2018 VW Transporter T6 4Motion T340 Auto

Meet Vincent.

When we were looking at vans to turn into a camper, we decided it needed to have some key features to allow us to enjoy our adventures in stress free comfort. These features are hard to find in a vehicle and more so with Australian market Transporters:

4Motion

Volkswagen’s 4motion allows the van to go to those places where others don’t. It isn’t going to replace a normal 4x4, but being able to take the van up a forestry road, down a gravel track or onto the beach opens up the experiences that are available. We love adventuring to places where we can be with nature and the 4motion was a non-negotiable for us.

T340 2.0 Single Turbo Engine

There are two engine’s available for the Transporter and the T400 bi-turbo engine is known for reliability issues that are inherent from pushing performance from a small diesel engine. The T340 is a single turbo engine and known for being bullet-proof. When we’re travelling in Vincent we’re able to keep up with traffic easily and cruise comfortably at 110kmh, safe in the knowledge that things are going to be reliable for years to come. 
This also means no ad-blue!

Twin Side Loading Doors

Having a sliding door on each side is a game-changer, as you can see it allows for a separate storage area for the shower and the additional access has helped make a flexible space. 

Rear Aircon & Heater

There’s nothing better than rocking up somewhere for the evening and getting into bed that’s at a comfortable temperature.

Reliability

We brought the van from a dealer in Victoria after it had been used by a government agency, who have to service vehicles on-time to meet their demands. Since we’ve owned it we’ve only taken it to Volkswagen main dealers for all service/maintenance work and it’s been faultless. It had the major service with replacement cambelt and water pump, the haldex services carried out and has wanted for nothing in the time we’ve had it.

We wanted a van that we can just jump into and go adventuring so we have looked after it well.

CABIN + DRIVING

The base van is very high specification from the factory, with cruise control, reversing camera, multi-function steering wheel, rear air-con, tow bar, captains chairs and even additional grab handles to make getting in an breeze!

We updated the factory entertainment system to a newer Alpine unit that provides DAB as well as including Apple CarPlay, reversing camera and also sounding better! The original VW multi-media system is included with the van.

The captains chairs have adjustable arm-rests and have very high quality seat covers installed. I've personally driven down to Bathurst in one trip with minimal stops and zero aches and pains - the ergonomics of the cabin are great!

We have not used the tow-bar in our ownership, but the removable section is included with the sale. It's useful if you ever wanted to take your mountain bikes along for the ride!

When we fitted the van out, we used our existing knowledge in engineering and crafts to make the van a solid base for our adventures. No corners were cut with the fit out, all the items specified were researched meticulously and the end result is a van that works just as well for a day at the beach as it does for a long remote trip.

OUTSIDE

We installed the Rhino Rack roof platform to provide the perfect base for the solar panels and the Darche 180° awning, this combo keeps the batteries topped up and creates a large shaded area to rest after a morning adventuring. The awning swings to meet the rear door when it’s open, which creates a 270° covered space which is perfect for when the weather turns bad.

To take you on adventures we installed Pirelli Scorpion all terrain tyres, they have allowed us to travel deep into state forests and onto beach campsites with the knowledge that by driving carefully we can get where we want to go. We’re not the type to pioneer a new course somewhere, but we appreciate camping in the wilderness and the confidence that having suitable tyres gives. After each trip the van gets a thorough deep clean, and after the beach trips I’ve had the wonderful privilege of laying underneath it with a hose and brush ensuring that it’s cleaned thoroughly. 

We installed a tinted sliding window in the rear left quarter panel using the correct automotive windscreen primers, adhesives and sealants to ensure that it’s water tight for the life of the vehicle. Having the extra opening window in the back makes camping a lot more comfortable on those hot nights and allows you to sit cosily inside enjoying a fresh coffee with a great view on a cold winter’s morning. I designed and printed a fan assembly that slides into the window opening for those evenings when you need a bit of additional airflow too.

We also imported and installed a official VW rear quarter vent from a European specification van, which is installed with mosquito mesh to help provide additional airflow whilst keeping any unwanted friends outside. This vent is the black item on the rear of the right hand side of the van.

The solar panels on the roof have their wiring passed through the body of the van through a specialist weatherproof plate which is bonded to the roof of the van.

THE BED

The plywood structure is A grade marine plywood. This means that the wood is water resistant and isn’t going to degrade over time like “normal” plywood, it isn’t going to swell and go out of shape if you spill a bottle of water etc. it’s designed to be strong and maximise storage space.

It supports a double Ikea Malfors mattress which gives a great nights sleep. Mattresses are a personal thing but by keeping it to a standard size it’s easy to change this out if you want/need. The bed height is perfect to sit up in bed with a coffee in the morning and take in the view out the windows.

STORAGE

The main storage draw is BIG – it’s on high quality runners that are rated to hold 250kg at full extension. We use this draw to store dry goods, camping gear, cooking essentials, the hammock etc. basically everything that you might want to access during the day, lives in here. We use the smaller internal drawer for clothes and personal items that you might want to get to at night, which has a latch to stop it coming open whilst driving.

There’s additional storage under the bed by the electronics. This area we typically use for items that we may not need but want to have around, like the camera tripod, board games etc. it’s also a great place to hide birthday presents if you’re planning on surprising your partner…!

We have long items such as tent poles and the beach umbrella stored in a handy cupboard that places them above the wheel arch; it's a really simple solution to storing the ungainly items! The other odd items like camping chairs, folding table etc all slide down the OTHER side of the bed and are accessed easily by the other side door or over the top. Keeping these items off to the side keeps the debris from them getting into the bed… no-one likes a sandy bed.

There is also a fire extinguisher, first aid kit and snake bite kit stored under the passenger seat. Keeping all this stuff in one place means that they are easy to find when needed and easy to direct someone too if you need to send someone to fetch them. Luckily we haven’t needed to, but safety first folks!

ELECTRICAL

The electrical system uses a motorsport grade digital fusebox for power distribution. It’s programmed to prioritise battery usage and will protect the battery if you leave something on by mistake, using a multi-coloured keypad to control items such as the dimming interior lights, water pump and inverter power. An operation manual comes with the van explaining all the buttons, along with the software to program this if you’d like to change anything.

The batteries themselves live under the bed and are 2x 140aH AGM batteries for a total of 280aH of storage. They are charged via a Enerdrive DC2DC charger that can take power either from the vehicle battery whilst driving OR from the 330w of Enerdrive solar panels that are mounted on the roof. 

The lighting in the van is all LED, with the main cabin lights being dimmable to make for a cosy space to chill in the evenings. The kitchen area is illuminated by LED lights installed in the tailgate of the van, which cast a bright even light to ensure cooking in the dark is a breeze.

Keeping all of your food fresh is also thought out, with a Dometic fridge – it keeps everything cool and even has a freezer compartment [who doesn’t love an ice-cream on a remote beach campsite?!]. There is also a Dometic 1600w inverter installed, which is enough power for us to run a household coffee machine in the van… yes, fresh coffee whilst camping.

WATER, COFFEE + COOKING

Under the bed is a 80 litre food-grade water tank which is pumped to the interior tap, rear kitchen tap and also the shower. The water system includes a high-quality heat-exchanger which works with the rear heater circuit, which has a thermostat to ensure that you can have hot showers and not scald yourself. All water that goes into the 80 litre tank goes via a food-grade hose that’s fitted with a  filter to ensure that the tank water is always clean and safe to drink.

The kitchen area sits on quality high payload drawer runners and at full extension sits under the tailgate perfectly, we’ve cooked dinner in the rain numerous times and the setup works really well. We custom made the kitchen draw to accept the Coleman gas stove, which we run from a 9kg gas bottle to give us trouble-free cooking for weeks on end. The nice thing about this stove is that it creates great heat, but can also be turned down really low to simmer things. We love cooking and this really makes our travels enjoyable.

We're also huge coffee fans, and made sure to spec the van to include a proper coffee machine. It runs easily from the off-grid electrical system and is the same coffee machine we have in our house now. We designed a mounting plate and locking pin system that allows the coffee machine to be removed from the van if needed, the coffee machine will be coming with the van. Buy a van, get a free coffee machine!

WE'LL MISS YOU VINCENT!

Hopefully you can see that we really loved every second of owning this van.

I work in motorsport so being able to jump in Vincent and effortlessly drive to a remote camp has been a much needed contrast to my work! 

However, we’ve purchased a house and Vincent just doesn’t get used as much as he used to which is why we’re putting him up for sale, to share in more adventures with his new family!

Inspections are available at Caloundra West, Queensland, 4551

2018 Volkswagen Transporter T340 LWB
4motion
DSG [Automatic]
circa 160,000km
Freshly serviced at Cricks Volkswagen Maroochydore (with extensive service history).

EnerDrive 165w Solar Panels x 2
EnerDrive DC2DC MPPT Charger
Blackbox P14
8 Button Keypad
Dometic CRX80 Fridge
Dometic MSI1812T Inverter
2x 140aH AGM Batteries

Rhino Rack Pioneer platform with eyelets and shovel mounts
MaxTrax recovery boards with Rhino Rack mount
Darche 180° Awning

Full internal fit out including:
Breville Coffee Machine
Coleman Gas Stove with gas bottle

80L food grade water tank
High quality 12v water pump
BEST Water filter system

Camping Equipment:

2x Folding camping chairs
1x Folding camping table
1x Beach Umbrella
1x Hammock
1x Bag of ropes, straps etc.
1x Bag of pegs plus other associated items

will come with RWC and remaining QLD Registration