Make the
van life
experience
affordable

Who is Ridervan?

We specialize in the purchase of used utility vehicles that we recondition: the bodywork is repaired to regain a second youth, the mechanics are completely overhauled, major preventive maintenance is carried out. Once these steps have been completed, we equip the utility vehicles in leisure campervans with our own fittings in order to obtain a second-hand carrier equipped with a new layout, certified by authorities, roadworthy and immediately available!

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Our history

THE GENESIS
OF RIDERVAN

Hello, I’m Geoffroy, creator of Ridervan. A fan of outdoor sports, I was also faced with the problem of accommodation (too expensive, too far from practice, too many constraints).

I had to find a way to stay in functional places for my equipment, inexpensive and in the middle of nature. . Trained to be an electrician and keen on handiwork, this is how I created my first converted Volkswagen T4. This one sold out on my first West Coast vacation! The following year, the same thing happened! That was at that time that I made the decision to create Ridervan in order to offer everyone an affordable van life.

Our expertise

The choice of
Reconditioning

Reconditioning at Ridervan is, above all, the result of a European cooperation.

Procurement

Ridervan selects vehicles through expert reports, photos and descriptions. Then, vehicles are negotiated by telephone or email. Used utility vehicles are purchased in Germany from Volkswagen Bank, Volkswagen dealership networks and specialist dealers.

Why Germany? Because it is the biggest second-hand market for Volkswagen Transporter.

Expertise of the carrier

Our transporter brings the vehicle back to the Ridervan Factory in Poland. A complete quality control of the vehicle is carried out to verify that the utility vehicle corresponds to the initial reservation. An additional check is carried out in parallel with Volkswagen to collect the information and the history of the vehicle and to detect potential defects or hidden information.

Reconditioning (mechanical and bodywork)

A meticulous mechanical maintenance is carried out: 200 control points are processed. The bodywork is inspected, the original exterior plastics are repainted in body color. The chassis is cleaned, degreased, covered with an anti-corrosion and anti-gravel coating. The exhaust system is treated with a high temperature paint. . The exhaust system is treated with a high temperature paint. The rims and tires are disassembled: the tires are recycled, the rims sandblasted and repainted with epoxy paint. The set is reinstalled with new tires.

Transformation (cutting/assembling)

The outline of the roof is drawn, the windows and the roof are cut out. Then, are installed in the order below: the roof (positioned, adjusted, prepared, glued), the auxiliary battery, the adhesive coating on the interior bodywork to fix the covering panels dedicated to felt and insulation, the windows, the bed and the floor, the water, gas and electricity circuits, the furniture, the household appliances (sink, gas cooker, fridge, etc.), the bench seat, the components of the driver’s cabin are reassembled.

Quality control and road test

A new detailed cleaning of the vehicle and of the bodywork is carried out. A quality control and a road test are performed. The van is weighed: front axle/rear axle/whole for load distribution calculation by our engineer as part of the certification file. Transformation certificates are issued, user manuals are printed. The vehicle is ready to be shipped to France.

Delivery of the campervan

It takes about 3 days for delivery from Poland. On arrival, Ridervan proceeds to a detailed analysis of each vehicle through two checklists: one on the mechanics and bodywork and the other on the fittings.

Ridervan is responsible for declaring and settling the tax clearance. This step regulates the VAT. It is one of the necessary documents to obtain the car registration document when the vehicle was purchased in a European Union country, other than France.

Certified leisure vehicles

The van is then prepared, washed, photographed and presented for technical inspection once the receipt for the registration file has been validated by the Regional Administration for vehicle certification (DREAL). The DREAL then proceeds to check the vehicle and its installations and issues approval documents crucial to modify the initial registration car document category to the leisure one.

Sale

The order form is completed, the requested supporting documents are: holder’s identity card, holder’s driving licence, co-holder’s identity card, proof of address in the holder’s name of less than 6 months old

Ridervan submits the request for a Provisional Registration Certificate, which is valid for 4 months and allows the customer to obtain his/her insurance certificate to retrieve the van.

Campervan delivery

Before handing over the keys to the customer, a final full check of the vehicle is made. The documents are prepared: the mandate, the transfer certificate, the registration application, the user manual (if the van is fitted out), the guarantee contract, the vehicle invoice. The van is delivered to the customer.

Our workshop

The RIDERVAN FACTORY

The Ridervan Factory is our reconditioning workshop in Poland. It takes delivery of vehicles from Germany, gives them a second lease of life (by checking mechanics, carrying out maintenance, repairing bodywork) then equips them with our new fittings. Ridervan Factory employs about forty people.

Our team

40 employees
at your disposal

Julie

Manager of the Rennes office

Julie supervises, plans and optimizes the various activities. She is the one who manages, leads and coordinates the teams to ensure the proper functioning of all the agency’s services.

Michał

Director of the Ridervan Factory

Michał organizes and optimizes all of our operations with the aim of continuously improving the performance of our teams and the quality of our produced vehicles.

Rose

Administrative assistant of the Rennes office

Rose manages customer relations, sets appointments, sets up Repair Orders, schedules technicians. She is in charge of administrative files for vehicles and after-sales service. She prepares quotes and invoices.

Krystian

Administrative Manager of the Ridervan Factory

Krystian joined Ridervan in 2018.
He initiated the creation of the Polish subsidiary with Geoffroy.
Together they led the first
vehicle transformation in Poland. Starting from nothing, they went from producing a van every 2 weeks to 1 vehicle a day leaving our factory.

Aurélie

Communication manager of the Rennes office

Aurélie sets up the strategy and tools to develop Ridervan’s notoriety. Her particularity: she is as comfortable responding to questions on social networks as to the economic press.

Przemysław

Production Manager of the Ridervan Factory

As production manager, his goal is to deliver the best possible products within delivery deadlines. He also organizes the work of the production teams.

Rafał

Quality Controller of the Ridervan Factory

Rafał is responsible for controls at every stage of production: he checks the quality of components and finished products, ensuring that the camper vans that leave our warehouses are safe and fully tested.

Olivia

Financial Manager of the Rennes office

Olivia coordinates and supervises accountancy, cash flow, the various means of financing and the financial policy of the company.

Bogdan

Logistics Manager of the Ridervan Factory

He is in charge of sourcing and purchasing utility vehicles in Germany

Ewa

Administrative and accounting assistant of the Ridervan Factory

Ewa calculates production costs and issues sales documents

Anthony

Fittings technician of the Rennes office

The installation of roofs, windows or interior fittings don’t hold any secrets for him and allow us to offer you the installation of à la carte options.

Natalia

Spare parts sales rep. of the Ridervan Factory

Natalia is in charge of the administrative part and the sale of spare parts recovered from our second-hand utility vehicles.

Florian

Mechanic of the Rennes office

A mechanical problem? A light that comes on? Florian will be able to find the origin of the breakdown in no time.

Krzysztof

Purchasing Manager of the Ridervan Factory

Krzysztof is responsible for negotiations with our suppliers.

Antoine

Sales assistant of the Rennes office

Antoine will be able to answer all your questions during a discovery meeting and will explain in detail how your vehicle works the day you get the keys.

Renata

Certification specialist of the Ridervan Factory

Renata deals with the approval of vehicles, that is to say the procedure of verification of technical standards before the setting on sale.

Agnieszka

Warehouse manager of the Ridervan Factory

She is in charge of logistics, warehouse management and production orders. She ensures that each employee has a fully equipped workstation.

Loïck

Vehicle preparer of the Rennes office

Loïck deals with the delivery of campervans from Poland and checks the vehicles. He gets them ready for roadworthiness and technical verifications, he takes care of them before clients get the keys: installation of options, cleaning, final check before departure .