T6VanLife
Member
Hi Folks,
Thought I would share my story on our first camper and my first attempt at building one ! (and possibly last)
It all started about 2 yrs ago after numerous disasters of foreign holidays we decided to try something different and hire a T6 California for a week and tour the West Coast of Scotland, it was one of the best holidays we ever had ! From that moment on we decided this was the way forward with our scarce time off, as we are both self employed and far too busy to be healthy.
But after a week in the hired T6 California it was clear that layout of camper simply just didn't suit our needs at all, my wife is 6'2" a light sleeper with back problems who needs to piss 3 times a night ! which meant the pop-top was a no go and the rock & roll bed was just too small & uncomfortable, we also travel with our 4 spaniel's and all our kayaking gear !
I already had a van ready to convert, my current works van a 2018 T6 T28 SWB, I have been a Transporter owner for over 25yrs my first was a 1998 T4 non turbo which was the slowest thing on earth ! wind erosion was faster......
After that trip I had a clear vision in my mind on how the the van needed to be laid out to suit us, with the primary need being able to keep the van empty Monday-Friday so I could still use it for my daily work but to be able to convert it, in as short a time as possible into a camper with an accessible full size double bed for the two us, and the wife wanted to get a full kitchen to cook outside if possible, anything else I could squeeze in would be a bonus.
I spent months & months researching different beds, kitchens & thousands of components, I pretty much looked at every single thing on the market but absolutely nothing ready made ticked all the boxes. In the end it was clear there was nothing I could buy that was going to do the job for us, and I was just going to have to bite the bullet and start from scratch myself !
The little spare time I had was about to vanish as I descended fully into conversion hell...............
After 15 months of blood, sweat, tears and near financial ruin Sunny was ready to hit the road !
The bed & kitchen unit I designed is completely self contained powered by a 200w panel on the roof and a Bluetti EB55, its bolted down to the 4 mid/rear lash points and breaks down into 4 sections for easy installation/removal so I can still use the van empty during the week.
I only got it operational in May but we have now done several long weekends and a full week in Pembrokeshire and its never skipped a beat ! I thought storage was going to be tight with the dogs and all our kit but there is actually loads of space left, it amazing what you can fit in !
I wont bore you with the full specs or take up any more of your time with my drivel, but any questions feel free to ask folks and I will leave you with a few pics.
Thought I would share my story on our first camper and my first attempt at building one ! (and possibly last)
It all started about 2 yrs ago after numerous disasters of foreign holidays we decided to try something different and hire a T6 California for a week and tour the West Coast of Scotland, it was one of the best holidays we ever had ! From that moment on we decided this was the way forward with our scarce time off, as we are both self employed and far too busy to be healthy.
But after a week in the hired T6 California it was clear that layout of camper simply just didn't suit our needs at all, my wife is 6'2" a light sleeper with back problems who needs to piss 3 times a night ! which meant the pop-top was a no go and the rock & roll bed was just too small & uncomfortable, we also travel with our 4 spaniel's and all our kayaking gear !
I already had a van ready to convert, my current works van a 2018 T6 T28 SWB, I have been a Transporter owner for over 25yrs my first was a 1998 T4 non turbo which was the slowest thing on earth ! wind erosion was faster......
After that trip I had a clear vision in my mind on how the the van needed to be laid out to suit us, with the primary need being able to keep the van empty Monday-Friday so I could still use it for my daily work but to be able to convert it, in as short a time as possible into a camper with an accessible full size double bed for the two us, and the wife wanted to get a full kitchen to cook outside if possible, anything else I could squeeze in would be a bonus.
I spent months & months researching different beds, kitchens & thousands of components, I pretty much looked at every single thing on the market but absolutely nothing ready made ticked all the boxes. In the end it was clear there was nothing I could buy that was going to do the job for us, and I was just going to have to bite the bullet and start from scratch myself !
The little spare time I had was about to vanish as I descended fully into conversion hell...............
After 15 months of blood, sweat, tears and near financial ruin Sunny was ready to hit the road !
The bed & kitchen unit I designed is completely self contained powered by a 200w panel on the roof and a Bluetti EB55, its bolted down to the 4 mid/rear lash points and breaks down into 4 sections for easy installation/removal so I can still use the van empty during the week.
I only got it operational in May but we have now done several long weekends and a full week in Pembrokeshire and its never skipped a beat ! I thought storage was going to be tight with the dogs and all our kit but there is actually loads of space left, it amazing what you can fit in !
I wont bore you with the full specs or take up any more of your time with my drivel, but any questions feel free to ask folks and I will leave you with a few pics.
