VW Crafter Campervan Conversion: Sizes and Layouts

Why the Crafter

The Crafter is Volkswagen’s large van, and since 2017 it has been a van VW designed on its own rather than a sister of the Mercedes Sprinter. For a campervan it sits in the same class as the Sprinter, the Fiat Ducato and the large Ford Transit: tall enough to stand up in, long enough for a fixed bed, a kitchen and a washroom, and heavy enough that weight becomes the limit before space does.

What draws people to it is the choice of drive. The Crafter comes with front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive or 4MOTION all-wheel drive, all with the 2.0 TDI engine, and with a manual or an 8-speed automatic gearbox. The MAN TGE is the same van with a different grille and trim, built in the same Polish factory, so everything below applies to a TGE too.

Sizes: Wheelbase and Roof

VW sells the Crafter panel van in three lengths and three roof heights. These are VW UK’s own figures for the 3.5-tonne CR35.

• Medium wheelbase (MWB): 3,640mm wheelbase, 3,450mm of load length at the floor, 5,986mm overall. Standard high roof or an optional low roof.
• Long wheelbase (LWB): 4,490mm wheelbase, 4,300mm of load length, 6,836mm overall. High roof as standard, super-high optional.
• LWB Maxi: the same wheelbase with a longer rear overhang, 4,855mm of load length, 7,391mm overall.

Width is the same on every version: 1,832mm of load width and 1,380mm between the wheel arches.

Internal height depends on the roof and the drive. On a front-wheel-drive van the high roof gives 1,961mm and the super-high roof 2,189mm. Rear-wheel drive and 4MOTION raise the floor by 100mm, so the same roofs give 1,861mm and 2,089mm. If you are tall and want rear or all-wheel drive, that 100mm is the reason to look at the super-high roof.

Outside, VW gives overall heights of about 2.35m, 2.59m and 2.79m for the low, high and super-high roofs. None of them fits under a typical 2.1m car park barrier.

The Width Question: Can You Sleep Sideways?

Most layout decisions in a large van come down to whether the bed runs across the van or along it. A bed across the back (a transverse bed) saves around a metre of length, which is what lets a mid-length van fit a washroom as well.

The Crafter’s 1,832mm is bare-metal width. Once the walls are insulated and panelled you lose several centimetres on each side, and that leaves too little for most adults to sleep across the van without their feet touching the wall. The Fiat Ducato is wider at 1,870mm, which is a large part of why it underpins so many motorhomes.

In practice Crafter builds go one of three ways:

1. Bed lengthways along one side or across the rear as two singles. This uses more length, which the LWB and Maxi have.
2. Body flares: moulded panels fitted into cut-outs in the side walls that add a few centimetres of width at bed height, so a transverse bed fits. They work well but are a real bodywork job, so ask the converter how many they have fitted.
3. A transverse bed for shorter owners, where nobody sleeping in it is tall. Lie on a mock-up before you agree to it.

Which Crafter for Which Build

MWB high roof is the compact full-conversion choice. There is room for a fixed bed or a rock and roll bed, a kitchen and a small washroom, and at under 6m it is the easiest Crafter to live with day to day.

LWB high or super-high is where most full-time and touring builds end up. The 4,300mm load bay takes a dinette, a proper galley, a washroom and a fixed bed with a garage underneath.

LWB Maxi adds rear overhang, not wheelbase. You get more garage and more bed length, but at 7.4m it is a long vehicle for UK lanes, ferries and campsite pitches.

Payload

On the 3.5-tonne versions, payload depends heavily on drive and body. Parkers quotes around 1,376kg for a front-wheel-drive MWB, and says rear-wheel drive adds about 100kg to the kerb weight and 4MOTION about 150kg. Every kilo of extra kerb weight comes straight off what you can carry.

A full conversion with a washroom, water, batteries and belongings uses more of that than people expect, particularly on a 4MOTION LWB. Some owners move to a heavier plated van, which in turn changes licence requirements for drivers without C1 entitlement. Run the numbers on our payload calculator before you choose the spec.

Crafter or Sprinter?

The two are the obvious rivals and suit the same builds. The differences that matter for a camper are the exact dimensions of the versions you are comparing, the drive options and the price of a good used example, so compare like for like. Our Mercedes Sprinter conversion guide covers the other side of the comparison.

The Factory Option: Grand California

VW’s own motorhome on the Crafter is the Grand California, in a 600 version at 5.98m long and a 680 at 6.80m. VW UK lists it from £85,408 on the road. It is a useful benchmark when you compare quotes, because it shows what a factory-finished Crafter motorhome costs before any bespoke work.

What a Crafter Conversion Costs

Crafter builds are full conversions, so they sit at the upper end of the market. Only three of the eight Crafter converters in our directory publish a price range, which is too few to quote a typical figure honestly. Our price list shows every converter that publishes prices, and the cost calculator gives an indicative range by van size and spec.

VW UK listed the Crafter panel van from £46,891 on the road when we checked in September 2026, and used examples cost much less. The base van is often the single biggest cost after the conversion itself.

Finding a Crafter Converter

Eight converters in our directory list the Crafter among the vans they build on. Ask each one:

• How many Crafter conversions they have completed, and whether you can see one in your wheelbase and roof height.
• Whether they fit body flares, and how they seal them.
• What the finished weight of a comparable build was, and how much payload it left.
• Whether they have built on 4MOTION, if you want it, since the raised floor changes the furniture heights.

Browse the Crafter converters in our directory, compare their reviews and published details, then request quotes on the same written spec.