Cutting a hole in the side ???

[markw]

I have just bought an external gas bbq point for my van, I have no problems with the gas pipework side of fitting it (im a heating engineer) but what I am unsure about is cutting a hole in the side of the van to fit the box in, The guy in the shop said just cut it with a jigsaw, but is it that easy, do I have to find and avoid any strengthening timbers ?, what are caravan walls made of, obviously the outer skin is aluminium, but what is the construction behind that?

obviously once the hole is cut I need to seal the box into it for which I intend using a good quality trade silicon sealant, the box then just secures with 4 screws.

But like I said it the positioning and cutting of the hole that concerns me.

Regards

Mark

 

[Rod_5041370]

The walls are a sandwich of aluminium, polystyrene foam and thin ply.

Carefully plan where you want the outlet and ensure that there are no obstructions on the inner side.

Measure 10 times and cut once!

Cover the entire area on the outside of the wall with masking tape and draw the cutting line on this. This stops the jigsaw plate from marking the caravan side.

If the hole is circular, drill a hole near to the periphery to accept the jigsaw blade.

If the hole is rectangular. drill 4 holes, one in each corner to accept the blade.

Saw to your line but do not make the fit too tight as it can be a pig to enlarge once cut.

Do not use silicon sealant as it can rot aluminium, use Caraseal or similar.

For a gas point you should investigate the possibility of mounting it in the front locker, try not to have it in the awning where some manufacturers put it.

 

[markw]

I had looked at a caravan dealers today and most caravans with external gas points had them fitted at the front n/s which would allways put them inside the awning. This is where i was going to fit mine, I had bought 5 mtrs of flexi ble gas hose to run from it, I know the max reccomended length is 2 mtrs supposidely due to possible pressure drop, but I cannot see this being a problem, but maybe the location needs rethinking.

Are there any strengthening timbers in the sandwich construction, or can you pretty much cut anywhere, providing there is nothing inside ?

 

[Damian]

Mark, strengthening timbers , or stringers, will be located at the same height as any internal fixings like bench seats, lockers etc as they have to have something to secure these items to when building.

 

[markw]

So from this I assume that the area to either side of my existing wet locker would be suitable.

What views does anyone else have with regard to the positioning of external gas bbq points ?

Does anyone else use a hose over the reccomended 2 mtr maximum ?

I intend to as it is behond me how a so called pressure drop could be given as the reason for not having a hose over 2 mtrs, the copper pipework could be as long as required, and if you had an lpg cylinder at home the copper pipework from it would be ok if it went all around your house before ending up at a gas fire, so why should 5 mtrs of flex cause a massive problem over the reccomended 2mts ??

 

[Damian]

Mark, this 2metre maximum of lpg pipe is NOT law. It is only a recommendation.

The maximum length pigtail you can have to connect your gas bottle to the van is 450cm, and this is to stop people using the large (huge) bottles outside the van, particularly the ones where the regulator is directly on the bottle, as water getting into the reg can cause it to fail and you end up with bottle pressure gas into the van, which is not made to withstand such pressure.

Some dealers and shops are mistakenly sticking to something which has no legal foundation.

If you have problems obtaining longer hose, go to any good heating parts shop which also sells Calor and you can buy as many metres of the stuff as you like.

 

[markw]

Damian.

Thanks, I have already got a 5 mtr length of the hose as I was in no way concerned about the supposed 2 mtr max length due to pressure drop !!! which struck me as being silly.

I was more interested in peoples views about the positioning of the gas outlet, although having said that with a 5 mtr hose I dont see it being a problem having it at the n/s front, as even with the awning up 5 mtrs should be enough to get the bbq a safe distance away.

Regards

mark

 

[woodsieboy]

Hi Mark

Our Bailey Senator has the gas point factory fitted on the offside, we use a 5 metre length of pipe which allows the barbecue to stand on the offside of the caravan, but outside the awning, not had a problem so far.

 

[Ray_5112937]

Hi Mark

I've got a Swift Conqueror with the gas bbq point on the near side at the front (factory fitted) with 5 mts plus of flexible hose and it works a treat.

Ray

 

[mcghee]

Mark, since you have a wet locker why not put it in there? I would try to avoid cutting a hole if I could, since no matter how well you do it, its always a potential problem source.

 

[markw]

Just brought the van home from storage and had a quick look at fitting the BBQ point. just infront of my n/s wet locker is space to fit the box, but the reverse of this space is not inside the caravan but is inside the front locker, forward of the vertical bulkhead that seperates the locker from the internal area. A quick look seems to confirm that there is enough room for the box to be mounted in this position, 1st appearances also make it look real easy to pipe into the gas from there as the back of the box would be inside the front locker, meaning I only need a short length of 8 mm pipe and a tee to cut into the gas pipe below the regulator. But where as the internal wall of the caravan is ply, this part seems to have a plastic or simalar inner skin, can I cut a hole there ?? because everything else point to this being an excellent location. I am really not sure myself.

Regards

Mark

 

[Damian]

Just brought the van home from storage and had a quick look at fitting the BBQ point. just infront of my n/s wet locker is space to fit the box, but the reverse of this space is not inside the caravan but is inside the front locker, forward of the vertical bulkhead that seperates the locker from the internal area. A quick look seems to confirm that there is enough room for the box to be mounted in this position, 1st appearances also make it look real easy to pipe into the gas from there as the back of the box would be inside the front locker, meaning I only need a short length of 8 mm pipe and a tee to cut into the gas pipe below the regulator. But where as the internal wall of the caravan is ply, this part seems to have a plastic or simalar inner skin, can I cut a hole there ?? because everything else point to this being an excellent location. I am really not sure myself.

Regards

Mark

Mark, the front locker is lined with a waterproof finish as the locker is not watertight in any respect due to the gas drop outs and the doors on these lockers are not a tight fit, so road spray and rain can enter.

The siting sounds good, just make sure you use a good sealant all around the box inside as well as outside to preserve the integrity of the waterproofing.

I would use IDL99 for the outside sealer and a good bathroom silicone sealer for the inside.