiest conditions imaginable with 100 other riders all jostling for the win. Our plan was to cheer him on at various points on route so we grabbed a map, marked out where he’d be at what time and set off, wipers furiously clearing the rain from the windscreen and blower turned round to the max. Of course…

There’s only one thing plumbers love more than a free bacon butty at a trade Breakfast Morning – and that’s the perfect van. We on the inside of course know there is only one manufacturer that makes the perfect van. Believe it or not there are still one or two out there that roll around in things with a blue oval badge on the front. The shame of it! Gareth Hall, a 43-year-old director of a plumbing business in Kent almost befell the same fate, until a last-minute swerve changed his view on Transporters forever. “It all started with needing a new van,” he says. “I was undecided on the Transit MS-RT or a Transporter. I’m so glad I made the right call in the end. I knew nothing about…

TRY BEFORE YOU BUY Why not go for a holiday spin in a Van before taking the plunge? If you’re about to spend a shedload of cash on a camper, try it for size first. That way, you’ll be able to see how it all works out and decide what model or interior layout is best. Then, having enjoyed a fun holiday while chewing over the various options, you’ll be able to go into the buying process with a clear idea of what you should buy. Makes sense, right? And that’s where CamperVantastic with its award-winning rental fleet and shop, comes in. Hire out a van and you’ll be able to enjoy an adventure in the UK or Europe, with unlimited mileage, and taste the freedom of the open road…

Seven-year itch

So many of the builds we see follow a set formula. In fact, you could be forgiven for thinking it’s a simple matter of picking items off a menu and wheels out of a catalogue to build a van. Sure, this approach works and, let’s face it, there are so many wheel and suspension options on the market, that it’s still possible to create something fairly unique by using this tried and tested method. But (and it’s a big BUT), not everyone subscribes to this formula of modifying everything, so that the finished product is a mere shadow of what it started life as. Instead, lots of us appreciate the finer points of Volkswagen design and want to retain these elements; call it a purity if you will, like the…

Seven-year itch

FIAMMA MOONLIGHT ROOF TENT Need extra sleeping space for your camping trips? If so, check out this roof tent which is specifically designed for commercial vehicles. It’s compatible with roof bars approved for carrying in excess of 75kg and fits on bars wider than 78cm. There’s two versions, the 140 for two people and the 180 which sleeps three and both feature mosquito nets and blackout blinds which can be opened on all four sides as well as a rain cover with windows. Oh, and you get an aluminium ladder and interior LED strip lighting. There’s even an optional privacy tent which can act as a changing room if you don’t want people to see you in your undies. £1900 (140), £2200 (180)www.rooftentutopia.com POLYBUSH CUP BUSH Most T5s and even…

What you’re looking at here is destiny in the form of a 2020 T6.1 Highline converted by Doncaster Van Conversions. Looks pretty good, doesn’t it? Owners, Tony and Vicky Marks both had Beetles as their first cars before they met in 1991 and married five years later. “We used to go to Bug Jam at Santa Pod,” says Tony, who was nicknamed ‘flower power’ by the pupils at the school where he taught due to the daises he’d lovingly painted on each door of his ’74 Bug. “Our weekends and holidays changed a bit when we had kids, though,” he smiled. The eldest two, Freya and Harvey, 23 and 21, have both flown the nest while youngest, George (17) is still at home and keeping the parents in check. Volkswagens…

THE LIFE OF BRIAN

Quite content with their fully kitted out T4, Neil and Sue Jepson had no intentions of buying another campervan. Well, not until they clapped eyes on this totally unique VolksMagic-built safari inspired T25 at last year’s Busfest! With a long history of owning and restoring classic vehicles along with a strong passion for camping, it may seem surprising Neil and Sue hadn’t bought themselves a rear-engined VW campervan years ago. “When our two children were younger, the four of us usually spent our holidays caravanning around the UK,” Sue explains, “it was only when Jack and Georgia became older and more independent, we decided to buy a van to convert into a camper. As both Neil and their now grown-up children had become familiar with the VW brand, a T4…

THE LIFE OF BRIAN

BETTER STOPPERS

No matter how good your factory stoppers are straight out of the box, if your Van’s fully loaded with family members, camping gear and bikes, better brakes will pull it up with more confidence. And you can’t put a price on that, can you? It may be hard to believe, but while most vehicles have a brake assembly for each wheel, not all brakes are equal and the vast majority of your stopping power will be from the front – up to 80 percent of it. It’s worth remembering that some Vans still even use old skool drum brakes on the rear and upgrading those can be very expensive. Rear disc conversions aren’t exactly a job for the faint-hearted either. That’s why most aftermarket options deal with upgrading the front…

BETTER STOPPERS

It’s a wrap! project Caddy – pt4

Having decided the only way to truly make project Caddy stand out from the crowd – and all the other modified Caddys on the scene – was to pick a theme that tied in with Teng Tools’s branding. After all, Teng were sponsoring the project, so it was important to keep them on side… As you’ll have gathered from previous instalments, after some brain-storming, we came up with the idea of using the old Rennsport VW buses – used by Porsche during the 1960s – as inspiration. Firstly, these VW Commercials were actual race support vehicles, so that would tie in with the brief we’d been originally set, and even more importantly, they were also finished in a bright shade of red, which matched the colour scheme of Teng Tool’s…

It’s a wrap! project Caddy – pt4

Last time I told you about my mint Friesen green nine-seater 2004 T5 which served us well for a while but was just a bit too basic. At least for the kids, who started moaning about the lack of aircon in the back and the fact you couldn’t adjust any of the seat backs. Anyway, in order to trade up I went in search of something a bit more sophisticated in the form of a Caravelle. And the quest, given they were just so pricey in France where I live, involved a trip to Germany. Suitably spurred on by the Vans I’d seen on German classified website www.mobile.de I made contact with the vendor of a potential T5 purchase in North Rhine-Westphalia. From the photos I could see it had…

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

Heather watched from a safe distance as this stunning Westfalia Bay Window was transformed from a rolling project into the vehicle you see before you now. The man responsible for all the work was her son-in-law, Dean Jones, of Classic Car Revivals fame who originally found it for sale on thesamba.com. Said Dean: “It was for sale in San Francisco. The wiring to the fuse box had caught fire so the front end was all burnt out. It actually looked really cool and would have made a really good patina Bus if we’d kept it as it was, especially as the front had all rusted. Like all US imports they’re fumigated before they come over on the boat. We do them again when they’re on this side of the pond…

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY

Each weekend, families across the country stack up their Transporters with bikes eager to explore previously uncharted lanes, paths and tracks. But which racks are best suited to the job? Here’s some of the most popular options, but the first thing to remember is that secure at 0mph doesn’t necessarily equate to secure at 70mph – your bike flying off its rack on the motorway will make a horrible mess. That’s why it’s important to buy the right sort of rack for your vehicle, your bike and your travelling requirements, and most importantly of all, make sure you fit it correctly. Before buying, think about how many bikes you might want to carry, whether you want to retain access to the tailgate, and the total weight of your bikes –…

2024 EVENTS PLANNER

MARCH 16th – 17th VOLKSWORLD PLUSSandown Park, Esher, Surrey, KT10 9AJwww.volksworld.com APRIL 6th – 8th DUBSHED Eikon Centre, Lisbon, Northern Ireland Gtini.com 19th – 21st ALIVE & KICKIN Haughley Park, Suffolkaliveandvdubbin.co.uk 21st – 23rd VW CAMPFESTChester Racecourse, Chester, Cheshire, CH1 2LYwww.camperfest.co.uk MAY 3rd – 6th VW CAMPOUT Budle Bay, Northumberlandvwcampout.uk 5th STANFORD HALLLutterworth, Leicestershire Stanfordhallvw.com 9th – 12th DERBYSHIRE DUBS VW FESTIVAL 2024Seed Low Rake Camping, Wardlow, Derbyshire Derbyshiredubs.com 17th – 19th VW BREAKOUTSanta Pod Raceway Santapod.co.uk 23rd – 27th DUBS IN THE MIDDLEBadsey Road, Evesham, Worcestershire Dubsinthemiddle.co.uk 24th – 27th RUN TO THE SUNNewquay, Cornwall Rtts.co.uk JUNE 2nd STONOR VWStonor Park, Henley on Thames Theabvwc.wixsite.com 6th – 9th ALIVE & V-DUBBINHaughley Park, Suffolk Aliveandvdubbin.co.uk 7th – 9th BRISTOL VOLKFESTBirches Farm, Bristol, BS48 3RN www.bristolvolksfest.co.uk 22nd DRIVE YOUR VW TO…

2024 EVENTS PLANNER

FAST FOOD No chance of a decent pizza in the Van, right? Wrong! If you use a ready-made base and add your toppings, you’ll be amazed how easy it is. Simply cook a ready-made base (or make and roll your own dough if you have time!) in your all-purpose frying pan on one side until starting to brown, then flip it over, add your tomato sauce, cheese and any toppings you fancy and cook until the cheese melts and starts to bubble – try it! PERFECT PIZZA SAUCE Think your homeade pizza tastes more like tomatos on toast? Well, here’s a way to spice things up a bit Get a tin of plum tomatoes and whiz them up in a blender. Now stir in some tomato puree to thicken it…

Your world, your life... YOUR VANS

ROSS KILCOYNE, 2013 T5.1 Hi VWt, I bought my T5.1 in 2018, just prior to the major price increase that came with Covid. As a family of four, my wife (Emma) and I wanted to create those childhood memories for my two girls, Elsie and Rosie, 12 and nine. The ones they can look back on and tell stories about going away in ‘Dad’s van’. We had it converted by Cavallino Campers in my home town of Westonsuper-Mare and it’s got a Westdubs pop-top and a traditional camper set up with sink and hob, etc. The rock ‘n’ roll bed was re-trimmed by John’s Trim Shop in Portishead. It’s my first Transporter and the day I bought it, I never knew it would become such an obsession! The first purchase…

Your world, your life... YOUR VANS

WE WANT YOUR TRANSPORTER!

Own a super-tasty Transporter, Crafter or Multivan and want it featured in these very pages? Then show us what you’ve got! Please e-mail a good selection of images that show the exterior and interior of your van to ian.cushway@kelsey.co.uk along with a spec list and add the subject title ‘Feature me VWt’. If we like what we see, we’ll get back to you ASAP about the possibility of a full VWt magazine feature shoot. So, what are you waiting for? Get snapping and show us your van, we’d love to see it!…

WE WANT YOUR TRANSPORTER!

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