My very clever other half has done loads of stuff to Mavis, our 2000 Reg Autohomes Windfall since we got her from a private seller off eBay just 4 years ago. As total motorhome newbies, we were lucky when we bought her as we chose her based on how she looked, the layout and because she was in our price range. She has been really reliable and we were lucky in that she was a decent and pretty sound van to start with. She had also quite recently had her clutch and gearbox replaced, so mechanically she was excellent with quite low mileage (40k for a 16-year old van).
After making a few rookie mistakes like pressure washing her on too high a setting and damaging the transfers/decals as well as the white plastic covers on the outside lockers so they ended up a bit pitted/scratched and shrinking all the curtains after sticking them in the the washing machine we starting being a bit more careful.
Over the last 4 years we have added/improved/fixed the following (YouTube is our friend):
Added:
Solar panel
Cruise control
Reversing camera
parking sensors
LED driving lights for during the day - especially in Europe
Electric Windows
Central Locking
Flip-up extension to kitchen/sink worktop
TV & TV bracket
USB charging points as well as an additional 12V charge point
Removeable Fly screen on habitation door
Fixed/replaced:
Faulty alarm
Replaced the squeaky horn with a far more gutsy (louder) one
Replaced the relay/switch so that the leisure
battery was charging properly while driving (this was before we added the
solar panel)
Replaced all the internal lights with LEDs
Made the fridge run more efficiently by installing two computer fans and replacing the gas burner.
Replaced the standalone (very heavy) table with one which clips onto the side of the van and can be folded down quickly when making the bed.
Replaced all the external (yellowing) seals: there had been water ingress above the cab and it had been untidily repaired with bad mastic. We ripped it all off, cleaned out all the metal channels/seams and put in new shiny white seals, including around all the lockers and habitation door (this was a pretty horrible job - I attach a couple of photos if interested).
We also got rid of the stain on the inside (from the aforementioned water ingress), by replacing the wallpaper in the over cab area with plush blue velour (see pics) which made it a feel warmer/cosier as well as making it look a lot nicer
.
We took out the sink unit/bathroom cabinet, cleaned off more horribly-applied mastic and put it back in - in fact we re-did ALL the mastic in the bathroom, including around the toilet and the wall seams and it looks a lot better/fresher.
Replaced all the bathroom mirrors which were chipped/patchy/foxed, with mirrored plexiglass (for additional safety),
Finally, this week, we fixed the de-laminated floor - we had noticed lately, that the floor was getting very "springy" and apparently this is a common problem which can become quite serious. Fixed it last weekend and it's now solid as a rock.
Jobs we've got left to do this week:
Install Electric Windows (including a gadget which automatically closes the windows when you set the alarm if you've forgotten to do it) and
a Central Locking system.
Phew, when you write it all down it shows just how much you can end up doing, even with a decent van, which Mavis most certainly is. Any tips or hints on what else we could do to make her even more epic gratefully received #MightyMavis
Thank you
Lizzy
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