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CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Fri May 26, 2017 10:51 pm

So! my rust removal efforts met with some success apart from one small detail.
I had to rinse off all that baking soda.
Several buckets of water later, I had problem number 2.
The back of the mat is made of foam. What does foam do with water? Yes, that's right.

When it left the factory, the foam was probably reasonably watertight. Having been peeled off of a rusty floor (probably more than once) not all of the foam is there, and it isn't very watertight. So I now have a soggy floor mat :(

Hoping for some sunshine to dry it out. Damn, cause I wanted to get THAT done so that I could work on reducing the 'pile of random bits' in the back down. I have no idea where all the bits go, either. I'll have to work that out as I go ...
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Sat May 27, 2017 8:25 pm

Today I reduced the pile of random bits in the back of the van significantly by, er, taking them out and stuffing them into the lockup :P

This at least gives me room to work on the van. Today's job was putting in the top shelf thingmy where the lights and that go in. The original had just been shoved in there and minimally secured with a metal bracket and screw in the GRP roof. Which leaked, and the whole thing got mouldy and saggy. Last weekend, me and the guy who's been doing the van until I demanded it back (It was taking too long and I need it to go to Glasto) did a replacement part, based on the original.

I had a look and a think about how best to attach this, and noticed six screw holes along the top of the windscreen. Hmm. Yes. A plan formed ...

Six posts were fabricated up ...

20170527_152722.jpg


And the board now rests on these ...

20170527_184155.jpg


.. and is secured by two brackets and self-tappers on either side:

20170527_184200.jpg


Finally, it was all glued in place with some of that Sticks Like Sh*t, and the toolbox placed on top (the light levels have been diddled with to make that more visible in the picture below).

20170527_185747.jpg


The plan tomorrow is to take that all off again, then run screws in from the top to better attach the board. Then, the plan was to construct a small cupboard up there but I don't think that will happen, not yet. Might just leave it as is and crack on with other bits of the van.

Also was shopping this morning. Four slabs of Xtratherm (which are HUGE, 8x4s), 40mm, to insulate the walls. A roll of 450mm wide roof flashing (sound deadening). The cab currently has no floor mat and no sound deadening at all and boy it's loud :D

Tomorrow's job is to try to figure out how to make a kinda duct thing for the back of the fridge, so that the vents can get cut out and put in without causing huge draughts through the van ... I have cardboard, plywood, sheet aluminium and a plan ... in my head :D. Should probably cut out the sidewall sheets first so that I know how deep to make this duct. Or perhaps (easier) just cut some bits and put them in where the sidewall will be to gauge size and fit. Then, cardboard and Stanley knife to make a template that contours to the side of the van.Draw and duplicate in plywood. Then, use that as a former to roll and hammer the aluminium into submission. Adhere with Sikaflex.

That's the plan so far ;) There are complications, like the sheet not being big enough, so I need to make it in two halves ...

edit to add: Just had a great thought. I need something to clamp the stuff together while the Sikaflex sets.
I have a pile of obsolete hard drives at work, with incredibly strong neodymium magnets in them.
All I have to do is dismantle them.
Hmm ... :)
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Sun May 28, 2017 9:43 pm

Spent all day working on the van. Did the front floor instead, because the weather was nice. The work for doing the fridge can be done from inside the van, so I did the mat today. The next two days, it's set to rain.

Pictures to follow when I get some energy back, perhaps tomorrow. I am knackered! Those seats are heavy to lift in and out ... and all that rolling around etc ... Not used to it :(
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Thu Jun 01, 2017 9:52 pm

So! Finally, some updates.

Here is what the mat looked like after drying and some half assed attempts to patch up the most rotten bits. You can see a cheapo tarpaulin to one side ...

20170528_141355.jpg


Which was then glued to the back of the mat with Evo-Stik spray on glue, to seal it all up:

20170528_144620.jpg


Applied roof flashing to the floor of the van to further seal it AND to provide some soundproofing. I thought I might as well, before the floor went down:

20170528_171049.jpg


Got the drivers' side seat in without too much hassle ... apart from the sheer weight.

20170528_193549.jpg


And finally, a cheapo rubber mat off eBay and then the passenger seat. The passenger seat was a bitch to get in. It's not a Transit seat, it's off a Mazda Bongo. The holes were in difficult to reach places and to be honest I need to revisit where it's sited and the seat base itself (bad quality welds) at some point in the future...

20170528_213154.jpg


By the way, can anyone identify what kind of seat it (the driver's one) is and tell me, how the hell does it work? I cannot figure out how to make it go up and down in height... which I think it's supposed to? It has a Ford part number on it but I never got a note of it ... And it has a springy shock-absorber-type thingy on the other side, that you can't see. I also wonder, is it supposed to have TWO arms (it only has one)?
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Last edited by CamperVanBeethoven on Thu Jun 01, 2017 10:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Thu Jun 01, 2017 10:02 pm

I have also put the kitchen unit back in. It's not fitted yet, it's just sitting there. Boy, that thing is heavy...

The first challenge was getting the thing up and in to the van ...

20170530_195407.jpg

(The red Mk6 isn't mine by the way. It's my neighbour's van)

I had to carefully lift, get it half on at about a 40 degree angle, lift up the other half and slide it carefully along (it's only chipboard ...) but got it in, eventually ...

20170530_202555.jpg


Once it was in, a far easier idea for the back of the fridge became apparent. It more or less lines up with the first part of the van's side. So that bit will be left uninsulated and unboarded, and I'll seal around it ...

And finally, tonight I started fitting insulation. Yes I know I did a crap job but it will work better than the previous insulation installed (which was 'none')... 40mm Xtratherm. No, I've never fitted insulation before in my life. You can probably tell :D

20170601_204716.jpg


Have taken a day off work tomorrow to try and progress the build ... Sooner it's done, the better!
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Sun Jun 04, 2017 10:09 pm

Done lots since I last posted up:

Boards for the side done, covered in fabric, and first set of screws in.
Waste water vent installed.
Shitty mouldy overhead cupboard that was screwed into the GRP roof and leaking, removed.
Holes in GRP roof filled. OK, I paid someone to do that.

OK that doesn't sound like 'loads' but it took me ages :P

Pictures to follow tomorrow, probably ...
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Wed Jun 07, 2017 11:51 pm

Finally, as promised, an update with pictures.

I took Friday off work to progress the build. One of the things I tackled on Friday was removing a cupboard which had been installed in the roof space. To be fair, when I removed it I found out whoever did it had done a decent job of the carpentry. But where they f*** up is, they screwed it through the GRP roof, which of course caused leaks. It had black mould inside on the untreated plywood. Crap!

Took it out and had the holes filled with PU 'fixer' (as the bodybuilder calls it). He also fixed the back door failing to close. Another £30 ... half hour labour + £10 materials. And you'll see we missed 4 holes. They were covered with black tape and not found until I'd been and gone from his establishment. Need to get those done too... I think they were originally mounting points for a TV aerial.

20170602_202846.jpg


Next day, Saturday June 3rd, was my birthday. Yay! Happy birthday me.
I spent it all working on the van :P

Side panels cut for both sides from 3.5mm ply.
Fabric covered (2 layers, a lining layer and a top layer).

20170603_164338.jpg


20170603_164415.jpg


Here, you can see one of the panels in the process of being fabric-covered using spray glue. Spray a bit, let it dry, smooth it over ... spray a bit ... and so on. This has proved so far to be the easiest method...

20170603_175202.jpg


End result before trimming (on the long panel):

20170603_181403.jpg

Run out of attachments, so on to the next post ...
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Thu Jun 08, 2017 12:05 am

So, here's the short panel on the sliding door side installed ... Not fully screwed in (that was another day's work, on Monday evening ...), only secured at the top.

20170603_184753.jpg


Next day, Sunday, half of it was wasted shopping :P

But there was progress....

Hole cut in side of van for waste water drain for the sink. Ooh that was strange, mutilating the van :D

Lacking a hole saw, I cut it with a jigsaw. Bit dodgy. Not designed for a hole as small as that. Finished it off with a half round file .. then masked it off and painted the raw edges with Smoothrite. Anything to prevent rust :P

20170604_162801.jpg


Fabric on top of the long board for the side of the van ...

20170603_181403.jpg


And if you look carefully around the junk in the back of the van at this photo, you can see both sides are DONE and attached... at the top, at least.

20170604_201632.jpg
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Thu Jun 08, 2017 12:22 am

Here's a picture of the drain for the sink, installed ...

20170604_201702.jpg


There then followed a few days of screwing around (literally) adding screws to the side panels and attempting to sort out the 'headboard'.

And then tonight's efforts ...

25mm Xtratherm on the top panels. 40mm was too thick!

There were bits of ply already glued to the side to attach the current side panels there, so I used them in combination with glue to put the panels in place ...

20170607_194948.jpg


And made up side panels. Twice. The first lot, the (5mm) ply was not flexible enough and so I bent it by gently ... err, jumping up and down in it. Only to find it was TOO SHORT!

Replaced those with new ones made in 3.5mm ply ... and got around to first layer of fabric.

That is about as far as I got ...

20170607_215050.jpg
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Thu Jun 08, 2017 11:54 pm

No huge progress on the van. Didn't get back from work until late, and it was raining. The top panels are fabric covered, but not installed because it was raining and getting dark at a quarter to ten ..
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby ceurieusneus » Fri Jun 09, 2017 6:37 am

Looking at your kitchen unit, your sink has the "3 dimensions" square form...
First I had a similar one, half the size of yours, after the first trip I changed it into the "bowl" model!
This consumes much les water washing up. :) I recollect the water in a wast tank :)
Look for the model/size I used in my "ambulance conversion"
I prefer to visit camp sites only to shower, especially in the UK where I find them very expensive. :mrgreen:
Writing was not invented to look for spelling errors :wink:
Ford Anglia '62, Mercedes 200 '86, Transit ambulance/camper '88, Mercedes CE300 '89, caravan Puck '75
My ambulance conversion
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Sun Jun 11, 2017 2:12 pm

Well it's been a few days since I updated the Progress thread ... progress has been made, it's just I finish late and can't be arsed updating the thread. But today I've stopped for lunch so while I wait on lunch cooking I should update things ...

On Friday, I finally got the top side panels DONE! Behind there is 25mm Xtratherm:

20170609_212413.jpg


20170609_212424.jpg


It was also finally time to test fit the gas locker. Now bear in mind, I'd built this in the absence of the van and was crapping myself that it wouldn't fit. In the end, it turned out it JUST fits, but it does mean I've created some 'dead space' to the right of it which is a shame but never mind :)

20170609_220257.jpg


On Saturday, I went and did a bit of shopping. Got an offcut of hardwearing, very dense lino for £86 (and may have enough left over for other uses ;) ). I decided to do that first yesterday, because the weather forecast for today was not great. It is however a pain in the arse, because to do the lino, everything had to come out ...

20170610_164003.jpg


And here's the end result! Looks smashing! But there was one thing I'd forgotten, which because of the 5 attachment limit I'll get on to in the next post ...

20170610_194339.jpg
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Sun Jun 11, 2017 2:18 pm

The thing I had forgotten was, of course, the hole for the table :(

Now the guy who welded it marked off 'HOLE' at the back so I knew which way it was in one axis, but no idea where it was in the other. So, I resorted to a method more commonly used in the oil industry, known as 'exploratory drilling' :P I drilled small holes until I found the void ...

And then, lacking a hole saw, hacked it out with a combo of drills, chisels and a wood rasp until it was large enough.A hole saw would have been risky anyway because the metal underneath is all ragged edged ... likely to jam.

20170610_205617.jpg


And today has so far been spent going shopping for more bits, and making 8mm pipe clips out of 15mm ones ;)

20170611_132921.jpg
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Mon Jun 12, 2017 8:26 am

After a day's hard labour yesterday ... :)

No leaks!

Made the two way manifold myself. I had an elbow to go in for the top connection, but that would have meant two more compression joints (and therefore two more potential points of failure, including failure to keep things at right angles! Making a manifold is a bitch of a job) so instead I just bent that nice little curve by hand as 8mm copper is quite easy to bend. You can't see it in this photo (I have other pics on my work phone but my password has expired so I can't mail them off of it...) but inside the gas locker the fixed pipe comes to the front, to a proper 8mm to hose fitting, and then the hose goes on to that.

20170611_203347.jpg
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Re: CamperVanBeethoven's Mk5

Postby CamperVanBeethoven » Mon Jun 12, 2017 10:09 pm

Not much to report today. Work got in the way of progress with the van, but I am planning on reshuffling my holidays and taking perhaps Thu/Fri off this week and lop those two days off the end of my Glasto holidays (I take two weeks off for it ...). That gives me four whole days to complete the van (Thu/Fri/Sat/Sun). The boss said OK to that :D so it's an option ...

Polished up the hole for the table and put the hole in the hole for the hole. Still haven't found the screws needed for it ...

Began adapting the wardrobe assembly to fit around the gas locker. I plan to make the back removable for ease of maintenance, so that means the rest of it needs reinforcing ... I got very lucky with the gas locker. Only one (maybe two ...) bits of the wardrobe will need adjusting. It does lose me quite a bit of handy storage space for stuff like the electric hookup wires, but I'll find room elsewhere ...

20170612_214604.jpg
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