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My little white van is going
Bought the replacement battle bus today today.
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Collect it Tuesday. It's a whopping 7.140m long it's bigger than my garage.
It may only do 60mph And 22ish mpg but it was fairly priced and does what I need without being in the 10s of thousands.....
Has blown air heating and gas stoves - fridge -plumbed in water In the smev unit and the toilet sink- yes it has a thetford cartridge unit in a cludgy. Properly plumbed in led lighting and leisure batteries with proper control panels.
The van has 97k on the clock backed up by the old mots and drives like a van that has 100k on the clock - IE like a shiny new one did when it was 12 years ago. No mistaking it was a van but when you have your bed on your back there's no need to go fast.
Looking forward to some adventures in it. (After I've given it a clean up and replaced both the rooflites which have been sealed shut and cleaned up the under side and get it treated as I would my land rover as it's tidy ATM but in 5 years time I'm sure it'll be looking tatty if I don't start now)
More pics to follow.
edit - apparently photos are ambitious for me these days..... bare with me.
Edit edit - fingers crossed this time....
Love it, puts my wee vivaro to shame. My father in law has just finished a sprinter conversion and I really envy the space he has got. But as my van is my only vehicle then I think I have the best compromise. Enjoy all the adventures 🙂
Iveco Daily ?
Probably a Parcelforce van originally.
I've van envy with that one. If I had the space, I'd have one of those for trips out and have my Vivaro for days out and tip runs etc
year daily 35s12
heavy on fuel but less rusty and less prone to terminal rust that some of the other BIG options - ie sprinter and transit XLs which all seem to be silly rusty at young ages.
it has parcelforce heritage. the milage doesnt really correlate with it being a delivery van though especially with the mots backing up the milage. the story goes it was part of a cancelled order of parcelforce vans and the conversion co bought a number of them. When i was googling there are quite a number of red vans with the same layout(which is a strange layout imo having the toilet AND the garage. which suggests it probably has some credence although as it was the previous owner telling me this and with no paperwork to back it up sceptical cat is sceptical how ever i must say when i looked at the van - even as cynical as i am my spidy senses were not tingling re it being abused or dodgy in any way. Seemed an honest van that had got rough around the edges , the previous owner was an older retired fella who didnt seem to be as fleet as he probably once was so unable to do the work needed i reckon.
Yay, you got it! Glad this one didn't turn out to be a wasted trip.
As I said it looks a beast, if it was just the two of us I'd have something like that in a heartbeat.
More pics please....this is what mrs_oab and I need IMO.
When it's home on Tuesday I'll get some better ones. That was just the sellers
Looks great, and vaguely familiar which isn't surprising if a company did a batch of cancelled parcelforce vans.
If it feels at all wobbly or unstable, check the antiroll bar bushes at the back, they are cheap and the whole bar comes off so easy to change. Made a huge difference on my 2005 van, and I noticed they are starting to go on my current van which is 2014 with just 15k on it.
Trailrat, how did you link your blog to your username?
I like it. I have buddies that use these for MX and they swear by them. As you know people who do engines like to be able to fix their own.
I just put the link into the URL box on profile but that was 10+ years ago......Really should change that now I don't race (for any more than fun) nor update it any more
Wish I'd had this van when I was racing 🙂
I miss my 35s12 camper van. That also had the rear ARB bushes go.
The big heavy side doors seem to need frequent adjustment to keep the closing properly.
MPG was a little better than 22, mid 20's typically, to high 20's on a run, that was a MWB.
If it's not getting frequent (weekly) use leave the handbrake off. This is good practice with anything, but the rear calipers on these are prone to being a bit sticky.
Aye cheers for heads up mark90
That's a matter course when you own French I rarely use hand brake at home as I work away so 5 weeks static and it's stuck on.....
Is there anything I can strip and lube on the rear brakes to make it less prone to sticking ....I'll be investigating possibilities anyway when I get it home.
Anyway for now I have a list of jobs that built up while I was away to get working through so I get van time next week 🙂
The handbrake is a mechanical linkage to the rear hydraulic caliper. So the usual keeping all the linkage free and greased up, the cables running free. I had a sticky cable on one side, and also a sticky piston on the same side. Not sure if the piston was a result of the sticky cable and it not retracting/releasing properly for a period of time. Ended up replacing both the cables and one caliper. Being a camper and not getting such frequent use probably a contributing factor. Though have know others with handbrake/rear caliper issues on these.
Hopefully the bodywork is good, I think the paint is better on the coloured vans than the white ones like mine, which had a thin/poor coat of paint, especially the roof.
Waiting for the rest of the photos 🙂
I ended up changing both rear callipers. I noticed the first one whilst filling up with diesel, noticed a funny smell so turned around to see the rear wheel smoking right by the pump!
Keep the sliders greased!
They often have paint issues above the windscreen, apparently the robot paint arms couldn't quite reach so the paint is thinner there!
got a big tube of ceramic slider lube. Will be sure to check the condition of them when I get it home.
Equally the load sensing valve.
The front of the roof looks pretty good on mine as does the joint in the roof......I didn't have. Aladder so I just reversed the berlingo next to it and jumped on the bingo roof 🙂
That looks really quite nice - I'm semi hankering after another camper.
Would love to see more pictures when you get it home.
Am liking the notion of a toilet sink Trailrat...I guess most campers with sinks fall into that category 😯
Brilliant, I love these threads. Watching with jealous/dreamy eyes.
You shouldn't need to worry bout the brakes sticking on while your away, potato and I are already in kahoots about taking it out weekend about when it is not in use by u 😉
So are my parents.
They have notions of going to France in it at end of April. That's not happening.
Needs a bit of work before that happens.
Rooflites fitted , timing belt , water pump ,full service , ( both standard for any vehicle I buy) couple of warning lights to put out , reversing camera since the rear doors are in another timezone , get the rear appliances tested and generally get a feel for the vehicle. I wouldn't drive it to France in april my self tbh can only tell so much from a short test drive.
well i got it home, drives well for its size. Its not without its faults - i'm not a rich git so i accept compromises and am willing to put in work to get what i want. - its fuel consumption is attrocious at best(but i suspect a good service will alleviate some of that - it feels a bit strangled at full throttle) - its got a little bit of a mould thing going on at the rear due to the leaky roof lite (but nothing serious) its got a few loose panels and such that im going to tend to quick smart and some design flaws that ive identified and am planning fixes for. First up is to get it dried out and water tight -worry about the rest after thht step.
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4 inches to spare at each end and even with all terrain tires on the back it didn't want to go across the flat grass !
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Wife wasn't too happy
when i wanted to see on the roof.....Just stood on top of her berlingo 🙂
Got it home last night , drives really well for he size of it.
Needs a good service and belts/pumps etc doing.
Heater is stuck on - it's a Truma trumatic and seemingly it's a stuck relay in the control panel from research.
The front bed panel needs bracing.
There is a water pipe off the back of the toilet sink which i found when i turned the pumps on.
Both roof lights are banjod
I've got the dehumidifier in there just now drying it out - while my new roof lights get shipped. There is some mold/mildew that needs a good scrub and a varnish.
In all not too many surprises i hadn't seen when viewing.
Be in good shape for europe next summer i think , this summers already planned and it involves long distance biking 😀
crack on with it I need it ready by May
It looks like a tram with the electricity pylon in the roof! That should ease the deisel costs!
Moss on your patio could do with being treated.
patio..... thats a stretch 😀 im hoping the moss takes over then i can just cut it like grass 😀
Toilet looks a bit cramped. Btw, that squeezy bottom ain't for soap.
youve lost me dave...
its a thetford cartridge unit - that little cupboard behind the generator in the garage is the gas unit and inside that is another cupboard for the thetford to slide in and out of .....camper van rules = NO POO ALLOWED 😉
but yeah its a propper tiny little cludgy im not sure my shoulders fit in it haha.
first order of stuff gone in for a new roof light for the front - fiamma 40x40 crystal vent. I was investigating with a screw driver yesterday and for the rear one it looks to be in good nick and is a mini heki S with blind and fly screen so i think i am going to reuse that - its the bodged sealing round it thats been leaking rather than the roof light its self.
Need to get some PVC window board to make the roof level and also a reinforcing ring out of ply for the inside - that should solve it.
one thing that became apparent last night that it was cold when i got in but with just the dehumidifier going it get warm quick. Its got 3cm kingspan on the roof at least.
Yes I was implying that the garage was the cludgie, would be amusing to see you stooped over in there. Stupid autocorrect changed button to bottom, was talking about the chemical flush.
And we'll see how long that rule lasts, its really not as bad as the whingers make out so long as you actually dose it properly. Beats freezing your arse off in the wilds and pissing rain. And better than dealing with shitty nappies.
The Heki S is a decent rooflight...I use glazing silicone to seal it. Get a strip of UPVC and cut sections out of it and bed them down in the roof grooves to make a level surface, then another fat bead to bed the rooflight down onto.
I bought the Midi's for my latest van, pretty much run out of space on the roof with two of those and two solar panels!
P.S Toyo H09's are about the most aggressive tyre you can put on your 15" wheels.
The swooshes on the side really do a great job of disguising the shape. Is it about the same size as a LWB T5?
That's wayyyy bigger than a T5 LWB Shifter, by about 2m!
That vanlooksalmost identical to one that was itched up next to us last summer the seller doesn't fit the description of the family next door so there must be at least a couple about.
The interior in the one I saw was straight out of an Eldis motorhome. Exactly the same as my MiL's van.
It looked a good layout, decent room, good sized garage.
Is that 2metres or 2 miles.....
It's visible from space.
A whole lot more van for less than a 1/3rd of the price of a comparribly decked out t5 and the space is more usable.
My number 1 was i must be able to stand in it at 6ft 3 my second was bikes must be inside -that instantly writes off swb t5s with a conversion in. And thirdly i wanted a fixed bed and storage space for gear. I just saw a t5 getting cramped and expensive quickly.
It's not my primary mode of transport like most folks t5s so i won't be hammering the miles into it either.
If it doesn't get the use of anticipate I'll sell it on. It's a big beast to keep on the drive.
Cheers BBS
Got previous owners details off log book half tempted to see if i can get hold of him see if he can shed any light on its history... Always nice to know a little more he had it for 10 years
Hit the black spots with mould killer/cleaner.....Almost all of it gone...... Will hit it again later and i reckon it'll be back spik and span. Picked up some UPC while I was out and orders some of that non settings bedding mastic the lads on homebuilt camper talk fondly of....And a few tubes of sikaflex. While I'm in about I'm going to reseal the side window as well just to be sure to be sure like.
Should get my fiamma 40*40 tomorrow for above the living area and assuming decent weather I'll have a go at fitting that before I disturb the mini heki and end up with a totally unsealed van 🙂
I was trying to be funny; clearly I failed miserably 🙁
Ah well good effort 🙂
The high density foam has cleaned up and looks like new and the side window blinds have been dismantled , cleaned up and reassembled . Now the fly screen works as designed 🙂
Small jobs but they are ticking off the list at least.
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Most of the soft furnishings are in the house while I work on it. But yeah black and white piped leather is the colour scheme.....Boak. more money than taste who ever converted it. I'll make some throws for the seats for now and put water proof covers in the front
Heading back to my folks in it this weekend get hand off my pops to seal the roof lights and windows. Extra hands needed
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Anyone any ideas on this button ?
3 way rocker not checked it's wired up yet but it doesn't seem to do owt.
I guess at load bay fan/ventilation
Wait, you have a toilet in the cab AND the garage?
Fancy.
Sweet van! You're gonna have loads of fun in that 🙂
Switch at a guess Suck, Blow, Off 😀 Is there a fan in one of the rooflights ?
Busy morning while back as my folks fitting a new roof light to replace the forward broken one. Used a crystal fiamma 40*40 vent to replace a white broken heki quad.
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What I found with the old broken roof light off. Very little gunk on the window and a discontinuous bead on the roof - along with a bunch of brittle non stuck to the roof sealant that had been smeared around the outside to try and seal it I guess......It was a mess
So opened up the hole and squared it off with the jigsaw so the new window fitted and scraped all the gunk off ...Then sanded all the edges and hit it up with some baremetal primer to protect it
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Next up we put structure into the under side of the roof and built it up to slope outwards so we had water run off. We filled in the roof profiles with PVC window board
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Those were sikaflex 512'd in place and left for a little bit while we had a coffee.
Came back covered the under side of the window in significant amounts non settings bedding mastic from the caravan shop. And plopped it on. Squared it up, fitted the interior pieces to hold it in place - then popped sealant in each screw hole and started screwing from above with 30mm self drilling stainless screws before covering the top of each screw with more sealant and applying more round the edge and smoothing off.
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And just because I don't have before photos of the front window - here's the rear window before I strip it out tomorrow if it's not raining
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Are you not worried that that face on the underside of the basin is going to be watching you every time you go to the toilet???
Am nae shy.
My mate said something similar about me fitting a clear roof light " you not worried that people will be able to see in that window" - " na mate if someone can see through that window I'll be oot side giving it get tae **** aff they roof o my van ye wee gobshites
Is it just me that thinks a better solution would have been a bigger roof light covering that whole oblong giving a flat surface to work off? The placement on the back one is just as bad (if not worse by virtue of the fact that moving it about 100mm would be working with a completely flat opening)
Not knocking your work btw, just the muppets that built it.
I was thinking the same about why they cut them like that in the first place.
The mind boggles about many things. The toilets my biggest why.....
But for what I paid and the adventure it'll bring I'll live with it.
As for why not a bigger roof windows .... A heki midi to fit that gap would be 200quid....
The mind boggles about many things. The toilets my biggest why.....
But for what I paid and the adventure it'll bring I'll live with it.
As for why not a bigger roof windows .... A heki midi to fit that gap would be 200quid....
I think some converters just do whatever is quick and cheap with whatever they have to hand (especially where nobody will look).
Best one I saw at work was a company doing seat conversions where the purchasing guy shaved a few quid replacing long 12.9 cap heads with some grade 6 threaded bar and a couple of nuts. Only discovered by the design engineer when they failed the next test and the half attached seat ripped the floor of a brand new body shell. I think that one ended up a negative cost saving....
Wasn't questioning your purchase, as we discussed before caravan suppliers are crooks!
Ah that roof profile brings back memories, including the annoying bits that fill with water and don't drain. Should be well sealed now though, nice job.
I've got two midi hekis (secondhand ones) and they still don't fit the roof corrugations :d Pain in the backside but I knew that when I got them!
I think they are sized to suit coach roof windows/escape hatches.
Switch - I bet its for the mystery round thing on the roof thats been blanked. Might have been original fit for Parcelforce.
Can the double glazed plastic caravan / camper windows be fitted as roof light or will they just leak in that orientation?
Can the double glazed plastic caravan / camper windows be fitted as roof light or will they just leak in that orientation?
Rooflights have a substantial upstand and a seal to prevent standing or wind driven water from getting in. Windows only have a seal.
Its quite normal to have water still pooling against the rooflight after several dry days, that would all come in as soon as you'd open it. And even if the rooflight was watertight, the seal would often be full of water....waiting to drain 🙂
Brilliant.
this springs to mind though.. 😉
http://www.wiltsglosstandard.co.uk/news/15063640.Vandals_attack_elderly_man_s_beloved_banana_coloured_car__blamed_for_destroying_picturesque_view_in_Bibury/
haha senor j i live in horse country. + none of my neighbours can see it as im end of terrace - equally what used to live there in that spot was a land rover discovery shell i stripped out.
Horse boxes are common place around me - especially now the equestrian centre down the road is being built.
By horse box standards - especially the ones near me , this things both modern and good looking........
But your right it could be a little more incognitus...... While up on the roof i spotted some bits and bobs of surface rust that could do with treating and spraying ..... i couldn't help but think the whole thing would look better in a medium green with not those stickers all over....... we are going to need a big shed and a lot of paint .....wheres kenneththecurtain when you need him.
the fiamma has nearly 50mm of upstand between the roof and the "opening part"
Switch - I bet its for the mystery round thing on the roof thats been blanked. Might have been original fit for Parcelforce.
possibly and today while i'm doing the rear roof light - and can reach the round thing - ill take the three screws out and whip the top off for a look at whats inside.
Took it out for 150 mile round trip at the weekend . its a surprisingly wafty kind of drive on the dualcarridgeway . Its hardwork on the road from mine to the dualer - 15 miles or so of twisty ups and downs - continually up and down the gear box and slowing for corners especially as it was "damp" on saturday it certainly has understeer on greasy roads. Was much better coming home on the dry roads so i suspect it has ditchfinder tires on the front.
Its not as bad on fuel as folk say - 150 miles on 1/4 tank will work for me but i do tend to drive it like my landy - 55ish or the cooker , fridge and other metal bits like to rattle about - it seems to hit resonant frequency about 62 and drives me nuts 😀
Cruise control topped the list as a requirement though - 55 puts the throttle pedal at quite a height in 5th ....
That's an awesome van. I don't have a lot of use for one really... but doesn't stop me wanting one !
I assume its got cruise fitted? Easy and cheap upgrade if not as the van is already wired for it.
No cruise. But I've already spied out what's needed. 🙂 Plug in and play.
More pressing issues first.
Found the source of the damp in the back corner.
Some nugget who couldn't live without tv fitted the maxview in be corner using hopes and dreams to seal it.....Cue water ingress.
Solved now and only the insulation is banjoed- easy fix....It's sealed now and the dehumidifiers dryinbit out as we speak. Once moisture meter says so I'll get new insulation in there.
Moved onto that rear window yesterday. Soon as I removed the window it became clear that the main thing keeping water out of the interior at the aerial was hopes and dreams.....Not an ounce of sealant -and lots of water in that corner of the van....
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As soon as I removed the window my telltail was this black mouldy glass fibre. It'll all be replaced once the woods dried out . The wood is wet but it isn't mouldy Or gone soft But I've mould killered it and scrubbed it anyway as a precaution.
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Left that open yesterday and then because it wasn't raining last night I just put the roof light on it unsealed and ran the dehimidifier all night with the cavity vented.
Tonight once it was all dry on the moisture meter I reinsulated it with fresh glassfibre and fitted the roof light the same way I did the front one. - I must say I do like the fiamma system better from a fitting point of view it makes more logical sense in my mind.
I also fitted the reversing camera today while I had the back of the living area open and easy access.
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It's hiding a bank of 6 empty switch covers. Was going to flush mount it lower down where the coin tray is but I needed it to be angled to view nicely.
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The camera at the back
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The view from my bed.
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Looking straight up from the same place. This is where the mini heki now resides. Has the roller insulated blind and fly screen fitting for under to keep sun/condensation off my face.
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Anyone got any clever tricks for repairing this neatly. It's a light oak veneer I was thinking a light sand -fill with light filler - Sand over again .
It's all because poor fixtures were used for stresses applied in the wrong plane by a hanging ladder. Going to fit a floor standing ladder with fiamma hooks so I can still remove it and put it in the cupboard as the kitchen doesn't work with it in situ.
Anyone got any clever tricks for repairing this neatly. It's a light oak veneer I was thinking a light sand -fill with light filler - Sand over again .
Thats pretty much about all you can do I would say. Maybe get a couple of different shades and apply it randomly to minimise that its all one splodge of patch.
Van looks good.
Are you not worried that that face on the underside of the basin is going to be watching you every time you go to the toilet???
That expression suggests it has seen too much!
remember i said not to ambitious ....
well the dash boards out ..... van was sold to me as not having central locking.... so when i found out it did and it just wasnt working quite right well that made it a mission to sort ....
Turns out there was a timer delay relay under the dash that had gone haywire - part of some kind of postman security system to keep the back locked. When ever you unlocked it would relock its self. Which in a camper leads to all sorts of paranoia about where the key is everytime you get out ....
Central lockings now working as it should how ever upon looking into why drivers door didnt lock it appears the drivers door loom is missing and the solenoid fires perfectly when tested - presumably no fitted so postman pat didnt lock him self out. ebay turned up the relevent sub loom for 10 quid and i also found all the cables for cruise control so ordered up a wiper stalk with the cruise functions on and spookys mates assure me its plug in and play 😀
Today ive been doing fault diagnosis on the truma heater... main fault being it wont bloody go off. after a few phone calls and some stabbing about with a multi meter the experts tell me its banjo'd so a new one of them then.
on the plus side - my roof repairs have stood up to doris. No moisture inside at all today. plywoods reading 13% pretty much all over which is a bonus as it was damn near 100% when i started.
Well after 2 weeks solid graft (I'm on days off ATM) and about 500 earth pounds I now have a van I can proudly say looks no different to when I bought it....To the naked eye.
How ever it's clean. And it's not leaking from the roof nor from the sink in the bathroom. That sink can never have been used since fitting as who ever fitted it hadn't applied Newton's laws. The drain hose went higher than the level of the sink so it would never drain.
Plan for wed-thursday is timing belt , water pump, thermostat and a full filters/fluids service
did timing belt and water pump in my iveco recently, was much easier than i expected.
Cool have done dw8s and 200tdi so hoping it's no worse than dw8.
Access looks alot better at least.
Can be done without removing the front end by all accounts but I think I will take the front off and paint the subframe etc while it's open
yeah, i watched a youtube vid where a guy had the whole front off, i didnt do that though, just took off the intercooler.
Aye looks like it could be done that way nae bother but I'd quite like to get into the engine bay and give it a check and get under the battery tray. I suspect there may be a hole there .....There apparently usually is and from the underside I think I thought I saw one when I was viewing it. Have welder will weld. 🙂
Front comes off nice and easy, probably not worth trying to work around it 🙂
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you done the timing belt on your old one then ?
any tips or special tools required ?
That removable front section is a great idea. I've just done the TB on my Iveco powered MH. The engine's transverse and the TB cover doesn't remove completely unless due to the proximity of the wheel well and the AC pipes. It was an interesting experience I'm not in hurry repeat any time soon 😀
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some of the quality wiring ive come across.....
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any idea whats up with that .... no me either despite extensive prodding with my multimeter and resoldering of dry joints. . 230 quid later and my truma e2400 works again heating the van from 0-15 degrees in 10 minutes or so.
what you need is a helpful meerkat...
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Loving this, wish I had the time to do a project like this....
any idea whats up with that .... no me either despite extensive prodding with my multimeter and resoldering of dry joints. . 230 quid later and my truma e2400 works again heating the van from 0-15 degrees in 10 minutes or so.
Most annoying. The board on my Combi wasn't opening the gas valve intermitently. No dry joints visible and no obvious sign of any components overheating. Truma's diagnosis involves putting the suspect PCB in a known to be working unit to see what happens. So no fault finding as such. The bugbear for me was the way they dealt with the problem which resulted in a load of long delays. Eventually a very helpful receptionist suggested I send the PCB in for testing. They did this free gratis and the problem was solved. The next hurdle was that they won't sell the spare parts to non approved repairers. What they don't tell you is that [url= http://www.miriad-products.com/ ]Miriad[/url]who are on exactly the same postcode will. Local "approved repairer".....Useless...and a long story.
Glad your sorted. 😀
I didn't do my timing belt, never done one. I'd want to practise on a banger first 🙂
That was the first of two replacement radiators.
Local approved repairer didn't even. Get a look. 60 quid plus vat per hour asked what he was gonna do and it was no more than I'd already done.... No thanks I'd probably have had a 230 quid billl ontop of my 230 quid bill.