What did you do to your van today?

I just loaded our ebikes into the MH and plugged it in. We are away tomorrow for 4 nights but it's going to hoy down tomorrow hence getting as much loaded today as possible today!
 
Fridge on yesterday. Putting stuff in ready for the first trip out tomorrow since last October. Need to go via the garage to get the tyre pressures checked. Going to Moffat CCC to meet up with other singles. Its cheaper for us on the CCC than the Green Frog. Only £43 for 4 days on EHU pitches.
 
Soon after getting our Autotrail Delaware, I fitted an external 12v socket next to the water filler, so I could make use of an Aquaroll and submersible pump, left over from caravanning days, many moons ago, as and when needed.

However, I got fed up with the useless plastic caps to go over the socket, which also act as the socket gasket, that keep breaking quite regularly. Not only expensive to replace, but having to disconnect the socket and cables each time was a real pain.
The socket needs covering, so I purchased a Whale water inlet base, with a slide-up door, cut off the funnel inlet to make it a flat surface, which also left a suitable size hole in the baseplate to go over the socket, and installed it.

Job done.

Whale 1.jpgWhale 2.jpgWhale 3.jpgWhale 4.jpg
 
Well yesterday I removed the SORN and today went for a jolly old wizz in order to kill the mice and spiders and just make sure everything still worked, apart from leaks from the loo taps, it was wonderful, I waved at caravans, Tesco deliverers, campervans and just about everything that looked kinda friendly. But, by jove it was bloomin' wet and windy, still after a 51 mile run the old tin tent didn't miss a beat, sort out the leaking taps and we'll be ready for Strawberry Fields (forever??)
Came home, stuck it up the drive and went to put our old Kia behind it----nowt, zilch !!! pushed the unlock button, nowt, unlocked the door via the key, tried the ignition------nowt, not a light on the dash. Ah well, at least we have a vehicle that works, although our neighbours may not be so happy with the car stuck where it is. Ah well, it'll give me a few things to do before I call out on here for help
Happy oppy Mayday
Peter
 
New alternator fitted, because I had to. Need I say more?
 
Well yesterday I removed the SORN and today went for a jolly old wizz in order to kill the mice and spiders and just make sure everything still worked, apart from leaks from the loo taps, it was wonderful, I waved at caravans, Tesco deliverers, campervans and just about everything that looked kinda friendly. But, by jove it was bloomin' wet and windy, still after a 51 mile run the old tin tent didn't miss a beat, sort out the leaking taps and we'll be ready for Strawberry Fields (forever??)
Came home, stuck it up the drive and went to put our old Kia behind it----nowt, zilch !!! pushed the unlock button, nowt, unlocked the door via the key, tried the ignition------nowt, not a light on the dash. Ah well, at least we have a vehicle that works, although our neighbours may not be so happy with the car stuck where it is. Ah well, it'll give me a few things to do before I call out on here for help
Happy oppy Mayday
Peter
Well then--the family car, our aged Kia that went into protest mode and sulked because I went out in the tin tent, is now mobile. Most of my mechanical minded friends here know what to check first when there is no power, I'm ashamed to say what I checked last. It's amazing how many fuses, relays and other ephemera to check in an 11 year old Ce-eD---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------before you find the + connection on the battery is loose
Ah well
 
Brought our van home from storage and emptied everything from it.

Tested and everything is working as it should. (y)

It's due its annual service checks in a couple of day's time, and part of the agreement is to take it to our dealer empty.

Then.......... finally........ we can start going away again. :D
 
Damned water pump refused to pump properly when I filled up the water system for the 1st time of the year! So as we are going away for our first trip of the year this coming weekend (to our favourite site just outside Dolgellau) and the darned Shurflo pump refused to get the system up to pressure!

So, panic stations, my most beloved and I try a few things but nothing seemed to do anything, so she found a supplier of a new pump and ordered one for delivery by 0900hrs in the morning whilst I carried on scratching the empty area between my ears.

I removed the pump from the van as well as a 12V battery from one of of my stored cars, connected a water feed and although the pump was working no water was coming out of the pump so, oh buggeration, I decided to strip down the entire pump and there lurked the ugly culprit that goes by the name of heavy limescale deposits.
So I crumbled them and flushed them all away, rebuilt the pump, connected the water, reconnected the electrics and bingo a fully working pump once again.

So as I do now live in an area with relatively high calcium levels in the water, I will be packing the brand new pump away with all the other essential spare parts we always carry with us..

But boy oh boy am I pleased I discovered what was wrong and that we can still go away.
 
Damned water pump refused to pump properly when I filled up the water system for the 1st time of the year! So as we are going away for our first trip of the year this coming weekend (to our favourite site just outside Dolgellau) and the darned Shurflo pump refused to get the system up to pressure!

So, panic stations, my most beloved and I try a few things but nothing seemed to do anything, so she found a supplier of a new pump and ordered one for delivery by 0900hrs in the morning whilst I carried on scratching the empty area between my ears.

I removed the pump from the van as well as a 12V battery from one of of my stored cars, connected a water feed and although the pump was working no water was coming out of the pump so, oh buggeration, I decided to strip down the entire pump and there lurked the ugly culprit that goes by the name of heavy limescale deposits.
So I crumbled them and flushed them all away, rebuilt the pump, connected the water, reconnected the electrics and bingo a fully working pump once again.

So as I do now live in an area with relatively high calcium levels in the water, I will be packing the brand new pump away with all the other essential spare parts we always carry with us..

But boy oh boy am I pleased I discovered what was wrong and that we can still go away.

I had exactly the same issue when I refilled the water system after the winter. I ordered a new Shurflo pump because I really needed to get away at short notice - and stripped, cleaned and fixed the original pump before the new one arrived!
So, like you, I'm now carrying a brand new spare Shurflo pump!

Colin 🙂🙂🙂
 
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
Removable 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).
View attachment 56276 View attachment 56277View attachment 56282

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
.View attachment 56279

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
Bit of an update. OH did indeed put in the electric windows and central locking system, as well as a Go-pro and DAB radio.

We bought a big roll of fabric and I got a serious sewing bug so we have now replaced all the horrible orange velour curtains we had which has given Mavis a lighter, more modern feel rather than that 70's vibe. It looks so much better - especially since we had made the stupid mistake of washing (and shrinking) the curtains as soon as we bought Mavis and have been living with shorter curtains (with the linings hanging down) since 2016! I admit I've gone a bit #SewingBeTastic with it all and have now made matching cushions and other stuff like the pocket/portable bin thingy on the wall (see pic), but I'm pretty pleased with it.

Talking of sewing - has anyone here every tried re-covering the lounge cushions? We've thought about getting a contrast fabric and having a go but I worry that it will make them too bulky to slot together when we make up the bed.

OH also added an electric switch to the toilet this week, so that it flushes with a simple press of a button, rather than twisting the round handle. This has made the flush so much better as the water now travels all the way around the bowl (rather than half-way as before).

182188784_10157902239041752_8583256628630750526_n.jpg182529193_10157902239106752_3134390477030519810_n.jpg181616103_10157902239146752_39217207207073438_n.jpg182319251_10157902239226752_1297932793133909984_n.jpg182266690_10157902239341752_8395266226693839850_n.jpg
 
Bit of an update. OH did indeed put in the electric windows and central locking system, as well as a Go-pro and DAB radio.

We bought a big roll of fabric and I got a serious sewing bug so we have now replaced all the horrible orange velour curtains we had which has given Mavis a lighter, more modern feel rather than that 70's vibe. It looks so much better - especially since we had made the stupid mistake of washing (and shrinking) the curtains as soon as we bought Mavis and have been living with shorter curtains (with the linings hanging down) since 2016! I admit I've gone a bit #SewingBeTastic with it all and have now made matching cushions and other stuff like the pocket/portable bin thingy on the wall (see pic), but I'm pretty pleased with it.

Talking of sewing - has anyone here every tried re-covering the lounge cushions? We've thought about getting a contrast fabric and having a go but I worry that it will make them too bulky to slot together when we make up the bed.

OH also added an electric switch to the toilet this week, so that it flushes with a simple press of a button, rather than twisting the round handle. This has made the flush so much better as the water now travels all the way around the bowl (rather than half-way as before).
It looks fab well done .
 
Filled with water, restocked food cupboards, clothes etc. All ready to set off tomoss for the west coast of Scotland for 2/3 weeks after 2nd COVID jab @ 9.10am.
May wild near Langdon beck tomoss night, not on my route to the M6 at Penrith but in no rush so fancy a night in the back of beyond lol. 😃😃😃
 
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