VW Bus T4&5+

Well, I’m back at my desk full time once more. So, once again I’d like to say thanks to my Barefoot brother, Dave Richards, for stepping in and covering for me. I have a few more holes in me than I did before, but I’m well, and back to what P.G. Wodehouse would undoubtedly describe as ‘the peak of mid season’s form’. My camper has laid dormant for a shameful amount of time and as I type this I am in the process of recommissioning it. For Covid and other reasons the lovely aluminium Anssems trailer I bought a few years ago has only been used once and is now in need of some serious TLC, a cover for that is now on my ever increasing ‘to buy’ list. Back…

Profits Up VWCV Continue on Upward Trend For the second consecutive year, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles realised an increase in earnings of around half a billion euros in 2022, finishing the year with an operating profit of 529 million euros. Sales also rose again, reaching 11.5 billion euros (previous year 9.9 billion euros) despite a slight decline in units shipped. Global vehicle deliveries by VWCV fell back to 328,600 units in 2022 (previous year 359,500), but market shares in key regions increased substantially: in Europe, for instance, by 1.5 percentage points to a current share of nearly 13 per cent. In particular, the market share in Germany grew to over 23 per cent, where deliveries also increased to more than 98,000 vehicles. Thanks to the market launches of the ID. Buzz…

04–07 May Derbyshire Dubs VW Festival Wardlow, Derbyshire derbyshiredubs.com 05–07 May Route 90 VW Show Dunfermline, Fife route90vwshow.co.uk 05–07 May VanLife Fest Scampston Hall, North Yorkshire vanlifefest.co.uk 05–07 May Vanwest Taunton Racecourse, Somerset vanwest.co.uk 07 May Edition38 Early Edition Sywell Aerodrome, Northamptonshire edition38.com 12–14 May Glampfest Knaresbourgh, North Yorkshire glampfest.com 19–21 May VW Breakout Santa Pod Raceway, Northamptonshire santapod.co.uk 21 May Cruise to the Prom Weston Super Mare, Somerset veedubfamily.org 25–29 May Dubs in the Middle Evesham, Worcestershire. dubsinthemiddle.co.uk 26 May Heretics @Type 2 Detectives Type 2 Detectives, Cambridge See Facebook for details 26–28 May Volksfling Biggar Showground, South Lanarkshire www.volksfling.co.uk 27–28 May Run To The Sun Newquay, Cornwall rtts.co.uk 07–09 July Camper Jam Weston Park, Shifnal camperjam.com 25–28 August Camper Calling Ragley Hall, Alcester campercalling.com…

BUS DETAILS: ORIGINAL SPEC: Caravelle CONVERTED BY: Neil WHEELBASE: SWB WHEELS: Extreme Offset Steel Smoothies TYRES: Front 215/45/17 Rear 225/45/17 LOWERED, LIFTED OR STOCK: Lowered on Gmax Short Shocks 4.5” Rear springs BHP: No Idea COLOUR: Custom Green Rat WHAT IS THE STANDOUT FEATURE: “Definitely the paint and whole patina rat look, which occurred over time after I started it off with a sander and then let nature take its course. Then the other cool, rare bits I've added along the way.” For some people, customising and modifying cars is in their DNA; they just can’t help it. This is brilliant for us, because we get to see some amazing creations such as this rat look T4, brought to us by 43-year-old self-employed mobile mechanic Neil Staines. Not content with fixing…

My weekends are always filled with adventure and being outdoors; it is basically what I live for. Whether climbing mountains in the UK or Worldwide, riding bikes of any discipline, or spending hours on the water waiting for the perfect wave I will be there; and normally with a Volkswagen van as my preferred choice of transport (of course). On a sunny Friday in early March my good friends at Flexivan Conversions (a local Volkswagen Accredited conversion specialist in Salisbury) called me to tell me all about their new Rok Edition demo van. They asked if I wanted to borrow it for a week or so, to head out in search of some adventure … I mean how could I refuse an offer like that? With the weather forecast looking…

BUS DETAILS: ORIGINAL SPEC: Panel van CONVERTED BY: Original work done by Steve Reynolds WHEELBASE: SWB WHEELS: 17" Davenports with 20mm spacers TYRES: 245/65/17 AT LOWERED, LIFTED OR STOCK: Lifted BHP: 160 COLOUR: Manilla Green, L63Y WHAT IS THE STANDOUT FEATURE: Definitely the raised suspension and the all-terrain look… the ride is fantastic, says Neil. Glance at any self-respecting line up of T4, 5 or 6s and you can be 99 per cent certain that the vast majority will have been lowered. There might be the odd stock vehicle nestling amongst the crowd, although increasing, the chances of finding a lifted example are still relatively small. So, to find just such a bus at Tatton Park VW Show in August 2022 was something of a triumph. But there was more to…