Newbie Renovating Advice please - Silverline Pegasus 1989

[peggysue]

Hi everyone! I very impulsively purchased a Silverline Pegasus 1989 with absolutely no knowledge about caravans or caravanning and I'm very quickly learning I am *completely* out of my depth! I'm completely clueless but eager to learn and willing to turn my hand to DIY and tinkering. I bought her as a project... And a project I have indeed got!!!

We are willing and able to put in the graft to get her right but we have damp issues and holes galore, and inherited problems such as a broken heater, taps not working and the oven won't ignite.

Please bear with me on this line of thought and my query... I think our first job is getting her watertight. We have pin hole damage to the walls in the back nearside corner so we're thinking we need to rip out the kitchen as the walls are rotting. Possibly the floor too but we don't know til we get the kitchen cupboard/sink bit out and look. Our kitchen has a sink, hob/grill (apparently this is working and would be good to keep, fridge uses gas too I believe) and an oven (ignition apparently doesn't work but this was what I was told by previous owners).

As the kitchen taps don't work, I'm wondering whether to fully replace so we know we're all good, which then led me to think if we actually need the water heater...

Just to reiterate, I have absolutely no clue about these things but I've been reading some threads and watching youtube this morning, we have a cascade 2 and truma. I'm wondering that as we don't intend to use the shower in the van, we'd only really need hot water for a bit of washing up i.e. Either washing dishes or our hands/faces. We are thinking that if we can get her ready for adventures, it'd be more of a glamping pod than "luxury caravan with all the mod cons" and would use shared facilities on sites.

Also as the heater doesn't work (no idea why, old owners said it hasn't worked for a while) this would need replacing.

As it's all connected to the gas or each other in one way or other and the whole system (I'm assuming) is connected together, I guess what my query is, is it as simple as "just ripping out the kitchen" or do I need to factor in these other appliances before we start dismantling the kitchen?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, would love to hear from anyone who has completed a full renovation!

I've tried to attach images but they're too large and unsure how to resize... I do have some photos on my blog https://thepeggysuediaries.co.uk/

 

[otherclive]

Hi everyone! I very impulsively purchased a Silverline Pegasus 1989 with absolutely no knowledge about caravans or caravanning and I'm very quickly learning I am *completely* out of my depth! I'm completely clueless but eager to learn and willing to turn my hand to DIY and tinkering. I bought her as a project... And a project I have indeed got!!!

We are willing and able to put in the graft to get her right but we have damp issues and holes galore, and inherited problems such as a broken heater, taps not working and the oven won't ignite.

Please bear with me on this line of thought and my query... I think our first job is getting her watertight. We have pin hole damage to the walls in the back nearside corner so we're thinking we need to rip out the kitchen as the walls are rotting. Possibly the floor too but we don't know til we get the kitchen cupboard/sink bit out and look. Our kitchen has a sink, hob/grill (apparently this is working and would be good to keep, fridge uses gas too I believe) and an oven (ignition apparently doesn't work but this was what I was told by previous owners).

As the kitchen taps don't work, I'm wondering whether to fully replace so we know we're all good, which then led me to think if we actually need the water heater...

Just to reiterate, I have absolutely no clue about these things but I've been reading some threads and watching youtube this morning, we have a cascade 2 and truma. I'm wondering that as we don't intend to use the shower in the van, we'd only really need hot water for a bit of washing up i.e. Either washing dishes or our hands/faces. We are thinking that if we can get her ready for adventures, it'd be more of a glamping pod than "luxury caravan with all the mod cons" and would use shared facilities on sites.

Also as the heater doesn't work (no idea why, old owners said it hasn't worked for a while) this would need replacing.

As it's all connected to the gas or each other in one way or other and the whole system (I'm assuming) is connected together, I guess what my query is, is it as simple as "just ripping out the kitchen" or do I need to factor in these other appliances before we start dismantling the kitchen?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, would love to hear from anyone who has completed a full renovation!

I've tried to attach images but they're too large and unsure how to resize... I do have some photos on my blog https://thepeggysuediaries.co.uk/

Do you use IPhone if so images can be downsized. Normally below 1.5 mb is okay. But less resolution works okay. This might help. But if you search Posting images with no author you should find other links fir IPhone or Android.

Upload pictures to thread

Hi is it possible to upload pictures to our site, if yo can, could you let me know how please?

forums.practicalcaravan.com

 

[Mr Plodd]

With a caravan thats 36 years old the VERY FIRST thing you need to do is to ascertain just how much damp, and therefore rot, is present. It's a bit like an iceberg, you can only see a very small part of it, so you will need to strip the inside out until you get back to solid structure.

It may be that its simply beyond the point where it can be sensibly repaired and its best to find that out before spending out on anything else.

I am not trying to frighten you, but there's no point lashing out on repairs to ANY of the fittings if what they are fitted to is beyond sensible/economic repair (which hopefully isn't the case)

So basically I wish you the very best of luck, but advise extreme caution until you know EXACTLY what you are up against in regards to damp.

 

[Hutch]

With a caravan thats 36 years old the VERY FIRST thing you need to do is to ascertain just how much damp, and therefore rot, is present. It's a bit like an iceberg, you can only see a very small part of it, so you will need to strip the inside out until you get back to solid structure.

It may be that its simply beyond the point where it can be sensibly repaired and its best to find that out before spending out on anything else.

I am not trying to frighten you, but there's no point lashing out on repairs to ANY of the fittings if what they are fitted to is beyond sensible/economic repair (which hopefully isn't the case)

So basically I wish you the very best of luck, but advise extreme caution until you know EXACTLY what you are up against in regards to damp.

Remember many people take on total rebuilds to Caravans , cars Boats motorcycles, the. Cost is not a problem, you just want it to be as it was , when brand new, .
I wish I had the money to buy an old Steam traction engine.
I have lost my rights to recover Canvas blades on Helicopters. Skeeters, as In James Bond films.

 

[ProfJohnL]

You have taken on a project which as Plodd has said, has so many potential pitfalls it's unrealistic to expect or even hope anyone can predict what will be required especially as we cannot see or feel the entity.

I not in your description that there are a number of gas consuming appliance, and along with electrics the work done on them must be up to standard, and properly inspected and tested for you and your families' safety. If you don't know how to test these systems properly, then realistically you should employ a professional rather than risking the consequences.

In terms of the gas heaters in the caravan, Truma has a number of models that with a little modification to the caravan floor will slip into the same space occupied by the Carver model, You should be able to reuse the flue and hot air ducting with fan from the Carver on the Truma. Even the fixing holes of the fan should be the same.

The Cascade water heater was unique and whilst Truma have the Ultrastore which heats a similar quantity of water its dimensions and external cowl are entirely different. A plate is available to allow the space occupied by the cascade to be reused for the Ultrastore

See Here