@Dellmassive`s T6 T32 Sportline 204 LWB DSG PV MY18 - Van Adventure

[Dellmassive]

@Dellmassive`s T6 T32 Sportline 204 LWB DSG PV MY18 - Van Adventure


as you all know my main contribution to the Forum is my "How i Done It" threads, over here:


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Dellmassive’s "How I Done It" blogs.

-- Dellmassive`s -- "How I Done It" -- thread -- ************************************************** Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread ************************************************** Kit List And Stuff -- How I Done It & What I Use --...

www.t6forum.com

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which is great and well, but i thought it was time to do a more traditional van specific thread as many of you have already. . .


i love my van to bits, in-fact this is my third one I've had, running them since 2008. That's give me fifteen years of T6 experience to call upon, and believe me its been a colourful 15years.


its my daily driver and work van, so gets a good bashing everyday.


My current van is a Genuine Sportline from 2018 the all the bells and whistles thrown at it, that were available at the time.


i bought it on finance and opted for the additional 2years factory warranty from the start, that gave me full warranty for years four and five.


well all that's about to end in April 2023.


so i though this would be a good time to start this thread and documenting the ups and downs of VW Transporter T6 Life. . .



I've booked the Van into the local VWCV dealers for a full service and check over before the warrenty expires in two months. . .


in the build up to that I've built a list of things that need looking at. . .



so here we have it:




@Dellmassive`s T6 Sportline - Van Adventure




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highlighted data:

i have a 2018 204ps CXEB with 65k on the clock,

i have no idea what my oil consumption is apart from it needs an 1ltr oil top-up halfway through service intervals ( 18k miles).

assuming 0.5L / 500ml per 9k miles,

500ml/9k miles = 55ml per 1kmiles





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[Dellmassive]

What come before?

well my online photo album goes back to around 2013.

so lets look at my last van.

a T30 T5.1 4motion DSG - MY11 - EX11NTT.

i run this van for 7 years. . . .






soon after this pic it had some upgrades done,


we had the sportline front end fitted,
added the front PDC,
add auto level BiZenons and wash pack





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infact this van and myself was featured on the VW CV van of the month in 2015.





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[Dellmassive]

Humble beginings

well how long do you want to go back?

this is the first brand new van i ever bought . . .

a 2003 Factory ordered Renualt Traffic Sportive in Silver,

dCi 2.5D.





after that was this:




after that was little 2007 pocket rocket . . . . .




which finaly brings me on to this. . . .

my first Transporter,

EX08 DNN - a 2008 T5 - and from this point i never looked back.









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so there we have it:

2008 T5: (T5 was 2003–2009 (pre-facelift))




2011 T5.1: (T5.1 was 2009–2015 (facelift))




2018 T6: T6 from (2016) - T6.1 from 2019

 

[Dellmassive]

Whats next?

well . . . im still paying this van off. . . almost 5years later.

so its not going anywhere soon.

ill be keeping it for the long run . . . . as a daily driver / work van.

but. . . . . were looking to swap out the family car.

a sweet little ULEZ free 2013 Mazda CX5 diesel






for a T6 / T6.1 to turn into a camper.

the original idea was to get a Panel van or Combi and document the full self conversion.


the current problem is financing said project. . . .


so for now we are stuck in the research stage.

we have a separate thread for that over here:


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Dellmassive`s Camper Van Adventure

Dellmassive`s Camper Van Adventure +++++++++++ After 8 camping trips away during this season (2022) its plainly evident that camping with a Tent and Panel van is hard work. to date, we have always camped out in Tents and used the van to transport all the kit to the site. Running out of space...

www.t6forum.com

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TBC . . . . .

 

[Dellmassive]

Back to the current van .

I've had it a few years now. . . this is what I've done so far . . .


one of the first things is normally sound deadening & insulation . . . i kinda skipped that step,

but more can be seen here: [Guide] Sound Deadening and Insulation -- How To Do It --


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i started with the carpeting : Carpeting 4way Stretch In The Rear - How I Done It.





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which then led onto the REAR LED LIGHTING : LED Interior Cargo Lights - How I Done It.





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[Dellmassive]

about this time i looked at the cab and lighting .

like this : Cab Ambient Lighting (factory Mod) - How I Done It -

 

[Dellmassive]

and done the whole mood lighting thing : Cab Ambient "mood Lighting" Under-dash - How I Done It -

 

[Dellmassive]

The Golf MFSW was a mission, : MFSW - Golf GTd MkVII + DSG Paddles -- How I Done It --

luckily @Insert Coin come up with a workable fix.




which led us to this . . .




Nice . . .

 

[Dellmassive]

Seat covers were a must from day one. . .


The Sportline comes with these super sweet leather two tone seats. . .




i had these covered right from the start . . . . : Protective Seat Covers Front + Bench - How I Did It -



with the superb VW OEM sportline branded covers. . .





infact those leather seats have never seen the light of day in nearly 5 years now.



...

 

[Dellmassive]

Security was very high on the list . . .

and the van was booked into the security specialist before i havd even had it delivered. . . : Beefing Up Your Vans Security - How I Done It -



we had the 6 point plan in place,

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1 - move the OBD2 port - OBD2 port cable

2 - Steering wheel physical lock - Stoplock HG 149-00 Pro

3- 3rd party imobilizer - Immobiliser Upgrades

4- tracker - van tracker

5 - second alarm - remote car alarms

6 - Side Slider ARMOUR Plate (for Panel Vans with tools etc) - VW Transporter T5 T6 Armaplate Sentinel Van Door Lock Protection Plates Security

******************************************************************



with all the kit fitted. . . .

 

[Dellmassive]

And then Disaster . . . .


: A Sad Day - #gutted -


it was a close call, the van had to be undervalued for the insurance as a work van for the first year as the value exceeded the cost for "a work van" . .

luckily they didnt write it off,








and it survived to see another day. . .



all fixed and ready to role. . . the saga continued.

 

[Dellmassive]

Back to the van we carried on. . . .

this time looking at the exterior.


4 wheel HUNTER alignment was a hot topic: Lowering & 4-wheel Laser Alignment - How I Done It -

 

[Dellmassive]

Suspension sorted we had a look at an easy mod.

Fog Lights : Led Fog Light Upgrade (dual Colour) - How I Did It -


these were dual colour and looked fab.






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[Dellmassive]

By now the T6.1 lights were availible as a mod.

so we gave it a go : T6 [Guide] To T6.1 BARN-DOOR TAIL-LAMP UPGRADE -- How I Done It --




#

nice, i thought. . .







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[Dellmassive]

Mud Flaps . . . . . ?

Yeh , go on then.. . . . : OEM Front & Rear Mud Flaps -- How I Did It --


an ebay find, that come good. . .



a bit of this. . .



.
and a bit of that . . .




we ended up with this. . .





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sweet

 

[Dellmassive]

Reversing Camera, was an factory option at about £500 or maybe even £750.


so i thought i would retro fit myself : [Guide] Barn-Door Reversing Camera Retrofit -- How I Done It --


so a bit of this. . .




and a bit of that . . .




#
we get this:




and that . .

 

[Dellmassive]

Car washing and valeting has always been my nemis.

lucky we have some very knowledgeable people on the forum.


so i just had o ask the question : Wash & Wax Time . . . . . . But Which One And How?







which lead to this. . .

 

[Dellmassive]

USB power was needed, so i looked at that next :

we looked at that here : 12v Aux Feed + 5xusb Charging From Aux Battery - Today's Install





we also looked at AUX battery 12v feeds : 12v Igntn Feed + 5xusb Charging From Ign Feed - Today's Install






not forgetting 12v sockets : Installing 12v Socket /s - How Its Done -










and IGN lives under the seat : Ignition Live Under Passenger Seat - How Its Done -








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[Dellmassive]

On the battery front it was time to upgrade the Leisure Battery under the passenger bench.


the new kid on the block was lithium : Lithium LifePo4 12v Batteries - Time For An Upgrade?




we see they have awesome power and great capacity. . .





from that point i was hooked. .

 

[Dellmassive]

DC-DC charging was obviously next to look at


A :

[Guide] DC-DC Charger (for leisure battery) -- How I Done It --

DC-DC Charger (for Leisure battery) -- How I Done It -- ************************************************** Dellmassive`s -- "how I Done It" -- Thread ************************************************** Kit List And Stuff -- How I Done It & What I Use --...

www.t6forum.com

this started a testing session that covered around 10 different DC-DC chargers. . . .







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• DC-DC:
• Dc-dc Charger (for Leisure Battery) -- How I Done It --
• Charging Starter and Leisure batteries with same charger - Victron
• DC-DC Charger - AUTO VSR - feature testing
• Stop/start...regen...smart Alternator... Dc-dc Charger For Leisure Battery Or Not?
• Victron 12/12/30 DC-DC Charger
• Renogy DC50S DC-DC charger
• Redarc BCDC1250D DC-DC charger
• Votronic DC-DC standby charger - or not !
• Renogy Bt-2 Monitor
• Renogy 20A DC-DC Charger (no solar)
• CTEK D250SE DC-DC Charger