Welcome to The Campervan Channel - the YouTube Channel for all things VW camper. This video
is part of a series on the whole process of transforming a Volkswagen Transporter into a
fantastic VW camper van. What happens to your van once you hand it over to a professional converter.
It's not a detailed guide on converting a van yourself,
just a sneaky peak at how the professionals do it - the process that you normally don't get to see.
So you've bought your van, you've found your converter, you've thought about all the things
you want to be included in the conversion, paid your deposit, waited for your slot in
the converter's production schedule, and finally the conversion is ready to begin.
When we get a van in we fully strip it, take all the panels of so you've got a bare van to start
with. And is this so that if it is a panel van or its' a minibus or whatever, you actually strip it
back to start with the same vehicle every time. Exactly - so they are all the same to start off
with. Next job, sawing a massive hole in the roof. If you're having a pop top fitted that is.
No wether it's a new van or pre-loved, it's not a job for the faint hearted. People can think it's
a bit daunting cutting a big hole in the roof of a new van. We do train people to fit rooves as well.
However, once you have cut a hole in a van, it doesn't really matter whether it's ten years old
or brand new, it's still someone's pride and joy. The hole is obviously for the pop top, but doesn't
that affect the rigidity of the van. It does but you get all strengthening frames that you fit to
the ban before you fit the roof which then retains the integrity of the van. And there is a template
so your pop-top roof just literally fits into that space. Yes it just goes straight on and you
go from there. More holes will be cut in your van if you're having windows fitted. A pair of centre
windows are pretty essential, but you may also be having windows fitted in the rear panels, rear
doors if you have them - or a tailgate. You mark out where you are going to cut your window out.
Personally we fully mask all the van off and then we jig-saw the windows out. We don't use grinders
because then you've got hot metal and stuff like that. Then you prime the edges. We put some rubber
U-shaped channel all the way round to cover it all up. And then you just bond the window on.
The floor of a Transporter is absolutely fine for carrying cargo, but it doesn't make for
a cosy camper. That's because it doesn't provide enough sound or heat insulation.
So the floor is ripped out to reveal the van's original metal ribbed floor.
What you have to do is fill all those spaces with little packers -
then you insulate it and then you put the floor on top. And it means that when you bolt
your seat down and when you put your units down it's all nice and solid and it doesn't
move and it all stays nice and flat. And even things like the steps come out? Yes,
because the step is the wrong step, it's not the right height for the floor you're going to put
in - so that all gets taken out. And if you are having a slider for your bed eventually, that will
be the point where the sliders went. Yeah, the slide frame would go in at that point in time.
During the strip out your converter will also remove any protective wood or cardboard panels
that are attached to the walls or doors to get down to the van's bare shell. That's because the
van's walls also need to be insulated. You need insulation in a van for sound deadening purposes,
but also to keep yourself warm in winter. And what do you use? We personally use Earth Wool. We
don't use anything else cos we find you need the panels to breathe. So if you take a van apart for
any damage in the future, or anything like that, due to a crash, it's all nice and dry inside and
effectively that is all you need. And then the insulation is covered dup with your panels? Yes,
we then re-panel the van with our panels that are all properly screwed to the van. And then you
carpet on top. The final layer looks like carpet but it is in fact a very stretchy fabric that is
used to trim the interior of most camper vans. It evens everything out and provides even more
insulation. We use Veltrim - and then you get a hi temp adhesive - and then you spray it on the van,
and then you apply the carpet to the van shaping it around the wheel arches and all the other
bits and pieces. And that is a tricky job. It's tricky if you've never done it before,
but we do about four a week so, we have got fairly quick at it. (laughs) I think you did say that if
you are thinking about doing a DIY conversion, this is probably the thing and expert...well,
we have had had lots of people do it themselves, but they find it's a lot trickier than they first
thought. Some converters will just do the trimming for you , if you're tackling the
rest of the conversion yourself. Another very complex process is installing the electrics.
I think the blurb you gave me when I got my van, in terms of the electrics, there's something like
20 double-insulated components in it - and 24 metres of electrical cables. If you were starting
from scratch it would take you forever. However, we've got a loom that fits exactly that just plugs
in, that we effectively just put in the van that had been designed for us and it takes minutes.
However, we had to get that designed for us which is quite time-consuming. Because the elections
are quite complex aren't they - your'e running of mains when you're hooked up at a camp site,
you're also relying on your van's battery - or at least the leisure battery isn't it - is it
complicated to make those all work together? Basically, you get a dedicated control unit
that has got all your 240 supply and you've got a set of 12 volt fuses, and effectively it should
just all work automatically so that when you plug into the mains it energises your 240 sockets then
automatically charges your leisure battery. It's likely that your hob and if you have one, an oven,
are powered by gas. You've got to fit a gas locker. We get ours checked by an external
company that comes and tests it. You've got to have a carbon monoxide detector,
you've got to have a fire extinguisher, depending how many appliances, you've got to have certain
vents in the floor - the more appliances you have it increases the number of vents you have
to have in your van. Personally we only fit one gas appliance which is the cooker. Make sure
they issue you with a proper certificate saying that the gas gas been fitted properly and tested.
And the last of your utilities - water. Most vans will have a water tank with fresh water inside it
hidden away somewhere inside. I our vans, you get an 18 litre internal tank
that fills up from the back and then it's got a little electric pump and it just pumps out
when you pull the tap. And the big thing to remember about those is winter I guess?
yes, ours, you've got a drain tap underneath so you can drain it all the way down - and I'd
always do that - but it shouldn't freeze because it's inside the van our tank.
But some people fit external tanks and you've got to worry about that.
That's most of the prep work done by now so your converter can start to fit the furniture.
That's the cupboards and cabinets that make up most of your interior.
Many converters hand-build their own units to their own designs. Others may fit off-the-shelf
units made by specialist manufacturers. The units are fastened securely into the
van and finished off with fridges, sinks, hobs and other electrical items inserted.
And then the final job - adding the bed. The bed that goes in is the last thing to be fitted.
Depending which model it is, but most of them, we put all the cupboards in first,
and then you lift the bed in through the sliding door - lift it backwards and then fix
it down. Very firmly. Hmmm. And then it's ready for handover. And then off you go - yes.
There's a lot more detail about the whole process of converting a camper
and of course buying one in this great little book - VW Campers for Beginners - written
by yours truly - and there are links to E-book and printed versions of it
in the blurb below this video. Don't forget to subscribe to the channel, click on that bell icon,
and then you'll here about every new video that comes along. For now, thanks for watching.