My T5 camper conversion

[augie]

Finally my first post, I have used this foum alot for research and found it very help full so its time I gave back. I bought the van as a tow car and to travel the country. He is a 2006 T5 4-motion 128kw 6 speed ex-ambo when we got him there was only 22800km on the clock. We picked him up from Carr's Cars in brookvale nearly two years ago I will be posting some pix of my camper conversion which is just about complete, to hopfully give some ideas and insperation to others.
The wife and I are due to set of around the country in 4 weeks, we have a few dates and destinations we want to get to but all the rest will be what ever happens and however we feel.

[augie]

sliding door storage

storage and table behind drivers seat

[augie]

120ah aux battery under passanger seat with 12v fuse bank and charging posts

[augie]

Inverter under drivers seat

[augie]

My new head lining not everyones cup of tea Im sure but alot better than the silver backed insulation I was looking at, plus I wanted to make sure I knew that I was waking up somewhere special when I opened my eyes of a morning.

[augie]

Storage drawes, there is another one in the hole next to it for the fridge and BBQ

T4 rear seat modified to suit my needs, more storage built onto the back fold down section. We are using a thin latex matress that folds in half easy so we can relax inside if the weather is no good.

[augie]

My other VW and the reason why I needed a good tow car.

[wanderingwilson]

Hi augie. I was lucky to buy the identical rig from the same Dealer. Since done 100000 km on some pretty rough country with only a couple of minor hassles. I,ve owned a few 4X4 over the years but none had the ride or the economy of the T5. I pull a toy trailer (Yamaha scooter plus kayaks plus STUFF) when travelling and we just love getting in and heading off. Anywhere ! Give me a shout if you are travelling through Lake Cathie (NSW mid coast) and we can compare notes.

[rob64981]

Looks good.
Can the gas bottle be where it is? Thought it had to be in a sealed compartment?
Is the inverter any good? Price and where from please?
Thanks Rob

[BrianJ]

Last year we went around the block in our kombi beach, I think you will have a very interesting experience out of your trip. One question, I see you have fitted a 120A/hr battery on its side under the seat, can you tell me which brand and model it is. I recently spec'd a Ritar 120A/hr AGM deep cycle and I think it would fit under the seat on its side, so I am curious what you have used.

Thanks
Brian

[augie]

I've only put 25k on the speedo since we got him very little of that was dirt, we are going to speed week next march at lake gardiner lots of dirt to get there, I'll let you know if I'm heading your way.

Gas bottle only travels there it sits outside when its being used. Projector pure siine wave 600w inverter was from Ebay so far no problems, around $400 not the cheapest but a long way from the most expensive.

The battery was again from Ebay picked it up from the guys shop just near cambelltown they are a no name battery that he imports himself, ticked all the boxes for what I wanted came with a warranty and was nearly half the price of the same style at battery world was the absolute maximum I could fit under the seat.

[augie]

This is how I started striped everthing out

[augie]

The tow bar that I made after fitting a heyman reece one and not liking it.



With the hitch removed there is only the square hole left in the bumper



Could even fit the standard inner bumper that the heyman reece instuctions told me to discard

[Transporter]

Gee, you don't muck around, do you? It's good to see the threads like that. I like it.

[Cousin]

Augie, I admire someone that's handy with a bit of fencing wire!
How do you lock the hitch in if it's concealed in the bumper?
And are you able to have it engineered certified and stamped?, just considering insurance in case of an accident whilst towing
But very nice work!

M