# Sully the LDV Convoy



## GRWXJR

I got 'Sully'  in November.  My first campervan and home converted by a previous owner as a Motocross van.  Since I got it I've been tinkering.  I've not been tempted to change the basic layout too much (as I'd like to be able to carry my mountain bike inside the van, so some separate storage space and bike space is welcome as it is, segregated from the living space, but accessible via an internal door), but have done a few things

So far...

Removed one half of the (pretty small, cramped & pointless) bunk area above the rear storage and put in a new piece of ply, so that one half of the rear storage is now full height.  I kept the other half accessed from the living space to store the spare cushion for the fold-out bed, and as somewhere high n dry and out-of-the-way to stash bedding during the day.

Fixed the Split Charger circuit so that the Alternator charges the Leisure battery on the move.

Repaired the feed so the Fan Blower works (only on 4 tho cos the variable resistor card is FUBAR).

Repaired the feed and the electrics on the Eberspacher 'Handiwash' H&C sink in the cloakroom area

Made up a Mains hook-Up lead and tested the 230VAC electrics

Replaced the submersible water pump and fixed the bad connection on the microswitch trigger circuit so the sink tap works
Made sure the grill and twin hob works ok, the 3-way fridge too

Adapted my AC Mains 10A Numax Intelligent battery charger to a cigar socket output.  This means that I can plug it into the dashboard cigar point to maintain the starter battery, or plug it into a socket in the overhead cupboard so it then would maintain the Leisure battery while on Hook-up -  nice n easy.

And the best bit.....

Sourced and fitted 2 swivel captains seats instead of the awful std drivers seat and passenger bench :banana:

The Seats I took a punt on and used (sourced off a well-known Auction website, which came up reasonably locally, so I saved a fortune in shipping and collected myself) are the 'middle row' of 2 seats from a scrapped Mitsubishi L300 Delica 4WD people carrier thing.  Drivers adapted to fit the original LDV base to make sure it lines up and adjusts to the pedals correctly, with the passenger one fitted by using Unistrut bolted across the floor L-R on the original seat floor mount points, then using the Mitsubishi seat rails shortened and bolted to to the Unistrut.  using Unistrut meant that I could move the seat L & R to position it where it could pivot 360 degrees without clouting anything.  Retaining the rails means the passenger seat can also move fwd & backwards for comfort and to be able to recline it more when its rear facing!  Pretty please with the result - makes the van space seem much nicer - a bit more campervan-like and less van-like if you know what I mean.

I was also able to get the Mitsubishi Inertia Reel Seat belts with the seats.  The seats have on-board belt receivers, so by using the Mitsubishi belts I could do away with the long cable-stalk LDV belt receivers off the floor - less to get in the wat and trip over!

There's now more room between the seats for access to the living space, plus of course you can turn the seats around to make access even easier.

The bad news is that (in doing the job) I found the foam insulation under the rubber cab mat was soaking wet, so I had to strip it out and then I had to rub down, put rust-killer onto some patches of corrosion then paint the floor with a couple of coats of white Hammerite Smooth to look after the floor, wash & dry the floor insulation.  It looks like the door seals are not sealing (windscreen seems ok as the acoustic foam in the scuttle is dry) and rain (plenty of that) is running around the doors onto the F wheel arches and soaking into the foam.  So, no floor covering in the front until I can be sure I've sorted the seals and made sure no water is getting in so the foam has a chance to stay dry.  Not sure how I'm going to tackle that yet.  Ho hum.

Got a couple of bits of rust on the body (but seems pretty good compared to many I've seen) to sort, and the chassis seems sound with just some surface rust on the chassis rails, so (if we ever get some dry weather) I'm hoping that a quick clean and some waxoyling under there will keep the tin weevil at bay for years to come.

Good news is that me and the other half actually went out for a spin in Sully yesterday for the first time!  Only down the coast and stopped for a brew up, but still!

Sully is still just a cheapo and fugly LDV Convoy, but its starting to grow on me, and looks like he'll do nicely for the odd getaway for us.


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## GRWXJR

*Cab flloor done!*

Applied Flashing Tape to the entire cab floor today to assist with noise reduction (like 1 big sound-deadening pad).

Refitted the foam-based rubberised flooring, cutting it with a Stanley knife to fit around the new passenger seat mounting Unistrut sections, also round the drivers seat (couldn't be bothered to remove the seat again, plus anyway I wanted to be able to take the flooring out with the seat in situ if I need to in future).

Refitted the 2 moulded cab step inserts.  Refitted the gear lever extension and the rubber gaiter, and stuffed the gaiter with some loft insulation in a plastic bag as well before fitting it back to the floor.

When the floor was bare painted metal, I got a reading of 80-81dBA @ 55-60mph.  With the kit back in as described, the noise reading dropped to 77-78dBA, so half the previous noise level (decibel scale being logarithmic) though of course the std rubberised mat would have done some of that without the flashing tape.  At least I know the floor is sound, painted, sealed and ok, and there's no horrors hiding underneath now too.

Next jobs are to get some more sound pads and some acoustic stuff and treat the area under/behind the dash and dash pockets with as much of it as possible, and to fit some universal door seals around the doors to try and improve the interior cab noise further, and make Sully as nice to a place to drive / ride in as possible.

If we ever get any dry decent weather, then I've got an engine / gearbox, FD service to do, also Waxoyl or Shultz the underneath at some point, to try and keep the van bodywork in good order.

I do get the feeling though that there'll always be a list of things to do!


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## GRWXJR

*More stuff done!*

Been out in the cold today and made a bit more progress.

Changed the height of the shelf in the rear storage sectioned-off area in Sully today, so now I can stow my Mountain Bike across in front of the rear doors (upside-down with the F wheel out) where it takes up the least space, and doesn't restrict access to the storage from inside the van.

There's a folding access hatch section in the rear wall of the 'cloakroom' so you can go from 'living space' through to 'storage space' in Sully so you don't have to go outside and round the back to get at stuff - you only need to open the rear doors to get the bike or any bigger stuff in and out.  The hatch was put in to allow a moto-x bike to be carried by it running through the hatch and being parked half-in the cloakroom, but its handy for general access I find.

The space given over to storage does of course reduce the living space, so Sully doesn't have as much living room as some the same external dimensions - but I ain't planning on holding a dance in there, and having segregated space to keep mucky Mountain bike Gear, tools, and whatever other assorted crud seems such a good idea compared to having it cluttering up (& smelling up post ride :lol-053 the living area.  Fitting captains seats has done a lot to improve the living space and make it seem more roomy as well as much nicer to be in.

The storage area should also prove to be great to keep lawn chairs, luggage, the BBQ and the charcoal / logs as well - just like having a garage with you  !

The good news is that the hatch would easily allow me to carry a scooter or small motorbike inside the van if I ever felt the need in the future - just get a lightweight ramp made up and shove it in - theres a section of unistrut on the floor by the back door with strong eyes attached to lash a motorbike down securely. Or I could fit a couple more Mtb's in there if a couple of mates came along (some friends and I did the Mountain Mayhem and Octoberfest weekend Mountain bike events last year for fun  - Sully would be great for going somewhere like that - having been parked up in a field, sleeping in a tent with no facilities except loos about a half-mile away for a weekend makes the idea of spending the duration in Sully seem like a weekend at the Hilton!

Luckily whoever converted my van, had the forethought to put a pair of 230VAC power sockets in the storage area, so on hook-up I was able to able to wield my jigsaw with abandon!

Still a fair few things to do, but getting there slowly.  I'll try and take a few pics at some point if anyone has any interest.  I'm looking forward to actually going and spending a night out in the van to see how we get on.  Sully has a Webasto night heater, so we might even have a go pretty soon!


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## n brown

definitely photy time !


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## whitevanwoman

Yep, let's see this mean machine of yours, I want a look at the seat fittings, trying to work out what you've done from the descriptions in the (useful) posts on the single passenger seat for transit thread.


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## AuldTam

Ditto...

I can't wait to see it too....


Photos! Photos! Photos!


I love stealing other peoples ideas...


We want photo's!!!!


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## terrywolf

lots of usefull information on ldv-sherpa .co.uk on how to stop the water leaks


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## GRWXJR

*Ok... (if I can upload), here's some pics of Sully*

Firstly, thanks to Terrywolf for the LDV link - I'll check that out.

Ok..... first let me get my excuses in - the floor won't always look like I keep pigs in there ok? Clambering in and out on snowy/soggy ground means every time I'm in and out doing anything its a 'mare.  I've tried to keep on top of the worst, but at the moment its a waste of time, so a wash when the ground is dry it'll have to be.

Also - its dark ok, and David bailey I ain't either (& Sully is no Supermodel thats for sure), so please don't expect great pics!

I tried to take a few pics to get the inside ok and the rear storage, and a couple of the passenger seat 'Unistrut' mounting especially for Whitevanwoman's viewing pleasure (more mess on floor in close-up, mutter, grumble)

Ok (how do you work this thing) ......


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## n brown

very nice mate,couple of nice touches,like the way you got the swivel in.well done you


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## mark61

Great work. Thanks for sharing pics.


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## GRWXJR

*I can't take much credit...*

Thanks for the nice comments, however whoever built the thing in the first place deserves 95% of the credit, not me.

All I've done is tinker with what was pretty much sorted in the first place (& I reckon I'm better by far at getting something functional than I am at making something smart - a craftsman I ain't. 

I guess I'm more of a Bodger (in that I'm ok at fixing stuff with what's available rather as opposed to a 'Botcher' where its just a cruddy lash-up) really - I'm the sort of bloke who mates find useful to have about to help a mate ride his motorbike home after a minor crash - let me loose with a few rudimentary tools, gaffer tape, electrical tape and zip ties and it won't be pretty but it'll get you home kinda thing 

Its better that I got a van with the interior pretty much sorted, but with a few little issues and fix those than if I tried to do it from scratch really - I'm only having to tinker and fix what is, not actually design all of it from scratch and get a nice finish.  I think I'd find it pretty hard to do one from nothing - working out all the electrics and fitting everything - I'd manage eventually and it'd all be ok, but this is far easier  !

It's shown me enough though for me to have much respect for those who take the plunge and do their own conversion from scratch hands-on though - to do one nicely must take a lot of work and application.  All I've really done is move a couple of bits of ply and fixings, fix a few dodgy bits and stick some seats in.

I'm hoping it works out ok though and Sully gives us some good times when he's finally used as intended.


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## whitevanwoman

very nice van, not ugly at all, and anyway, who cares what the outside is like so long as the inside is warm and dry and comfy. Some really practical ideas there, more food for thought.


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## AuldTam

Brilliant Van.....well done!

The upholstery is very neatly done.


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## GRWXJR

*Upholstery*



> The upholstery is very neatly done.



Well, if you meant the bench seat / bed then (again) that's down to the builder, not me I'm afraid.

If you meant the front seats, then the credit for those goes to Mitsubishi :lol-053: !


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## Firefox

Pretty good! Your descriptions were quite good as well; I'd pretty much got the layout in my head from your previous descriptions, which is a testament to your text as it's quite unusual at the back.


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## GRWXJR

*Layout*



> I'd pretty much got the layout in my head from your previous descriptions



People actually read all that burble  !

Hmm - I realised that it was an unusual layout to give so much space over to other than living space, and I guess I'll have to try it out to see how we get on with it.  Maybe I'm making a virtue out of the layout because I WANT it to be good, rather than because it IS good.  I guess we'll find out.  Just because it seems (to me at least) to be practical and useful doesn't mean it is (I liked the potential to carry all my crap, yet be able to just pull over and stop for a 'brew with a view' without having to turf all me gear out of the way first.

I have a mate with an old VeeDub which is smaller and all living space, and he has to load all his bags n paraphernalia into the living space so when he stops he has to horse it all out (not great if its raining!), or onto the f-seats to get at the kettle/stove, and watching him trying to shoehorn his Specialized Mtb in there as well gets all a bit 'ship in a bottle' (amusing to watch though).  My thinking was that this 'garage' rear layout should make that sort of thing less hassle.

I have to accept though that if it's really such a good idea, why its not more widely adopted (other than for other Moto-X vans maybe?).

As I have opened up the rear LH corner to full height, then I guess it wouldn't be a massive job to remove the current cloakroom door/wall bit, and convert the rear corner of the storage into the cloakroom to gain that extra space in the living area if we find its not working as it is.  I don't really want to consider hacking it about any more than I have already really though (at least until I've seen how we get on with it as it is now and given it a fair shot).  I'm hopeful it'll work ok.


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## Poppy

excellent pic's.....hope l can get The Duck another LDV Convoy


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## GRWXJR

*The Duck*



Poppy said:


> excellent pic's.....hope l can get The Duck another LDV Convoy



I've seen some of your posts and it sounds like you're getting stuck in, so keep at it!  I had a head start so cheated, as Sully was pretty much as you see him here but for some tinkering.

I've ordered some acoustic stuff which should be here this week - going to see how well I can improve the firewall/scuttle are and quiet the cab down by applying the stuff behind and under as much of the dash area as I can without having to take the whole dash out.  There seems to be quite a lot of void space behind the thin plastics of the dash where some stuffing can be done.  I'd like to try and reduce the engine noise of the tranny diesel so its more relaxing to drive on the open road.

Once I've done that I'll use works noise meter and hope its been worth buying the stuff and spending the time to muck about with!


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## GRWXJR

*Noise reduction & power reduction*

I got the acoustic material and some sound-deadening pads I ordered this week, so have cut up & applied sd pads to the back of the removable interior dash sections above both footwells and the centre console surround, then stuck some of the material on top of that before reinstating them. All this is part of my ongoing noise reduction programme, and I reckon its working, bit-by-bit (2.5di Tranny engine is not the quietest lump, and stock LDV sound-proofing is a bit... basic).

I've got some more to do, including putting more sd pads on the front wheel arches and on the door skins, and seeing if I can find a way to get more insulation in the engine bay and firewall/scuttle area.

I'm also modernising the lighting to LED's to drop the power draw.  I have 3 downlighters which currently have 10w halogen bulbs.  I've ordered G4 LED's off the internet that are roughly twice as bright, and draw only 1.2w each - a reduction of a factor of over 9x for just over a tenner.

I've actually changed the 2 old Fluorescent fittings in the Cloakroom and the rear storage yesterday for LED strips and separate on'off switches.  The old fittings drew 10A each and gave off a sorry yellowish glow - the LED's draw just 1A each and throw out a much higher and whiter light that illuminates the areas so much better.

So - better lighting and a lot less drain on the battery as well - Result!


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## GRWXJR

*More LED's*

The living space has 3 downlights under the cupboards as the main (off-hook-up) lighting.  These had 10w Halogen bulbs fitted, with 2 wire-like prongs.

A search on the internet sorted that these are called 'G4' fitting, so I got onto eBAy and found some LED's which were a whiter light, brighter and only consuled 1.2w each.  I coulda got em cheaper by waiting up to 28 days from China/Hong Kong, but basically got 3 in 2 days from a Uk seller for just under a Tenner.

They popped straight into the existing fittings last night and do the job nicely.  Should last ages longer, but the main thing I was after was the fact that I now draw just over a tenth of the juice from the leisure battery.  Sully only has a 75AH which came with him, and I figured the money spent to reduce consumption is cheaper and better than a bigger or more battery storage.

As I'm never likely to go more than a couple of days without hook-up or driving to recharge via the split charger relay, then I'm hoping this simple mod will mean I can keep the rest untouched.

Theoretically all the lamps would draw 3.6w, so approx. say 0.4 Amps.  So sticking to max 50% discharge that's at least 93 hours if the battery is fully charged and in top nick.  Allowing for having the radio or the dvd, or the Webasto then consumption would increase, so guessing if I work on an average consumption of say 1.5 Amp worst case then that's about 24-hrs, so should be enough power for the durations I'll need it.  We shall see!


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## GRWXJR

*Rear door handle n other LDV Stuff*

Got lucky today (get yer minds out of the gutter - not THAT kinda lucky!).

I managed to break the rear door handle on Sully a short while back (that's not the lucky bit btw).  My vans rear door seems a bit stiff initially & there's no other handle, so I guess it gets overstressed with doing the opening and pulling duties).  The hinges n stuff are ok, & the doors close pretty tight and don't leak, so I've not been tempted to mess with them, and didn't think it was a problem till the soddin' handle broke.

Anyway, the lucky bit is that I found out about a relatively local guy (well, local for rural Wales - Crymmych in the Preseli Hills) who breaks Transits and LDV's (well Tranny's really but got into LDV's as well cos of the tranny running gear in lots of em).  He reckons he's got pretty much all spares for LDV's and Tranny's :banana:

Anyway, Rik turned out to be a nice guy and seems to know the vans well.  Sorted me a door handle, and threw in a bolt-on interior door handle (which I'm thinking of putting on the outside of the door to prevent a repeat of breaking the door handle I've now got to change yet again).

Also pretty much supported what my research had suggested before I bought one of these much-maligned vans.  Rik told me that the 'banana' engine, gearbox and axle combo mine has are generally uber-reliable (definitely very good news) and that they suffer from being a bit basic, pedestrian, unrefined and with cruddy trim, poor fitting interiors, badly-fitting doors, rubbish cheapo locks and flimsy door handles (yeah, spotted these ones on me own, but figure these are niggles compared to big expensive stuff that has you looking for your Breakdown Cover).  The odd water leaks from windscreen and door seals as well (yup, check - Sikkaflex for the windscreen and gonna get some extra seals and glue em on to sort the door gaps).

Overall though, an assessment I could live with happily for a budget campervan running gear / chassis, so I hope Rik really, really knows his onions!

Other useful stuff is that the Bosch pump on mine is WAY better (as in reliability and robustness) than the Epic (or Epic Fail) pump on the later Duratorque motors (also used in 'Smiley' Transits apparently).  Told me that my Bosch injector pump will pretty much stand being run on Custard if you could make it combustible, so if I should decide I wanted to run on veggie or bio-diesel then apparently it'll do so without complaint (didn't go into details of how/what though).  Useful info for anyone running the later Epic pump should it fail, then Rik has retro-fitted the older Bosch pump with a slight performance drop but with a trade-off of MUCH better reliability.

Anyway - I'm guessing that at least a couple of people who could be bothered to read my drivel would also have an LDV.  If they do and are scratching around for some s/h LDV bits, then (if my experience is typical) you could do worse than give Rik a try.  If so,he's on 01239 832077.


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## GRWXJR

*Repairs*

Well, thought I'd fit the rear door outer handle yesterday morning - can't take more than an hour, surely?

Nope.  Lower outer door handle screw turns out to be behind the main inner lock assembly.  To get that moved meant disconnecting the cable to the upper door catch which had to be removed.  Then the outer trim had to come off to reveal another screw, then disconnect the linkages and THEN I could get the old handle off.

Changed the handle and went through the reverse palaver.  Testing reveals that the reason for the door sticking is that wear in the linkage means the inner door catch releases, while the outer handle mechanism *just* catches and needs a yank to release.  This of course over-stresses what is a pretty flimsy handle.  I found a way to take up the slack/wear in the linkage, and while I was at it fitted a pull handle on the outer door as well, so that the door release handle doesn't need to be used at all to pull the door open (I don't want to replace that *%$$@@@** handle for a while).

Also stuffed some more acoustic material in the dash, and also added a layer under the bonnet with some sound-deadening pads to the bonnet skin first in the pursuit of lower engine noise transmission to the cabin.

Been shopping today for stuff to go inside (cups n stuff) bits n bobs to try and get ready to actually use the van as intended!


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## stepaway

*Found your thread *

Hi - found your thread, so thought it only fair to have a butchers and reciprocate. It looks very nicely done and very stealthy. Is that a single berth up top on the drivers side rear?


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## GRWXJR

> Is that a single berth up top on the drivers side rear?



It was Stepaway - it went across the van though as its only 'deep' enough as a single and you'd have laid across the van (same as the main bed does behind the seats across to the sliding door).  The access to the bunk was through the part you can see, via a ladder, while the rest was behind the bulkhead between the cloakroom and the rear stoarge space (which would have been all under the childs bunk).

Thing is, the bunk was small and cramped, not easy to get into and out of and seemend a bit 'coffin-like'.  So I decided to just keep the half you see for the extra cushion to make up the bed (which is the bench seat during the day) and the bedding itself tucked out of the way once we were in 'day' mode.

This change allowed me to have the rear corner behind the cloakroom full height - just being able to duck through from the cloakroom interior and then stand upright to get at storage boxes on the shelf or whatever seemed so much better than a bunk space that would bever really be used.

In any case, the van is only a 2-seater (with belts) now I've fitted the captains seats and my Gf's daughter wouldn't want to come with us alone without bringing company, so it wasn't much of a loss to change the arrangement.  It'd be far better to carry a tent or add a safari room to the awning if we wanted more than 2 to travel and stay with us was the thinking - I can carry extra tents and gear in the storage space behind the rear doors.  That was another reason for sticking with the layout - the idea is that with all the gear stowed and not in nthe living space, then we can stop anywhere and have access to the kitchen and living space without  having to shift bags and gear to get at anything.  We'll know soon enough how it works out in practice!

I wanted the living area to be better, hence the swivel seats - also makes the area less cramped with the bed out and makes it so much easier in the transition from 'cab' to 'living area' - simply turn the seats about and there you go!

I did keep all the bits intact though - so I could revert it to a small bunk quite easily if I wanted to.


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## Poppy

GRWXJR said:


> I've seen some of your posts and it sounds like you're getting stuck in, so keep at it!  I had a head start so cheated, as Sully was pretty much as you see him here but for some tinkering.
> 
> I've ordered some acoustic stuff which should be here this week - going to see how well I can improve the firewall/scuttle are and quiet the cab down by applying the stuff behind and under as much of the dash area as I can without having to take the whole dash out.  There seems to be quite a lot of void space behind the thin plastics of the dash where some stuffing can be done.  I'd like to try and reduce the engine noise of the tranny diesel so its more relaxing to drive on the open road.
> 
> Once I've done that I'll use works noise meter and hope its been worth buying the stuff and spending the time to muck about with!



You'll have to let me know that sound proofing in the cab went


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## GRWXJR

*Noise!*



> You'll have to let me know that sound proofing in the cab went



Well... when I first measured it I didn't have the original sponge-backed rubberised floor mat in - and it made a bit of a din (81 to 82dBA at about 55mph) - about the same noise as noisy traffic if you're by the roadside, and at a level where in work they'd have you wearing hearing protection.

I didn't measure it when I had the carpet in alone, but it was loud enough that I couldn't hear the heater fan on 4 at 50mph, and the radio had to be well loud to be heard.  The transmitted engine noise was way too loud basically -tolerable when in town and low speed, but on the open road (& I had a 200 mile drive to get it home after purchase) too much and I was doing no more than 50mph as the thing was an unknown quantity.

With what I've done so far (and the plan is to put some underlay and carpet on top of the existing rubberised flooring as well) then the noise level at 55mph (the best compromise cruising speed I find) is around 75dBA.  That doesn't sound much, but decibel scale is logarithmic, so every 3dB represents a doubling of sound pressure level, in effect meaning that 81db(A) is 2 times louder than 75db(A) - which is a lot.  The (A) means average, across the frequency range the meter reads, so some frequencies are more intrusive than others (generally high freq) while lower freq is less irritating but harder to manage (think of the bass thuds making the car panels buzz in Mr 'Max Power's' Saxo at the lights).  It also means that what you hear may not seem much lower or louder even if the meter says it is, so it still comes down to how the noise is perceived and bothers you.

That all said - it is a lot better!  While its certainly not quiet, the hard edges of noise seem to have been rounded off, as well as reduced.  So while no-one would claim the cab of Sully is refined, its much better to live with.  I feel like I could drive it for a longish period and find it comfortable enough, which I don't think I could say before.

GF came out in it last weekend and said she was surprised at how much better it was than the first time she rode in it as well, so overall it must be a noticeable improvement.  Overall I'm reasonably happy with what I've got it down to, and have a couple more things to try to  knock it down a bit more (better door seals to cut wind noise, and see if I can get a bit of the stuff I have left stuck to the inside firewall/scuttle in the engine bay (but there's not a lot of room).

Your LDV is newer than Sully though and runs the newer Duratorque engine (poss with a turbo).  So - your motor may be queiter and higher geared as it has more Hp to pull a a longer gear - and less revs tends to mean quieter.  So your Duck might be better to start with than Sully was.


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## naughtymessiah

Great read, I've a LDV 400 Luton conversion with the Peugeot engine. It has a Lucas pump but luckily not the epic one so I'm running veg oil on a twin tank set up with heated lines, yours would be very easy to use oil basically put in tank and keep a spare fuel filter handy as it'll flush the crap out the tank. 
You can go as much as 100% oil but most people will advise to run 30/70 oil diesel mix in winter and up to 80/20 in the summer, I've always run at 100% same on my Merc and had no issues. You can do what I've done and have a twin tank so you warn the engine up on diesel then switch over to oil and visa versa when stopping to help preserve the pump but personally with a Bosch pump I'd just put it in the main tank.
Know what you mean about the noise they make, mine's horrific and even after replacing most of the missing floor is still quite bad but I've plans for some more sound proofing.


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## GRWXJR

naughtymessiah said:


> Great read, I've a LDV 400 Luton conversion with the Peugeot engine. It has a Lucas pump but luckily not the epic one so I'm running veg oil on a twin tank set up with heated lines, yours would be very easy to use oil basically put in tank and keep a spare fuel filter handy as it'll flush the crap out the tank.
> You can go as much as 100% oil but most people will advise to run 30/70 oil diesel mix in winter and up to 80/20 in the summer, I've always run at 100% same on my Merc and had no issues. You can do what I've done and have a twin tank so you warn the engine up on diesel then switch over to oil and visa versa when stopping to help preserve the pump but personally with a Bosch pump I'd just put it in the main tank.
> Know what you mean about the noise they make, mine's horrific and even after replacing most of the missing floor is still quite bad but I've plans for some more sound proofing.



Interesting - thanks for your post NM!  I'm interested in the veg oil thing, as I very much doubt that 'Sully' is getting more than 28-30mpg being driven sensibly, so cheaper fuel would help a lot in running costs over a long trip.

But....  I know NOTHING about mixing veg oil, or what oil to use, whether its rapeseed, make, brand, ANYTHING!  Do I just march into a supermarket and buy a load of 2L bottles of 'Mazola' ??? and then just pour the stuff into the diesel tank and then stick some pump diesel in with it?  Can it be that simple?

I understand what you're saying about needing to have spare fuel filters in case they clog up (as well as know how to change them and bleed the fuel system - which I know how to do in theory but not on this particular machine cos I haven't looked!).  I also understand about the veg oil being thicker in viscosity in the cold, hence you running less of it in winter and warming the engine up first (though by the sound of it my Bosch pump is less 'fussy' than your Lucas one?).

I have a couple more questions if you don't mind....

1. Is running veg oil a load of hassle, or in my van should it be straightforward? (There seems little point having say 40% ??? cheaper fuel and then spending loads on having the injector pump repaired for example - you hear some scary stories!  I really don't want to wreck an expensive injector pump by doing something wrong)

2.  Is the veg oil that much cheaper than regular diesel then as to be worth doing?

3.  What about 'shelf life'?  As my van is a weekender, how does veggie oil 'keep' in the fuel tank over time?  Does it turn into a lump of Goo or something if you don't use it quickly?

4.  I have a mate who works at a wholesalers and I think they supply cooking oil in 25L drums for catering.  Would that be the way to go perhaps?

5.  Will my van smell like the local Chippy when I drive down the road?

6.  I assume that running on Veg oil is totally legal, and the ministry can't 'do' me like they would if I ran on Red Diesel or Heating Oil?

Thanks!


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## naughtymessiah

Veg oil is no hassle, every vehicle that I've run it on that has had Bosch pumps I've never had a failure (a second hand one can be had for about £60 in any case and the money you'd save in fuel far outweighs that cost and there simple to fit).
You've two options SVO (straight vegetable oil) or WVO (waste vegetable oil), SVO is the easiest but the most, I buy catering drums at £18 for 20ltr  so 90p a litre saving 50p a litre compared to diesel. WVO can be bought a couple of ways, you can buy it unrefined and refine it yourself (a huge pain in the arse and needs a lot of equipment and for what your doing not worth it) or you can buy it refined at around 70p a litre (eBay is the best place and there's loads of refinery's in UK now, they basically take all the crap and water out of the oil so it can be used for fuel.
There isn't one near me which is why I use new veg oil, you can use rapeseed which has a lower viscosity but is generally a few quid more (I've never noticed the difference myself).

Shelf life is not an issue as it doesn't degrade like diesel or petrol, having said that it doesn't have the oomph of regular fuel not that you should really see any difference TBH but you can add centane additive which is an octane replacement, again it's cheap and I've used it but not seen any noticeable difference.

Smell is an odd one, my Mercedes does smell like a chippy but my van doesn't and I've no idea why. I don't think it smells that bad, WVO tends to smell a lot worse. You can add scented oil if you like I know a few people that do.

Running oil is 100% legal, you can use up to 2500 litres a year before you have to pay any tax (I've 4 members in my family and so that's 10000 not that I count) Me and my family have been pulled several times over the years for tank dipping (red diesel) and that's probably because they have a place at the end of the road where they do it and I live between two VOSA points on the A19 and never had it questioned and I've never known anyone to get in trouble for using too much or not keeping records (I worked for HMRC up to December).
If you use different oil not that's a different matter such as waste engine oil (yes you can run your van on it) you do have to pay tax on it so it isn't worth it in my opinion but very easy and incredibly cheap to get and process.

If you do no mods to the fuel system I would be happy running 50/50 in the winter (it might be a bugger to start on very cold mornings but that's about it for problems) and up to 90% in the summer, so 5 litres of diesel, petrol, white spirit to 45 of oil. 

If you want to run higher tolerances you can but a fuel heater which plumbs into the existing heating system and can be bought for around £20, with that system I'd run 70% oil in the winter and 100% say April - October.

If in the winter you want to run again higher tolerances or you want to prevent any possible damage then you'd be looking at a twin tank system.

If it were me with your van, I'd have two spare fuel filters in the glove box, and I'd use 40/60 winter and 90/10 April-October.

You should see an increase in MPG and better emission's which is Ideal for MOT's, as I said the only word of caution is for the fuel pump, but can be bought cheaply enough and can be changed easily enough yourself if your handy with a spanner. 
If it we're a more modern engine then I wouldn't bother without a twin tank set up as then you are looking at silly money for repairs and there not as robust.

I'm surprised more poeple with Diesel motorhome's don't do the same as there not known for their great fuel consumption.


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## GRWXJR

> If you do no mods to the fuel system I would be happy running 50/50 in the winter (it might be a bugger to start on very cold mornings but that's about it for problems) and up to 90% in the summer, so 5 litres of diesel, petrol, white spirit to 45 of oil.



Just in case I'm being thick, did you mean.....

A mixture of:

5 litres of pump diesel
45 litres of SVO

Gives your 80/20 summer mix?

What I don't get is the mention of petrol, white spirit bit?  I get that adding some of either will help thin the oil and maybe boost the octane a bit, but I'm a bit confused as to the quantity of either (or both?) needing to be added to the mixture?  I'd heard that adding spirit of any kind was only something needed in the winter?  I'm a bit bewildered - interesting stuff though!

Sounds like you get lower emissions, and maybe even more mpg as well as fuel that is cheaper then?  Sounds too good to be true!

So, if we assume 30mpg and using Derv/SVO (@ £1.48 / £0.90 per litre respectively, and the conversion rate of Litres to Galls of 4.54609) then:

Regular diesel would cost                  £6.73 per gallon, £0.224 per mile (so 1000 miles costs £224.00)
50/50 mixture Derv/SVO would cost    £5.41 per gallon, £0.180 per mile (so 1000 miles costs £180.00)
20/80 mixture Derv/SVO would cost    £4.62 per gallon, £0.153 per mile (so 1000 miles costs £153.00)
0/100 mixture Derv/SVO would cost    £4.09 per gallon, £0.136 per mile (so 1000 miles costs £136.00)

To put it another way, the equivalent mpg/cost to diesel only could be represented as:

Regular diesel would give                  £6.73 per gallon, £0.224 per mile  (30mpg)
50/50 mixture Derv/SVO would cost    £5.41 per gallon, £0.180 per mile (cost equivalent to 37.4mpg)
20/80 mixture Derv/SVO would cost    £4.62 per gallon, £0.153 per mile (cost equivalent to 44.0mpg)
0/100 mixture Derv/SVO would cost    £4.09 per gallon, £0.136 per mile (cost equivalent to 49.5mpg)

(above figures disregarding petrol/white spirit additive cos I don't understand that bit )

Am I making any sense and are my numbers about right?


----------



## naughtymessiah

Sorry should have explained, if your running high levels of oil you can use diesel, petrol or spirit to help thin it (there's a few more but can't remember off the top of my head), 80% or above oil I'd use any of those, below that and I'd just use diesel.
MPG wise you might be lucky and get a couple more nothing to dance about but every little helps, oh and you might improve it further my blocking the EGR valve (loads of threads on the LDV-SHERPA forum).
Yes it is 80/20 mix :idea: your quite right but you could go higher if you wanted to try.
Your figures look OK to me, so depending on the time of year you could be saving up to £2.64 a gallon which might not seem much or even worth it but after a few tanks worth it certainly mounts up.
We get some odd looks at the wholesalers emptying 20ltr containers of oil in the tanks :lol-053:


----------



## GRWXJR

*Nurse - The Screens!*

Using the roll of 'silver screen stuff' (sorta skinny bubble-wrap with tinfoil either side stuff) I've made a full set of heat reflective screens for Sully today.

The roll was 500mm wide/deep by 10,000 - typically my side windows and screen were a bit deeper (screen about 620mm).  So I've overlaid 2 parts, then taped together on one side with aluminium adhesive tape, then spray-glued them together, taped the opposite side and then all the edges.

Then I put mini-eyelets through the material and then I fitted the suction cups I bought.  The suction cups come with plastic threaded bits that screw into the back of the suction cup - so pop the screw part through the eyelet and into the cup to fit and TA-DAAH!

Only prob was the sliding door caravan-type perspex side window was too awkward to use suction cups on - but self-adhesive backed velcro seems to have done the trick there.

One more job done! :banana:

The overhead storage was left un-insulated - straight to the glassfibre roof so leaches heat like mad - so that's the next thing to do.  Just gotta find some nice cheap camping mats next (think I need 4 of).  Any ideas for some cheapy bargain camping mats anywhere?

After that.... binned the old CRT Telly and want to convert the overhead space (corner of the over-cab area) into an extra cupboard to keep foodstuffs in.


----------



## GRWXJR

*Wow - those screens REALLY work!*

I overnighted in Sully for the first time ever on Friday night.  It was cold, and I used the Webasto heater from 10 till 12, then it was off (and got a bit chilly unless tucked under a thick duvet) till I put the heater on again at 5am.  I found the heater needed to work quite a bit to keep on top of things.

Last night, I left the van outside the gf's last night with my newly made Silver Screens in place.  Had to be on the road before 7 this am to get to work.

It was pretty cold (dry so no frost, but around freezing-ish, and similar conditions to Friday night I'd say) when I removed the screens.  The van felt a bit warmer (or less cold?) than I would have expected, which was a positive.  When removing the screens, I found that the screens were FAR colder on the glass side than the cabin side, and as soon as they were taken down you could feel the temperature inside the van drop with a cold chill immediately.

I hoped that they'd make a useful difference, but WOW!  Well worth the hassle of going to to make them.

The most expensive bit was buying the suction cups that I did with the screw-in mounting (though I've used only about 16 of the 50 pack I bought so I've plenty left!).

Allowing for Aluminium Foil Sticky (VERY sticky) Tape to seal the sides and join sections together, the Sellotape Spray Adhesive (£2.99 from The Range, and by FAR the cheapest price I've found anywhere btw) and the eyelets and tool (Cheapy Lidl stuff bought 'in case' years ago), the suction cups used, and the roll of material, I reckon that screens for the side caravan window, the 2 door windows and the windscreen have cost in the region of 30 Quid.

If I insulate the bit of the roof left undone (the over-cab storage area) then I reckon the van will be pretty cosy - I guess over time the saving in diesel for the night heater would cover that anyway.

Overall, a very happy camper(vanner) with the result :banana:


----------



## GRWXJR

*Got some Camping Mats!*

Millets / Blacks is closing down (depressing) and the local store was having an 'everything must go' discounted sale.  The place looked like a plague of locusts had descended over it when my daughter called in there for me - felt like she was picking over a carcass - sign of the times eh?

Anyway - there were some '3 Season' 1800mm x 500mm x 6mm Camping Mats left and I got 4 of them for a total of £14.50 in the clear out.

So I now have the materials for my next job, which is to insulate the over-cab storage section of the glassfibre roof, (which was inexplicably left bare when the rest of the van was done by the builder) :banana:

Hoping that this, along with the heat-reflective screen kit I made last weekend will make Sully nice and cosy to overnight in - we shall see!


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## GRWXJR

*More Insulation, and more OOMPH!*

Stuck the camping mats up on the roof area in the above-cab storage cupboard to help things now - can't really tell yet if it's made much difference as I've not been out in the van, but it must do something.

After looking up how to do it though, what I did this morning made a DEFINITE improvement... I've disabled the EGR Valve, and tweaked the Fuel Injection pump to give the van more low-midrange.  Takes only minutes and a bit of care to do, and what a difference!

Sully has always been sluggish with a heavy throttle pedal, and you had to rev him pretty hard if trying to accellerate to go up a gear on even a slight gradient.  On the flat you could short-shift up the box ok (if with very gentle acceleration) but otherwise once out of 2nd - forget it (and Wales ain't exactly flat).

Now the above mods are done, Sully is far more responsive on the (much lighter) throttle and pulls noticeably better (relatively speaking - this is still an LDV Convoy, not a 130ps Trafic or whatever).  Sully now attacks upslopes with gusto compared to the previous asthmatic performance.  All the work is on the top of the Inhection pump and the EGR Valve which are easily accessible (and reversible) just under the bonnet, took less than 20 minutes start to finish, needed no special tools and the cost was NIL too! (apart from 2 small zip ties).

RESULT!  :banana::banana::banana::banana:

I don't know what it'll do to fuel consumption, but doubt if it'll be a big negative effect as you had to rev harder, change down more and shove the throttle down harder to try and maintain even slow uphill progress or acceleration before the mods.  I guess I'll find out in due course, but right now I'm happy as the changes make Sully SO much nicer to drive.


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## phillybarbour

The best van is the one that suits your needs, great van.


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## GRWXJR

phillybarbour said:


> The best van is the one that suits your needs, great van.



Thanks!  Also, I have to think in terms of 'the best van is the one that suits your wallet' too :lol-053:.

I admit I rather fancy an oldish Hymer (odd-looking but with a certain charm, and seem very practical) but I haven't had the chance to really find out whether we really get into campervanning, so this seemed like an affordable way (to buy and to maintain) to dip a toe into the water.

So far 'Sully' is coming together and getting better as the tinkering goes on - tonight I've sound-deadened & insulated the sliding door with SD pad, using a 3-season camping mat cut up, and some of that silver-screen type stuff glued onto the inside of the door card.  Earlier today I used the last of the heavier sound-insulation material I'd bought to line the inside the engine bay scuttle in the quest for a better driving experience.  Doors now close with more of a thud than a tinny clang (tapping the wing and comparing it to my sound-deadened and insulated bonnet, and its like chalk & cheese!).  I've also been aware that the Awning didn't seem right - so earlier I wound out the 3M Fiamma Awning and found the front bracket wasn't lodged under the top lip of the unit to support it, so and loosened the mounting bolts and reseated it, so that's one more little niggle sorted.

I think though that having to roll the sleeves up and get involved with the van has actually started some sort of weird bond with the thing - I'm starting to like the ugly so-&-so!  Sully may just be a much-maligned and fugly LDV, but I reckon he'll do just fine.  He's so much better already than the vehicle I started with - it was basically all there, just needed a bit put into it.  Don't get me wrong, he's still a bit careworn, shabby far from pristine and nicely finished, but then he's not megabucks either.  The good news is that I've not spent much money over what I paid to make Sully a much nicer environment to be in - time is the thing.

Can't wait now till we can actually get a weekend away in the van.  I know the first time or 2 will show up niggles and things we've forgotten or maybe need tweaking or rethinking, but looking forward to finding out.  Rhandirmwyn and Stackpole / Barafundel are 2 nice places not far away that would be good to start with!

I noticed tonight that the Fiamma Roof Vent seems a prime spot for leaching heat, right above the bed.  Thinking of making up another 'silver screen' with velcro around the edges to fit over that (vecro will grab onto the roof lining carpet and cover the assembly) when I put up the window screens to improve the insulation at night.

I also need to get some soft door seals and add them to cut draughts and wind noise - lowering the driving noise further and enhancing the warmth of the van.  Then I need to worry about the rust spots on the arches, and undersealing the floor and........


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## GRWXJR

*Whiter smile!*

Well, its only a small cosmetic tinkering (but the Sully needs all the help he can get, not exactly being a 'looker' of a van)....

Sully had the usual sort of dirty grey radiator grille that vans of his era (LDV's anyway) have - even though the rest of the van is white, the grille is a grotty grey plastic, a bit like the colour of grey house guttering.

So, to make Sully look a bit less 'builders van' and a bit more 'campervan' I decided to brighetn his smile with a bit of whitening.  I'm not too bad with a rattle can, so I took off and cleaned the grille and then painted it gloss white with a 5 quid can of Plasticote.

The paint job turned out to look pretty good, and has certainly made (I feel) a real improvement to Sully's looks.  He's still no oil painting, but a little bit of a makeover has helped.


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## GRWXJR

*Actually used the thing!*

Well, Lisa and I have actually spent the weekend and overnighted in the Van - I've spent the night out once before, but a new experience for Lisa.

Only a relatively short trip to see how things went, bit anyway we went to just about the best place to be (given the weather) - Pembrokeshire.  It's been cold and blowy, but we've had a dry weekend.

We arrived at Stackpole Quay early on Saturday, and then braved the biting offshore wind to take the coastal path round to Broad Haven Bay, then around the Bosherston Lily Ponds, then back across the Deer Park to Stackpole.  Wind chill below freezing, so 'bracing' might be the best way to describe it. 

Anyway - we travelled about a bit - sightseeing out of the van a fair bit, as Lisa hasn't spent as much time in the area as I have and it was pretty cold.  The onshore wind and the incoming tide made the white-caps, spray and waves at Freshwater West pretty spectacular.

The good news is that everything in the van seems well laid out enough to be able to cook and manage to not trip over each other, and we spent the night in pretty cold temperatures comfortable and warm.  We warmed the van up with the Webasto night heater for a bit, and then turned it off when we retired for the night.  With my home-made internal foil screens on windows and over the roof vent, and a nice thick duvet saw to it that we were nice and warm all night, though it was pretty cold outside (around freezing and a chill wind).  So Sully ought to be warm enough for anything we'll use him for.

I suppose this was a good test, as the cold meant we spent more time inside the van than we would have if the weather was better, more cups of tea and so on.

There's a couple of little things that we might tinker with, but overall we had a good time and found Sully to be a nice place to be.  All we need now is some warm, dry weather and the chance to get away a bit more often - maybe actually get to use the wind-out Awning as well!


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## GRWXJR

*Draughty doors*

My LDV (pretty common with them) had gaps and draughts around the f-doors which greater wind noise at speed (well, you know what I mean).

If you looked closely, you could see daylight around the top of the drivers door.

I'd just put it down initially to worn door seals and the fact that LDV's aren't known for jag levels of fit & finish.

However, in the drier weather and a few minutes spare I had a bit of a poke around to see what's what.  As expected the slam catch is adjustable so you can get the door to close tighter, so I had a go at that.  A closer look also revealed that the top hinges are on moveable plates as well, so you can get move the top of the door in and out as well.

A few minutes tinkering and now its a lot better and quieter.  It had probably just had the doors chucked on in assembly (good ole Rover Group / British leyland eh?) when new rather than set properly, and no-one since has ever bothered to look and adjust them.

Still, one more small improvement and no expenditure required!


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## GRWXJR

*'Twas the season to be..... Knocking the van about*

After 12 months with the van we decided to tinker some more. Having used the van a fair bit we'd got some idea what worked for us and what didn't so much. 

The bed has always been a bit narrow and a bit of an assembly job. So I thought to make it bigger n simpler to change from sofa to bed n back.  Then I thought of a thing or 2 more .... Then I started over Xmas and opened a whole can of worms.




So far I've

Removed the old bench/bed assembly
Removed the small cupboard next to the bench (to provide the extra width for a wider new sofa/bed)
Junked the old kitchen work tops
Pulled the old faux laminate floor tiles
Removed the cloakroom partition wall
Removed the rear cloakroom wall between the c-room & rear storage area
Replaced the rear wall further back
Replaced the partition wall & CR door further back (making more living area space)
Boxed in the rear wheel arch so it can accommodate the loo (cos the wheel arch is now all in the CR floor space)
Laid some thin floor insulation and put down laminate wood floor

Built a new bed. Base telescopes out in 2 sections across the van then to board it out I made the boards hinged so that the seat base pulls out to the foot of the bed, and draws 2 upright (sofa back) sections


Relocated the leisure battery from under the sofa to the rear storage area and extended the electrics

Ditto the night heater. To recirculate the living space air I made a chamber so air enters the unit from the wall and draws air from the under-sink cupboard then it's blown back into the living space

Moved the gas bottle to the storage and extended the gas line via a tap so I can isolate the gas inside the van

Installed a Computronics 5A intelligent mains charger in the storage area

Stripped and serviced the night heater

Still have to build a new cupboard in the van, fit new work tops, replace some electrics and led lighting and make the foam up to fit the new bed width and get it upholstered, and freshen the cupboards up with a coat of paint. 

And that's just the inside!  There was me thinking "it's just a few little jobs over Xmas"!  I'll still be at it at Easter at this rate!


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## GRWXJR

Finished putting the last bit of wall back up today and reinstated the dc wiring for the rear storage and the cloakroom, and added a new bit in the living area. 

The 2 upper wall sections between the cabin space and cloakroom and the storage have been of heavy ply. This might seem ott and hefty but I want to hang my mountain bike and other items off the walls with brackets so beefed them up. 

The rear storage and cloakroom lights are now LED with PiR on. So although I have switches in circuit I can leave them on and they'll switch off anyway. These were in Lidl as AAA battery operated but I've connected them up to the leisure batt of course.  They work great - no need to fumble about for a lightswitch and no worries about leaving them on by accident. 

Also I have made a tool tray that sits on top of the webasto heater which is in a boxed chamber in the storage. This now carries the bottle jack and a few tools tucked away. 

Also have used the silver screen  bubble wrap / foil sandwich stuff to insulate the heater chamber all round and the lid and also all walls between the storage and the habitat area. 

My leisure batt is also in the same box / chamber as the Webasto but is segregated in its own section. The mains batt charger is in there too ( not with the battery of course). 

On top of the boxed heater etc. is where the gas bottle and fresh water tank lives along with a storage box. In front of the box right behind the rear doors I have just enough space for the webasto fuel tank, the grey waste can (transit only cos it goes outside the van in use) and a spare can of kerosene for the heater. 

It's all a lot neater now and has marshalled all services into the storage / utility area of the van, collected in one space. Also it's released all the space under the sofa / bed for internal storage and of course made it easier to get at everything now it's at the back doors not scattered about in the habitat spaces (where they shouldn't have been in the first place). 

Still quite a few bits to do - but it's getting there!

Oh yes - the new bit of wiring in the living space is for an LED strip light on the ceiling. Lights up the space well and is thin with mtg clips that fix it snugly to the ceiling out of the way (the LED is a 3-section item that can be daisy-chained with wire extensions or just plug together in one section like I've done. It came with a mains adapter & was also picked up in Lidls - think it was £11).


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## Rodeo

Keep at it, every little bit is a bit nearer the finishing point! I am thinking about having a multi led lamp mounted in the centre of the van roof to supplement the 2 old wall mounted caravan gas lamps Im converting to led's. I got a couple of 3 led aaa battery powered push on off lamps from the pound  shop for the alcoves here and there.Dont reckon much light is needed as only using van to sleep, eat and travel in around France etc in the summer.Also going to convert a couple of old oil lamps to led to hang outside in the eves if we sit outside.


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## gipsy_jo

Ive just read right through your thread and enjoyed it Well Done on all you've done  Regards  Jo


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## GRWXJR

*ooh - LED oil n gas lamps!*



Rodeo said:


> wall mounted caravan gas lamps Im converting to led's.
> 
> Also going to convert a couple of old oil lamps to led to hang outside in the eves if we sit outside.



I like the sound of your converted gas and oil lamps. Efficient with a bit of character!  Would like to see pics to see how they turn out!.

I doubt I'll get to spend summer in France unfortunately - it'd take a sudden cash injection so I didn't have to go to work first!  Sounds great though. So I'll be needing the lights a bit more than you will Rodeo!  LED's are great though - better light and vast power cons reduction means no worries about actually using them & not flattening the battery. I've spent altogether maybe £70 on LED light units and bulbs - it's added up bit-by-bit & the costs snuck up on me!  I reckon it's worth it though.


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## n brown

why not keep one gas light and connect it? they give a lovely light,with a soporific hiss and warm the van up-and no battery needed


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## GRWXJR

n brown said:


> why not keep one gas light and connect it? they give a lovely light,with a soporific hiss and warm the van up-and no battery needed



If it was me that had the old Gas Lamp I'd be tempted to do just that NB!  I haven't seen one if the old caravan gas lights though since I was a kid in a then-old static van.  I reckon if it was only used when in the van and awake a gas lamp would be ideal!

Can you still get the wicks or mantles for them then?


----------



## Rodeo

Yes I reckon theyre still available.The hissing sound could be reproduced by one of those model sound generators! Unfortunately, I've had these lamps for many years and they have small parts missing, so hence Im converting them. The brackets and globes are fine though.I chopped them around and am going to open up the gas supply tube to run wiring inside, then use one or 2 leds in each.As long as they 'look' right then they should be quite cool looking.


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## GRWXJR

*My new bed frame / base*

My (fairly iffy) skills have managed to cobble together a new bed frame and base layout assembly 



Wider and easier to put out and away as the base pulls out so Section 1 pulls out section 2 from the seat base. Then the boards fold out across the frame with the seat base ending up at the foot of the bed. 

I wish my ability was better as I took ages and it works ok I'm sure those with better skills would have made a neater job. 

It'll do though and seems nice n strong. The lower section cross members line up under the edges of each board section where the hinges are to keep the thing rigid. 

Old bed was a faff to assemble and was a bit too narrow. This one should be much better.


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## landyrubbertramp

GRWXJR said:


> My (fairly iffy) skills have managed to cobble together a new bed frame and base layout assembly
> 
> View attachment 20052View attachment 20053View attachment 20054View attachment 20055
> 
> Wider and easier to put out and away as the base pulls out so Section 1 pulls out section 2 from the seat base. Then the boards fold out across the frame with the seat base ending up at the foot of the bed.
> 
> I wish my ability was better as I took ages and it works ok I'm sure those with better skills would have made a neater job.
> 
> It'll do though and seems nice n strong. The lower section cross members line up under the edges of each board section where the hinges are to keep the thing rigid.
> 
> Old bed was a faff to assemble and was a bit too narrow. This one should be much better.



great work here


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## n brown

nicely done mate ! a plywood rock'n'roll bed ! looks good 
  gas lights can still be bought,mantles are still available,camping gaz mantles can be adapted and new glass shades easily made from jamjars


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## GRWXJR

*Do I need an AC main light at all?*



n brown said:


> nicely done mate ! a plywood rock'n'roll bed ! looks good
> gas lights can still be bought,mantles are still available,camping gaz mantles can be adapted and new glass shades easily made from jamjars



Well I don't own a welder ( can't use one properly either!)!  Gave it some thought and figured I could get away with plywood instead of a steel space frame. 

Needed to buy one sheet of 3/4" for the base and one sheet of 1/2" for boarding out. Bed is 4' wide which kept it simple. Simple is good if you've as little practical experience of this stuff as I have haha!

I quite fancy the idea of a Gas Light!  Not sure where I would site one though. Also with LED strip light as main jab light and G4 LED bulbs in the cabinet downlighting, also loo and rear storage with PiR operated LeDs ( also put LED lamps into the courtesy lights too) - I'm not sure if I need one cos my lights shouldn't hammer a 100AH battery. 

Am thinking to remove the fugly AC light unit in the Hab. The LED gives plenty of light and I have a mains charger in circuit so if on hookup the battery draw is being replenished anyway. So I can't see that I need an AC light - should I keep one as a back up ( not that we are on hook up usually anyway Cept outside the house)?


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## GRWXJR

What was a concern was the drawing out of the bed frame scratching up the new laminate flooring. So I wanted to put something on the underside/feet of the base sections. But what?  

First idea was Felt. Then Lisa's sister had a good idea - cheapo  carpet floor tiles! (£0.99 for 4).  Cut into strips and wood glued onto the frame they help the sections slide and protect the floor. 

The frames only been pulled in and out a few times but so far the carpet tile on the runners has done a grand job.


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## n brown

I don't have an ac light as I never go on hookup .I always have a good central light which is great for when you've lost something,like your last blim or a contact lens etc,but all other lighting is muted


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## Rodeo

Good bed idea.Bet it took a bit of working out!


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## GRWXJR

Rodeo said:


> Good bed idea.Bet it took a bit of working out!



Cor - you're not kidding!  Too much to think about all at once so that one 'fix' didn't cause another part to not work/fit!

Seat base had to be correct depth so that extensions could fit tight up to it, and also mean the extensions were also deep enough to cross the floor.

The boards had to be a size where they would lie on the base without any traps creating weak unsupported areas - so the hinges/board edges needed to be able to line up so they lay across the frame cross-members when extended (I didn't want to have to have loose parts like bracing to add/build in every time the bed was made up).  I was pretty close from the off (plus of course the frame can be moved slightly to make sure it lines up as its independent of the boards), but I did screw 2 small wood blocks on to adjust/limit where one of the stages extended as a 'tweak'.

The boards also have suitable dimensions to carry the cushions in seat and bed modes, and for the cushions to fit snugly across the van (so they won't shift as a mattress).  Haven't sorted the cushions properly yet (I have the dimensions I need, and I think I have enough foam but will have to mess about a bit), but basically the seat back/base will form the top 2 mattress sections, and the last section will be a 2-part affair with a cloth 'hinge' (so it's rigid when laid flat, but can be folded in half longitudinally for stowing in a space allocated for it in transit / seat mode).

I also made it so that the centre board (the 'face' of the seat back when folded) is slightly longer than the other upright (folded) board its hinged against.  This was so that when in seat mode it'd 'push' the assembly back against the van wall and lock it there, rather than it wanting to fall forward, and this also keeps the seat back with a natural slight recline angle for seating comfort as well.

It needed to be made from the 2 Ply sheets without wastage (or messing up!) so I also had to consider cutting and minimising wastage from the pair of 8' x 4' plywood sheets

What a palaver!  I'm not used to doing stuff like this, and it was like juggling soot (or herding cats) for my poor non-DIY brain!

I did a LOT of sketches and measurements (amended many times) and double-triple checked before I got the T-Square and Saw out and started cutting my precious Ply up!


The cushions I have as they are will deck the bed out nicely  - so it has been tested - Lisa's teenage daughter and her schoolfriend overnighted in it (parked in the drive - they think its fun!) and pronounced it very comfortable.  But they don't fit the seat so I have to make up new stuff and then get it covered (a task I shall stay well away from!)


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## Rodeo

Worth the effort though! I know what you mean about cutting the expensive ply! I ended up only having to buy one sheet, cos I had all the rest in stock, but it broke my heart to have to pay for it!


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## GRWXJR

*Rear Storage - Services Area, Gas, Water, Heater, Battery & Charger Location*

As part of the revamp I decided I wanted to relocate all the services and marshall them together, accessed from the rear doors - making a combined storage/service area.  I wanted the habitat area free of all this stuff so that cupboard space in there is maximised for clothes, bedding etc.

So the rear has the lower RH side as a service area, while the left is full height so I can stow my Mtn Bike and or windbreaks, lawn chairs or whatever (plus the bottom 2/3 of the wall between the storage and the cloakroom in front of it opens and folds back to give a throughput for longer items  - I should be even able to put a kayak inside the van with the loo cloakroom door opened as well if I fancy it).

So, the cable was extended from under the sofa so the leisure battery could be moved, and also I uprooted the webasto night heater.  The heater is meant to recycle warmed air in the habitat for efficiency and I wanted to retain that, but with the heater outside the hab space!  So I thought I'd build a boxed chamber where it can draw air from the hab, and then run it through the insulated chamber through the heater and blow it back into the living area.

I had to site the heater further to the rear of the van than I originally envisaged, cos the fuel tank and cross-members got in the way.  So I moved the battery into the gap, then built the chamber so the heater works around the battery box.

 

The heater draws air from under the sink cupboard and along the open cable space behind the units, runs it through the heater and blows it back into the living space through the wall into the Galley area.



I also sited the Computronics Mains Battery Charger in the inlet chamber space as it wouldn't get in the way and tucks it away neatly.

Above the night heater I made a drop-in tool tray (I made the box a bit taller than the appliances inside needed as there was only a narrow air inlet space to clear the spare wheel - so I wanted to make sure there was enough inlet air vent area -hence the height.  So the tool tray is just making sure I don't waste the space!).

The whole box is insulated with the silver screen foil/bubblewrap sandwich stuff so that living space air loses as little heat as possible on the journey through the heater.

On the lid of the heater/battery chamber lives the Gas bottle (extended from under the sink unit with straight pipe and an isolator tap in the kitchen cupboard (so I can leave the gas bottle ON, but still cut the gas supply to the appliances inside the living space without having to go round the back), and the Fresh Water Container.



The night heater works great in there, and there's less transmitted noise from it cos its a bit further away and behind the partition wall, and the dosing pump is on an extra rubber mounting right under the back bumper (well almost).  The battery is segregated from the heater and the charger and is vented into the storage area to prevent and hydrogen gas build up when its being charged.  The lid of the whole box is insulated so gives a good seal between the 2 chambers so it should be pretty safe.

Not sure if you're supposed to do it like this.... but it seemed a better idea than having the Gas Bottle, Night Heater and the Leisure Battery inside the living space where they were originally


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## GRWXJR

*What Lies Beneath!*

Its just coming up for 2 years since 'Sully' was purchased.

After a bit of a revamp earlier in the year, and treated to some new cushions to suit the new SofaBed and a lick of paint inside, Sully has been used and enjoyed.  The old bus is now firmly established, I've become irrationally fond of it, and would not want to be without my van now.

Ever since I got the van, I've thought... hmm LDV from 2000, the rust has to be kept at bay - must do something.

Well now - I have (well, not ME, but its been done).

My future Son-in-Law (who is a Lecturer on Mechanics and a handy welder-fabricator to boot, having worked restoring & maintaining classic rally cars) & my daughter gave me the present of waxoyling the underneath (with any welding etc. that might be found) for my Birthday back in May.  As I've used Sully all summer, I only handed the van over a week or so ago for the treatment.

And... not only did Sully get treated to all of the above, but he threw in a service, welded the exhaust, sorted a slight play in a steering joint and greased the Kingpins, and removed the rear bumper, treated some tin weevil in the valance with some welding, and then Shultzed it all then put it back together as well!

I get Sully back tomorrow night, all spruced up and ready for the upcoming MoT - fantastic!  I'm looking forward to getting the van back with no worries about what horrors lurk underneath  - cos now I know there aren't any!

The good news is, that Son-in-Law reckons that overall Sully is sound underneath and generally in good order, and has a good few years left in the chassis - so I'm chuffed.

I know an LDV home-build isn't going to be viewed as much of anything to speak about for most, but for me Sully has the admirable qualities of being simple, robust, cheap, economical enough, large enough for comfort, while small enough for tackling the smallest country lane and supermarket parking space, while the layout works well for us too - I've even got a stowage space for my Mountain Bike and Gear behind the rear doors away from the living space.
I can't see anything else doing the job anything like as well for 2 or 3 times the money.

I hope to be trundling around in Sully the LDV Convoy for some while to come.


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## mickymost

*Like what youve done.*

Like your way of thinking.And like what you have done to your LDV.We recently bought a 1991 mercedes home converted campervan reasonably cheaply,and at present are at the stage you were two years ago.Sorting interior tweaks to suit us,and gonna sort some rust under bonnet and underneath.Also the front carpet foam backed was wet so like yours ive taken it up and need to find where the water is coming in.I think maybe windscreen leaks.but not sure.Its fun sorting a vehicle which can give you the same pleasure as one costing many pounds more.


regards Michael


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## bru

nice van m8 , bed conversion spot on


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## horshamjack

:nicethread: Just come across this thread 
Great work done.  I hope you have many many more good times away in Sully :have fun:


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## GRWXJR

Thank you for the kind words both.

I suppose I'm like many on here, in that I'm always thinking about the next bits and bobs that need doing, or that might be an improvement.

I still have to tidy up the loo area, and the wall carpeting is patchy where I moved internal walls about and a bit tatty, plus a few other bits n pieces, but we can jump in and go (and have done) this summer - so I might have to get a few bits done over the winter yet.

I've toyed with the idea of another roof light over the galley area as well, as the van only has the side door window and the front glass (the area in front of the rear doors is storage so no point in windows there) so some more natural light in the living space would be nice.

But at least most of the potential mechanical and structural type concerns are abated somewhat - I'll be happier to know that Sully is protected and much better prepared underneath through the dark and soggy months ahead.

I'm hoping that the waxoyling treatment will also act as additional sound insulation (and insulation insulation!) for the floor as well - every little helps with a slightly rowdy 2.5Di y'know!


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## GRWXJR

mickymost said:


> Like your way of thinking.And like what you have done to your LDV.We recently bought a 1991 mercedes home converted campervan reasonably cheaply,and at present are at the stage you were two years ago.Sorting interior tweaks to suit us,and gonna sort some rust under bonnet and underneath.Also the front carpet foam backed was wet so like yours ive taken it up and need to find where the water is coming in.I think maybe windscreen leaks.but not sure.Its fun sorting a vehicle which can give you the same pleasure as one costing many pounds more.
> 
> 
> regards Michael



Good luck with your van! 
I dont know anything about the Merc scuttle layout, but I found that as the LDV had some of the water soaking the front cab carpet coming in around the wiper spigots where they exit.  I fitted extra O rings under the where the wiper arms seat on the splines, and also used Sikaflex to make small roofs above them to divert rainwater around possible ingress areas under the windscreen bottom trim.  Also masked off the paintwork around the windscreen seal and then coated the rubber seal with black Sikaflex to make sure no water could get in through there either.  Worked a treat.

I like the old boxy Mercs, they are nice and simple, perhaps slow but solid and reliable. Plenty of room too!


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## thairover

Couple of snippets of my Renault that I converted a few years ago, redundant now as I have a Burstner. Just can't seem to let it go, had it since 2005, 81K miles  2001 plate, never let me down cost me less than £500 in repairs all the time I've had it.
Interlocking slats form the base of the bed and the pull out section then drop the back cushion into place. 
Originally it was going run the full width but decided leaving both the side door and rear doors accessible when it was in the sleep position worked better.
Sorry don't seem able to rotate them.


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## GRWXJR

Our bed is 4 feet wide and its length goes right across the van up to the side door, and so we sleep across the van, not in line with it.
luckily the LDV is wide enough to allow this, just, at a smidge under 5' 10" I am very comfortable.
the layout also gives us floor space in front of the galley and access to the loo cubicle with the bed fully made up.
best bit about that is being able to get up in the am, make a brew (or even full breakfast) and then get back into bed to enjoy the cuppa, without having to move anything or pack anything away first.
We have a small fold out table that sits neatly between the 2 front seats to put one persons hot brew on within easy reach, while the galley side has plenty of worktop for the other brew to stand on, so we can enjoy a leisurely beginning to the day. 
We can also still get in and out of the van via the front passenger door with the bed made up without too much drama, as the front seat is swivelled 180 degrees and can be moved forward on the runners, while you can still open the side door and climb in and out from the foot of the bed as well (of course thats less practical, but its an option).


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## mickymost

*Our Camper Bertie broke at present and was going on holiday for a week tomorrow grrrr*



GRWXJR said:


> Good luck with your van!
> I dont know anything about the Merc scuttle layout, but I found that as the LDV had some of the water soaking the front cab carpet coming in around the wiper spigots where they exit.  I fitted extra O rings under the where the wiper arms seat on the splines, and also used Sikaflex to make small roofs above them to divert rainwater around possible ingress areas under the windscreen bottom trim.  Also masked off the paintwork around the windscreen seal and then coated the rubber seal with black Sikaflex to make sure no water could get in through there either.  Worked a treat.
> 
> I like the old boxy Mercs, they are nice and simple, perhaps slow but solid and reliable. Plenty of room too!



Well found back brakes leaking fluid.Took me over a week due to many wrong parts sent from ebay although they were described as fitting my van type.(in the  finish I had to have rear brake shoes relined.cost more than new shoes would have cost which I couldnt buy.no one stocking them!)but I thought I had cracked it but now front right caliper leaking.I couldnt undo the bolts to chassis so took it to garage to do front caliper offside,the garage I dont know but it has a good reputation.Well yesterday It was costing £160 for offside front caliper supply and fit,which today changed to £450 as the garage has stripped back brakes as well ((to be fair I never replaced rear drums)and they say they are grooved,and my new cylinders are leaking he says due to cheap parts.I got em from euro car parts!.Well Im no mechanic but had done my best.At 8.30 this am he phoned to tell me now costing 450pounds for new drums new cylinders to rear and if I agree he would have it finished late pm.I had to agree due to swmbo wanting holiday tomorrow.Well it seems he got sent the wrong size rear drums in right size box? so now gotta wait till Monday hopefully to get Bertie camper back!Still unsure if drums are availableSo no going to holiday now tomorrow!

Im sat here sad now trying to keep my chin up but older vans have there drawbacks it seems,although we still just love Bertie


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## Ruthie Riot

*Our LDV*

Really interesting to read what you've all been doing to your LDVs. We have been the proud if perplexed owners of an 02 LDV for two weeks. It's been a challenge for me to drive it, let alone tinker! Two previous owners, the police and then a bloke who DIY converted it. Very rough and ready but it was cheap and local to us on a well-known auction website! It has a wooden unit and work top across the back with spare wheel and tool space, partitioned off to house the calor gas and water tanks, three ring hob and simple pump action sink. A table that slots on to legs and cones off so you can pull out the double futon, attached by ratchet straps and carabiners to steel hoops on the floor. That's pretty much it! Has a leisure battery but needs wiring, a fridge and strip lighting, also needing wiring. And a diesel heater that needs wiring up also. So need to get electrics sorted.....and then hopefully start heading out for adventures :-D


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## dabber

*ldv spares.*

Eurocar spares stock a lot of parts for the convoy,cheaper than you think,order online for cheapest prices and pick up at local store, had our convoy for two years now,doesn't get used enough but there if we want,taking it to newquay boxing day for a couple of days.


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## n brown

here's my old convoy i did a few years ago.


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## GRWXJR

Thats really nice and neat NB!   A totally different layout to mine (which is a bit unusual maybe, but we find it suits us, although I really do fancy putting in a clear skylight to get some more natural light inside, esp over the galley area).

Probably the single item that had the most positive effect to our van was fitting the 2 swivel seats instead of the std drivers seat & passenger bench - it opens the living space really well, as well as giving us more room & access when our bed is made up.


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## GRWXJR

Ruthie Riot said:


> Really interesting to read what you've all been doing to your LDVs. We have been the proud if perplexed owners of an 02 LDV for two weeks. It's been a challenge for me to drive it, let alone tinker! Two previous owners, the police and then a bloke who DIY converted it. Very rough and ready but it was cheap and local to us on a well-known auction website! It has a wooden unit and work top across the back with spare wheel and tool space, partitioned off to house the calor gas and water tanks, three ring hob and simple pump action sink. A table that slots on to legs and cones off so you can pull out the double futon, attached by ratchet straps and carabiners to steel hoops on the floor. That's pretty much it! Has a leisure battery but needs wiring, a fridge and strip lighting, also needing wiring. And a diesel heater that needs wiring up also. So need to get electrics sorted.....and then hopefully start heading out for adventures :-D



Weve grown rather attached tl thd simple charms of our LDV, & we use the van quite a bit for weekends away, plus its often my transport & base for going mountain biking.

Good luck with yours - I've not found wiring or the night heater to be tricky to sort out - once you get your head around them its ok.


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## hillwalker

done a great job there mate  ...


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## GRWXJR

*More Tinkering and a Water Ingress Leak.*

Recently I yanked out all the front seats and the rubberised thick floor matting in the cab again.  I decided to add some of the heavy foil-faced underlay designed for putting under laminate floors in the cab area to improve sound and heat insulation.
I'd already cleaned, pained and sealed the floorpan before, and then covered the floor in Flashing Tape as a sound-deadener.  This was just to add some more.

That all went ok, then Lisa found a chunk of carpet offcut from the house (pseudo-Hessian backed, not foam) with a reasonable pile.  So, while the seats were out, I put the heavy rubberised floor cover back in, and then wanged in this carpet as well, and then reinstated the seats.  Some rubberised car mats got added to protect the carpet and job done.  A wee bit quieter and warmer than before - didn't cost much and happy days.

I also glued more of the laminate floor insulation/underlay stuff to the bed base (looking to try and insulate the mattress more from any colder air underneath the base) and then stuck adhesive carpet tiles on top of that (multi-purpose - to add a fibrous layer for extra insulation, protect the silver foil face and to give some purchase to the cushion bases so stop them shifting when the sofa was made up in transit).

But... I'd noticed for a while that there was some intermittent and inconsistent water ingress - showing up inside the cloakroom about halfway down the nearside of the van habitation area.  I'd already sealed the gutters so I had to go looking further.

On Saturday I took the Fiamma Awning off (quite a heavy old lump!) and quickly saw what the issue was - a dirty great crack in me roof section!  There are 3 brackets that the Awning hangs on - and the rearmost had inflicted some damage to the glassfibre hi-Top construction it was mounted on.  The other 2 are fine, so I'm guessing that at some point in time the previous owner (My van wasn't built by me, though I've changed most of it since) must have bashed it.  Its not like whoever did it didn't know though, as I found some filler pushed into the crack - they just didn't fix it properly which resulted in the mess.

Problem was, that a thin smear to plug the hole hadn't actually strengthened the weakened Hi-Top glassfibre, it was just a bodge to try and keep water out.  So, the weight and pressure of the Awning had made the crack spread out either side of the bracket, maybe a foot long overall, but hidden by the Awning so the only way to see it is when the whole awning is off the van.

I'm no bodywork repairer, but I figured I had to have a go at fixing this, so I started that afternoon.  I removed the inner section and the insulation to be able to get at the bracket mounting bolts and get a good look at the inside damage and what I could do there.  Not too bad to get at and nothing in the way.

Local Garage had P38 Glassfibre and a reinforcing mesh mat, so I bought a tin and a mesh.
Back at the van, I cleaned the surfaces, then sanded and scored the surface where I wanted to give the repair glassfibre a good key.
I drilled 2 small holes at either end of the crack (to prevent the crack travelling further) and then filled the outer side crack and the holes I drilled with a thin skim of P38 and Hardener.
Then I covered an area getting on for a square foot on the inside with fibreglass, then pressed in the mesh as a reinforcement, and then added a final layer of glassfibre over that.

(I have no idea if this is the proper way - how you're SUPPOSED to do this btw - but its what I have done ).

Left it overnight, and it had cured pretty well on Sunday am.  Much stronger - probably a fair bit stronger than the panel was before.  Pity its an ugly pink glassfibre smear on the outside of the van - although I hope that a sand down and some paint, plus the fact that the Awning body will cover 90% of the repair will mean it'll look fine when finished.  The most important thing is that the leak should be banished and it should be strong enough not to crack or fail.

As soon as I can I plan to rub down and spray paint to try to make the repair look as invisible as possible and then before fitting the Awning bracket and the awning back on, I've worked out that there are 2 metal supports on the inside that I can use to further brace the bracket area by putting a wooden cross-member between before replacing the insulation and the inside covering so its all out-of-sight - this is in my rear 'boot' storage area too which makes life a lot easier.

Now... assuming I have fixed my roof leak - I then have to try not to create a new one!  I've bought a skylight to fit, so chopping a big hole in the roof is also on the cards in the near future!


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## GRWXJR

*Update.*

1.  I fixed the leak / crack ok.  P38 glassfibre etc. and some internal bracing for added heft and the Awning went back on no bother.  its rained a fair bit since and all is warm and dry.

2.  The extra insulation has had a positive effect.

3.  Insulating the bed base with laminate floor silver faced underlay WORKS from an insulation point of view.  But, the non-breathable silver face would be easily damaged and also would make the liklihood of getting condensation-damp cushions/mattress worse.  However... I've found that my idea of covering the insulation with adhesive carpet tiles works REALLY well - warmer bed and nice dry bedding.  Only downside is it adds a bit of weight to the bed sections, but no biggie.

I still have to take the plunge and install the extra roof light though!


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## GRWXJR

*New Roof Light Installed (Finally)*

Had a few days off, so finally 'took the plunge and chopped a hole in my van roof to fit a small extra skylight, to add to the new exhaust rear 2/3rds I bunged on a few weeks back.

The galley area has always been a bit gloomy, plus I wanted a clear skylight so that we could have natural light 1st thing in the am to get dressed by, make a cuppa etc (with the screens still in place).  The skylight is to address these points, and needed to be small to fit where I wanted it.

I found this item online at a decent price (think it was 40 quid).  Its clear and can be popped up and is double-skinned, with the inner face having vents so it can breathe even when closed - handy over the galley area.  You can also open it tilted so you can have it open in transit without it flying to bits, and there's an internal bug screen.

I just took my time and was careful, and it went ok, and does make a useful improvement.

(The last pic is from our Easter weekend mini-break to Snowdonia, taken off the side of Cader Idris - I just added it cos its a nice view!).

Ive also tinkered slightly with the fuel inj. pump and have been checking mpg.  Good ole Sully has done handsomely for an old design, returning over 31mpg, even clambering around Wales' lumpy scenery.  I am happy with that.


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