Van of enormous power Mk 4

[Joeboy]

Best to start a new thread on our 4th van.

Going to commence a DEEP clean of the van and test the ehu today. It has a LB but I'll have to look into that later. First big ticket item is the replacement of of double glazed (polycarbonate).window which is badly cracked/split. It's a £500 item plus p&p.

I'm going to look into polycarbonate fuseable chemicals and a flexible clear sheet stickyback overlay for the outer window skin once all crack are fused. If that doesnt work I'll pay for the new window. If anyone has a caravan/RV breakers near them it's a 1999 Ford Transit based Autosleeper legend and it's the drivers side rear window I'm looking for.

The van cost me £9k, I reckon I'll spend £2k on it to bring it up to where I want it to be for safe reliable off grid capable Euro travel. Definitely work to be done on the 12V side of things as we have led's and ceramic heaters these days. I liked Stinsy's idea of a 4 pack of LF280's supplying a few kWh's of stored power run off the alternator. These vans go for £14k up to an eye-watering forecourt shiny dealer price of £23k. There's also a roof rack of some type and a rear ladder. I wonder what size panel it would take?

There's a huge amount of space inside compared to the Bongo, this van has serious potential to be our longterm travelwagon. A Autosleeper installed split system on gas/ehu for water, fridge freezer, cooker, toilet & shower. If most of that works we are golden If not, we'll work out what we actually need and do our best to shift gas to fallback after offgrid & ehu.

Had it power washed in Glasgow yesterday, what came off it was frankly ridiculous So it begins!



There's one bit of damage to the monocoque. It's small, a couple of 50p piece size, I'll get into that once the rain stops with my new Fibreglass kit.bought at the Barras.

[Stinsy]

This is what you need for the roof:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296453849020

[Joeboy]

This is what you need for the roof:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/296453849020

That looks like the very ticket. Sadly i'm at the other end of the spectrum today and just about to google toilet cassettes, their emptying and hope it is indeed empty! Mmmmn.

Certainly it and the bathroom with be emptied and bleached to an inch of their bio life.

[spread-tee]

Nice one Joe happy wandering. I managed to do a reasonable repair on our caravan window with waste pipe solvent weld, I did make the mistake of trying to wipe off the excess before it had dried which just left a smear, probably better to dry first and trim off with a blade.
We decided to get rid of the bog and all its gubbins as we have not really needed it, but if you are planning wild camping then it will be a boon.
For power I use a 80W panel on the end of 10m of 4mm flex, this lets us park up in the shade to avoid overheating, allows flexibility in positioning the van, and I have a knackered old camp chair which lets me position the panel in the best rays. Hardly ever use the hook up, but we do cook and refrigerate on gas.

Having said all that we are getting rid of the van and moving over to a tent for the flexibility and ease of upping sticks and moving on

Desp

[Joeboy]

Nice one Joe happy wandering. I managed to do a reasonable repair on our caravan window with waste pipe solvent weld, I did make the mistake of trying to wipe off the excess before it had dried which just left a smear, probably better to dry first and trim off with a blade.
We decided to get rid of the bog and all its gubbins as we have not really needed it, but if you are planning wild camping then it will be a boon.
For power I use a 80W panel on the end of 10m of 4mm flex, this lets us park up in the shade to avoid overheating, allows flexibility in positioning the van, and I have a knackered old camp chair which lets me position the panel in the best rays. Hardly ever use the hook up, but we do cook and refrigerate on gas.

Having said all that we are getting rid of the van and moving over to a tent for the flexibility and ease of upping sticks and moving on

Desp

Cheers Desp, Im buying a couple of products from Bondrite and see what we can do to bring the window back. If I can get it fused and watertight i''ll trach down some stickers of Frankenstein staples and apply them.

Check out the bodywork damage hidden under a sticker! I don't mind that they've slapped a sticker on to hide it but it disrespects the watertight integrity of the monocoque and i'm not into that. Cut all the loose and green tinged crap out, keyed it and packed it deep into the hole. Repairs are ongoing between the rain but at least its watertight now. Deep clean is going well, toilet will only be used for a pee if at all. Shower not at all. With my Gillette deodorant i can be a few days without a shower and not have people fleeing in the streets as I approach.

Maybe both damage happened at the same time? The guy I bought it from is a trader and hadn't done anything apart from put it up online. I pounced immediately. Got a new bottle of gas this morning and the cooker, grill and oven test out fine as does the ehu and electric sides of space heater and fridge freezer. Yes indeed, freezer.

[richbee]

Looks like a fun project!
I have a friend with a similar age of transit camper - he seems to enjoy exploring in it - but he does also seem to spend quite a bit of time welding up the chassis and inner wings etc - hope yours is good and sound - might be worth smothering the underside in some Lanoguard or similar

[Joeboy]

Looks like a fun project!
I have a friend with a similar age of transit camper - he seems to enjoy exploring in it - but he does also seem to spend quite a bit of time welding up the chassis and inner wings etc - hope yours is good and sound - might be worth smothering the underside in some Lanoguard or similar

We're off to the races. First layer of fg has hardened. I'll trim the edge again tomorrow and do layer two.



Ehu connected so the stack is running the 500W heater in the van overnight and also a dehumidifier to get it down to a good baseline to work from. In saying that it'll be pulling humidity through the window split...

[knighty]

keep your eye out for a turbo for it, or a knackered turbo van you can nick the parts from

it's shocking the difference it makes and how much nicer they are to drive

[Joeboy]

keep your eye out for a turbo for it, or a knackered turbo van you can nick the parts from

it's shocking the difference it makes and how much nicer they are to drive

It's a 2.5ltr turbo. Does about 500 miles to the tank. I'll be dropping all fluids & filters next couple of weeks. I might play about with the fuel injection pump and air intake, just to increase response time. Pretty much in 5th gear all the way up the road about 2700rpm and not above 3,000.

[Joeboy]

I've ordered two types of chemical swag from bondrite for the window repair attempt. Also Captain Tolly's crack spreader stopper. Yes indeed. It's a whole new world!

SWMBO had the" its too big a van, I don't like it " first reaction when I arrived home last night. Went into van with me tonight tonight for a cold beer out the van fridge before dinner, heater, dehumidifier and classic fm on. There was an almost audible click as she looked around and switched to, RIGHT, what we'll do is...

That was smashing.

She is now hunting down a small air fryer, micro and small dehumidifier. I've asked that these be nearly new not new units. Minimise our plastic count a little and keep the 7kg gas bottle installed today as back up. Actually, that's a point. I'll need a good kettle. I'm sure there are a few down the cabin.