Two Sliding Doors!!!!

Post by **andyph** » 29 Apr 2008, 17:57

Hi,

We bought our VW T25 1989 (1.6TD) last april and have spent a great first year travelling round in it and learning all about life owning a campervan.

However, there is something a little unusual about Bert (our van). He seems to possess two sliding doors. One on either side of the van.

The sliding door behind the drivers seat (right hand drive) has the oven and fridge in front of it and of course, the fridge vent cut into the door. There's no handle on the door, or even a sign there was ever a handle on the door. But, upon investigation, you can see the black rubber seals behind the door (now painted the colour of the van). The sliding door mechanism is down the side of the van as normal.

Does anyone else own a van with two sliding doors.
Will this present a problem in later life?

If i get work done on sills etc will the additional door cause a problem, I'm not very mechanically minded!!

Thanks for any comments.

Andy

Post by **joshb** » 29 Apr 2008, 18:13

post a pic.. mine was a twin slider... its an '88

Post by **VWCamperfan** » 29 Apr 2008, 21:15

Hi, I have one as well. I wanted to use both doors so am currently fitting a custom interior to accommodate both sliding doors, not an easy job but getting there!
As for problems... None really. Shouldnt affect sills as far as I am aware if they ever need replacing but if the door hasnt been welded shut then it will still be possible to open it once everything attached to it has been moved!

Website · Post by **syncrosimon** » 30 Apr 2008, 06:52

I had a 1983 1.9DF twin slider which I converted on a shoestring. It also had a half height bulkhead, and three front seats. I made a 'Pullman' style rear seating arrangement like in a train two bench seat either side of a table, one facing forwards, and the one at the front facing backwards, two persons wide. Then a small cooker sink on the nearside. This arrangement meant that the table dropped down to form the bed, and didn't use the engine deck, which was permanent storage. This worked really well, and both doors were in full operation, you just choose which side you wanted to get out of. There was an enormous amount of storage under those bench seats.

Post by **kathyshack** » 30 Apr 2008, 08:22

Ours is a twin slider. Love it! We too use both doors though. Soe pics in our garage <<

Post by **BaaaadSlider** » 30 Apr 2008, 08:29

welcome to the club

Heres some pics of our van
[IMG:320:240]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/bi ... 000333.jpg[/img]
[IMG:320:240]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/bi ... 000332.jpg[/img]
[IMG:320:240]http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/bi ... 000379.jpg[/img]
we have our cooker/sink unit accross the bulk head so we can access to both doors.
Any con's?nope none, i love being able to go in and out of both doors

Post by **meggles** » 30 Apr 2008, 13:10

Personally I would say that if you can retain two sliding doors on a van then you should! I haven't and miss the fact that I could park facing any direction on a busy road and still easily access the back. Lot's of ventilation on a hot day too!

Post by **andyph** » 30 Apr 2008, 22:21

Fantastic information guys. Will post a photo when I work out how.

Wonder why they built vans with two sliding doors?
Left hand / right hand drive perhaps?

Thanks for the info!

Post by **minke** » 01 May 2008, 05:17

My twin slider has a cooker unit behind the driver & a separate sink unit behind the passenger. They clip into place so they can be removed.
We have two awnings so can fit one each side. On site we take the cokker & sink units out & put em in the awning.
So we have one awning for cooking & eating & tuther as a conservatoire or if ya dont know thats a posh awning.We can accomodate eigth folks easily, along with the high top.

I am in the process of starting to build a single all in one unit for behind the driver & pass, still removeable, but will most likely incorporate a mini removable fridge..as we also use an Eriba Puck..I like it better than the single door type, especially in the hot weather or just layby parkups, the breeze & ease of access is COOL

. Only prob is the sink waste I have a hose that I drop thru the open slider, but maybe later on I will poke a hole thru the bottom of the floor so we can forget about the hose.

But if yours is all sealed up and fitted units, its a bit of work to alter it..maybe better to leave well alone, cost wise. Its a personal choice. I got myself a hi top & now wish I had a pop top, less wind resistance on pop, but more storage on HT, but great when kids are small. So now I'm thinking of getting a pop & using the Eriba as the sleeper, but some sites dont allow caravans...so its difficult to know what is right as time passes. My family love ours, we provide the camper, awnings, caravan & tent & the family just turn up in their cars & we have our mass annual getogether.

Post by **johnny5** » 01 May 2008, 17:15

Do they do them in Automatic?

Post by **Syncro G** » 01 May 2008, 18:53

andyph wrote:Fantastic information guys. Will post a photo when I work out how.

Wonder why they built vans with two sliding doors?
Left hand / right hand drive perhaps?

Thanks for the info!

SOmeone would have specced it on the options list, simple as that. If your a delivery driver on your own who keeps having to get heavy stuff out the back I emadgine it'd be a usefull to have the extra access, especally on the drivers side as the slider is usally on the oposite side to them. If the van has a bulkhead so isn't walkthrough again its useful. Caravelle C's were twin slider as standard I think, posher ones wern't (all T5 caravelles are twin sliders, some have electric sliders aswell!).-