[SA Chris]

the 2.5 engine is better (IMO).

The only reason that I can see to go for the 2.5 is the 6th gear - it is the 1.9's Achilles heel as in all other aspects the 1.9 is the better van IMO when it comes to T5's.

I think the 2.5 also has a chain drive instead of belt on the cam shaft, so doesn't need replacing at 100 or so K. Not sure if that is enough to justify the extra cash though.

[north_country_boy]

the 2.5 engine is better (IMO).

The only reason that I can see to go for the 2.5 is the 6th gear - it is the 1.9's Achilles heel as in all other aspects the 1.9 is the better van IMO when it comes to T5's.

I think the 2.5 also has a chain drive instead of belt on the cam shaft, so doesn't need replacing at 100 or so K. Not sure if that is enough to justify the extra cash though.

1.9 104Tdi is in my opinion, the best option....and unlike mentioned above, I'm pretty certain they are both chain driven (no cambelt)

[butters]

1.9 104Tdi is in my opinion, the best option....and unlike mentioned above, I'm pretty certain they are both chain driven (no cambelt)

Unless my very reliable and trustworthy garage did me over a few months ago SA Chris is right in stating that the 1.9 is belt driven. The 2.5 is chain driven which is probably just as well from what little I know as there is next to no room under the bonnet with the 5 cylinder engine it has to accommodate to do the timing and the like.

I stand by my statement that the 1.9 could do with a 6th gear though - it would transform a very, very good van into an awesome one but if there is a way of fitting a 6 speed gear box to one it has yet to hit the T4 Forum. 

[SA Chris]

NCB, if you've got a 1.9l which is around the 100k miles mark, might be a good idea to contact a local mechanic!

I think a 6th gear would be a nice to have, but I don't think would make a massive amount of difference to my driving, apart from maybe save a bit on economy on the few long straight runs I do. Although if I end up doing more miles on the continent I may revise this statement. 

[butters]

And while you are having the timing belt done get the water pump done at the same time. It's a bit more expense but not as bad as having to strip all the timing belt and stuff off again to get to the water pump when that decides to give up the ghost.

[north_country_boy]

And while you are having the timing belt done get the water pump done at the same time. It's a bit more expense but not as bad as having to strip all the timing belt and stuff off again to get to the water pump when that decides to give up the ghost.

Cheers for the advice guys. Fully aware the 1.9 Tdi in the Caddy is belt driven and that its wise to change the water pump at the same time, however I was under the impression the T5 version was chain driven. My mistake.

Mine has only done 34k, even though VW wanted me to have it changed when it was serviced three weeks ago.

Incidently, I keep meaning to take some pictures of my Caddy conversion to post up, i'll try get around to it if anyone is interested.

[Wipey Why]

Incidently, I keep meaning to take some pictures of my Caddy conversion to post up, i'll try get around to it if anyone is interested.

If you could be so kind as to post them up I would appreciate it.

[philo]

Hello, thought id wade in with my latest purchase -
Fiat Scudo SWB 2007 - Only going to be used for surfing and camping so looking up various guides online of other peoples builds.  Anyone else converted one?

[SA Chris]

Nice one philo, about bloody time! Generic van size and shape, so you can use info from anyone's conversion.

[galpinos]

Anyone have a vitrifrigo fridge in their camper/conversion? Ours turn on fine and gets down to a nice temperature but after about 12 hrs decides to turn itself off. Any ideas?

The only things that springs to mind are either lack of ventilation causing it to turn off or that we always whack onto as cold as possible so maybe it just runs down the leisure battery then when there isn’t enough power left it turn off?

We only really use the leisure battery for the fridge and the lights in the back, the roof and the blinds are all run off the car battery. It’s a bit of a pain that by the end of a warm weekend the fridge is as warm as the rest of the inside of the van.

[MattW]

Hi folks, can anyone recommend a good and cheap place in Sheffield/South Yorks to get bodywork done? I've got a T4 thats in need of some touching up (scratches and a couple of minor dents) but theres probably a bit too much to try and do a decent job of it myself without making things worse.
Cheers

[SA Chris]

Anyone have a vitrifrigo fridge in their camper/conversion? Ours turn on fine and gets down to a nice temperature but after about 12 hrs decides to turn itself off.

Not sure what make our fridge is, but we went to Skye for a weekend and it was really hot and sunny (astounding, yes I know). Arrived midday morning on the Saturday, and left the fridge running all day, switched it off overnight, then switched it off overnight (a bit noisy), then switched it on the next morning and the leisure battery was flat when we got back on the Sunday night, so it lasted approx 12 hours on the Sat and at least 3 hours in the morning and not sure how long after that. We were told it should run for 20ish hours on one charge, so sounds about right. Only ran lights for a few hours in the evening.

So in conclusion; no idea, 12 hours sounds a bit light. Once the fridge dies surely you can check if there is any power left in the battery by switching a light on?

[SA Chris]

Hi folks, can anyone recommend a good and cheap place in Sheffield/South Yorks to get bodywork done? I've got a T4 thats in need of some touching up (scratches and a couple of minor dents) but theres probably a bit too much to try and do a decent job of it myself without making things worse.
Cheers

If it's only light cosmetic, can Dent Devils or similar do it?

[MattW]

Hadn't heard of them, cheers for the knowledge they look like they're worth speaking to.

[galpinos]

So in conclusion; no idea, 12 hours sounds a bit light. Once the fridge dies surely you can check if there is any power left in the battery by switching a light on?

There's still enough battery for lights and the sink but I was wondering as they are lower power users, maybe there's enough juice left for them but not enough for the fridge?

The light on the zig power unit still show green though. Hmmm.....

[Paul B]

and what does a multimeter say? (or the fridge user manual?)

My gas heater used to have a cut-off when the voltage dropped below 12v to ensure it could shutdown completely/properly.

[SA Chris]

With ours once the LB is dead from the fridge nothing works.

[philo]

Heres a question for you.  Shopped around for insurance on my van and used admiral, told them the usage of my van and the reasons for owning one etc.  I assumed they were ok with my NCB that I have built up on my car being transferred across to the van but in reality, could they be cocks if there was an accident? 
They require proof etc so ill send it off and see what they come back with.

[Drewski Rootbitch]

Not read through all fridge-related posts, but I had a continual problem with mine (3 way unit running gas while stationary) until realising two things.
1. The fridge only has a 5 degree (angle) of tolerance any more than this (tilt level) and it'd remain running, but stop cooling.
2. When we'd close the main side door it's cause enough draft to blow out the fridge gas as it'd force air through the vent.
Sorry if this isn't directly relevant, but if I'd known this, it'd have saved me a lot of

[SA Chris]

Heres a question for you.  Shopped around for insurance on my van and used admiral, told them the usage of my van and the reasons for owning one etc.  I assumed they were ok with my NCB that I have built up on my car being transferred across to the van but in reality, could they be cocks if there was an accident? 

What do you mean? Unless your NCB is protected you will lose it if you have an accident and make a claim regardless of what you are driving won't you?

[wolfgang]

Insulation
Whats best, Kingspan or celotex or this foil insulation stuff?

[wolfgang]

...what sort of mattress's are campers putting in the back of their motor? Iv been looking at a ikea topper thing.

[ChrisC]

Anyone have a vitrifrigo fridge in their camper/conversion? Ours turn on fine and gets down to a nice temperature but after about 12 hrs decides to turn itself off. Any ideas?

I've got a Vitrifrigo.

I'd guess the fridge is probably seeing a low voltage when it decides to cut out.  This is likely due to one of a few possible reasons.

1) Leisure batteries are too small in capacity (a low number of Ah, but even the smallest (say 60Ah) leisure battery should be able to keep a 30W fridge cool for 24hours at least)

2) Leisure batteries are knackered and not holding their full charge giving a similar result to (1).  Sometimes this can be rectified by topping up with water / reconditioning the batteries.

3) Voltage drop across the cable to the fridge is causing the V at the fridge to be less than that at the battery.  This can happen because the cable to the fridge is too long/thin and hence has too higher a resistance.  The Vitrifrigo manual has a table giving the AWG/diameter of the cable required for differing lengths of cable run. 

I've got 220Ah worth of batteries in my van and have been in Europe since the spring (very warm at times), but even in Rodellar where we didn't move the van for 7 days in pretty warm temps then the fridge remained cool all the time.  I don't think its ever stopped working while away.

One more thing is that its pretty bad for your batteries to fully flatten them - From memory then the Vitrifrigo fridges have the low voltage cut out to prevent this happening completely, but even so then discharging a 12V Lead Acid battery to < 50% too often will drastically shorten its life span - leading to (2) above.

[philo]

update:  insulated panels and put a carpet down on the floor, done a bit of searching and found no real info about how to pannel the ceiling of a scudo.  It has a pretty thick bar through the middle of the van (horizontally) but if i was to panel over that I would lose a few inches of headroom. 

For surfboard storage, thinking of making a box about a ft high and 23 inch wide to story my boards in - it could double up as a bed/ foldy out thing.  Its either that or dangle them from the roof in a cargo/strap/bungje system.

[butters]

Are you looking for info on insulating the roof? About three layers of that silver backed bubble wrap is what I used as it takes up next to no space and you will have problems with light fittings and all the rest that goes through the roof panel with any thing else. Just glue it to the metal work.

If you are looking for the panels them selves that fit to the roof them probably best to see if there are any on the bay of fleas or if you can borrow some as templates and make your own but it depends on how much you need the head room.

Lastly - carpet on the floor with wetsuits and surf boards does not sound like a good idea. Unless you have thought of something and not told us it's going to ming like a wet dog!