What did you do to your van today?

[maingate]

I got in mine today and drove it. On the road. It felt strange.

 

[Deleted member 3196]

I have been putting it off since I bought the van in November but today decided that the towbar just HAD to come off. I will never tow with the van and have no intention of adding a bike rack, so... Off it came!
Was not a bad job and the bolts and nuts all unscrewed easily. I have left the 7 pin connector still wired up and tucked away behind the bumper for now. I might keep the towbar as it might be of interest to a prospective buyer at some point in the future? But I might offer it for sale on the bay...
The whole lot came to around 32kg which is a useful addition to my available payload.

So, what did YOU do to your van today?

K

Had to repair inner wheel arches on a 2004 Swift Kontiki with a Ducato cab.
Blommin awful considering its only done 48K.
Anyone else had this issue?

 

[Forresbroons]

Washed 🕊 off windscreen and front of roof.

 

[snapster]

Fitted a Victron smart battery sense and it's now networked to the Victron MPPT charger. Neat bit of kit that uses bluetooth to send precise battery voltage and temperature to the charger.

Just did a bit of research on these and decided to order one. Should be here next week.

 

[2cv]

I cleaned up all the joins. Hopefully my amazing local mobile caravan fixer will be able to acquire some Sikaflex to recover them. I think it’s about due at 8 years.

 

[jagmanx]

I sent it an email asking how it was !

 

[in h]

I cleaned up all the joins. Hopefully my amazing local mobile caravan fixer will be able to acquire some Sikaflex to recover them. I think it’s about due at 8 years.

My concern with using most sorts of Sikaflex is that it's an end-of-life fix. If you use it, and the seals start to leak, you'll not be able to remove it.
I'd stick to (with?) the correct sealant, which is probably not Sikaflex

 

[The laird]

Patted it as I left for work at 3 this morning whispered to it we are staying in it again this sat night
we are kidding it’s another moffat night out

 

[2cv]

My concern with using most sorts of Sikaflex is that it's an end-of-life fix. If you use it, and the seals start to leak, you'll not be able to remove it.
I'd stick to (with?) the correct sealant, which is probably not Sikaflex

Thanks, I’ll check that out. Is there a particular one you’d recommend?

 

[Exwindsurfer]

Washed the solar panels as they were filthy was going to wash the van but thought better of it lololol l

 

[oppy]

Fixed the awning

 

[Deleted member 11]

Fitted new cable gland to the water tank, no more weeping

 

[tonybvi]

Took out the old muesli that we purchased in France about 4 years ago and replaced with fresh farm shop muesli. We don’t eat a lot of muesli in the van, it’s more of a sort of emergency backup!!

 

[The laird]

Took out the old muesli that we purchased in France about 4 years ago and replaced with fresh farm shop muesli. We don’t eat a lot of muesli in the van, it’s more of a sort of emergency backup!!

Not been any emergency incidents then ,but if you had ate that Tony you might have had the back door gallop

 

[tonybvi]

Not been any emergency incidents then ,but if you had ate that Tony you might have had the back door gallop

Did eat it Gordon - that’s how we knew it was stale. But luckily no back door gallop. We have a golden rule when overnighting in our field and that is we are not allowed back in to the house for anything we have forgotten (although an exception has been made for more wine). Guess who forgot to take out the bacon, eggs and black pudding last weekend, so Sunday breakfast was stale muesli! Won’t make that mistake again.

 

[The laird]

Did eat it Gordon - that’s how we knew it was stale. But luckily no back door gallop. We have a golden rule when overnighting in our field and that is we are not allowed back in to the house for anything we have forgotten (although an exception has been made for more wine). Guess who forgot to take out the bacon, eggs and black pudding last weekend, so Sunday breakfast was stale muesli! Won’t make that mistake again.

Love it Tony ,I’m out of stornoway black pudding so just getting it ordered as my supplier is closed aghhhhhhhhh!
funny how you miss things you normally took for granted ,think a lot of people’s attitude will change after this ,I HOPE

 

[The laird]

Washed the solar panels as they were filthy was going to wash the van but thought better of it lololol l take it you were frightened to ask swmbo to wash it
View attachment 54181

 

[tonybvi]

Love it Tony ,I’m out of stornoway black pudding so just getting it ordered as my supplier is closed aghhhhhhhhh!
funny how you miss things you normally took for granted ,think a lot of people’s attitude will change after this ,I HOPE

We‘re really lucky in that our local farm shop (Finzean Farm Shop to plug them) run by the lairds family (yes Gordon, we have a real Laird, him of Farqhuarson fame wot paints pictures of sheep in snow!) has really stepped up to the mark. A once weekly trip to them and we can get everything we want including Stornoway Black Pudding. I only hope that when this is all over we‘ll still support those small shops that stepped in to help us out, even though they may be a bit more expensive. Funnily enough we did a Tesco run the other day and I really hated it - Sue and I both agree that it’s Finzean and their like that we want to continue using from now on.

 

[in h]

Thanks, I’ll check that out. Is there a particular one you’d recommend?

Without knowing the circumstances of this application, I doubt anyone could advise. However, there is a generic "correct" sealant.
What I'd use is some form of non-setting butyl sealant: the stuff that's like sticky blutac, but white. It comes on a roll with a backing release paper. Quite expensive, but it lasts for decades without going hard, getting stiff or cracking.
Unfortunately I don't remember what its brand name is.
Remember, you are looking for a sealant, not an adhesive. You want it to stay flexible and waterproof forever.

 

[wildebus]

Without knowing the circumstances of this application, I doubt anyone could advise. However, there is a generic "correct" sealant.
What I'd use is some form of non-setting butyl sealant: the stuff that's like sticky blutac, but white. It comes on a roll with a backing release paper. Quite expensive, but it lasts for decades without going hard, getting stiff or cracking.
Unfortunately I don't remember what its brand name is.
Remember, you are looking for a sealant, not an adhesive. You want it to stay flexible and waterproof forever.

Ref the tape, this is the stuff I bought as a sealant when I installed my MaxxAir Roof Fan around 2.5 years ago and not had any leaks so far.

MASTIC BUTYL SEALING TAPE, INDITGO 25MMX5MTR: Amazon.co.uk: Business, Industry & Science

MASTIC BUTYL SEALING TAPE, INDITGO 25MMX5MTR: Amazon.co.uk: Business, Industry & Science

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