Jake's Caddy Camper Build

[jakemcc97]

Hi all. New to the forum, made a short welcome post here.

Just bought my first van, a 2017 Caddy Maxi in Reflex Silver. 2.0 TDI and Highline trim. It's (as far as I can tell so far) completely standard, so will be a good blank slate. It was owned by Red Bull Racing for most of its life and has generally been well maintained.









Plan is to convert it into a small camper to take on climbing and hiking trips, I've been driving a Scirocco for the past 5 years and have spent a few nights in it - I wouldn't recommend that! Current plan is a pull out small double bed, rear pull out kitchen, and plenty of storage for climbing gear and rucksacks Gotta keep it sensible, cause this will be my daily too.

[jakemcc97]

First things first, the passenger side sliding door was stuck shut, so that needed fixing. Door panel popped off, latch opened by hand, door module removed and split, and cable end popped back into it's holder. Thankfully an easy job, I assumed something had actually broken.



The door latch and striker were very sticky, a bit of lithium grease sorted that somewhat, but I think it probably needs a new striker.

Next I gave the interior a good clean. Took the bulkhead out, and lifted the floor and arch tubs to find a few years of dirt (and some Red Bull part number stickers, ha). Nice thing about this being owned by a race team is that it was likely only ever used to move parts, so has had a pretty clean and easy life.



A bit of floor cleaner sorted this out easily. I believe the ply kit was installed by the dealers when the van was new and they fired a few self tappers straight through the van floor. Will probably drill these out, riv nut, and reinstall the floor with some machine screws. Saves it from rusting.



Figured that since I had the bulkhead out, I may as well do some cutting to retain the side cabin trims. Will end up covering these in carpet or something.

[Transitionpilot]

Hey there, I was almost went to look at at this very van! Was really hoping to find a tailgate version but this one was just out of my budget, look forward to seeing how it ends up

[PJD]

Really nice looking van. Look forward to seeing you develop your camper build

[jakemcc97]

Really nice looking van. Look forward to seeing you develop your camper build

Thanks PJD! Will be taking inspiration from your thread

Small update - flashed MIB STD2 Toolbox to unlock Android Auto/Carplay. Had to order an OBDEleven plug as I couldn't get it to take the developer mode setting with VCDS.



Pleased with this, cheap and simple upgrade that adds a load of functionality.

[PJD]

Is that the original head unit?

[jakemcc97]

Is that the original head unit?

Yeah I believe these are standard fit in the Highline. Thankfully it's the correct spec to use Toolbox so was an easy job.

These videos detail the Toolbox installation and cover how to check your head unit version to see if it's compatible.

Toolbox Installation
Android Auto/Carplay Patch

[PJD]

Cheers for this
Have a startline and basic head unit unfortunately but will check it out anyway.

[jakemcc97]

Started on the insulation today, got a fair amount done!

Started by stripping the ply lining out, crazy how much bigger it feels without it. Sorted out where the ply lining had been screwed through the arch tubs, gave it a quick wire wheel and bit of zinc primer.



Stuffed the frame cavities with Dodo Thermo Fleece. That was a bit of a pain and took a surprising amount of fleece.



Then added Dodomat DEADN sound deadening to the arch tubs, rear panels, doors, and tailgate. The Dodomat didn't want to stick to the roof (after a few goes with degreaser), so I used some spray adhesive to give it something to stick to, and added some ali tape to give it some encouragement.







Finished the day by adding some Dodo Thermo Liner to the rear panels. Taped around all the edges to keep it fixed nicely and keep it neat. Nobody will ever see it but I'll know it's there!



So pleased I took the time to sound deaden it all, the doors sound totally different when closing now - like a car, and the whole thing is a lot less "boomy" on the road. Got 50 sheets of sound deadening and have about 20 left, so I can do the cabin at some point.

Tomorrow, hopefully finish the thermo liner and fleece (side cavities, roof, doors). Still undecided whether I want to fleece the rear panels and roof or whether the thermo liner will be enough. I like the idea of having an inch of extra room on each side...

[jakemcc97]

More progress today. Replaced the front discs and pads - they were on their last legs. Rears need done too but will do that the next time I get a day free. Then continued on with the insulation...



Thermo liner'd the roof, rear cavities, and sliders, then added fleece over the top - the roof will get 35mm fleece (I ran out of 50mm) and the tailgate isn't finished yet. Reinstalled the rear cavity closing panels for now.

[LouisNaylor]

Loving this build so far, inspiring me to keep on with mine!

[jakemcc97]

Loving this build so far, inspiring me to keep on with mine!

Thank you! You should start a thread for yours!

[stu_b]

Such a coincidence that another member from here (transitionpilot) looked to buy this van

Welcome and looks like your off to a cracking start
The insulation etc looks good, great job n yes sound difference esp when shutting the doors is huge

The radio upgrade tools the bees knees
Would like to know more about the obd11 plug you talk about, maybe share a few pics / link etc

Looks like the van has fell into some good hands
Nice caddy in good nick to start with amazing upgrades to come
Eagerly waiting n watching the transformations

[Transitionpilot]

Great job on the insulation, those wheel arches are a work of art!

[jakemcc97]

Such a coincidence that another member from here (transitionpilot) looked to buy this van

Welcome and looks like your off to a cracking start
The insulation etc looks good, great job n yes sound difference esp when shutting the doors is huge

The radio upgrade tools the bees knees
Would like to know more about the obd11 plug you talk about, maybe share a few pics / link etc

Looks like the van has fell into some good hands
Nice caddy in good nick to start with amazing upgrades to come
Eagerly waiting n watching the transformations

Cheers Stu! Didn't realise transitionpilot had been looking at this one! Looks like he's picked up a nice one himself now.

The OBD11 plug is pretty neat - I've used various comms cables over the years but I reckon for the average enthusiast this one is the best value and most user friendly. Most importantly it's able to put the MIB2 head units into dev mode which VCDS struggles to do.

I just ordered mine from Amazon as I wanted it ASAP, but looks like it's sometimes slightly cheaper on the official website. One thing to note is that you do need the "Pro" plan to get actual VAG features (long coding etc), otherwise it's just like a standard OBD2 scanner. I wouldn't bother getting any credits, as it just executes pre programmed functions - you can do all of it manually with a bit of research. I went for the "2" rather than the new "3" as it was cheaper.

https://obdeleven.com/products/pro-pack