Introducing Belle

Here is our 2006 aircooled camper, Belle.

We got Belle about 2 weeks ago and found this fantastic forum too.

Right after we got her, we went straight for our first 2 nights of camping to a lovely site in South Wales. It was a perfect occasion to try everything out and to have our first experiences with Belle.

The pop roof makes it so pleasant to move around inside, with the extra height and bright and airy sunroof. We loved putting our things away in the cupboards and finally settling down to making our first simple little meal together. The pop roof is also very easy to handle, but we don’t like so much the standard buckles. We hope that we’ll be able to find something a bit more classic soon.

We left the front lights on and emptied the main battery! Luckily enough, our T25 campsite neighbours had a starter cable and we started her again from the leisure battery. It might be a good idea to add a little beeper to warn us that the lights are left on when the engine is no longer running, and we’ll also be buying our own set of starter cables!

We’ll probably change the radio to the leisure battery too. It might also be handy to convert one of the 220V power sockets to be powered by a 12V/220V power converter. Lots to do!

It seems as though the heated front screen isn’t working and we haven’t got a clue where all the fuses are. Does anybody have a list of all the functions of the fuses and their locations? The heated rear screen worked, but only the top three wires. We’ll need to check whether this can be fixed without exchanging it completely.

For some reason, we found the rear fog light (mounted below bumper) hanging on its cable after the first petrol stop, but I already saw the solution here on the forum. Has anybody found a nice classic fog light yet? We’d also like to add fog lights in the front; the Hella 160 seems good for this.

Cruising on the way home to London was fabulous, listening to the sound of Belle. We’d like to add a RPM meter in the blank space of the instruments. Maybe Oil temp and Amp meter too, but need to find a good place for it.

In the beginning I was really surprised by the indirect steering, but after more and more miles I just love it. Lucy is yet to drive her for an extended spell.

Back home, we found what we already dreaded… the garage was not big enough. BUT after we removed the spare wheel in the front we could fit her in with a cosy cm either end! What was not so nice to see, however, was what the spare wheel was hiding beneath. The bracket had worked quite a lot on the front of Belle and there are even cracks from the upper holes and distorted bodywork. Looking at the thin bodywork, we’re not sure if we’d ever attach the spare wheel to the front again, once Belle has been mended. But, of course, the question is where to place the spare wheel. If not on the front, it would have to go on the back, which neither of us like so much (and with our tiny garage, we need to minimise Belle’s length!).

Now its time to go! Thanks for reading. Lucy & Jan

Hello and welcome to the forum
Jill and Steve

hello here in the forum, you are very welcome, i wish you all the best from me to you and i hope you have a lot fun with the very cool car. cool colour. lets make a lot of photos here.

Hi and welcome. I'm new to the forum too but in the short time I've been on here it's been so helpful. You've found a good site! Eddie is the same age as your van and some of your initial issues are the same. We couldn't get him in the garage until I discovered that he would just fit after taking the roof dome off. He also failed his MOT because of the dangling fog light (very easy to move). I noticed you have the stick on blinds on your front window. Ours kept falling off. Just Kampers do an excellent external wrap that we found so much better. Enjoy

Hi Lucy and Jan - great to have you join us and to read the tale of your first few weeks of Kombi life.

The reason the wheel has distorted the front panel is because it has been moving ie not tightened up on the bracket firmly enough. The wheel mustn't have any flex otherwise it will cause this problem. How are you rectifying the issue - replacing the panel?

You could always remove the rear cupboard to put the spare back where it originated but it will need to be a standard steel wheel as I don't believe an alloy will fit.

There are a number of places to get a new fog light starting with eBay. I recommend those found at Car Builder Solutions www.cbsonline.co.uk

Have a look in the Tech section about the fuses and relays. The front screen fuses can either be behind the front kick panels or in the engine bay next to the ECU.

Welcome and that's a nice introduction. Looks like you've got your plate full with planned changes. Best of luck.

Welcome to the forum. There's always something that needs doing to our Kombis but that's all part of the fun.

Fitting a buzzer for the lights shouldn't be too hard. You will need to fit a door courtesy switch though as they're not fitted as standard.

Hi and welcome

Hopefully see you at one of the many shows soon

Enjoy - the sunshine is just round the corner - honest

Marcus

hi and welcome

Big hello and welcome from another blue air cooled bus :-)

Have lots of fun and exciting times!

Welcome to the forum, great story brings back memories when we first went away in Phileas. Like the pics too.

Rev counter is something I'm just finishing myself see Fitting Rev Counter

You'll need to look here for wiring it up Wiring rev counter

Hi from Aldershot - have a 2006 aircooled too! Is that 'blue' I see on the bottom half of Belle?

Welcome to the forum

Thanks a lot for all your comments over the weekend. From blinds to the door courtesy switch, you’ve given us lots of food for thought and helpful pointers!!

@skytiger - thanks for pointing me to rev topics – I’d really like to do this next.

@stoneyuk - we’ve been told it is indigo, but seeing it at Halfords (repair paint) we are not that sure anymore. We might check with Danbury’s.

Checking the front again, we are now more convinced that the cracks are from a light front impact (against mounted wheel), as the area around also shows dents.

@TimV - we hope not to have to replace the front panel. Also, we wonder would the wheel fit on the 60cm wide roof rack from Danbury’s. Has anybody tried that yet?

For convenience sake, we are very keen to find a bodywork repair expert in the London vicinity. Can anybody give us a heads-up?

Hope you have a good start to the week.

I use BRM Coachworks in Epsom - right next to the station. 01372 720222 - speak to David or Nigel - tell them I sent you! Highly recommended.

Wheels are heavy. Do you really want it up above you?

VW_camper wrote:

@stoneyuk - we’ve been told it is indigo,

Hi and welcome, if you are trying to find the colour of your Kombi, have a look on the nearside headlight housing under the dash, there may be a paper sticker on it.



In Dizzys case, PPG LA6M refers to 'VW Green Tendence'. I just googled PPG LA6M, and it came up with the correct colour. Hope this helps you find a match.

VW_camper wrote:

Also, we wonder would the wheel fit on the 60cm wide roof rack from Danbury’s. Has anybody tried that yet?

Don't even think of doing that. It will dramatically increase body roll, and you always have to think that you will need to replace a tyre when it is pitch black and pouring down with rain on the side of a motorway - and you're on your own.