There are so many decisions you make when converting a van that often when you buy second hand you don't know what to look for. It's no wonder you meet people on their second, third, fourth van getting it right!
So... what do you wish you'd known before you bought, or converted, your van?
[There's an old version of this thread here, but it got lost in TSI remapping so I thought I'd start again!]
For me, I only have one thing I wish I'd known just now, and it's to ask the bodyshop to paint into the shut gaps when going two-tone
Things I see mentioned a lot:
So... what do you wish you'd known before you bought, or converted, your van?
[There's an old version of this thread here, but it got lost in TSI remapping so I thought I'd start again!]
For me, I only have one thing I wish I'd known just now, and it's to ask the bodyshop to paint into the shut gaps when going two-tone
Things I see mentioned a lot:
- Changing the lowering springs without upgrading the shocks/coilovers (aka "my van came with 20" wheels, how can I make the ride smoother?")
- Not selecting LED headlights because they are expensive (aka "how can I upgrade the candles they fitted in my headlights?" Or "why do I keep having near misses at junctions because people can't see the indicators in my aftermarket headlights?")
- Not putting a seat on rails in the back of the van (aka " can I add rails to a van that's already converted?" Or "why have I got so little boot space behind my RnR bed?" Or "why can't I open the drawer with the bed down?")
- Having a door on the wardrobe which means everything falls out when you open it (aka " what do you put in the wardrobe" or "what storage solution have you got for daytime" )
- Having a sticky-out fridge which gets in the way (aka "why can't I move my seats further forward?" )
- Having swivel captain's seats that make a noise when driving OR having a bench seat that's too upright and too high (aka "how can I make the passenger seat more comfortable?" )
- Not choosing a bi-fold bed board when fitting a poptop (aka "Can I change the poptop bed board so that I can stand up in the van?")
- Fitting a "sounds like a golf" driver's door seal (aka 98 pages of problems with said seal!)
- Opting for factory-fitted flush sliding windows which leak (aka 98 pages of "how can I stop the sliding windows leaking?" )
- Not fitting better washers on the factory roof rails (aka "why is there water coming through the roof?" )
- Not becoming a paid-up member of T6Forum (aka "how can I remove the wing mirror housing without breaking any clips?" Or "where's the fuse for the cigarette lighter?" )
- Not having a split charging system to charge the leisure battery (aka "why does my lighting not work after a day or two?" )
- Not choosing a rear kitchen conversion giving you a permanent place for a porta-potty (aka "where do you store your porta-potty?" ) [P.S. I didn't, but it's a fair question even though they have gone out of fashion ]
- Not installing wiring for rear speakers (aka "how do I add rear speakers?" )
