SKarosser Copy Scratch Home build?????

[wonkywheel]

Moving along slowly

All the PVC sheets were removed.
Aluminium building tape used to tape across all the spars to seal between primary insulation and the spars.



With all the joints in the bedroom sealed a layer of foil bubble wrap insulation was then fixed over the whole area and again sealed to ensure no air gaps to allow condensation.






With, what I hope is virtually an air tight walling, the PVC sheets are having the van carpet glued to them and then screwed into place. Trying to hold it in place and fit the screws in position proved a little challenging It finished up like working in a mine shaft with the props holding in position.



The slight overlap should allow a neat corner arrangement




Also while I had the camera out He is one of the rough build of the final gas box and cupboard front

[mjb666]

Well i hope that chest infection has gone for good & you are on the up.

It really is taking shape nicely & the attention to detail is a joy to watch via the ongoing photo's but i'm sure a bit frustrating at times for you with the occasional GRRRRRRR!!!!

[wonkywheel]

Yes, it can be, although what I find the most frustrating is wanting to get on and do more as my energy fails. Crawling up and down in the bed, laying on your back trying to find the stuff your laying on means having to get up turn over, lay down again. It doesn't sound much but after you have done 10 times I'm a bit hacked off as well as knackered. Then I have to get down and have a breather Every time a piece of PVC sheet escapes it punches a hole in the bubble wrap that has to be sealed.

I think the chest infection has gone although I am still coughing but with each a cough I am clearing my chest and seem to be breathing better


While it wasn't too bad outside today I also gave the bedroom ply floor a couple of coats of varnish



The 2 half sheets are just to spread my weight while I am crawling about but I will leave them in for the mattress to sit on.
They have been in and out of the camper for months. Laying under the camper in the rain has taken its toll though


The edges and some of the end have already started to delaminate. I am not unduly worried as they can be easily replaced or binned

Looking out these extra photo's I noticed one that shows the battery box in position with its edging in place. The front face will either be done in the flooring vinyl or van carpet.



That's about up to date now, well almost,

In my "resting periods" if I'm awake, I am usually doing something sitting down

I have made a paper mock-up of a speaker housing to ensure it fits in with the general plan. The idea was 4 speakers all roughly pointing to the dining table from the corners of the kitchen/dining area. Another rethink is called for. The 2 of the speakers near the bed will be shrouded by the curtains( if and when fitted )

The other thing I have been working on. I am more or less settled on the idea of a camo effect on the sides. Back panel to the right of the door (the widest) will have a map of the UK stuck to it. To mark off places visited. Or even vinyl photo's The OS wall map will need to be cut up to fit with Ireland drifting over to the back door

Hard boarder, I'm afraid

This, of course, is dependant on the advice from the "wrapper". I need to know if I can cover it with a clear protective vinyl wrap.

Right at the start of this thread (page 1) there is a picture of "Lightning", my now firewood, teardrop. The significance of its name comes from my truck being a Ford Ranger. A "Thunder" in fact. So it was "Thunder & Lightning" Although my wife called it that" bloody thing"
One of my drag racing buddies calls his mobile home "Harvey" with its name in the windscreen. This makes it easier to pick out in the camping area. Although I don't envisage any problem picking me out in a crowd I still have been thinking of what to call the camper

As I am now on my own I am alone. Can you guess where I'm going
With a few chrome letter on the truck, it will become a "Lone Ranger" I was thinking of either an eagle or birds eyes on the front of the camper, but now, it could be:-

[wonkywheel]

That's just about finished the cab over bedroom . So somewhere to sleep sorted.

All the panels have the van carpet glued to them and screwed to the framework. It was not without problems . Nothing new there then.
The van carpet is quite substantial being about 5mm thick and very dense. I found scissors, tin snips were not man enough. Only a new Stanley knife would cut it and even then was quickly blunted needing blade replacements. The spray adhesive that was supplied with the carpet was very good too. Spray both surfaces and leave a few minutes to dry. When the two surfaces were put together they could be parted and readjusted until pressure was applied. Then your stuck
The concentration on fitting the panels caused me to neglect to check the position of wires for the running lights. Consequently, all three panels had to be manipulated to find the wires



The inner window surround fitted and screwed in place. Wiring and interior light fitted. Delaminating plywood sheets in position for the bed base.



Slightly to the right of center you can just make out a couple of marks on the wall carpet.



This was caused by a heat gun.
The cold temperature meant that the spray adhesive didn't stick together as it should so I played my heat gun over the carpet surface whilst applying pressure. This was the case on all three panels. Roof panel was first, fine. Then the damaged panel. My heat gun has an adjustable setting up to 400C with a two-speed selector switch. Did I select the wrong speed The first panel was heated with the gun at a maximum of 200C but the second at 400C. Whether it was the extra heat, too much pressure, or just clumsiness but the deflector nozzle fell off onto the horizontal carpet. Quick as a flash, I picked it up to put back on not thinking about it being 400C So I dropped it again hence the two slight melt marks.

The aim now is to sort the gas lines out for the hob and outside connector, but as I have been used to cooking outside at the back of "Lightning" or on the Cadac its not a problem if its not sorted before I need to use the camper

[wonkywheel]

With the unusually fine weather, it was outside jobs.

I had intended to continue lining the inside with bubble wrap insulation but then remembered I had only fitted and screwed the windows in place. (not sealed) I had done the bedroom windows prior to fitting the carpet and such.
So the offside windows were taken out, fitted with a mastic seal and re-screwed back in place. Well almost, I did notice that the inner trim on the cooker window did not fit so there may have to be a slight adjustment if I can get the sash clamp on it. Failing that it will be a refit
Up and down the ladder took its toll so I finished off fitting the bubble wrap inside. Well until I ran out . One or two more should do it ( that will make 7 rolls @ £13/ roll )

On the money side, the camper does appear to be a bit of a money pit although if a jobs worth doing etc. etc. Although I am fast approaching a young 71 , I received a phone call from my old employer asking me to consider working part-time

It's under consideration , mainly with the thought of a wind-out awning, compressor fridge, Chinese heater
Anyway back to the job in hand.




With a view to getting on with the gas and mains electric I started at the inlet /outlet connectors. I always knew I would need external access to be able to fit a gas drop-out and the RCD box. With this in mind, I had not glued and riveted the bottom rear panels in place, just screwed..



To give some rigidity to the panel and door area I cut some ply to fit the holes, then screwed the panel to them. Finally gluing them in place



Whilst the glue was going off Celotex insulation was fitted and the floor ply marked out ready to cut with access from the cupboard above.



With the ply glued in place, the access doors were marked out. The small door at the bottom is for a storage area for the hookup cable and to give access to the rear light connector box.



The large door will be more or less fixed back in position but it does allow me to work in that area with relative ease and gives me the option to fit slide rails for a fridge or generator or water heater or anything else I can think of
So jigsaw out and the doors cut out. Not as straight and true as I would have liked but the aluminium angle edging will hide that. They will need trimming down to allow a working clearance anyway.



That's all for this weekend. I just stood the panel back in place then taped the doors in to make it a little more secure



Sunday, a day off. Clean the truck ready to go to the Milton Keynes theatre in the evening to see "Elkie Brooks" in concert. (Age showing a bit A bit different to Motorhead and ACDC which were the last ones )

[wonkywheel]

A bit of a difficult week really.

I was asked by my former employer if I wanted to go back to working part-time for some extra money. As am approaching 71 quite fast I informed him that although money was always nice, time to do what I want now is more important to me these days so, after offering advice and arranging the appropriate remedial actions on their current tooling problems, left and returned home. That wasted one days time and energy

My daughter's car had to go into the garage so I was on taxi duties. Another unproductive day.

Having put the power "in" socket and the gas "out" socket too close together in the camper side wall, I spent quite a lot of time fixing ply lining to the box to enable me to screw gas taps, RCD boxes and the like in position rewiring and pipe fitting as I went. I found the small bore copper pipe particularly difficult to cut without deforming it and had to spend time filing it back to a neat finish. I have since ordered a small pipe cutter to see if that is any better than my domestic heating pipe cutter or a fine-toothed hacksaw. Should arrive tomorrow I also ordered a few locker locks to secure them when fitted.

With another wasted day going to the Doctors, Chemists and then tyre fitters to order a couple of new tyres this week hasn't progressed the camper much at all

Tomorrow is a family lunch at Wagamama's so nothing will be done then either.

There is always next week

[zildjian]

Heater;
You are planning to fit a heater, how is that coming along so far and have you tried it out yet?

[wonkywheel]

Re Heater:
So far I have done nothing other than look
I do intend to go with a Chinese diesel, as I think one will fit in one of the bottom lockers at the back. It's really getting around to it. Also, I am keen on a 3.5m Fiamma wind out awning for the left side but I will need to save my pennies first
Anyway, I am still working towards getting the gas system all plumbed in. I have gone for some outside piping as you have said yours has it( so it must be ok )

[wonkywheel]

That's the utility locker insulated, lined with ply where fixings are required and gas pipes and taps dry fitted. Inlet cable and RCD box/relay fitted, 13 amp twin socket positioned ready to wire in later

The matching RH locker might accept a heater

The locking catches have not arrived yet and the weather not good enough to want to sit outside so it was back indoors to tape and seal more insulation. I thought that the 7th roll would be enough to finish off but that's not the case I had forgotten the area behind the back cushions and under and behind the cooker/worktop. Will need 2 more
While I was inside I took some of the floor ply up and gave it a coat of varnish(it might protect it a bit )



The last pieces of PVC sheet were cut for the wall panel (not enough of that either (more sheets required)
The window surrounds loosened off and the panel fixed behind it. When the panel is carpeted the window blind cassette will hide the carpet edges.

Any more purchases will have to wait until next month as I splashed out on two new Bridgestone Dueler tyres today. The little worn fronts swapped for the rears and the new up front. I also ordered some white tyre wax to highlight the names
So with those, and the truck tax due before the end of the month .......

Only a couple of more days to work on the build this week. Next week I'm off to the east coast for a bit of reading, relaxation, dog walking on the beach and a few beers in the "Fishermans Return"

[wonkywheel]

A bit of acceptable weather means I can get on a bit.

Slow, but perfection takes time
I have completed the gas bottle box even though I have no access door yet. That will have to wait until I have moved the camper over. It has moved about 300 to 400 mm across the yard in all that wind last week while I was away on holiday. I have made the box with a double layered top so that for the time being I can complete the pipework with access from inside the camper but can seal the lid down so that should there be any leakage the gas will not enter the camper it will exit through the dropout in the base. I have decided to go for a wall mounted 30mb regulator so that I can use either propane or butane as I have bottles of both to use up. A couple of pigtails to suit will enable a change over as and when. Although I could go for a change over valve .
Working in the confines of the small locker would have been a lot more challenging had it not been for the large access panel above and a lift out floor. . Although I intended to try to use a one-piece length of copper pipe it proved too difficult so I ended up with quite a few compression elbows. I will need to fit a test nipple somewhere in the circuit so that I can check for leaks with a water gauge (manometer).

The large access panel was made to hinge down, (possible table later) with its framework and edging done in 16swg aluminum angle. The framework was made up of two pieces of angle riveted together to give a "Z" section. This gives a sort of reveal that should make it weatherproof. If not there is enough space for a rubber gasket.





Then a small lock was fitted (key 833). I couldn't find locks that all needed the same key so I have half a dozen locks and keys to mark up.


The small locker door next by which time I hope the regulator and other gas fittings have arrived so that the pipework can be commissioned , as far as it goes.

That will just leave the gas locker door and frame to do for now. Although I might not have enough angle to complete it. Just something else I'm running out of.

It might have to wait a month because this one has been quite expensive. No sooner had I had the tyres fitted than the tax reminder dropped through the door
Upon checking, I also found my MOT was coming up too
I remember for the last MOT I had new brake pipes and an advisory on a shock absorber being damp
It turns out I only had new brake pipes on the back, so this time I have an advisory on the front pipes, (later) and a new shock absorber
I can't remember if I have posted about the cam belt I got the garage that services the truck to check the records to see the last time it had one.
It still had the original one on it
As I am just over 201,000 miles I thought I had better have that done too quick. (Lucky, I remember having one let go on my 520 BMW bending all 12 valves but the head was ok It took ages grinding in 12 valves )I am hoping that Ford Diesels are good for 500K with servicing, oil and filter changes.