Spring projects, what are your plans?

[Gareth111278]

Hello

I just wondered what the rest of you 'hands on' types were planning to do to their caravans before the first outing of the year.

My jobs list runs as follows.

1. Replace the top drain valve [air inlet] on my water heater [broken]

2. Fit 12N & 12S sockets to the front of the caravan to allow use of 'curly' leads.

3. Fit Radio Cd & four speakers.

Any thoughts /advice on the above jobs would be welcome

I suppose it'll need a wash & polish before the off for Feburary half turm. Not much time....

Gareth

 

[Sproket]

Have you thought of using a spray on Teflon coating for the toilet bowl to make it nonstick, it will save on polishing time

 

[Ray197]

hi gareth

i have my van washed an polished and im in the middle of fixing all the things i was to fix at the end of last season,its great this time of the year after chrimbo is over the caravan bug starts and the whole family cant wait,even the dog goes mad when he sees me in and out of the van lol

 

[Sproket]

I chucked my 12n & 12s away & put the 13pin on both car & van, its much better, only one conection as to the radio i just listen to what ever we can get on freeview or sat radio channels the telly will play cd's & dvd's ok

 

[Gareth111278]

Sproket.....good idea re teflon spray! Silicone spray would cause one to slip off!!

i'm just a bit of a tech geek, I'll draw the line at running the TV sound through the sterio though!

raymond, glad someone it taking this seroiusly! I take it you have your caravan by the house?? mine is 5 miles away , i'd love to be able to pop out & tinker!

 

[Ray197]

its great to have the van at the side of the house some of the neighbours think im mad some nights with the tv on and doing odd jobs in the van,nothing much wrong with the van just itching to get away,maybe we ll get our bbq summer this year

 

[Gareth111278]

Hi raymond.

I find that unless I have two hours there's no point loading up tools & stuff to even try & start an jobs on the 'van.

BBQ summer, I hope so too!

I'm going to silverstone for the Grandprix again this year & some top weather would be great!

The last two years we've been glad to be in the Caravan & not under canvas!

 

[Ray197]

Hi raymond.

I find that unless I have two hours there's no point loading up tools & stuff to even try & start an jobs on the 'van.

BBQ summer, I hope so too!

I'm going to silverstone for the Grandprix again this year & some top weather would be great!

The last two years we've been glad to be in the Caravan & not under canvas!

enjoy the grandprix and the rest of the season hope its good

 

[Gareth111278]

enjoy the grandprix and the rest of the season hope its good

Thanks, fingers crossed!

 

[Heethers]

Tomorrow l will inspect the van at its storage site, do this once a week visually of the outside of the van.

Tomorrow l will do an internal isnpection after all the bad weather, if everything looks o/k wrap her back up until the second week of Feb when l will fetch her home for the pre season touring checks,plus the usual wash and polish, hopefully everything will be o/k for its first outing to Chatsworth on the first weekend of March.

Can't wait didn't help going to the Manchester Show got us both feeling rather itchy to get away but some decorating to do before then.

NigelH

 

[Sproket]

Yes your right having the advantage of it being on the drive, power is always available, water is always there, just like being on a pitch realy ) its easy to keep the black streaks at bay, just soap them up and away they go, i fitted this last year for mounting the tv on,

1 under shelf tv mount

2 under shelf tv mount

3 under shelf tv mount

4 under shelf tv mount

you can get the perfect angle now to watch tv.

 

[machighlander]

gareth, as you will see from some of my other posts i have been involved in an ongoing winter project. just got the caravan at end of october and keep coming across snagging needing done, good though as it has given me an insight into the makings of it.

sprocket, thats a cool job buddy, looks good

 

[Gareth111278]

Agreed Highlander, cool TV mount.

i know what you mean about getting to know a caravan, i know mine pretty well now, makes jobs easier!

However, I once drilled straight through the water heater control box whilst fitting a little tube heater in the washroom! oops! dead luck though i missed all the metal bits on the PCB.

 

[Sproket]

Yes your right having the advantage of it being on the drive, power is always available, water is always there, just like being on a pitch realy ) its easy to keep the black streaks at bay, just soap them up and away they go, i fitted this last year for mounting the tv on,

1 under shelf tv mount

2 under shelf tv mount

3 under shelf tv mount

4 under shelf tv mount

you can get the perfect angle now to watch tv.

The TV is fastened on by two M5 wing nuts, it take longer to put it back in the box than to mount/dismount it, these photos are when i first put it up.

 

[Northwood]

Hi Gareth,

I have booked a day off work on Thursday to open up the caravan for the mobile service engineer. I am hoping that I am not confronted by conditions discovered last year.

The van was off site for two months getting it repaired.

Now that I've fitted the optional extra, maybe the problems will not re-occur.

So in answer to your thread I'll let you know.

 

[Gareth111278]

Hi Gareth,

I have booked a day off work on Thursday to open up the caravan for the mobile service engineer. I am hoping that I am not confronted by conditions discovered last year.

The van was off site for two months getting it repaired.

Now that I've fitted the optional extra, maybe the problems will not re-occur.

So in answer to your thread I'll let you know.

Good luck with that Bob!

i'm very lucky where I store mine, touch wood, no problems!

Its in a private car park, tucked round behind some houses over a gated railway crossing. i think people wouls assume it belongs to the nearest house which is only about 30 feet away from my van!

 

[Gareth111278]

Well, i've had a few hour on the caravan today.

i did the Water heater pressure relief valve first. Not as east as i hoped. i ended up drilling alot of it out then junning a tap down the hole to claer the thread. I don't know how much debrits went into the heater!

I fitted the sockets to the drawbar cover too. I left the cables long & routed them away from the brake rods so that normal plugs can be refitted easily. I'm now ready to use my curly leads.

Just one point, when working on the 12S cable disconnect the caravan battery. some cables are live!

My next project is the radio,

Watch this space!

 

[Mikey1]

I fitted the bracket as Sproket the B-tech i use a quick bracket on the tv and it slides onto the one on the bracket.

 

[Ray197]

hi gareth

just spent a few hrs taking out the carpet putting down laminate

floor tomorrow,as i was in the van at the side of the house a delivery man stopped outside and knocked on the van an said "you got the bug too cant wait til the first weekend away"im so glad its not just me lol

 

[Gareth111278]

Laminate.....Cool!

I must get some better carpet in ours.

Oh god, i'm off again!!

 

[Ray197]

once you start you cant stop i thought i had nothing to do this year but the wife says and i do you know how it is

 

[Sproket]

My next job is to take out the loose carpets, buy some flotex, make a template of each one then pop them back in, ( if you spill anything on flotex you can just wash it off ) we have the laminate down but its too slippery.

 

[Ray197]

the reason for the laminate is 1 dog,1 daughter,the wife and me with a glass of wine,spills easier cleaned with the laminate and the dogs hairs can be brushed up instead of bringing out the hoover every morning,noon and night

 

[Mikey1]

Mine was upgrade lighting to led and fit a nasa battery monitor.

 

[Gareth111278]

I've been trying to get LED bulbs to replace the 10W ones in my down-lighters. They are just a 10W automotive bulb but can i get them?! The 21W equivalent are too big to fit the holders!