VWt

ON THE UP... Hello and welcome to issue 132 of VWt magazine. We’re not wanting to blow our own trumpet here – okay maybe we are, a bit - but getting a feature in VWt magazine is kind of a big deal. Even more so these days, as in the three years I’ve been editor I’ve seen the water-cooled van scene grow massively and with that comes even more competition for features in the hallowed pages, let alone the coveted cover spot. Every month I stress over what should take prime position and often change my mind almost daily, as some months we really do out-do ourselves with the quality of vans we shoot... whoops, there goes that trumpet again! This month is another one of those months, where to…

HOT VANS Living the dream suggests the existence of one dream but, of course, everyone’s vision of what the dream actually is will vary magnificently. As with many things in human life, we really do like to hold something up as being the true pinnacle of an idea. Ladies and gentlemen, with that in mind may we present to you exhibit A of ‘living the dream.’ In a nutshell, it’s a brand new, highly modified T6.1 Highline camper van with two Labradors in it being driven around the country and beyond by two people of an age whereby retirement is a word that would only be associated with you if you were a professional footballer. The couple is Bethany & Kel Aston (35 and 45 respectively) and the dogs are…

OLPRO AT VWT FESTIVAL We’re delighted to announce that OLPRO will be joining us at this year’s VWt Festival as our official camping partner. OLPRO are famous for creating outstanding and very cool outdoor leisure products, proving camping and camper van gear doesn't have to be dull. OLPRO offer a wide variety of industry-leading products including award-winning tents, awnings, outdoor furniture, backpacks, clothing, accessories and more. All of which you can see in person at the VWt Festival along with their team of knowledgeable experts. These guys are unlike any other camping brand, they have a deep and genuine passion for getting outdoors and for delivering a range of distinctive high-quality products that are changing the face of outdoor leisure. We can’t wait for you to check out their exciting…

Unlike the other feature I penned for this month’s mag – David Hughes’ Doka – another David – David Carter – wasn’t trying to forge a new path or reinvent the wheel with this T5.1. Instead, he used a fairly familiar recipe with his T5.1 build but incorporated some pretty trick but subtle mods along the way – the kind of thing that stands out as soon as you look at a photo and wonder why no one has done it before. Right from the off, this project had the makings of something great. David started the build with a 2011 (61 plate) Pure Grey T32 panel van – widely regarded as the best colour Volkswagen has produced for the Transporter range in the last couple of decades. I remember…

SEAT SURGEONS SPORTS SEATS There’s no better way to give your Transporter’s interior a well needed boost than a new pair of perches. You may think that a set of swanky reclining sports seats would require re-mortgaging your house, but you’d be wrong, especially when it comes to these beauties from Seat Surgeons. Believe it or not – which you should as it’s true – these seats are created using the normal seats your Transporter left the factory with! How? Well, here’s a brief breakdown. First up they detach your seats, then they remove the existing covers and then strip the foam off leaving the metal seat frame. Next up, new, bigger and better sport foams are fitted to the same frame and then finally your bespoke coverings are fitted…

HOT VANS If you want to modify a van in 2023 and not pay for it for the rest of your life, you need to be at least one of three things. A painter, a suspension guru, or a person of means as they used to say in the olden days. Meet 41-year-old, Paul Cuthbertson. He states his occupation as Vehicle Paint Sprayer. In other words, he’s on the list! Paul is part of the Lockdown boom when it comes to VW Transporters. It was ignited by the sudden loss of freedom we all experienced and was intensified with a newfound excess of spare time. “Yeah, it was the summer of 2020 when I thought about looking for a VW camper,” he confirms. “I looked for a while until I…