SPORTLINE DAZ

I met Johnny & the team at Dirty Weekender about 18 months ago, after being let down by another converter the day before the van was booked in for work to start. Infact the van was booked in at another converter when I first spoke to Johnny. This time however, although 1st impressions were very good whenever I tried to contact the converter in question I always got a voicemail & infrequently a return call. Were these people I wanted to leave a £25k van with?

 

So, back to Johnny & DW. I initially spoke with him over the phone & we arranged to meet a few days later. Upon meeting Johnny I was blown away by his enthusiasm, I explained what I wanted, he listened. Although in hindsight I think he was merely resting his tongue for a moment!  We pointed fingers & scratched heads. At this point maybe I should point I intended to & indeed do use the van for work all year round. I wanted a sweeping look throughout the van not square edges, I wanted an oven, a heater, running water, a fridge, a big stereo & to be able to run lights, a laptop the stereo & a tv & dvd player without the battery going flat. Oh, & the van still had to look like a van. I'm sure John thought 'what else could he want in a small space?'

 

Two hours later a plan was hatched where Johnny would use the van for development of what has become the basis of all conversions currently offered by Dirty Weekender. John took me home, keeping the van with him. Over the coming months he set to work upon sourcing a supplier for the what has become the trademark gloss black furniture after a few dead ends where quality didn't meet John's constantly high standards a supplier was found. During this time the van was lined & glazed & a Reimo roof fitted & painted. John & the team keeping me constantly updated with progress & fresh ideas being incorporated into the van throughout its build.

 

The van was completed & debuted at Vanfest '11, infact this was the 1st time I had seen it in finished form, only 24 hours earlier we were sat in it coming up with daft ideas for wrapping the roof bed with a vinyl print with the stereo system, seats, oven & inverter that's key to the power supply scattered around the workshop. What can I say? I was amazed, as I think most people who passed by the Dirty Weekender stand that weekend were. I took delivery a week later & have used the van for work constantly since, sleeping in it a minimum of 3 nights a week, every week as well as trips to the beach some weekends with the family & the odd VW show thrown in for good measure. So, 5 months later & over 70 nights spent in the van what's gone wrong? It developed a squeak from the light pelmet that was cured in 10 minutes by adding a gasket - now used as standard on all conversions & its had a catch replaced on a door which sometimes needed a little persuasion to open. That's it, the furniture still looks brand new, no electrical hiccups, no problems with water, cooking or heating. So what you may think, its only 5 months old, but break it down & its had the same use as a van that's constantly used every other weekend for 18 months.

 

So here I am in my van its the end of January, I've got the heater & lights on sat drinking a cool beer from the fridge in a t shirt  writing a big thank you to all at DW & the two other converters mentioned at the beginning, without you mine & Johnny's paths would never have crossed . I cannot recommend a Dirty Weekender conversion enough, the van is everything I could have hoped for & more. I get the impression Johnny still gets a tear in his eye each time I drive his baby away!