Table of contents for Issue 154 in VWt

STARTING 2025 WITH A BANG... A big welcome to the March edition. I am penning this in the weird, bleary-eyed gap betwixt Christmas and New Year, so bear with me. In fact, I’ve just got back from a trip to Paris. See, I told you this job was glamorous. I intended to cosset the family in comfort for the trip in our newly-acquired T5.1. But believe it or not, I couldn’t find anywhere to park. That’s right, where we were staying in the beautiful Montmarte there was only underground parking and the Transporter wouldn’t fit! I could have ‘streetparked’ outside the Airbnb apartment we’d booked, but that would have cost 200 euros a day. So, alas, instead of doing the journey in style with lots of legroom, we had to…

We’ve all been there; you own one car (or Bus in this case) when your dream vehicle comes up for sale. Sometimes when this happens, you may have a sleepless night or two weighing up whether it’s worth selling your current whip to fund a new purchase, whereas other times you know instantly that you have to make it happen. For Tony Crump from Chingford, the decision was immediately clear; there was no sleeping on it or hours of deliberation: “I was away in the Lake District when a pal sent me a link for this Syncro, which came with a Golf TDI engine as well. After a few messages, we’d agreed a price and a deposit was sent,” adds Tony. The Bay Window (that they were away camping in)…

Having completed the Yorkshire Three Peaks for my gold Duke of Edinburgh award and then revisited them more recently (after conveniently being asked if I could drop a jet ski on the way to the Lake District for work), I’ve always appreciated the beauty of the Peaks. Having Alf (the pooch) with me meant I couldn’t do the famous ‘challenge’ this time round, so I settled on doing one a day instead, but I knew it would be fun all the same. Starting at Whernside, I parked up at the Station Inn and headed off solo until I bumped into four Welsh folk who accompanied me for most of my walk – with a welcome injection of humour on a very soggy day! The next day I tackled Pen Y…

Own a super-tasty Transporter, Crafter or Multivan and want it featured in these very pages? Then show us what you’ve got! Please e-mail a good selection of images that show the exterior and interior of your van to ian.cushway@kelsey.co.uk along with a spec list and add the subject title ‘Feature me VWt’. If we like what we see, we’ll get back to you ASAP about the possibility of a full VWt magazine feature shoot. So, what are you waiting for? Get snapping and show us your van, we’d love to see it!…

We all love adventure, don’t we? And that’s why we’re all inextricably drawn to the iconic and infinitely exciting to own VW Transporter. Well, Dave Spinks and Angela Brown from Aberdeen have taken the whole adventure theme to another level with their fully kitted-out overland T5.1. “As a kid my dad had a Series 3 Land Rover Defender which I loved getting away off-road in and I guess it all started from there,” muses Dave. “My first 4x4 was a 3.5-litre V8 Discovery. It was a dream vehicle, the sound of the engine just brought a smile to the face and I used it to travel hill-walking and camping throughout Scotland and Northern England. It cost a fortune to run though, did 17mpg and sadly whilst the engine was bullet-proof…

Simon isn’t new to the VW van scene by any means; in fact this is his third Transporter. “I always liked the idea of having the freedom a campervan brings,” he explains, “I’ve been a longtime fan of the VAG brand, so it made sense to buy myself a Transporter”. That first foray into campervan ownership came in the shape of a long nose VW T4 Caravelle 2.4GLD back in 2013, “it had already been converted by the previous owner with a Star Wars theme”, simon continues, “it also had a starship odometer reading of 324,000 miles!” Boasting 40mm lowered suspension, 18in seven-spoke rims and a minimal clean look, despite those high miles the Euro-styled white T4 still managed to look smart. “Together with my wife, we took many trips…

Well, this is the final UK-based episode of our high-mileage VW Caravelle 2.0 TDI 140. The Transporter T5.1 six-seater is in remarkable condition inside and out considering the 202,000 miles it has covered, mostly with the two owners before us. We were now working to a deadline to finish the few small jobs on our list as Editor Ian was coming over from his home in France to collect it. A spanner in the works which could potentially prevent me from working was the approaching Storm Bert – I needed to paint the roof rail gutters (outside in calm conditions). The other issue – the outside mid-afternoon temperature was about to drop to below 7°C! I did manage to take off the roof rails and proceed, but I must admit…

FEBRUARY 18th – 23rd CARAVAN CAMPING & MOTORHOME SHOW NEC Birmingham Ccmshow.co.uk MARCH 9th ULTIMATE DUBS Telford International Centre, Telford Ultimate-dubs.co.uk MARCH 23rd VOLKSWORLD SHOW South of England Showground, Ardingly, W Sussex Classicsworld.co.uk Have the opportunity to display your modern Transporter in the exclusive VWt display on the Summer Lawn area at Ardingly. All you need to do is click on the following link and upload your details, info about your van and some images to apply. Get my van on display – visit https://www5.shocklogic.com/sl/9119248 APRIL 2025 5th – 6th DUBSHED Eikon Centre, Lisburn, Northern Ireland Gtini.com 17th – 21 CAMPERFEST Roodee Racecourse, Chester Camperfest.co.uk 18th – 20th CARRY ON CAMPOUT South of England Showground, RH17 6TH Carryoncampout.co.uk 25th – 27th ALIVE & KICKIN Haughley Park, Suffolk Aliveandvdubbing.co.uk MAY 4th…

Let’s start with a confession. It took a full two years to organise a photo session since first meeting Bolton resident Frank Shields at a Dubz Outlaws gathering, and the owner of the stunning T5.1 featured here. A combination of indifferent to lousy weather, work commitments often extending to six out of seven days and time set aside for further work to be done on the van, have all taken their toll. The good news out of this frustrating tale is that the van we got to photograph is even more tantalising than it was 24-months earlier. It was Frank who came up with the idea of photographing the van early one Sunday morning – like a little before six – to ensure a lack of traffic and spectators. The…

If you’re into Mk2 Golfs, then the name Chris Burt may be somewhat familiar because he’s been successfully campaigning his factory-spec GTi for decades. Indeed, the Volkswagen brand holds a special place for retired motorsport machinist, Chris, with a total of six VWs currently residing at the Burt family home. Among his fleet is the Volkswagen that sparked Chris’s deep-rooted passion for campervans – a ’79 Bay Window bus, which he purchased back in 2007. This beloved camper became central to many memorable family camping trips and appearances at VW shows, a testament to the enduring appeal of both the vehicle and the community that embraces it. The family’s love of camping took a more modern turn when they purchased a Volkswagen T5.1. This van became a regular companion for…

I’ve gone from one extreme to the other in terms of mileage with my T5s. That said, the one thing they’ve had in common is I’ve had to travel to a different country each time to buy them. I got a train to Germany to buy my previous one, a 2006 Reflex Silver Multivan. It had the equivalent of 60,000 miles on the clock and looked mint. However, despite its as-new condition and low miles it turned out to be a bit of a lemon. Basically, having paid top dollar for it, I went on to spend a fortune sorting the air conditioning, the leaky manifold and the fact that it kept it going into limp home mode. In an attempt to stop the latter happening, I forked out on…

JAMES SMITH, 2003 T4 Hi VWt, my name’s James and I live in Hastings, East Sussex. Here’s some pics of my money pit T4. I’ve owned it for five years now and bought it as a bog standard camper with stock engine and suspension. Believe it or not, it started life as Thames Water van. It’s had several sets of wheels and suspension set-ups but it’s now on 18in steels with 5in springs. I have fitted Doka front and rear anti-roll bars and adjustable Poly bushes at the rear and it’s fully notched up front so it rides really nicely. Myself and Chris Bulmer did the bigger rear tubs and Shane from Scarface Lowriders did the front notches for me. Everything else on the suspension like the anti-roll bars, rebushing,…