My camper van nightmare!!

[brewyn]

Hi, you may have seen this van advertised on preloved a few months back, and wished you had got it, count yourself lucky you didn't, It's been a lot of head ache and heart ache and caused my wife no end of upset as we've had to spend cash we just didn't and haven't got. we have managed to move along in monthly stages, getting some things but then having to wait to continue on the next monthly payday, also sold quite a lot of my stuff to fund progress, so please keep in mind it's still someway off being finished.

But hopefully there is now some light at the end of the tunnel.
Van as we bought it





was happy with the van until on the way home when the under storage fell away from one side.
and then within a short period of time we found out just how wet and rusty it was below all its make up

So, we bit our tongues and started our repairs.

everything came out, all the fibre glass lining, carpets and boarding, and all the polystyrene that hid pools of water.


we chipped away any rust and wire brushed everything to bare metal, we used rustins rust remover and gave a good couple of coats of redoxide to all metal surfaces.
we then sealed every gap and frame joint to stop air and moisture from getting in-between the panels and metal frame work, we glued in 25mm sheets of insulation board, again sealing around each board, over the insulation board we added a good thick polythene moisture barrier, before re boarding it all and riveting back the fiber glass ceiling.


put a dividing wall in place with sliding door as the cab was losing all heat.

wood burner was removed and re situated, the guy had only used single flu but assured me it was safe as it had been professionally fitted by his mate who fits them into narrow boats, proved it wasn't safe when the ceiling started to burn and melt. it has now been fitted with twin wall and fire proof mastic up at the ceiling, need to lift it an inch to give air flow below.


have made a seating area thats turns into a good sized bed, have put new kitchen units and worktop in, but just saving now for a 3 way fridge, have refitted the carver water heater and fitted new connectors and pressure valve as they had perished.
Still in the process of building the shower/toilette and have today ordered the new cassette for the thetford C200, the old cassette has parts missing that are now obsolete. have had matching curtains made to replace the cheap wooden blinds, new ceiling carpet and floor carpet, have also put down a rubber floor membrane, then underlay, and then the carpet.

just some more pics, hope you like.

bought a new 135 ah banner bull leisure battery, the guy said it had a leisure battery but it didn't!!! got some spot lights from eBay and have wired them in, along with the carver switch, and pressure switch etc, but still need to run them through a fuse box and connect to the battery, and also install the relay switch.

lots to do but hey ho...






hope all that worked and if so, I hope you like

[davew2]

Nice job

[brewyn]

Nice job

appreciated, thanks

[KING OF ENGLAND]

You have made a nice job and now at least you know its safe
and usable well done both

[Teepee]

looks good, well done

[jonochap]

Very cool, well worth it

[bigyellow]

brilliant effort and hard work has paid off for you

[walt1984]

Great pictures keep them coming.

[brewyn]

Thanks guys, the comments are appreciated as I was getting tired of the van and the commitment involved.

new water tap installed today and all plumbed in to smev sink and y connection off to the carver water heater, everything working great and water heating up nicely, had my first van made coffee tonight

[BigMonty]

Good job matey.
That. Van looks great inside and should serve you very well after all that hard work, many would have given up.

[RustWidow]

You've done well to do all of that, hope you get the chance to use it and enjoy it

[brewyn]

Thanks guys, got my javelin pace box back today from the repair shop after sending reverse polarity through it and burning it out Oopps anyway it is all working again and I even managed to get a few channels up

fully usable now for the odd trip but will be great when it's eventually finished, possibly summer for the inside to be finished then I want to repaint it and fit my roof rack..