Proper Newbie....seeking advice

[Drumsmasher]

Hi all,
As the title says, I am a proper newbie to this game. First time I’d sat in a caddy was last week when I took a chance and bought one. Absolutely chuffed to bits with it. I’d like to sound proof and insulate mine for starters, but with it all being so new, I’d like to be pointed in the right direction by people that know more than me. I’ve looked at the packs from deadening.co.uk for £144 and they seem good value, but does anyone have better ideas or better stuff to use? Also how can I add slightly bigger wheels safely, and what effects does it have. Hope you don’t mind this post, as I am keen to learn and want to upgrade my caddy without making loads of costly mistakes. Thanks

[the swan fiend]

Hi mate, welcome to the forum. Sound deadening is a great mod to do. The first thing to think about is weather you’re keeping your bulkhead in. I’ve soundproofed my entire van, and I noticed that doing the rear didn’t make a huge difference, however if you plan on taking it out, then doing the rear will make a huge difference. If you’re going to go the whole hog, you’ll end up spending about £600 in all. That was silent coat over all single skin panels, Dodo mat 12mm super liner (deadening.co.uk do a foil backed version for insulation) over the silent coat, and Dodo mate pro van floor in the rear......this is quite expensive, if I could do it again I’d save money and use a mass loaded vinyl sheet from somewhere like here:

https://www.soundproofingstore.co.uk/st ... -p52901234

They also do a heavier duty version of this.

As for wheels, yes you can put bigger wheels on perfectly safely, but there are things you need to consider.
1)As the wheel diameter increases, you can loose some ride comfort.
2) The PCD of the caddy is 5x112, that’s 5 wheel bolts, spaced 112mm apart to centres. It’s best to stick to this with a new wheel otherwise you’re getting into wobble bolts or adaptors which will then alter your offset.
3)Offset, best google this for an explanation as a picture tells 1000 words. This will be ET followed by a number, my standard 15” wheels were ET47. They say stay with in +/- 5 of your original offset. I did, some lads don’t, that depend on a few things.
4)The caddy has a centrebore of 57.1mm this is the hole in the middle of the wheel, you can go bigger and fit spigot rings but not smaller.
What size wheels you can fit depends on if you’ve lowered, or intend to lower your van, I’d recommend doing wheels first.
From what I’ve gathered, the largest diameter that seems to work is 19” the widest tyre is 225/235, but again, after lowering a 235 may rub on the arches.
The width of a wheel will be a number (in inches) followed by the letter J.

Finally, a website called will they fit.com gives you some info about what wheel tyre combinations may or may not work.

Good luck mate, keep us posted when you get going with the van.


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[Drumsmasher]

Great information. Thanks very much for your advice

[the swan fiend]

Pleasure mate


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[Stickertone]

Mate, the first thing I'd do are the bulkhead covers, I've got the clear Perspex ones, made such a difference in noise levels, and improved the heater and air con efficiency

[RatBag53]

Yes, I would back the last reply up. I have a Maxi which because it is used for occasional camping, I needed some light in the rear. I fitted a mesh bulkhead from a SWB in place of the standard (to a Maxi) solid version. Then off fleaBay I purchased, in my case tinted perspex covers & the transformation to sound reduction & insulation was well worth the expense & effort. Good luck with the mods but be warned, you will soon be broke!

[Drumsmasher]

Thanks chaps. I’ve seen some bulkheads that don’t have the mesh at the top, but not sure if the are standard or not. Did you replace the whole thing or add Perspex to it? Cheers

[the swan fiend]

The caddy maxi bulkhead is solid all the way up mate, it doesn’t have the mesh up top like the SWB one does.


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[gazza31112]

I made a MDF solid bulkhead, made the cab so much quieter, and warmer!
Looks like we have the same van aswel mate mk4 indium grey?

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[Drumsmasher]

Great stuff, cheers.....answered another question as to what the colour is on mine! Nice one

[Papa Bear]

Don’t talk about money! She might be looking over my shoulder!