Jake's Caddy Camper Build

[jakemcc97]

That boot release button is great
Would it work for a barn door ?
Would love a good write up on it

The trim on the bulkhead sides has come up looking OEM, well done

Those Touran (??) seats look very versatile n the trim looks smart
The fact that the pax seat folds down forward n also has a tray makes it very functional

50km, kudos to you
Not much u can do for an ITB while out in the middle of a race, need a few passes on a foam roller - agony !!

Glad you had your first of many nights in your van, makes all the hard work worth it

Speaking of which, I reckon your van is in better / cleaner condition than when it left the VW factory !!

Thanks Stu, nice feedback like that definitely keeps the enthusiasm up! Not sure the button would work for the barn doors as I think they use a mechanical release rather than the electric release that the tailgates do? I could be wrong.

I got lucky with this one being a really clean slate to start with, there are a couple of dings and paint chips on the outside but I don't mind that so much, it means I won't be too precious about it!

[jakemcc97]

New page new pics.

Picked up some doors the other day. These were really cheap compared to the crazy prices that other breakers wanted. I bought them just for the windows, so the doors will be sold cheap or scrapped (hopefully someone wants them cause it seems a bit of a waste. I would say PM me if you want them but... Yeah.)



Cut the windows out with a windscreen wire. Will need to spend a bit of time to clean the old adhesive off the windows.



Something to be aware of if anyone else decides to cut out a pair of OEM windows - watch out for the drain tubes. I'll have to do a bit of patching up on this one, oops.



And one of the butterfly catches will need replaced, already ordered a replacement (only about a tenner)



Will cut my doors and get someone to bond these in, I don't trust myself to do the bonding bit neatly... I'd hoped to find a set of silver Caddy Life doors and just swap the whole thing over, but most breakers were looking for ~£300 per door. Screw that. I really wanted OEM sliding windows (even though they seem to have problems with leaks...) as I don't really like how the sliding section on the aftermarket ones doesn't sit flush.

[jakemcc97]

Small update. Moved the van to Northern Ireland and it'll live at my parents house for a while. Dad has a lot more woodworking tools which will help a lot with the furniture building!

Sketching out some plans for furniture at the moment, tossing up between a rock and roll bed style layout, or a side slide out bed. Both have their perks... Leaning towards a slide out bed for the ease of access to the under-bed storage without opening the tailgate. Also playing with ideas for the desk/table.



Before I left I changed the brakes. New discs and pads on the rear, had already done the fronts a few weeks earlier. Went for my standard combination of cheap plain discs and decent quality pads - went for Apec and Brembo this time, no need for anything fancy on a camper.



And the postman put a nice scuff down the side. Managed to get all the way down the sliding door and rear quarter. Few stone chips about too so it'll all need a bit of a touch up.

[jakemcc97]

Quickly mocked up some furniture in CAD. The more I think about it the more I consider mirroring the layout so the bed is on the driver's side... Obviously you can see that the furniture protrudes through the shell of the van, I plan to build the units square then scribe into the shape of the van.

Bed out - pulls out to a few mm off a small double width, full length. The cushions will be backed with ply, so the unsupported end of the bed should just need a leg or two to strengthen it. Allows the bed to be shorter and retain use of both side doors. (Me-sized mannequin for size reference.)



Folded up. The mattress is in 3 sections. Table pulls out of the cabinet.



Thanks to Toby Woodward for the 3D scan uploaded to GrabCAD, very handy.

[stu_b]

Looking good Jake
I wonder why so much (imo) waste space at the sliding door end / mannequin foot ...
Sure u need to be able to get in to the van but this could be used more efficiently I feel, especially for sleeping purposes
The width of the bed is good, at the end of the day 2 people could sleep in a single if the spooned all night long !!
Again, imo, I wouldn't play back the foam for the bed, it's unnecessary weight and doesn't allow for the foams to be flipped over or for breathing of the foam
I would make the foot part (as in the empty / unused space) foldable so u can use that for the foams ...
U could have a foam piece the goes width ways so when u last set up for sleep u flip the wood down n lay the foam width ways, underneath could be a place to leave your shoes or whatever but using the top area for sleeping ... Just my thoughts

There are a gazillion Etsy Pinterest internet companies you can "borrow" ideas from to make your drawings to see what works best for you

Having a cad program would make that so much easier and accurate too, lucky bugger !!

We have a company here in Australia called kata camper ( https://www.katacamperbox.com/shop/ ) have a look at their general designs as I think they are awesome

[jakemcc97]

Looking good Jake
I wonder why so much (imo) waste space at the sliding door end / mannequin foot ...
Sure u need to be able to get in to the van but this could be used more efficiently I feel, especially for sleeping purposes

Thanks for the comments and suggestions Stu!

I wanted to leave plenty of space behind the passenger seat, as when it's folded it becomes the third lounge seat (so when seated on the back of the folded passenger seat your legs will be in the space behind.) The van will likely be used as a shelter on rainy climbing days so being able to comfortably seat 3 in the back is a big priority! The space behind the drivers seat will serve as an area for dumping rucksacks, and bouldering pads will be able to slide in the unused space without getting the bed dirty.

Again, imo, I wouldn't play back the foam for the bed, it's unnecessary weight and doesn't allow for the foams to be flipped over or for breathing of the foam
I would make the foot part (as in the empty / unused space) foldable so u can use that for the foams ...

Good point on letting the foam breathe, I was planning to cut some big holes for that, but you raise a good point about being able to flip the foam... Will have to have a think about that. I've spent a bit of time on boats and the big flappy pieces of foam have always annoyed me haha.

A flip out support for the foot end of the bed is one of the possibilities, just gotta make something that's both neat and strong enough!

The CAD program I use is Fusion 360 - it's free for personal use It does have a bit of a learning curve if you've never used 3D CAD before though.

[stu_b]

Yeah, never used 3D or CAD.... Like u I have a million and 1 ideas in my head n thought about this and got side tracked on that ... LoL

I don't understand abt the 3rd seat in the back, does the front passenger seat swivel or fold or something ??

If u had a piece of wood or frame or something behind the passenger seat u could flip open or slide out an extension for when it comes time to sleep .... Just a thought
But your also right, need somewhere to dump other bits n pieces and not on the bed
U could always use the front cockpit for storage when sleeping - ideally make this stealth like that way people don't break in n steal your stuff

The reason I say about the foam squabs and I can totally appreciate the annoyance factor (from being on a boat etc) but these would all interlock as suck and form one big mattress.... But the main thing for not having ply is the weight reduction, a sheet of ply would be an additional approx ~20kg (½" 4x8 sheet)
Not only that, but maneuvering it about to slot it into position is going to be awkward I reckon

Anyways, just throwing some thoughts out there
It's best to think about many things before going ahead

They say, once you've built it and used it u wanna re build it how u need it !!

[jakemcc97]

I don't understand abt the 3rd seat in the back, does the front passenger seat swivel or fold or something ??

The passenger seat is a Touran one, so folds flat and can be sat on like a stool. I'll be removing the tray table and fitting a cushion to the back of the seat.



Regarding the ply backing, I won't be using ply anywhere near as heavy as that! Originally I was planning 3mm but if using it to form part of the bed structure I would up that to 9mm. All just thoughts at the moment, and I have plenty more of those

[Transitionpilot]

Love the idea of using CAD to plan it, gotta be a big help with visualisng the interior. I've been trying to use sketch up but could only find a janky model of a SWB version.
Is that folding Touran seat a standard one. My passenger seat in my old connect folds like that and it is super handy

[stu_b]

That seat looks the dogs
Touran / Touran parts are more elusive that a needle in a haystack here in Australia, like NON existent pretty much
But that seat makes me jealous
The fact it folds inwards to form a seat is sweet
Shame to loose the table tho ... Maybe can modify somehow so the tray is still functioning - maybe it can be tilted upwards when the cushion is in use but when the seat is upright it still has function
Nice to put a cuppa on !!

Sounds like your slide out bed wouldn't need the extra ply on the foams ?

Looking forward to you final design and install, and ofc documentary n pics along the way

[PJD]

What I like about seeing other people's builds is their take on similar problems. There's no right or wrong answer.

Saw your post with the life windows. Totally agree after market slide out has an ugly recess, also does not open that much, upside is the privacy tint though.

Like the slide out table designs you drew. I also did a lot of sketches, 2D and 3D CAD to work out ideas and sizing.

For me each stage seemed like it was the biggest. For example I thought once I've got the van striped and insulation in then the carpeting will be easy, then you realise that it takes ages to fill all the holes in the inside shell. Or the furniture will be easy because I know what I want to do, then you end up cutting each piece 3 times because it doesn't fit the profile of the van or you can see a better way of doing it.

Mines been pretty much finished since last spring and loving it. I might have done a few things differently but the planning means it does more than I could have hoped to in such a small space.

look forward to seeing some innovative solutions in your build.

[Baldspeed Racing]

love the cad designs, really good way of sorting the layout before you crack on with it

[jakemcc97]

Love the idea of using CAD to plan it, gotta be a big help with visualisng the interior. I've been trying to use sketch up but could only find a janky model of a SWB version.
Is that folding Touran seat a standard one. My passenger seat in my old connect folds like that and it is super handy

Here's the 3D scan I used - I just deleted the mesh for the rear doors so there's more visibility inside (plus mine has a tailgate!) Would definitely recommend Fusion 360 if you need a CAD program, a personal use licence is free

https://grabcad.com/library/3d-scan-vw-caddy-maxi-1

Yeah the Touran seat is standard, picked them up pretty cheap from a guy in Birmingham that breaks Tourans and Caddys. I'd definitely recommend them, they're a bit comfier than the standard Caddy seats too!

That seat looks the dogs

Cheers Stu! Yeah the Touran seats are nice, shame they're hard to get hold of for you. The tray tables aren't amazing though - I used it as a table to cook on once then decided that's a recipe for disaster, but I'm gonna keep the one on the back of the driver's seat just cause there's no point removing it!

What I like about seeing other people's builds is their take on similar problems. There's no right or wrong answer.

It's great isn't it? I keep referring to your thread for ideas on how to do things, it's been a great resource! Out of interest what thickness/type of ply did you use? Looks like 18mm birch?

Glad you're enjoying yours! These vans can be so functional if you plan it right - might change my mind once I stick furniture in it but I can't imagine wanting anything bigger to be honest.

love the cad designs, really good way of sorting the layout before you crack on with it

Thanks mate! Yeah I'd be lost without it, it's saved so much wasted wood already and I haven't even started cutting

[PJD]

The cabinets are mostly 12mm ply from Wickes, and some birch faced ply I picked up.

i might have used 15mm in places but it seems hard to get hold of at the moment.

Having said that 12mm feels right in terms of thickness and weight for the Caddy and with the right hardware, is easy to work with.

i wouldn't recommend using a pocket hole jig. It works but 12mm is on the limit.
To join the wood I mostly used small steel right angle brackets and 12mm screws. I pre-drilled any holes, where screws were going into the end of the ply and used 40mm x 3mm screws.

Structurally there is no movement anywhere and it can come apart for those inevitable revisions.
You will almost certainly be taking things apart several times, so if the whole unit can come out of the van it will make you life easier.