Last updated: 3 July 2024
We’ve put together a list of ten jobs to tackle on your Volkswagen during the summer, so you can get things done faster and avoid doing them in the cold and wet of winter.
The old saying ‘make hay while the sun shines’ definitely applies to owning and maintaining classic and modern VWs.
On the rare weekend when you aren’t heading out to any upcoming VW festivals in the UK, you might want to take on some of those jobs you’ve been meaning to get to, but haven’t found time for.
Afterall, things like replacing your pop-top roof canvas or applying rust proofing are much easier, faster, and more enjoyable when it’s warm and dry in the summer!
Drawing from our own years of collective experience, we’ve created this list of jobs that we definitely recommend tackling while the sun is shining:
JK's List of Ten Jobs to Tackle in the Summer
Most of these jobs can be done pretty quickly, and will make a massive difference to your Volkswagen. If you're unsure of how to take on any of these jobs, then check out our range of Fitting Guides and our Tips & Tricks page, as well as our How-To Videos on YouTube.
Still stuck? Get in touch with the JK Team - we're here to help!
Replacing the roof canvas in your camper
We’re starting off with one of the most infamously frustrating jobs you can do on a campervan, but you can make things much easier on yourself by picking a warm, dry day to get your pop-up roof canvas replaced.
Having nice weather while you’re swapping your roof canvas will prevent the interior of your vehicle, and the canvas itself, getting soaking wet and potentially ruined.
This seems obvious, but it’s easy to say ‘ah the canvas will last another trip or two!’ and put off replacing it, only to realise in late winter or early spring that it absolutely needs replacing before you can go camping.
Applying rust treatment, weatherproofing and cavity wax
Using the warm weather to your advantage while treating your Volkwagen with rustproofing agents like Noxudol or Ankor Wax will make your life much easier.
Not only will the sun-warmed panels allow the rust proofing to flow nicely into all the nooks and crannies inside your vehicle’s bodywork, but you can also be sure that everything under your vehicle is nice and dry.
We always recommend treating existing rust on your vehicle, and preventing future rust, long before the weather turns wet and miserable, so you know you’re not trapping moisture beneath your vehicle and making the situation worse.
Replacing leaking window and door seals
Another job on this list which seems obvious, but is easy to put off until the bad weather sets in, swapping out damaged or leaking seals around your VWs windows and doors is much easier in the summer months.
You’ll be able to get the job done in an outdoor space, with enough room to move freely around your vehicle, and won’t need to stress about rain or moisture creeping into the inside of your VW.
Replacing your door and window rubbers during the summer also means you can work with nice, warm rubber seals, rather than stiff cold seals which are much harder to install – let the warm weather do half the work for you!
Installing a pair of Earz wind deflectors
We stock a range of these Earz wind deflectors to help funnel more air into your engine bay while you’re driving, to help keep that air-cooled engine running nicely.
It can be easy for the engines in classic VWs to overheat in the summer, especially in start-stop traffic, and a pair of Earz are a quick and easy way to help prevent this.
It’s actually not recommended to run them during the winter months, as they’re a bit too effective and can lead to the carb icing over!
Tidying up the interior
If you’ve got the time between your hectic schedule of attending different VW Shows & Events across the UK, the summer is the ideal time to tidy up the interior of your Volkswagen.
No one wants to strip out seats, door cards, dash components, or carpets in the cold and wet, but it’s much less of a worry during the summer!
There’s a huge range of different options for interior refurb kits, seat covers, door cards and more available from Just Kampers to spruce up the interior of your Volkswagen.
Replacing the headliner
Right up there with replacing the canvas of your pop-up roof, installing a new headliner is never going to be fun, but you can make it a lot less stressful by tackling the job in the summer.
Again, this comes down to you not needing to worry about water and moisture creeping into your vehicle’s interior, and the longer days and warmer weather giving you longer, brighter days to get the job done.
Fixing up the heating
‘Fix your heat exchangers while the sun shines’ could be the ‘Make hay while the sun shines’ for the VW community – the original heating system in a lot of classic VWs is surprisingly effective, when it’s in working order.
Over the years some of the components in yours may have stopped working, or you (or a previous owner) may have swapped the heat exchangers out for J Tubes.
If you plan on driving your classic Volkswagen through the winter (and you should, they want to be driven and they can handle the bad weather pretty effectively!) then getting the heating working before you actually need it is our advice.
Fitting an aftermarket heater
If you’ve got a more modern Volkswagen and want to make more use of it over the winter, whether that’s an off-season camping adventure or just driving to and from work, you might want to check out an auxiliary heater.
These generally run on gas, diesel, or both, and can turn your camper from a fridge-on-wheels into a cosy home away from home during the winter.
Whether you want a heater which you can program to heat up the inside of your VW before you commute to work in the morning, or you want to experience camping while the campsites are quiet and the landscape is totally different, an auxiliary heater can be a quick and efficient way to massively improve the usability of your VW.
Fitting one during the summer will generally be easier than doing so during the winter, as you won’t need to scrabble about under the vehicle when your drive is covered in puddles!
Installing windows and curtains
There’s a definite theme developing here, as this is another job which you won’t want to do in the cold and wet.
Cutting holes in your VW to fit new windows may seem daunting, but it’s not as difficult as it may seem. Take some of the stress out of the process by picking a nice dry day to tackle the job.
Fitting new windows during warm weather will also make it easier and faster for the adhesive, as this can take much longer in the winter – speaking from experience!
Fitting a solar panel setup
Not only will drilling a hole in the roof of your camper be much trickier in the winter, but you’ll likely have to wait until Spring to reap the benefits of installing a set of solar panels!
Avoid the leaks and make the most of abundant solar energy by fitting a solar panel array to your campervan during the summer.
This is another job which can seem daunting, but is much more straight forward than it initially looks. It doesn’t need to take longer than a weekend, and you’ll be able to camp in even more places, free of the need to get access to 240v mains electricity to power your camping gear!
