Table of contents for Issue 158 in VWt

SPOILER ALERT... Hello and welcome to issue 158 of VWt magazine. I’m constantly staggered by the various ways you can spoil your Transporter. In a good way, of course. Cool wheels, air ride, better brakes, body enhancements... Tick. Chunky, all-terrain tyres, gnarly swamper-style wheels, snorkel.... yep. A stackful of camping gear, including stoves, slide-out storage systems, pop-tops, curtains and static heaters to keep your tootsies warm in winter. Again, yes, it’s all available. Now, apart from the real niche classics, tell me what other vehicle offers that level of parts support? That, along with the fact that you can use a Transporter as an everyday driver as well as a weekend plaything explains why it’s still the world’s most coveted automotive lifestyle icon. Still, as readers of Britain’s only dedicated…

T6 FULL LED HEADLIGHTS Illuminate the road in your T6 with THQ’s revolutionary full LED headlights, featuring Audi-style Dynamic Indicators and DRLs with a unique sequential start-up sequence. These headlights don’t just light up – they come to life with a mesmerising scrolling through LEDs in the DRL’s at start up which contain the Tartan pattern reminiscent of the iconic Mk1 Golf seat design, engraved into the DRLs for a nostalgic touch. Crafted to perfection, the headlight backing boasts a sleek all-black finish complemented by chrome accents around the twin projector bezels. But it’s not just about looks – these headlights offer unparalleled visibility and safety on the road. Moreover, headlight level motors are built in to work with the dials in the cabin. Yep, the all-new XB Evo headlights…

Generally when we feature people in this magazine they have progressed from an older Transporter to a newer version because they have outgrown it, or it’s fallen apart. Not self-confessed petrolhead Huw Davies from Wales – he went in the other direction from a T6.1 back to this T4. “I’ve always lusted after an old school van, especially a coachbuilt one; I just like the retro look, the room they offer and the practicality of them,” he confirmed. You certainly can’t argue with that reasoning – plus the added bonus of taking your own shower and toilet everywhere you go, which for many is exactly what holds them back from camping in a van. I certainly get that. However much as Huw likes retro, it’s not quite enough to go…

I love and hate France and the French in equal measure. No, seriously, I love the country and (most of) the people. But the bureaucracy is just about doing my head in. I left you last time having swapped the original right-hand drive headlamps (with beam deflectors) on my T5.1 for pukka left-hand drive lamps in the hope that the powers that be would finally give me a piece of paper to enable me register it here in France where I live. Well, nope. I filled in a mahoosive online form, took the vehicle to the equivalent of a DVLA office nearby armed with the UK V5 and Certificate of Conformity from VW UK, and came away with even more question marks. The French inspector who looked the T5.1 over…

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!…

Chris, from Burgess Hill, runs a gardening franchise, nicenstripy which, as you can imagine, keeps him pretty busy. But whenever he gets the chance, he loves getting away in his T6 – and when we tell you he’s spent the last three years tweaking every aspect until he was finally happy with it you can imagine what a sense of satisfaction he gets when he downs his rake and takes to the road. “I bought the van in from VW Milton Keynes,” explains Chris. “It was nothing special at first to be honest, just a completely stock Startline model in Candy White and it had previously been owned by a plasterer.” Despite sporting all the usual marks and scuffs that come with a trade van, he realised straight away that…

NEIL GIBSON, 2022 T6.1 LWB Hi VWt, my T6.1 made its first appearance in VWt’s Your Vans section back in March 2024 and while it turned a few heads then, it’s had a bit of a glow-up since. Inspired by a heavy binge of Van Haven YouTube videos (their builds are next level), I decided to give my van a tougher, more rugged stance to reflect the places we love to explore and the kind of vanlife we live. The first and most noticeable change was the wheels. It was out with my old 18in Wolfrace Wolfsburgs on low-profile tyres and in with a set of 17in Fuel Covert black swamper-style alloys wrapped with BFG KO2 all-terrain tyres. These were supplied and fitted by Elite Wheels in Reading. Thanks to…

Without any doubt Ray Roberts, a scaffolder from the Wirral, is something of a magician. Look at the exterior of his long wheelbase T5.1 of 2013 vintage and the van not only ticks the boxes of recent trends in van customisation but also is finished in a timeless shade of red, namely the curiously named option of Salsa (or LA3H for the pedantic). Turn away for a second or two, or for as long as it takes Ray to push the van’s sliding door open, and you are transported to a different world. Honestly, you could easily be looking at the interior of a 1960s Devon Caravette – the trading name and ‘brand’ of the company who are strong contenders in the race to be declared the first to turn…

Ah, the simple life. It’s what we all crave, isn’t it? If we’re really honest? 2025 is a frighteningly complicated place to live. There’s a device in your pocket that pretends to be a telephone but in fact acts as a gateway to all of mankind’s information, thoughts, opinions and, er, pictures of cats. The TV has a lot more than four channels these days. We’re overwhelmed by choice, decisions, the crushing weight of complexity. The arms race to own the latest natty gizmo. The freshest way of reworking and digitising things that have happily existed in analogue form for generations. Surely it’s time for everybody to slow down for a moment, look up from their phones and remind themselves that there’s a bright blue sky up there? Well, possibly.…

After successfully building a stack of VW campervans, Carl Turner wanted his follow up project to incorporate his favourite pastime too. Based on what was once a silver T5 Shuttle, this transformation into a fully kitted-out Swamper purpose built for carp fishing duties is impressive to say the least. “I’ve always been hands-on and like creating things that will prove useful,” Carl tells us, “I used those skills to help build up my fabrication business, Apex Mechanical”. Despite that particular enterprise taking up much of Carl’s energy, he’s somehow found the time to design and build a variety of other things too, including this one of a kind camo coloured Transporter. “My passion for VWs started when I met my wife Laura in 2010,” he says, “she was a VW…

When the first VW Transporter rolled off the Wolfsburg production line 75 years ago, we’re pretty sure nobody would have imagined it would lead to the world’s longest production run for a commercial vehicle. Since then, more than 12.5 million examples of what’s become a cult classic have followed, making it the most successful European commercial vehicle of all time, with production switching to a purpose-built factory in Hanover from 1956. From the T1 to the sixth generation T6.1, one platform always provided the basis for all derivatives – from vans to camper van icons. But the era of electric mobility necessitated a transformation of the all-rounder and thus a paradigm shift: ‘One VW Bus for all’ therefore became ‘The right VW Bus for everyone’. The current Multivan marked the…

MAY 22nd – 26th DUBS IN THE MIDDLE Hanley Castle, Worcestershire Dubsinthemiddle.co.uk 23rd – 28th RUN TO THE SUN Newquay, Cornwall rtts.co.uk JUNE 1st STONOR VW SHOW Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames RG9 6HF Theabvwc.wixsite.com 5th – 8th ALIVE & V-DUBBIN FESTIVAL Haughley Park, Suffolk Aliveandvdubbin.co.uk 6th – 8th BRISTOL VOLKSFEST Birches Farm, Bristol BS48 3RN Bristolvolksfest.co.uk 7th – 8th CAMPERS AND COFFEE Hellingly, East Sussex Campersandcoffee.co.uk 13th – 15th MIGHTY DUB FEST Alnwick Castle, Northumberland Mightydubfest.com 20th – 22nd VANLIFE FEST Scampston Hall, Malton, North Yorks Vanlifefest.co.uk 27th – 29th VANJAMBOREE Kelham Hall, Newark NG23 5QX Vanjamboree.co.uk JULY 4th – 6th CAMPERJAM Weston Park, Staffs Camperjam.com 11th – 13th DORSET VOLKSFEST Wareham, Dorset Dorsetvolksfest.co.uk 11th – 13th VOLKSWEALD Penshurst, Kent Volksweald.co.uk 25th – 27th BUGJAM Santa Pod Raceway, Northants Bugjam.co.uk AUGUST…