Wheels of steel

The steel wheels and tyres that came with the van are all in good shape and I just can't justify changing them at the moment. The wheels themselves are pretty poorly painted by VW. It looks like they spray a very thin layer of silver over a black base coat. The black base coat was visible in places on all the wheels and they all had minor rusting from stone chips.
I have considered having them powder coated but when I looked into this the costs mount up to about £50 per wheel. I have previously painted steels with hammerite enamel finish from a tin with reasonable results and longevity so it I thought I'd have a go with smooth hammerite from a spray can. Here's how I did it:
One by one each wheel is removed, cleaned, rubbed down properly with wet and dry and then cleaned again. I then let the tyre down so I can tuck masking tape under the rim, I carefully tape the valve and weight and then mask the tyre with paper. Each wheel is then treated with 4 coats of paint.
This is a slow time consuming process, as I write I'm on the third wheel. I enjoy the actual spraying, it is rather satisfying seeing the old marked wheel disappear slowly under fresh paint, here is a masked wheel and the result on the van.

First camp!

Easter Saturday 2011 will be remembered for the weather and the first night out camping in the van. I finished shaping the silver screens in the week and this was the last job I needed to do before we could comfortably camp in the van.
We decided to stay local and went to http://www.blacklandsfarm.co.uk/. Hadn't been here before and we were pleasantly surprised, loads of space and quite informal.
Things went well, we didn't forget anything major, the weather was hotter than July and evening was warm too.
In the picture you can see the new Quechua pop up awning/tent. I have a full awning but it takes a while to put up. Previously if I didn't put up the awning I used a pup tent as a shed to store clobber and mark the pitch when off site.This awning literally pops up, you have to wrestle with it a bit to put it down but it beats threading poles any day.
The night in the van was comfortable. All in all a great first trip.

In the evening we were joined by family

Screens, kitchen pod, mains sockets

I have looked around and full set of silver screens for a T5 is really expensive. The cab internal screen in my T4 was always awkward to fit and left sucker marks so I have gone for a set of JK external screens for the cab. For the rear I have used silver bubble insulation cut to size for each apeture and held in place by magnets. Seems to work ok on this test as shown below but I think I'll need some more/stronger magnets especially for the tailgate.

The kitchen pod I kept when I sold my T4, I was expecting to sell it with the van and build another which I was quite looking forward to. I built it myself and I have had it a few years so it's therefore tried and tested. A Camping Gaz cylinder feeds the hob. There is a fresh water tank, 12v tap and a waste tank. I have a smallish 12v cooler that fits in under there as well. The handles at the sides make handy vents for this and the advantage of having it in there is you can hardly hear it at night. The whole thing lifts out if necessary. The top just lifts off and one day I'll work out how to use it as a table. I knew this would be a tight fit with the Cannons Forge bed and indeed it is. I have to move the drivers seat forward, push the unit up and then there is just enough room for the bed. If I was building another it would be slimmer.

With the pod in the cover is removed from the rear of the drivers seat to access the mains and 12v socket. I am also storing my 240v to 12v transormer there which I use to power the cool box on mains. Here's the mains unit down the side of the pod. It might be better to have it behind the pod but I'll see how it goes in use.

Electrics

I have kept this as simple as I can. 12v is a direct fused feed from the battery to a temporary socket under the front seat. The 240v input socket is under the bonnet, the best of a limited range of options for siting. Both cables then come through the bonnet release cable hole with a bit of persuasion. The cables then go under the matting and under the drivers seat. 240v is terminated with a pukka camping mcb and rcd three way socket. There is cable to spare and the whole lot tucks under the front seat and the plastic rear cover hides it when not in use.

Rock and roll bed

Having completed the insulation, lining and carpet I was at last ready for the bed. It is made by Cannons Forge. I took my second long drive in the van (the windows were fitted at Vansport in Penzance) up to Worksop to have it fitted. It is definitely quieter on the road now the rear is done. The seatbed bolts down on the lashing points and Dave at Cannons Forge fits it for free if you collect. He fitted it in about 20 minutes and showed me how best to operate it. It wasn't cheap but it is a well made, substantial bit of kit.

Compared to the the bed in my T4 there is less storage space so packing for camping is going to be a bit of a challenge. I had to buy a new loo to fit under the seat, my old one I knew would be too big. You can perch on the rear jump seat with the boot open if you felt so inclined.