Pre 92 weight plate by door- what does it all mean?!

[LVQuestpaddler]

Hi- A friend of ours has just donated an ABI Award Globestar to us which is pretty scabby inside but seems dry enough. I was planning to rip out most of the "country cottage" interior back to a basic shell and modernise it on the cheap(repaint/new furniture doors on some units and refit).
Anyway, it has a plate by the door which reads 88A255235 then 0- 1100kg , 1-75kg, 2- 920kg.
I'm assuming it's a 1988?, but what do all these weights refer to? My wee van has a max tow limit of 1000kg, so dumping some of the interior may be wise if 1100kg is the max allowable- but then what does the rest refer to? It's so old I can't get any info googling it...
I need to gut it because the floor has a noticeable sag between the door and the cooker, in the centre of the van. I've ripped up the carpets and the floor isn't wet it could be just old age I suppose?
It's a 3 berth with a (non working) shower model. it doesn't smell musty or damp but the carpet is minging...

 

[Parksy]

Hi QuestPaddler,welcome to the forum. The information that you want is in This Topic from earlier this year. Be careful about 'ripping out' interior components because the structural integrity of the caravan could depend on some of them. The sagging floor could be delamination of the plywood floor, a common enough problem that is repairable by using a Floor Delamination Kit which will effect an inexpensive repair.

 

[LVQuestpaddler]

Thanks for that link Parksy, much appreciated. So in it's current state I'll need to fit the number plate, I've been assured the electrics work(12N) will need to check them, the tyre pressures and condition, check the wheels turn ok and the hitch is ok. The hitch looks pretty prehistoric. I got a Haynes Caravan manual in a charity shop a few years ago will need to scour my cupboards for it.
Is the floor plywood then? If so is this a major hassle to replace?
I hope as I delve into it it doesn't turn out to be some kind of nightmare...!!
I may take out some of the units to refurbish them properly but I'll take on board your comments about the structural elements of them for the whole van.
I was wanting to put a woodburner in it!!

 

[Parksy]

.....Is the floor plywood then? If so is this a major hassle to replace?
I hope as I delve into it it doesn't turn out to be some kind of nightmare...!!
I may take out some of the units to refurbish them properly but I'll take on board your comments about the structural elements of them for the whole van.
I was wanting to put a woodburner in it!!

You don't need to replace a delaminated floor LVQ, a competent diy'er could do the job. Have a look at This to find out how to do the job. The wood burner - no

 

[vauxhall2]

hi,delamination...frightening no if you set out your stall and take your time.this is not a two hour job as stated,when you have finished you will know why they charge so much at the caravan repair shop.i have just done ours a few months ago.i will go through the steps best i can.ours had gone in two places,next to the door entrance and next to the sink four feet away.you will find that delamination is where the floor is used most.ie next to the sink and the door entrance.first decide how much delamination you have,ie.2 feet (old school) or 6 feet,this information is required when you go to order your epoxi resin mix.one mix will cover about 3 feet by 3 feet.got mine from barrons £25 for both tins.you also need a large syringe to inject the mixed epoxi resin.this will also sell.also the chemicals (glue) are called apollo 1 and apollo 2.i think the code is A8136.the small tin is the hardener and must be used in the time on the tin.the first thing is to remove all carpets or lino.second(must) tape up all joints and the cowls under the caravan .use a good tape.ie brown packing tape,3 in wide.if you dont the glue will run out on to the ground outside through all the seams.you will not know until you see a pool on the path..third ,support the floor under the van in some way so it cannnot bend when pressure is placed on top,do not push up the floor.you can damage the fittings inside.use wood blocks stacked up just touching the floor on the underside in the same place as the delamination.fourth find a sharp 10mm drill .you need to buy 10 mm round wood to cut and plug the holes,sold in 6 foot lengths.this needs cutting into plugs,half inch long and sanded down at one end to make it go in easy.the next step is to do a test hole,find a place that has no gas pipes on the underside.slowly drill one hole until it only just touches the plywood at the bottom.DO NOT DRILL THROUGH.tape up the drill at this depth,use plenty of tape to stop the drill going deeper than it should.mark out the area of delamination,black marker,in a square grid pattern of 4 inch each way .when finished you will have a large square full of holes to the size of the delamination.ie.3 x 3 feet.clean away all and any dust or shavings.have a large polythene bag ready to put over the square,the glue does not stick to polythene.you need a tin or old pan to mix into of the correct size for size of mix.a clean strong stick to stir the mix.only mix what you need within the time allowed.start at the rear end injecting the holes one by one until it flows out then plug with the wood plug.when finished ,place poly bag over all holes.put a heavy weight on top ie.wheels and tyres or gas bottles.leave for 24 hours to dry.sand down all plugs until smooth.you must wear a mask for the fumes and open the windows when you are doing the job.rubber gloves are handy too.CHECK UNDERSIDE FOR GAS PIPES BEFORE STARTING.wish i could type.

 

[LVQuestpaddler]

Cheers for the advice folks- picking it up Saturday so will rip out the carpet properly and assess what's going on. Need a good look under it too see how things are. Dilemma is to
a/take it home (3 miles) and leave it in the garden- get the other half to help clean it inside and clean the exterior(have access to a power washer but not going to use it near any seams etc), check the mechanics(I do all my own on the van so ok with this). This way if it's properly cleaned out(it really is grotty it was lived in by someone prior to the person we got it from who was clearly not fond of cleaning) we can leave it a while see how it smells etc after a while. Considering its age I would probably just add another layer of 12/18mm ply directly over what's there and recarpet it(done epoxy repairs to my sea kayak so ok with resins). Given its age I don't want to be throwing money or significant time at it if it doesn't have a decent length of time left in it.
b/ take it the 70 miles to my work and do it there. Given the shortening days and the fact I haven't assessed the mechanics I'm not too keen on this idea really but I have space to leave it there and work on it too!
All this will depend on what I find I suppose....!