Hillside Birchover

[Camper_Chris]

Thanks Chris. I was planning to rig a similar camera up in the rear window. I’ve got to work out where to pick up power from. My inclination is to connect it to a feed that is powered by the leisure battery or, alternatively, install a small rechargeable lithium battery.

After the repairs I'm going to pick a suitable supply in the Wardrobe and fit a switch next to the others on the front face. You can get a 12v to 5v USB adapter which will stow in there. I'll route the cable along the roof of the wardrobe and out by the tailgate.

 

[Greenmachine]

My SWB Birchover Classic (2023) had only one cupboard door on the rear bottom RIB / tailgate area.
After a couple of camping trips, i’ve just removed it (there is a catch on the left side to remove it) and have put it in storage.
I find it so much easier to be able to just load through and under the RIB seat from the rear, particularly for chairs etc.
Cosmetically, it looks finished with the panel, but when your boot is permanently full of camping equipment, it’s just gets in the way and you’re not looking at it anyway.
I’ve also covered my boot floor with some rubber matting to protect it.

'23 Birchover Classic SWB too, with only one door on the rear panel. I've only opened it once, I store the bedding under the seat, and access that by flipping the bench forward.
My rear wardrobe door clears the seat back by just enough, if you hold the door edge, you trap your fingers.

 

[Captain Quick]

Well, after a wait of 2 years, 1 month and 8 days, Bletchley the Birchover Classic XL is now a reality and ready for some adventures. I’ve got a bit of work to do adding dash and rear cameras, rear bumper sill protectors, adding fixings for a dog guard, spare wheel lock, etc. before our first trip. Driving back from Derby last night on a mix of trunk roads, motorways and twisty B roads was surprisingly pleasant and didn’t feel anything like a loaded up panel van. The combination of the DSG transmission and 204PS motor makes it a delight to drive.

ery happy bunny today.

 

[Grainfoot]

Brilliant vans. Love ours which is used as day vehicle and camper.
Get a wind out awning fitted. Fiamma are excellent and well worth having

 

[Captain Quick]

Brilliant vans. Love ours which is used as day vehicle and camper.
Get a wind out awning fitted. Fiamma are excellent and well worth having

I agree. That said, I made a conscious decision not to have a wind-out cassette awning fitted as I didn’t want the weight, windage or complexity. Instead, I had a Reimo Multirail fitted so I can attach a sun canopy with a Kador strip. It actually takes the same amount of time to deploy and put away as a Fiamma or Thule awning, plus it’s not at risk of being stolen and it also acts as a gutter to channel away rainwater from dripping into the sidedoor.

 

[Camper_Chris]

Well, after a wait of 2 years, 1 month and 8 days, Bletchley the Birchover Classic XL is now a reality and ready for some adventures. I’ve got a bit of work to do adding dash and rear cameras, rear bumper sill protectors, adding fixings for a dog guard, spare wheel lock, etc. before our first trip. Driving back from Derby last night on a mix of trunk roads, motorways and twisty B roads was surprisingly pleasant and didn’t feel anything like a loaded up panel van. The combination of the DSG transmission and 204PS motor makes it a delight to drive.

View attachment 207140ery happy bunny today.

Good luck with your travels, we have just had a fantastic 10 days in Dorset. Our van is back at Hillside in 2 weeks to be stripped out for the accident repair to be carried out.

 

[sarah_86]

Just giving my van a deep clean after a very wet and windswept trip to the north wales coast. The vacuum cleaner nearly whipped away this screw which seemingly was just sitting in the hole of the tailgate trim.
Got me thinking, shouldn’t there be trim caps over these? They’re a bit of a dirt trap as is. How do everyone else’s vans compare?

 

[Camper_Chris]

Just giving my van a deep clean after a very wet and windswept trip to the north wales coast. The vacuum cleaner nearly whipped away this screw which seemingly was just sitting in the hole of the tailgate trim.
Got me thinking, shouldn’t there be trim caps over these? They’re a bit of a dirt trap as is. How do everyone else’s vans compare?

View attachment 208591

View attachment 208592

Mine doesn't have caps over these holes either, VW Part number: 7H0 863 559 9B9 but they are around £7 each. I think you can get copy parts for a lot less.

 

[sarah_86]

Mine doesn't have caps over these holes either, VW Part number: 7H0 863 559 9B9 but they are around £7 each. I think you can get copy parts for a lot less.

£7 each?! Someone at VW must be smoking something

Thanks for the part no, much appreciated. I shall investigate. Might see if I can get someone I know to 3D print some.

 

[Camper_Chris]

£7 each?! Someone at VW must be smoking something

Thanks for the part no, much appreciated. I shall investigate. Might see if I can get someone I know to 3D print some.

I've found these £8.38 for 6?

VW T6/T6.1 Rear Threshold Cover Screw Caps - Vee Dub Transporters

If you are looking to lay vinyl on ANY vehicle this tool kit is a must! Not only will it make laying your art much easier but it will also prevent scratches

www.veedubtransporters.co.uk

 

[Camper_Chris]

Mine is in for repair this week, looks like it will be away until the start of September.

Apparently the Police are going to interview the driver about his fitness to drive as he is 84 years old and video shows his total lack of control of his car as he hit my van twice.

 

[Bav]

The fitness to drive conversation is probably best coming from the Police - we had to persuade my FIL that he should go for a driving assessment and it took many months for him to agree to that. I think he thought he'd ace the assessment, but he failed it, as we knew he would. He'd been driving for over 70 years, so it was upsetting for him, but it was the outcome we had hoped for.

 

[Camper_Chris]

Dose anyone know what make of detachable towbar Hillside install on their vans?

 

[Captain Quick]

@Camper_Chris I’m fairly sure the one fitted to my Birchover XL was factory-fitted (as I ordered and on the factory build sheet). I remember seeing it installed on the base panel van just after it had been delivered to Hillside’s factory before it was converted. It has the VW AG logo stamped on it.

 

[Bav]

Dose anyone know what make of detachable towbar Hillside install on their vans?

@Camper_Chris I’m fairly sure the one fitted to my Birchover XL was factory-fitted (as I ordered and on the factory build sheet). I remember seeing it installed on the base panel van just after it had been delivered to Hillside’s factory before it was converted. It has the VW AG logo stamped on it.

Believe it's a Westfalia.

 

[Camper_Chris]

Thanks for the reply, I'll ask them to fit a towbar while it's being rebuilt post the accident repair.

 

[Camper_Chris]

Van back from GB Fints Post accident repair with its new towbar installed and bike rack fitted.

 

[DXX]

Apparently the Police are going to interview the driver about his fitness to drive as he is 84 years old and video shows his total lack of control of his car as he hit my van twice.

Superglue their door locks and save someone else the same pain.
In my experience of a similar situation unless the they surrender their licence voluntarily nothing much changes.

 

[Camper_Chris]

Well I've installed my rear dash cam wiring as a more permanent installation with a switch. Wiring is routed along the roof of the wardrobe to the servic void. A switch used to power it on as required so it can be left recording when the van is parked.

 

[EAN]

Started my upgrade to Lithium on my 2023 Birchover Classic yesterday, which I will show progress on in this thread, as and when.

This morning I found some “interesting“ wiring from Hillside under the passenger seat.
They’ve “spliced” into the engine run signal from the BCM to the battery isolation relay with a 0.5mm2 grey wire which they have then fused at 40A before it heads off, again in grey 0.5mm2, to a relay in the back cupboard; buzzing out it seems to be something to do with the water pump as a yellow wire on the same relay goes to the tap pump switch. Nothing on their supplied wiring diagram matches such wiring.
Working out the purpose is for another day, when the van isn’t so stripped out, can’t turn ignition on, but immediate issues are;
Who in their right mind fuses a 0.5mm2 wire at 40A, which is way beyond the current handling capacity of the wire? Will be changing that to a 10A.
Where was the person trained to do a ”splice”? They’ve basically stripped the insulation over a 40mm length of OEM wiring, wrapped their wire round it and then liberally applied solder, before covering it in fabric tape. Needless to say the OEM wire broke off at the end when I was uncovering it. Certainly wasn’t how I was trained.
Picture (not the best) for amusement.
So much for Hillside saying they don’t touch the OEM wiring and what a poor job.