Buying a Van Part 2
Here is the list at about the end of Part 1, 20th November 2010
See Part 1 for an explanation which covers the first two weeks of the saga
franksblog.webnode.com/other-writing/buying-a-van-a-story-part-1/
Improvements
1. Name Van.
2. Add towel/drying rails. Completed
3. Design and fit cupboard shelving. Started
4. Fit rubber glove and tea towel holder. Completed.
5. Fit gas lighter holder.
6. Design and fit partitions under bed. Now measured,.
7. Replace halogens with LEDs. Completed
8. Add shurflo accumulator to water system.Ordered
9. Soap dispenser in Bathroom (Fiamma)
10. Awning Light. Prefitted Cables found
11. Extra mains socketOrdered
12. Bed end cupholders
13. Front seat cupholder
14. Hook for rubbish bag.
15. Make fitted cover for bench seat.
16. Get winter covers for fridge and grill. Completed
17. Cut up carpet to retain some.
18. Wet clothes hooks over door Completed
19. Fit solar panel Position decided
20. Fit two larger batteries Battery box measured
21. Fit Nasa style battery monitor.
22. New Make EHU cable stowage.
23. New Sound insulation for water pump.
24. New Improve run of pipes and cables.
25. New Replace luminaire over cooker for LED type
Snags
1. Replace curtain hooks. (poor quality) Half replaced
2. Fix over bedhead shelf properly. Completed
3. Seal side of worktop
4. Get English language versions of some manuals.Asked Discover
5. Fit new outside door clip
6. Investigate thin glass fibre
7. Investigate roof junction sealing.
8. New Staple velcro for head rest.
I did publish some photos of the completed items but for various reasons they appeared later in the thread Its better I put them in now referenced to the above list.
2. Towel rails
4 Rubber Glove and tea towel holder
7. Replace Halogens with LEDS
16. Get winter covers for fridge and grill.
18. Wet clothes hooks over door
There were various posts commenting on the list and two said that they had broken Fiamma soap dispensers one said about replacing the washer with an 'o' ring.
20th Nov 2010
I have always found them very good. As well as my Trafic being so equipped we have them in the house, both in our loos and the bathroom (a double one) we had one that leaked with was down to a split washer.
Yep that's what I did btw the life of a rubber o ring in salty soap solution is around 5-10 years.
22nd Nov 2010
Made a start on the more difficult improvements to the van and spent quite a while on the net ordering stuff as well.
As usual the real first job I start (No 3: Internal cupboard shelving for double skillet and crockery) also depends on the second job (No 11: A switched mains socket) as the connection to the socket is behind a side wall to the cupboard so I can't finish 3 before I finish number 11. But I had to start 3 to gain access before I could start number 11.
Confused? Well I could draw a project management critical path diagram but all that would reveal is that I should have ordered my sockets earlier. My socket supplier is also supplying my water accumulator and I wanted to check that I had a suitable place to mount that first so had to strip some cladding away which meant I couldn't order the sockets until I had time to do that.
Perhaps I should have done critical path analysis after all
Photos later.
Mavis wondered what I had done with the supplied crockery holders
23rd Nov 2010
Hi Mavis no the Chausson's cupboards aren't fitted with any plastic holders for cups or plates. All the cupboards are bare with two of the larger ones just divided vertically.
Anyway promised some photo's
Tucked away sockets (difficult access)
Location for new water pressure accumulator and I want to tidy up pipes and install sound proofing.
Behind the side wall of one cupboard. I want to wire a new socket in here which will be more accessible than the socket you can see at the top. This is in part a rear view of the first photo.
Someone commented that on their pump the screws on the anti vibration mounts had been overtightened causing nnoise transmitted through the structure.
Yes I slackened off the screws yesterday. Today I made a sandwich of foam rubber and wood (its still drying) and when I tidy up the area I will mount it on that.
I'll put some photos up when the main jobs are completed I expect this thread will go quiet for a while
26th Nov 2010
I spoke too soon.
I noticed that the hookup light was not on. A few moments with a meter told me that the charger wasn't working. (The signal that its charging is used to show that the hook up is connected).
I didn't have an english language manual for the charger so went on the internet. Got the manual but also found that the charger which is used in a lot of Swifts has a poor reputation. Also that there was a bad batch in 2009.
On to Discover who confirmed that it is covered by the guarantee but also said it takes 6-8 weeks from receipt to get a new one if then.
Phoned Highbridge who were more helpful gave me company name and a contact to call who might manage a quicker fix.
They also were helpful and the charger is on the way to them as I type. It turns out that the manufacturer Nordelettronica are in some sort of financial problems. Which explains why there is a bit of a black hole for warrantee claims although I understand that eventually they do get sorted. I can't put up with 'eventually' so am taking this quicker route which might cost me. They say I will have a quote for a repair within 3 working days from receipt of the charger.
I have just cobbled together an intelligent single stage charger to get me through the next few weeks.
Apparently from a comment I should have bought British!
1st Dec 2010
Got a call yesterday from Stellings Ltd to say my charger has been repaired and it will be winging its way back to me from the Hull area today (weather permitting) with two new transformers and a new 12month warranty.
Repaired, returned, refitted now a happy bunny again
The list was republished now with colour, here it is along with the photos that should have accompanied it at the time
Improvements
1. Name Van.
2. Add towel/drying rails. Completed
3. Design and fit cupboard shelving. Started
4. Fit rubber glove and tea towel holder. Completed
5. Fit gas lighter holder.
6. Design and fit partitions under bed. Now measured,.
7. Replace halogens with LEDs. Completed
8. Add shurflo accumulator to water system.Ordered
9. Soap dispenser in Bathroom (Fiamma) Completed
10. Awning Light. Prefitted Cables found
11. Extra mains socket Ordered
12. Bed end cupholders Ordered
13. Front seat cupholder Ordered
14. Hook for rubbish bag.
15. Make fitted cover for bench seat. Completed
16. Get winter covers for fridge and grill. Completed
17. Cut up carpet to retain some.
18. Wet clothes hooks over door Completed
19. Fit solar panel Position decided
20. Fit two larger batteries Battery box measured
21. Fit Nasa style battery monitor.
22. Make EHU cable stowage. Completed
23. Sound insulation for water pump.
24. Improve run of pipes and cables.
25. Replace luminaire over cooker for LED type
26. Add Battery LED lights to door and rear locker Completed
Snags
1. Replace curtain hooks. (poor quality) Half replaced
2. Fix over bedhead shelf properly. Completed
3. Seal side of worktop
4. Get English language versions of some manuals. Asked Discover
5. Fit new outside door clip
6. Investigate thin glass fibre
7. Investigate roof junction sealing. Now leaking
8. Staple velcro for head rest. Completed
9. Charger repair. Completed
10. New Check water pipe route and insulation near fridge.
11. New Fix Fridge door lock Completed
9. Soap dispenser in Bathroom (Fiamma) I know it looks wonky but its not now! may have been camera angle!
15. Make fitted cover for bench seat.
22. Make EHU cable stowage. (Mark 1)
26. Add Battery LED lights to door and rear locker
Now weather permitting off to Canterbury tomorrow.
8th Dec 2010
Just to say that we and the van survived a foot of snow and -8 degrees, there is one cold spot in a cupboard near the fridge so I have added that to the snagging list but very satisfied.
Doreen has just driven it for the first time, other than the road test, a mixture of town and A roads and motorways all in the dark her verdict much harder to drive than the Renault but OK
10th Jan 2011
Well Christmas/New Year is over, time to get busy again.
I have just completed the main sub-divison of the under bed area into wet and dry by making and fitting a removable bulkhead (it bolts in). I am sealing it using a low modulus silicon sealant which will make it water and gas tight. I have to put a floor vent in as its where I store my spare 907 cylinder.
6. Design and fit partitions under bed. Note I only fitted one partition I found an easier solution! read about it later.)
I have also been on the roof and have removed loose sealant and done temporary repair with Dow Corning marine silicon rubber sealant. It is only temporary as weather too cold and damp for proper job.
The Batteries (which had recently arrived and been fitted) have been fitted with a new retaining system
20. Fit two larger batteries (this is a later photo with other stuff done)
Andy stated that we should get on with job number one ie naming the van
15th Jan 2011
Just for you Andy
I think we may have decided on Waggy
Its a French van with a (fixed) bed so - Wagon Lit - and the back end moves about a bit on the road (at least compared with the Renault)
We did try various combinations of the verb Coucher with no success
16th Jan 2011
Tim was interested in the batteries as on his Chausson the leisure battery in under the passenger seat.
On the 02 the battery compartment is under the fixed bed just aft of the nearside wheel arch.
I'll put some photos up once I've fitted the battery monitoring shunt.
The battery compartment is 490*395 and the height was adjustable up to about 290mm and with a mod to one sidewall it could have been 500 mm high.
It was only cost that prevented me fitting two 6V traction or semitraction cells.
This last one shows view with bed frame down and mattress lifted.
19th Jan 2011
Battery Installation.
One 96Ahr battery replaced with two 110Ahr ones includes adding the shunt which is part of the Nasa battery monitoring system. Rubber matting to floor move the vent outlet and add venting to second battery.
I designed and fitted the tie down clamp (8mm studding, alloy cross beam plastic end fittings ). Note the alloy beam when unbolted cannot be twisted into a position to short battery terminals.
The negative cables have two equal length 10mm² cables from the shunt to the quick release terminals and the positive terminals of the battery are connected with 20mm² cable.
The battery box lid had to be raised 40mm to accommodate taller batteries.
One comment asked why the quick release connectors were only on the negative terminals
Well having a quick release gives me a quick isolation of the batteries without the use of a spanner and once both negatives are disconnected then the battery is isolated.
I wanted to ensure each battery got the same voltage as far as possible which means having the leads to each positive and each negative the same length, there are a couple of ways of doing that:
In the event neither was practicable but the following compromise was:
The negative leads are split at the shunt and are the same length, the positive has a thick section joining the two batteries the voltage drop between the batteries was less than a millivolt at 10Amps.
Fitting a heavy cable between the two positive terminals would have made it difficult to use quick release terminals.
There were some nice comments about the installation
Some mods are easier than others this small batten screwed to the floor under the bed mates with the bottom of three large 'Really Useful' plastic boxes bought from Staples
Once the bed is dropped back down they can't go anywhere.
The Nasa battery monitor (BM1 compact) is now in and working
21. Fit Nasa BM1-C battery monitor.
The lid for the battery compartment is replaced and all looks neat underneath the bed.
Time to move on to other areas, the next few jobs are more troublesome.
There were a few kind comments and someone asked about the extra weight.
Only added about 34Kg so far
20th Jan 2011
I've had these pieces made for a while but I delayed putting them in until I had run the cables for the battery monitor - not that they ended up in the way but I wasn't certain where I was going to put the monitor.
Nice to see it all filled up - job done. Well it will be if I have made it anti-rattle
23rd Jan 2011
Just an update. I had a couple of days off working and now I've thought of more improvements plus some of the stuff I had ordered is now officially not coming.
Improvements
1. Name Van. Interim name Waggy
2. Add towel/drying rails. Completed
3. Design and fit cupboard shelving. Completed
4. Fit rubber glove and tea towel holder. Completed
5. Fit gas lighter holder.
6. Design and fit partitions under bed. Completed
7. Replace halogens with LEDs. Completed
8. Add shurflo accumulator to water system.To hand
9. Soap dispenser in Bathroom (Fiamma) Completed
10. Awning Light. Prefitted Cables found
11. Extra mains socket Re-Ordered
12. Bed end cupholders Re-Ordered
13. Front seat cupholder Re-Ordered
14. Hook for rubbish bag. Completed
15. Make fitted cover for bench seat. Completed
16. Get winter covers for fridge and grill. Completed
17. Cut up carpet to retain some.
18. Wet clothes hooks over door Completed
19. Fit solar panel Position decided panel to hand
20. Fit two larger batteries Completed
21. Fit Nasa BM1-C battery monitor. Completed
22. Make EHU cable stowage. Completed
23. Sound insulation for water pump.
24. Improve run of pipes and cables.
25. Replace luminaire over cooker for LED type Ordered
26. Add Battery LED lights to door and rear locker Completed
27. New Add boot/shoe storage to underbed area
Snags
1. Replace curtain hooks. (poor quality) Half replaced
2. Fix over bedhead shelf properly. Completed
3. Seal side of worktop
4. Get English language versions of some manuals. Asked Discover
5. Fit new outside door clip Completed
6. Investigate thin glass fibre
7. Investigate roof junction sealing. Temporary Repair done
8. Staple velcro for head rest. Completed
9. Charger repair. Completed
10. Check water pipe route and insulation near fridge.
11. [Fix Fridge door lock Completed
12. Move lower Table support to correct position.Completed
13. NewSide wall dowels not located properly poor Chausson build.
14. Hook for rubbish bag.
The first note of dissent, someone dislikes my lists because they occur so often, other readers rallied round and even the moderators got involved.
Thanks for your support, perhaps JOHNRH only meant that there were duplicate posts which of course the last two very nearly were.
Well whatever, I have been buying some more bits (mainly a 35litre plastic box) to make a place in the sidewall of our underbed area to store boots wet shoes etc. I will be able to reach it whilst outside of the open side door. We don't have much floor area so can't have things lying around.
24/1
Well the main thing is now sorted we have a name, wasn't really happy with Waggy, its going to be called Chatham.........
We don't buy souvenirs much anymore, too much dusting, but when we went to Galapagos bought this little china tortoise which we thought apt to have in the van.
Its a bit like a nodding dog but the feet, head and tail all move, and it was attached to the dash of the Renault with a piece of velcro. He came from Chatham Island and so was named Chatham. I was looking for a new velcro 'dot' for him yesterday to fit him in to the chausson when it suddenly struck me Chatham Chausson.
There is also the fact that last year we went to the Chatham area twice in the Renault and our first major trip in the new van was to Kent.
So Chatham it is and we think it must be a boy van - Transits are more masculine
24th Jan 2011
I republished my list showing some progess and so ended the first two months of ownership and the end of part 2