What did you do to your van today?

Swapped the outside light that has never worked for a shiny new led one. It now has its own switch & is permanently live so no ignition needed. Also, while the wiring box was out I fixed the interior light just inside the door to another switch, so now I can turn it on soon as I enter the bus, instead of having to feel my way to the switches in the back.
 
I‘ve had my van for 9 years now but on our little trip away this week discovered that the button that looks like a HRW switch in fact heats the mirrors. This was mentioned to me at a recent rally and the frost overnight gave the opportunity to give it a try. Works great, actually they get warm to the touch.
 
We have a Kampa Air Awning, which I find awkward and heavy to run through the C rail in the wind out awning. We really enjoy the extra space created by the awning and so have spent quite a while deciding how I can make the job easier.
I used four 1.5m lengths of Flex a Rail which is plastic and infinitely bendable with a heat gun, and Sikoflexed them just below the wind out awning.
As shown in the photos below, the rail starts at waist height, at the rear of the van, and so now, with the help of a three metre length of Kador strip, I can feed the Kampa awning into the rail without putting any strain on the wind out. This will also allow me to position the awning wherever I want along the vehicle.
I don’t feel comfortable screwing the rail on the body, so I intend to let the Sikoflex cure for about a week before trying the awning in the rail, but if it needs screws, then so be it.
In about a weeks time, we will pop over to a friend of ours, who owns a campsite locally, and try to put the awning up, and see what happens, wish us luck!

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I‘ve had my van for 9 years now but on our little trip away this week discovered that the button that looks like a HRW switch in fact heats the mirrors. This was mentioned to me at a recent rally and the frost overnight gave the opportunity to give it a try. Works great, actually they get warm to the touch.
Had mine 9 years before I found out the over the cab bed folded in half 😝😝😝
 
We have a Kampa Air Awning, which I find awkward and heavy to run through the C rail in the wind out awning. We really enjoy the extra space created by the awning and so have spent quite a while deciding how I can make the job easier.
I used four 1.5m lengths of Flex a Rail which is plastic and infinitely bendable with a heat gun, and Sikoflexed them just below the wind out awning.
As shown in the photos below, the rail starts at waist height, at the rear of the van, and so now, with the help of a three metre length of Kador strip, I can feed the Kampa awning into the rail without putting any strain on the wind out. This will also allow me to position the awning wherever I want along the vehicle.
I don’t feel comfortable screwing the rail on the body, so I intend to let the Sikoflex cure for about a week before trying the awning in the rail, but if it needs screws, then so be it.
In about a weeks time, we will pop over to a friend of ours, who owns a campsite locally, and try to put the awning up, and see what happens, wish us luck!

View attachment 61283View attachment 61284
It looks neat and slick

You've probably considered it Rog, but on one of our vans the habitation door grazed the awning when it was fully opened.

In the end we stopped using the awning as it better suited my form of camping.
 
It looks neat and slick

You've probably considered it Rog, but on one of our vans the habitation door grazed the awning when it was fully opened.

In the end we stopped using the awning as it better suited my form of camping.
Yes, you raise a good point. but I will be able to site the awning slightly further forward than before, so the habitation should be able to open fully and rest against the body, rather than being halfway open.
I just hope the rail is strong enough to hold the weight of the awning, until it’s inflated. Fingers crossed!
 
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