There were no 2 sliding door transporters in the country so I had to compromise and get one with only one sliding door. The Caddy has 2 for good access to everything.
How many doors does your van have and is only one an issue?
I'm hoping to fit it out so the boards go vertically on their edges furthest away from the door and small stuff ( tubs etc) go near the door?

G"day Sue,
They do come with a back door as standard.
I have a work van that's a transporter and it's great for just chucking all the gear in without having to strap things down. Mine has a single side door and a rear tailgate, handy to stand under if it starts raining.
I just use tubs for the gear, harness, wetsuits, fins etc and place the board(s) on top. Even though it is a work van I do look after it a bit, but generally roll up my sail and place it in the back with the mast and boom and then drive away, easy as.
Mine is a 2015 twin turbo 2 litre diesel that I have had no issues with and the fuel economy can be better than 1100 kays for an 80 litre tank for long distance driving.

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triplex said..
G"day Sue,
They do come with a back door as standard.
I have a work van that's a transporter and it's great for just chucking all the gear in without having to strap things down. Mine has a single side door and a rear tailgate, handy to stand under if it starts raining.
I just use tubs for the gear, harness, wetsuits, fins etc and place the board(s) on top. Even though it is a work van I do look after it a bit, but generally roll up my sail and place it in the back with the mast and boom and then drive away, easy as.
Mine is a 2015 twin turbo 2 litre diesel that I have had no issues with and the fuel economy can be better than 1100 kays for an 80 litre tank for long distance driving.

I am looking forward to the tailgate .The caddy has barn doors.

I had only one sliding door in my old Ace it was always hard leaning over to load things and to get them out. The new Ace has two side doors and I love it makes it so easy

I recently acquired a shiny old Viano for my transport needs.
I want to keep the 2 mid-seats for the odd occasion when I need to take the kiddies as well as my gear (e.g. to Sun & Sea @ Jarvis Bay in Oct!).

Before building anything substantial, rack wise, I wanted to test a load out and see how it felt.

Seats out, except 2 folded down:



3 Booms fit under the seat





Wetsuit box fits under the board (timber bracket comes later)... room for a big box before the boot shuts too!






Foil board horizontal... 60L, 90L and 110L speed/slalom boards fit vertical down the side, resting on masts all in bags.




Hanging sails didn't feel safe, so I gave up on that idea!





Fully loaded with just 1 piece of timber for a rack.
4x Boards
6x Sails (10m to come)
5x Masts (550 to come... should fit between seats too)
3x Booms
Foils, Fin Boxes, Wetsuits, harnesses etc.

After a few trials, I plan to have the nose of the board raised and fit some gear under the foil-board, above the black box and seat. Later.
The problem with passenger fans is there are few exposed mounting points.

The alternative would be to build a rack in such a way as the seats can be removed and installed without rebuilding the whole interior... we will see.

Now all I need is some wind :)

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sboardcrazy said..
There were no 2 sliding door transporters in the country so I had to compromise and get one with only one sliding door. The Caddy has 2 for good access to everything.
How many doors does your van have and is only one an issue?
I'm hoping to fit it out so the boards go vertically on their edges furthest away from the door and small stuff ( tubs etc) go near the door?

My 2013 TD1340 Transporter Sue,
I can stand up 4 boards on the RHS so no need for a RHS sliding door, all the junkie things go on the LHS near the door.
The shelves are made of 35mm square RHS welded to 3mm x 50mm flat legs pop riveted to the inside body and filled in with10mm ply
no central supports or chunky wood, all usable space
For camping I take the bracket out that the booms are hanging off and put in a queensize mattress for the missus and me and can still put 2boards, 6 sails, boom, masts etc under.
Also got a side awning and you can get VW custom tailgate tent from Reimo Aust. bit exy but well worth it
Hope this helps a bit

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ducati said..

sboardcrazy said..
There were no 2 sliding door transporters in the country so I had to compromise and get one with only one sliding door. The Caddy has 2 for good access to everything.
How many doors does your van have and is only one an issue?
I'm hoping to fit it out so the boards go vertically on their edges furthest away from the door and small stuff ( tubs etc) go near the door?

My 2013 TD1340 Transporter Sue,
I can stand up 4 boards on the RHS so no need for a RHS sliding door, all the junkie things go on the LHS near the door.
The shelves are made of 35mm square RHS welded to 3mm x 50mm flat legs pop riveted to the inside body and filled in with10mm ply
no central supports or chunky wood, all usable space
For camping I take the bracket out that the booms are hanging off and put in a queensize mattress for the missus and me and can still put 2boards, 6 sails, boom, masts etc under.
Also got a side awning and you can get VW custom tailgate tent from Reimo Aust. bit exy but well worth it
Hope this helps a bit

Thanks.
I'm thinking something similar. A shelf about 40cms up from the floor so my plastic tubs / masts, fins can go below that with a shallow 20cm shelf above that for sails and the top of that used for the bed. On top of the bed a removable vertical rack storage for 4 boards on the RHS where there is no door. Checked the boards in the Caddy and the 4 boards were c 80cms width . We just held them upright to get an idea for planning.
Not sure whether to make the bed removable or not? That would be handy if someone is moving house etc..
Should be a bit of space at the front for a porta loo if needed ( under the bed normally).

Great thread!
Everyone has their own personal preference
I would suggest to make racks removable so you have versatility to help mates move etc.
Your VW sounds great to drive which is so important. For my van its multipurpose work and lifestyle and plenty of tiedown points.
Enjoy your adventures

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515 said..
have versatility to help mates move etc.

???

ok you win..
nice setup.

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AUS4 said..

Aye aye aye! Thats top shelf! Wicked
Maybe fins on doors as well? Timber n velcro fastening points.

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AUS4 said..

Veddy nice...
I'm trying to find someone who'll insure my gear while it's in the van. Can you recommend anyone?

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berowne said..
I recently acquired a shiny old Viano for my transport needs.
I want to keep the 2 mid-seats for the odd occasion when I need to take the kiddies as well as my gear (e.g. to Sun & Sea @ Jarvis Bay in Oct!).

Before building anything substantial, rack wise, I wanted to test a load out and see how it felt.

Seats out, except 2 folded down:

What length board can you fit in behind the front seats?

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sboardcrazy said..

AUS4 said..

Veddy nice...
I'm trying to find someone who'll insure my gear while it's in the van. Can you recommend anyone?

INSURE ??? i'm trying to find someone who"ll pay for the van and all the stuff in it , i'll pay for the Insurance ...

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sboardcrazy said..
Took a transporter for a test drive and fell in love.. Just like the Caddy but bigger..
The Transporter is coming the end of next week .
Vw Caddy for sale - great little car..

Caddy is gone the first day to the first person who saw it.. boo hoo

AUS4's pic is a PWA Fanatic team riders van. If it was his it would all be stolen by now . Or up for auction on the Goldy.

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AUS4 said..

That's what a Tattslotto win looks like
Just to amuse myself I did some adding up in my head .
Presuming those 30 masts are full carbon and also those booms , paying full retail , I came to , wait for it .....
$ 160 ,000
Not including fins , just what you see .
Farrrk
Oh , I forgot to add the other 10 masts on top of the sails , sheeesh !

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Imax1 said..

AUS4 said..

That's what a Tattslotto win looks like
Just to amuse myself I did some adding up in my head .
Presuming those 30 masts are full carbon and also those booms , paying full retail , I came to , wait for it .....
$ 160 ,000
Not including fins , just what you see .
Farrrk
Oh , I forgot to add the other 10 masts on top of the sails , sheeesh !

Pro life woes

Hope they're insured..??

ok. It's slowly progressing.
The photos are out of order..
Cutting the MDF templates for the ply panels.

My first panel attempt. The carpet was 4 way stretch marine headliner. We should have done a practise panel first.
The carpet in the last van bubbled off in places over the years. I don't know whether we used the wrong glue or it was the way it was applied. It was only held on by glue. This time it's glued and screwed on. I wanted to be sure it wouldn't happen with this van.
The carpet doesn't have any backing and we were getting used to how much contact glue to apple. There was one small section where we applied too much and it squeezed through to the front. Not a problem except the glue dried yellow on the silver coloured panel..
It wasn't that bad but I'm a perfectionist so I did one other small panel and then got a quote for a trimmer to glue the supplied carpet onto the wood. It was fun doing the panels but I didn't want to risk another stuff up.
At $110 for 3 big panels why do it ourselves!?



Factory hardboard lined fitout.

1st panel done ready to fit on.


All panels fitted wooden bits are for wheelarch / bed support



Bunnings $90 rubber mat as extra noise dampening and scuff / water protection.. Not quite as good as the factory one but it's $600. It will be covered by the shelves anyway.
yay! I don't have to worry about scuffing things now and it should be quieter and a bit better insulated.

Now leave it open in the sun for a couple of weeks. Phew

Nice job

Like all good seabreeze threads could I politely suggest next time you are in Bunnings getting rubber mat or whatever you also consider purchasing some lawn feed and weed / top dressing or something similar !!

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Mark _australia said..
Now leave it open in the sun for a couple of weeks. Phew

Nice job

It's been aired a fair bit as we work on it..Raining now yay! ( Drought stricken, we really need it ).
Thanks..At least I can now see some progress..

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Carantoc said..
Like all good seabreeze threads could I politely suggest next time you are in Bunnings getting rubber mat or whatever you also consider purchasing some lawn feed and weed / top dressing or something similar !!

Do they supply rain? We're drought stricken here with no town water. Lawn? What's that??

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sboardcrazy said..

Carantoc said..
Like all good seabreeze threads could I politely suggest next time you are in Bunnings getting rubber mat or whatever you also consider purchasing some lawn feed and weed / top dressing or something similar !!

Do they supply rain? We're drought stricken here with no town water. Lawn? What's that??

Yep, even in Sydney, we are running out of water. The state government of the time tried to make out the previous state government had wasted billions on the desal plant, and now the current state government is talking about expanding it!

It was bad luck/good luck that the rains started pretty much after the desal plant was built, so lets hope we get the same bad/good luck!

You should stock up on artificial grass next time you are in Bunnings ;-)

Artificial grass
I've thought about that but it would cost a lot to cover the area .It would almost be worth it to see how the grazing ducks and roos would react..

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sboardcrazy said..

Lawn? What's that??

A weird cultural thing. Don't worry about it. Its days are numbered.
www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-08-24/vegetable-gardens-for-green-grass-environment-lawn/11427458

Finally done..It looks so simple but there was a lot of fiddling soundproofing etc.
Team effort - he did the sturctural stuff ( I helped ) I did the carpet glueing and painting. I never want to see another can of glue.. ugh!!
1st layer - campbed - the top layer is in 2 pieces and easily removable so we use the bottom for car camping . It gives us more headroom. Storage under.


2nd layer - storage for sails on top of the campbed layer with boards etc on top. Plastic tubs etc on LHS and under.
Blk marks on the floor are just where it's wet.






Not fully laden but it shows you the idea.



There is a bit of road noise in the cabin but the rear area is quiet and there are no rattles..

High quality work well done. Park safe there have been a few thefts would be awful to loos all that kit and vehicle.