Faults and fixes

derekfaeberwick

Guest
Most vans will develop a fault or two in there lifetime, anyone name a fault and a cheap, or better still free fix?

I'll start the ball rolling, The small plastic peg that holds the shower head broke, fix, super glue and travel with the shower head in a jiffy bag on the tray, minus the paper of course.

An old favourite, lost the retaining peg for the fridge? try a golf tee.
 
if you are goingdown a steephill and over heat the brakes .when you finally get to the bottom a wheel cylinder or caliper is leaking .clamp the rubber flexy hose with mole grips and drive on slowly .you have lost that brake but its ok with care to get somewhere to fix it.
 
Hi All
Not to do with motorhomes:) but if you need glasses to read with and missplace them get a bit of plain paper and put a tiny 'pin' hole through the paper and look through the hole you will be able to read any text or see any object no matter how bad your eyes are:D ---But please dont try to read a map like this when driving:eek:---your scare the pants of the drivers coming towards you:p
Bye for now
Freddie:D

ps I can see a can of worms coming!!!:eek:
 
If you have an injector pipe break on a diesel miles from anywhere, just undo the pipe from the pump and put a small coin [5€cent] or an old 1/2 new pence over the pipe outlet, fasten the broken pipe union back on [do not OVER tighten] and it will effectively block the flow to the duff pipe and you can continue merrily on your way in your 3 or 4 or 5 cylinder'd M/H ..........

Got me back to jolly old blighty from Denmark in a Bedford TK ....:D
 
Old inner tube cut into strips for repairing split hoses, plus some good gaffa tape and wire.

Peter
 
Lost plug in the end of the bed leg in our Trooper (chomping holes in the carpet) made new one from Polymorph.
Same van - hit a pheasant and cracked the water tank drain tap (all fresh water runs out): piece of tubular alloy tent peg inside broken section with chemical metal.
... and finally... battery bay door rivets rotted away and door fell off (Knaus SunTi) - fixed back on with nuts and bolts from a tent frame I found in a nearby skip.
 
I've used the thin cyanoacrylate glue to fix stone chips on a windscreen. Stops the the chip from spreading or cracking.

Apply a small amount of the glue into the chip, cover it with some plastic tape, wait for about 10 minutes, remove the tape and scrape the excess glue away. You may need to repeat the process if there is still a small hole.

BTW dont do this if the chip has passed through to the inside, the windscreen can fail without warning - collapse in on the driver.
 
Go on my friends; this thread will become a goldmine for DIY'ers ;)
Thanks to all fixers allready sharing ;)
 
If you have both bulbs blow on you whilst driving along during the night,all you do is stop at the side of the road and grab a nights kip andwait till the morning and hey presto you have had a good nights sleep and will no longer need your lights,so can arrive at a good auto factors for replacements.





Do i get a prize!!!!
 
hi coolasluck ..no you are in a camper wild camping .best stop before its dark. never can find a good place in the dark. only travel in daylight other wise you miss all the lovely scenary . the journey is part of the adventure. also its dangerousdriving at night ,some will have no lights thats bad. cheers alan.
 
DIY fixes

Self fusing silicone tape - you can seal things, insulate things, waterproof things....etc...etc.....
 
Hi,

I mended a snapped a broken exhaust pipe in central France on the Elddis ( Bloody speed bumps ) with a tin can. - cut off both ends, slide over pipe & hold with copper wire & plumbers aluminium tape. Lasted several weeks.

Dezi
 
J4 van

Many years ago, I was driving out of Darlington in a blizzard when the accelerator pedal fell off.

The fasionable winter wear those days was a Parka which was lucky for me. The engine was between the front seats so I took the cover off, removed the long drawstring from the bottom of the Parka and tied it to the throttle linkage. With a bit of practice, I was able to control the revs with one hand and operate the brake and clutch with my feet and travelled a good few miles home. I actually got the knack of doing it smoothly after a few miles and did not repair it for about a week (no money those days).

The only downside was the noisy engine and terrific cold draught coming in through the engine bay.
 
Bedford CA

Friend of mine had a Bedford CA years ago that served as a van for the disco he ran, plus sleeping accommodation for when he'd had a few too many.

Anyway, those who know the CA will remember that it had a 3 speed gearbox with column change. My friend managed to break the gear lever off one night on his way back from a disco, fortunately he had a Mole wrench in his tool kit and was able to clamp it on in place of the gear lever.

It stayed like that for months, it did come off from time to time, but I think it eventually got fixed when it was time for the MOT :)

AndyC
 
another usefull trick for a broken throttle cable is jam a matchbox in a part opened throttle stop .you dont get full control it revs like hell but you can get home or somewhere to fix it.
 
Polymorph

Polymorph

This stuff is well worth having on board; I’ve forgotten how many things I have fixed or made from it, you can drill, thread, cut, file and shape it to any thing, just don’t melt it in her best saucepan.

Polymorph : Educational School Kits : Maplin


Maplin: Polymorph product code N15AT
 
vwalan said:
another usefull trick for a broken throttle cable is jam a matchbox in a part opened throttle stop .you dont get full control it revs like hell but you can get home or somewhere to fix it.
Click to expand...

In t'howd days you could rig something up with the choke cable, but you don't get manual chokes (or even carbs) nowadays :(

Frank
 
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