A VW Transporter camper conversion with multiple water entry points -- pop-top roof seal, rear tailgate rubber gap, and passenger door membrane. Leaks fixed, seats shampooed, Matrix Blue 3-year ceramic coating applied.
Camper vans are not the kind of vehicle you swap every few years. They are an investment -- looked after properly, they hold their value well and stay in the family for decades. So when this VW Transporter camper conversion came to us, the owner wanted it sorted properly.
The conversion had introduced a few leak points that a standard Transporter would not have. The pop-top roof had a seal between the raised section and the body that was sitting loose on both sides, and the rear tailgate rubber had been positioned too high during the conversion, creating a gap where water collected and ran in. A previous bodywork repair had also left a pinhole the customer already knew about. James ran the 28-point check and hosed the van down from a ladder to confirm exactly where each entry point was before touching anything.
The passenger door was a different problem. We expected to find a simple plastic sheet behind the card -- on this van there was a full metal membrane panel, which meant removing the door lock, lifting the window off its runners, taking out the window mechanism, and cleaning and zinc-priming the metal before resealing. The driver's side showed no active door membrane leak, so we gave the customer the option to leave it or do both properly. The choice was theirs.
While the van was with us, James noticed a large stain on the driver's seat that looked like it might be permanent. We had a go at it without putting it on the estimate -- we were not certain we could shift it. It came out completely. That made the other seats look dirty by comparison, so we ended up shampooing the lot, including the sleeping area in the back. Heavy-duty rubber floors meant no drying was needed once the leaks were sealed.
By the end the van had Matrix Blue ceramic coating on the paintwork -- a 3-year protection that can be topped up to extend it indefinitely -- and the exterior had been machine-polished first to remove the bird etch marks from the front and rear. The customer came in for a water leak and left with the van detailed inside and out.
Throughout the job we filmed progress updates and sent them directly to the customer, covering the door membrane surprise and the seat result before he came to collect. He could see exactly what was happening and make decisions at each stage. That is how we prefer to work.
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