Bilbo's explained: the Surrey VW converter since 1977, now on the T7 and Transit Custom

Bilbo's has been turning Volkswagen Transporters into campervans since 1977. That is nearly fifty years of Transporter conversions in Surrey, most of them with raising roofs, according to Out and About Live. The vans have changed, the latest Transporter shares its bones with the Ford Transit Custom, and Bilbo's has won owner-voted Owner Satisfaction Awards. What has not changed is the approach: a short range of familiar layouts.

Who Bilbo's are and where

Bilbo's is based in Surrey, south of London; its own website gives a registered address in South Godstone, Surrey. Out and About Live's manufacturer page records that the company has been converting Volkswagen Transporters since 1977.

If you want a known layout, built the same way many times, it is exactly what they sell. If you want a one-off built around your own drawings, ask Bilbo's whether it takes on bespoke work.

What they build on, and why the same layout appears on two badges

Bilbo's conversions sit on two base vans: the Volkswagen Transporter T7 and the Ford Transit Custom. That pairing is less odd than it looks. Wikipedia notes that the Transporter unveiled in August 2024 is based on the Ford Transit Custom, unlike the Multivan T7 which uses Volkswagen's own MQB platform. We compare the two bases in detail in our VW Transporter T7 versus Ford Transit Custom piece.

For a buyer, the choice between badges comes down to price, dealer support where you live, how you feel about the two cabs, and which resale market you expect to sell into. The living space behind the front seats is the Bilbo's part, and the Celex was shown with the same layout on either base; ask which other layouts are offered on the Ford.

Engines on the Volkswagen side: Bilbo's stock listings on 13 October 2026 named the 2.0 TDI manual and a Celex eHybrid. Volkswagen Market lists the T7 Transporter's diesel line-up as 110, 150 and 170 PS TDI units, with a 233 PS plug-in eHybrid alongside them. Which of those Bilbo's will build on, and whether an automatic is available on a given layout, is a question for the order form rather than a guess; ask, and ask which driven wheels the van you are quoted has.

The range, model by model

Bilbo's own range page lists the Komba, Celex, Nexa and Nexa+, while Volkswagen's converter page for Bilbo's also lists the Space with removable pods and describes the Komba as seating up to six. Add the Kompak day van from Bilbo's news page and the Commerce choose-your-layout van from the stock page, and that is the current line-up. Prices below are for new T7 vans in stock on 13 October 2026, not a price list, so treat them as a guide to the bracket rather than a quote.

Celex

The Celex is the classic Bilbo's design: a side-kitchen layout with a raising roof. It is the one Bilbo's chose to show on both bases. Bilbo's news page for the NEC in February 2026 says the latest Celex was shown on both the Volkswagen Transporter and the Ford Custom. On 13 October 2026 the stock page listed Celex PLUS 2.0 TDI manual vans at £69,300 and £72,815, Celex PRO vans at £76,130 and £76,840, and a Celex eHybrid with no price shown. PLUS and PRO appear in the stock listings; ask what separates them before you compare the two figures. Our sibling review, Bilbo's Celex T7 review: the classic side-kitchen VW camper, now on the new Transporter, goes through the layout in detail.

Nexa+

The Nexa+ is the rear-kitchen alternative with a cassette toilet, and it is the layout Bilbo's redesigned for 2026. The same NEC news page says the redesigned Nexa+ was shown for the first time with a new Low-Lie side-elevating roof, and that the Nexa+ is now built on the T7. Ask Bilbo's to show you how the Low-Lie roof opens; our pop-top roof explainer covers raising roofs more generally. The stock page listed a Nexa+ PRO at £77,930 on 13 October 2026, which is £1,800 more than the cheaper of the two Celex PRO vans at £76,130. Our other sibling review, Bilbo's Nexa+ T7 review: a rear kitchen, a cassette toilet and the new low-lie roof, is the one to read if a loo on board matters to you.

Nexa

The Nexa shares its name with the Nexa+ and sits in the range alongside it. Ask the showroom to walk you through how the two differ, what the plus adds and what it costs, and whether the Nexa has also moved to the T7.

Komba

Volkswagen's converter page describes the Komba as seating up to six. Ask how many of those are designated (belted) travel seats and how many berths go with them, and how the weight of six people and their luggage sits against the payload.

Space

The Space is listed on Volkswagen's converter page with removable pods. If you need load space on weekdays and a camper at weekends, ask what lifts out and how much space is left.

Kompak

Bilbo's news page says the Kompak day-van conversion launched in October 2025. Ask what it includes and what its from-price is, and whether it suits you if you are not sure you want a full camper yet.

Commerce choose-your-layout

The stock page on 13 October 2026 also listed a Commerce PRO choose-your-layout van at £74,735. The name suggests a base van bought in and held for a customer to pick a layout for, which would shorten the wait compared with ordering the van from scratch. Confirm that reading with Bilbo's before you rely on it.

Lezan

The Lezan name appears in Bilbo's used stock rather than on the current range page. If you like the sound of it, ask whether it is still built or whether a current model has replaced it.

What a new one costs

To put the stock figures in one place, on 13 October 2026 Bilbo's new and used stock page listed new T7 vans at these prices: Celex PLUS 2.0 TDI manual at £69,300 and £72,815, Celex PRO at £76,130 and £76,840, Nexa+ PRO at £77,930, a Commerce PRO choose-your-layout van at £74,735, and a Celex eHybrid with no price shown. That is a spread of £8,630 from the cheapest to the dearest priced van, and all of them are in-stock vehicles with whatever options were specified when they were built. The stock page updates as vans sell, so check the figure on the day, and ask for a from-price for a build to order on the base, engine and roof you want.

Credentials: warranty, awards and approvals

Warranty

Volkswagen's converter page for Bilbo's states a three-year Volkswagen base vehicle warranty plus Bilbo's own three-year conversion warranty. Ask what the three-year conversion warranty covers. For a Ford-based van, ask what the base warranty is and whether the three-year conversion cover is the same.

Awards

Out and About Live's manufacturer page records owner-voted Owner Satisfaction Awards for Bilbo's: Gold in 2024 and 2025, and best overall van converter in 2023. Owner-voted awards are the ones worth weighing. A trade judge sees a van for an afternoon at a show; an owner has lived with it through a wet week in Wales and a warranty call or two, and is scoring the aftercare as much as the cabinetry.

Approvals and type approval

Approvals matter for insurance, for the V5C and for resale. Bilbo's own website describes the company as a VW Approved Converter, Motorhome Qualified, National Caravan Council Approved and with GB Type approval. Ask how the exact van you are buying is approved on each base and what the V5C body type will say, and get it in writing with the quote.

Lead times and deposits

Ask for the current wait for a build to order on each base, whether a stock van or a choose-your-layout van cuts that wait, how much deposit is taken and when the balance is due. Then ask what happens to the price if the base van's list price rises between order and delivery.

Who should buy from Bilbo's, and who should look elsewhere

It suits you if

• You want a Transporter-sized camper with a raising roof from a converter that has converted Transporters since 1977.
• You like a settled layout, the Celex or the Nexa+, built the same way many times, rather than a bespoke design.
• You want the choice of a VW or a Ford badge on the same living space, and the option of a plug-in hybrid on the VW side.
• Owner-voted aftercare scores matter more to you than a long options list.

Look elsewhere if

• You want a fixed washroom with a shower or a fixed bed. Those need a bigger van, and our guide to the types of campervan conversion explains the trade-offs. If standing height without raising a roof matters, ask about Bilbo's High-Top, which its Celex page lists as an option on short wheelbase Space, Celex, Nexa and Nexa+ models, and ask for the overall height on the T7 or Transit Custom you are quoted.
• You want a conversion drawn around your own ideas; ask Bilbo's whether it takes on bespoke work before you rule it in or out.
• You want a different base altogether. Bilbo's builds on the Transporter and the Transit Custom, and nothing in the published range suggests anything else.
• You are in a hurry and nothing in stock fits; a build to order will mean a wait, and only Bilbo's can tell you how long.

Three questions to ask on the phone

1. What is the plated weight and the payload of this layout on this base, with this engine and roof? A car licence (category B) covers a motor caravan with a maximum authorised mass of up to 3,500 kg, so ask for the plated weight on the V5C or the certificate of conformity for the exact van, but payload is what decides whether six people, a full water tank and a weekend's kit are legal together. Ask for the figure for the exact van, not the range.
2. What is the lead time and the deposit for a build to order, and will you convert a van I already own? The second half of that question matters if you have a T5, T6, T7 or a recent Transit Custom on the drive, and the answer, with any conditions, should be in writing.
3. How is this exact van approved on its base, what will the V5C body type say, and what does the three-year conversion warranty cover? Bilbo's website describes the company as National Caravan Council Approved and with GB Type approval, so ask for the approval paperwork for your van and the warranty document before you pay a deposit, and ask whether the Ford-based van carries the same cover as the VW.

Where to see one

Bilbo's showed the Celex on both bases and the new Nexa+ at the NEC in February 2026; our round-up of British converters at the NEC in 2026 puts that in context. The Motorhome and Caravan Show at the NEC runs from 13 to 18 October 2026, so ask whether the van you want is on the stand before you travel. Otherwise the Surrey showroom holds new and used stock, which is the better place to sit in a Celex and a Nexa+ back to back and decide which kitchen you want to live with.

The bottom line

Bilbo's is the steady choice in a part of the market that is full of newer names. The layouts are familiar, the range is short, the warranties are stated in plain terms, and the awards come from the people who wrote the cheques. On 13 October 2026 a new T7 Celex or Nexa+ in stock was listed between £69,300 and £77,930, with the Celex also shown on the Ford Transit Custom. If a raising-roof Transporter camper is what you want, Bilbo's belongs on your shortlist; read the two sibling reviews, then phone with the three questions above.