Another bike van build

[Transitionpilot]

Hi, i used aluminuim composite sheet to fill in my panels. I made a template from card and transfered to the acs then i bonded it on with tiger seal. Its easy to use and u can bend it to follow the curve of the van. I then carpeted over it, job done. Have sum pics of it on here in the build section on ‘gertrude’ thread when i showed him where id mounted my rear speakers. I also sound deadened the van before i stuck the acs on. Hope this helps.

I found that pic, very tidy looking only trouble is I want to do the ply panels a different colour to the main carpet, just to be awkward!

[Transitionpilot]

Wasted a couple of days off with some hardcore procratination, but did get the headliner out and put some dodomat and sound absorbing foam in.
Bit filthy but it's getting covered in the future at some point


Got the upper trim panel off without having to mess around with the seatbelt mount and the lower piece (As I didn't have any triple square bits at the time)
For reference, this trim clip which is above the sea belt on the B pillar needs to be pulled down to remove or if you are careful/lucky you can pull it straight out without breaking it. (in the pic this is looking from the sliding door towards the front)


Couple more bits of sound deadening and then some self adhesive liner, did fill in the gaps in the second pic too!

[Flog_TSC]

Wasted a couple of days off with some hardcore procratination, but did get the headliner out and put some dodomat and sound absorbing foam in.
Bit filthy but it's getting covered in the future at some point


Got the upper trim panel off without having to mess around with the seatbelt mount and the lower piece (As I didn't have any triple square bits at the time)
For reference, this trim clip which is above the sea belt on the B pillar needs to be pulled down to remove or if you are careful/lucky you can pull it straight out without breaking it. (in the pic this is looking from the sliding door towards the front)


Couple more bits of sound deadening and then some self adhesive liner, did fill in the gaps in the second pic too!

Looks great so far I haven’t quite managed to get to the cab yet or take the bulkhead out
I went for sound deadening sheets and also I’ve got the shiny sticky bubble wrap rather than the high density foam but now I’m not so sure I’ve chose the right decision


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[Transitionpilot]

Cheers flog, took ages to get that out! I spent a good half hour fighting one of the little clips over the sun visors
If you mean the foil covered bubble wrap, I've never seen that used in any build videos but it is a good price. If you look at the piece of foam in the bootom of the pic there is definitely enough space for some of that plastc bottle insulation to fit up there

[Flog_TSC]

Cheers flog, took ages to get that out! I spent a good half hour fighting one of the little clips over the sun visors
If you mean the foil covered bubble wrap, I've never seen that used in any build videos but it is a good price. If you look at the piece of foam in the bootom of the pic there is definitely enough space for some of that plastc bottle insulation to fit up there

Oh yeah I got that plastic bottle stuff aswell


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[juliang71]

A really good read this, some great work being done. Looking forward to further updates and progress!

[Transitionpilot]

Got another non-mod job done recently, had my dashcam sat in my old van for no reason so pulled my finger out and removed it and installed it into the caddy. Considering the standard of driving nowadays these are pretty much essential I reckon!

I'll write this a rough how to so newbies can find out how to do stuff (due to the forum access issues)
First you need to remove the side panel on the end of the dash so you can start the cable run from here up the A pillar and across the top of the windscreen to wherever you decide to place the camera. Take the tear drop shaped one put first and then you can get a good pull on the long thin piece, this needs to pop out and then down as there is a tab at the top which slots in under the pillar trim


Then pop out the small piece in by the quarter window/mirror, you can leave this in as it will come out with the main pillar trim, but you have to wrestle with it so it's easier with this out first


To remove the A pillar trim I found it easiest to start at the top, pull it directly away from the side (towards the centre of the dash)
There are 3 or 4 trim fixings down the pillar, once the first one comes out you'll be able to see the rest, ping them out one at a time working down to
the bottom corner. Now comes the fun part! Some of your favourite swear words will definitely come in handy as getting the front corner out was a battle.
Take your time and do it slowly, you need to hold the top of the trim and pull it kind of diagonally towards you. It'll take some wiggling but there is only one tab on the side nearest main part of the dash to unclip thankfully
And I'll leave it on that cliffhanger until it's light again and I can get some more pics!

[Transitionpilot]

A really good read this, some great work being done. Looking forward to further updates and progress!

Cheers mate. trying to resist the urge to rush stuff is hard but I want to do this as tidy as possible
oem+ as they say

Also if anyone has any ideas on running an ideally premanent 12v supply to the back would love to hear them. I think it's either splice on to the existing socket in the centre console or run a seperate feed all the way from the fusebox. Either way means removing a lot of trim which is a pain to do now the weather is turning

[Marius_M]

I am probably lazy. The only "build" I did to fit a bike into my 7-seater was to pull out the two rows of seats.

Admittedly a pedal bike.

[Transitionpilot]

I am probably lazy. The only "build" I did to fit a bike into my 7-seater was to pull out the two rows of seats.

Admittedly a pedal bike.

If it does the job can't be that bad, Before I built a bike mount in my old van I used to just strap it to the side - took all of about 3 seconds to get it in or out!
Pedal biker here too, I had to choose between getting an ebike or a new van, which is ridiculous as they are about the same cost nowadays

[Transitionpilot]

To fiish off the dashcam install...after removing the A pillar get all your wiring sorted and connect it up and test it before fixing everything back in place! (words of experience talking)
For the power supply, it's a good idea to check the slot you choose is working with a multimeter and to make sure you know which terminal in the slot is the 12v+ as they are different for the rows (see pic below)


As I said put all your wiring in place and check the cam is working, You can use the nut arrowed for the ground


Feed the wire out towards the pillar and up towards the headliner. I used some sticky cable tie mounts and some tesa tape to fix the cable in place


You can tuck the cable into the edge of the headliner without undoing it, when I retrim the headliner in the future I'll fix it in place properly.
Button up the trim pieces - The A pillar needs to go into the corner nearest the windscreen first and then to get the pop in clips in place, stand outside and look through the windscreen to locate them (I read that tip on here somewhere)

Admire your handiwork, give yourself a pat on the back for being responsible and hope you never have to grab the video off it!

[Transitionpilot]

Next on the list is getting a 12v power supply to the rear . . . I've been putting this off for a while as I had a gut feeling the proper way to do it would be to take all the trim out and run the wire all the way from the fusebox. So yesterday I cracked on
First I took the trim from the lower B pillar out, pop it out from the top first


Then the step trim from the side door, you need to give a bit of ooomph and pull it directly up, then clean out all the gunk and dna from under it!


Then comes the fiddly part, the piece from the side of the footwell which runs all the way along the door sill.
1. Undo the plastic wide head screw from behind the accelerator pedal

[Transitionpilot]

2. Remove the little panel next to the side of the dash and the T25? torx screw


Don't be tempted to try and get the sill trim out yet as there's some cursing to be done for the next step.
3. Get a small flat blade screwdriver, pull the bonnet release handle towards you (so the bonnet pops open) then on the backside of the round part of the lever there is a small opening you need to get the screwdriver into. If you can get your finger behind it you might be able to feel a plastic tab, the screwdriver needs to go behind this and pry it outwards (see pics)


You can just unlock it (in the position it is in the picture above) or ping it right out (as below) but try not to break it as it holds the release handle on

[Transitionpilot]

4. Once that's out theres a small screw that ws hidden by the lever under this plastic cover


5. Once that's done you can pull up the sill trim, clean out some more gunk (if you're that way inclined) and you are done with removal

[Transitionpilot]

As with the dashcam install, find a spare fuse slot to fit a piggyback connector (make sure the orientation is the right way round) then run your cable along the same route as the loom you can see under all the trim, I used some nylon braided cable wrap all the way along the wire and cable tied or tesa taped it to the other loom. threaded it between the rear footwell and the rear floor (below the seat belt mount) and then followed the loom again under the side door step and behind the inner side panel.
The 12v socket is most likely going to go on the rear pillar (by the barn doors) as there is an earth connection near there, above the wheel arch.
I haven't actually installed the socket yet, so the cable is bundled up and tucked away - This is one of the wiring jobs I wanted to get done before the insulation and carpet goes in.

Braided cable wrap over the 12v line (red wire) and the ugly vw loom which lurks in that corner by the side door


Cable tie mounts and tesa tape to fix it following the factory loom along inside of the lower side panel