Any VW T5 owners???

I have a 2004 SWB T5 (T28) Kombi with twin side loading doors,a feature best avoided if you want the extra Kombi seats but also carry a bike.Problem is two footwells,so you can't shift the seats and put a bike down one side easily as the front wheel drops into the footwell.The SWB is plenty long enough as long as you can get the front wheel past the middle seats,but I wish I'd gone for the LWB tbh.
My previous T4 Kombi had a single SLD,with the rear seats over to the non-SLD side.Whip out one seat and shoot the bike between the remaining rear seat and the non-SLD side of the van....lovely!
My advice?.Buy a long wheelbase T32 single sliding door van,and go to one of the many specialist convertors to have the seats/side windows/ply and carpet lining done to suit your purposes.
Once you have your basic panel van,you'll soon come up with what you want out of it.
T28 = 1.9 Tdi,quick enough for me but some find it a little gutless
T32 = 2.5 Tdi I think,best of all the engines Imho
I'd avoid the mighty 174bhp beast,lots of driveshaft horror stories...

 

What about captain swivel chairs? Most of you surf-bus types seem to have them.

Before I bought my van I looked at VW but tbh the money peolpe wanted for an old shit shed was ridiculous

 

you can buy base plates to convert single seats into swivel seats, around £70-100 per seat.
Straightforward bolt on job.

 

Put in 'T5 forum' in google and it will give you all the info you will ever need from the site. The T32 LWB 1.9 102bhp is the best option, if you do need more power you can have it chipped to 130bhp with no issues. Some of the vans on there are well pimped, 22' alloys, lowered - lower than a snakes belly, some awesome styling.

Google these guys too -- VANSTYLE.

 

Swivel chairs are generally normal captains chairs with aftermarket swivel bases
Passenger side Captains/single seats are especially sought after/expensive,but you can mod a LHD drivers side chair,just needs drilling to mount the seat belt socket on the opposite side.
Great thing about VW vans,is that everything you'll ever imagine or want to do has already been done,hundreds of times

 

The 2.5 R5 motor is supposed to be very oil sensitive. It needs a specific oil (506 from memory? ) or some people have had issues with cam wear. I think this affects pre DPF motors only but I'm sure someone can clarify?

 

I have had a few T5's,i would avoid the t32 as it needs a class 7mot (not many mot stations do class 7)also the brakes and suspension are uprated to carry the extra payload and cost a lot more to replace, the t32 sits like a 4x4 and you will struggle to get load rated alloys and tyres.Dmf is a weak point on the vw and costly to repair,the 130/174 bhp 5cyl is a good engine but bloody expensive when it goes wrong,if you go down the Kombi route be aware some are £500 a year to tax ,if it has aftermarket alloys make sure they are load rated(and the tyres),20inch look good but the ride is shit,18inch alloys are the best compromise, i would recommend t28/30 1.9 102/ 104 bhp(85 bhp is under powered) or if you can get a 2010 onwards facelift model,much nicer van in every aspect,i found the best place to source is vw approved used.It will take you a while to find the right van as there is a lot of overpriced crap out there covered in all sorts of tat.

 

Don't know where you get the class 7 mot from, I've had a T32 (chipped to 165 bhp) for over three years and it has a standard mot, tax for a year is £170 (T32 combi) so again seems its not as simmytt says. Also I'd disagree with the point about twin side loading doors, if your looking at taking kids in you T5 only having one door makes getting them in and out a pain, especially if they're in child seats. SWB can take two bikes and kit easily the thing about two steps isn't a problem at all, if you want to its easy to cut out a piece of ply and make an infil piece (which I did initially until I worked out having the step didn't cause a problem so binned it).
as Nick says the earlier pre DPF engines were prone (supposedly) to cam and cam shaft wear if the specified oil wasn't used. However the newer DPF engines don't seem to get these problems but again the correct oil must be used.
I've got 20 inch alloys fitted to my van and it rides like. Car (ok there's a little more road noise as I run 36 psi as opposed to the recommended 40+).
The Kombi seats (three seater bench) on mine pop out in 10 seconds but I would have preferred the split 2/1 seating arrangement which would allow me to pop he bike down the side and have the kids in the seats as well (can't take the kids and bike with the bench seat).

Again as said above check out the T5 forum, like here you'll find what you need on there. Where abouts are you in the UK, if your Berkshire way your welcome to have a look/drive mine.

 

The t32 van is a class 7 mot,t32 kombi class 4,as my post said some(not all) kombi's are £500 a year road tax.Road Tax Prices - Volkswagen Caravelle (03 on) 2.5 TDI PD SE (130ps) 5d | Car Tax Calculator | Parkers

 

If you start modding be prepared to give the wallet / credit card a bashing all too often, its infectious.

Try these guys too -- Merseyspeed.

 

Don't go to Busfest,(formerly Vanfest),though.Used to be great,now just one great opportunity for the cheap-tat vendors