Jocklandjohn

Any closed cell foam is ideal. If you can't locate any get some cheap camping mat and cut and fit. Works just fine.

Thats brilliant!

Anything here that might suit? https://www.autosparks.co.uk/electrical-components/plugs-connectors/tab-spade-plugs.html

No problems! The diagnostic unit is a sensible purchase!

Looked just now and found it! Yay! It's an On/Off and 24 Hour Programmable controller. Yours if you want it.

I have one, its excellent. I fitted it in behind the bulkhead (in an existing storage box I've built) with holes drilled through bulkhead into the area behind the seat for the internal air supply. The exhaust and combustion air pipes are just below the floor and behind the outrigger for protection. A co2 monitor and smoke detector inside help allay any fears of suffocating, but even on still nights I've not detected any problems with fumes coming in. I make a point of not sleeping with it on though. Re controllers - I *might* have one that will work for you. I've got an engine heater (D4W) which I've upgraded the controller on and I might have the other one still around - its old - probably 20 years but was working fine when it came off. You can set it 24 hours ahead so it will switch on in the morning for you. I upgraded to one with diagnostic readout - which has proved HUGELY valuable for determining problems. The problems were not integral to the device but a consequence of a careless 'professional' vehicle renovation I had done which corrupted the wiring and I was able to figure out what was going on with the diagnostic controller which was cheaper to buy than trip to the Eberspacher dealer, but also since then useful for the diagnosing of key parts wearing out which does happen of course. One tip - put the wee fuel dosing pump in something underneath. I built a wee alloy box and put the pump inside on the inner face of the chassis. It can be clicky-noisy and this reduces that noise signficantly and really protects it from road mank. Run the fuel line inside some clear hose pipe too - thats more protection and also helps keep the diesel from waxing in sub-zero temps (which really should not be too much of a problem anyway). If you want I'll have a poke about for the controller?

Is this any help - from 1987 110 Parts Manual:

When I did mine last year I took the old mudflaps off, cut them up to fit when I was finished as Western shows, and then put on new mudflaps. I think a physical barrier like this (in addition to all the surface prep and finish) is crucial to keep snot off and let air in and allow cleaning from time to time.

I'm trying to picture what you mean but I suspect (if its what I imagine) I'd be making an alloy subframe into which the glass fits and is sealed. This frame is then sealed (maybe with neoprene rubber seals on the back) against the bodywork and some kind of round pin with a hole in the end shoved through into the inside of the body work. On the inside those pins/holes will show and a little split pin shoved through the hole keeping it tight on the inside thus sealing the outside tight against the neoprene. If the inside split pins are wired together on each side and top and bottom it might be easy enough to simply pull the wires and remove the pins allowing the frame to be pushed out?

🙂 Aha! Well spotted. But hopefully no! If you look closely you''ll see a cut out on each corner - and the mitres are 'open' on the 'roof' surface by about 3/4" and there's a square hole to allow grot out. Snow will accumulate, but it does that all over. What I'm contemplating is a little cover to go over that rear area. I've got several lengths of alloy keder strip - the P-shaped stuff that can accept a slide-in flexible nylon 'rail'. I can sew a piece of fabric Keder onto a cover and slide that into the alloy rail across the end of the roof and bungee it down. If it fills with snow just release the bungee and 'flip' the fabric and snow will fly off. And when the really big tarp is on there that extends out over the rear tent the cover will keep road snot and mank off it. I use this to attach my rear tent/awning to the 110 - works a treat - really simple and keeps the water out.

Next stop spare wheel re-siting - the new roof in its lowered position would hit the spare wheel, so needs to go behind the spare wheel carrier. My guess was a chunk of 4" steel box on the bottom and another bit with the top cut to make a U shape at top would suffice to allow it move back far enough so that was added. I made the 1/4" steel brackets previously fitted inside (for the actuators to mount on) slightly oversize so I could bolt the top box section steel through and securely fasten to them. The roof will lower and the back edge of it will sit in the U formed by the box section. My mate Steve folded a piece of alloy using a template I made and I used that to form the rear upper roof end and it was 'fettled' to fit: I then cut up and drilled some L section alloy to make an edge for this upper roof section. This will form a 'basket' area in which I can store the awning tarp and can have bungee cords to hold it down. Its also well out of the way and the addition of these L sections make the rear look a bit more aligned with, and 'part of' , the rest of the roof. And after a mad session of open air spray painting etch primer from Halfords tins on the sides and back (waste of time - more of it ended up on me) and some rollering in a neighbours garage (better but hard to see what you're doing!) I gave up on this approach, bought a can of liquid etch primer, watched the forecast for a few dry days and rollered everything outside and shooing the bugs away before they got embedded in the paint. The etch rollered wonderfully and dried very fast. The 1K enamel top coat was a bit more testing - dries too fast and needs a lot of care, but I managed, and I have to say the finish is quite remarkably good. So good in fact I reckon rollering the whole van would produce a lovely job. Then the weather turned a tad damp so I had to improvise and ended up under the porch of my woodshed. Here's my woodshed paint booth: And thats got me to here. The above pic is showing the pieces on the vehicle temporarily - I need to fit the windows, various hidden guides and seals and a load of other stuff before I can permanently fasten them. Still got a way to go but its taking shape. My problem is EVERY aspect of this has to be done so I can use the vehicle daily, which has necessitated some careful planning how stuff will fit/remove whiilt fabricating. I'm hoping to get the sides/back on before winter sets in in earnest, but we'll see! I'm currently preparing the alloy angle pieces that will support flat plates against which the edges of the lifting roof will seal when its in the lowered position. Thats them on the van in the pic above painted yellow (etch primer) along the door edge and top (not fittted along the side/bottom edge where the tub cappings were, yet). This was a 'technical' problem I had to overcome. Basically I need a flat 'lip' against which the lowered roof can seal. If I use a single piece of angle'd alloy I'd need to cut the outer edge of it to size - a really hard thing to do outside with a jigsaw and keep the cut straight. Solution? Use a piece of angle alloy thats smaller than I need, and then put a wider piece onto it thats cut to fit the desired width, but crucially the cut (to make it fit) will be done on the inner edge of the flat piece so its against the van side and will have a bead of mastic along it to seal but also hide the cut. That leaves (hopefully) a nice clean machined edge facing outwards. This approach also has one other crucial benefit - it enables adjustment of the seal in two planes, in/outwards and up/downwards, which will be really useful to adjust the seal as the whole thing settles. The seals are neoprene in various widths/thicknesses so there might be some adjustment needed to ensure it fits all around.

I found the earth in at the back of the wiring loom and its looking a bit grotty so I think I'll give that a clean up tomorrow. Ah yes the 9ft arms....useful for that, rubbish for combing your hair!

Thanks Ralph, I've renewed various rear connectors that were corroded, but the loom looks ok coming out of the floor. Tank was replaced last year (by me with care) and I'm pretty sure nothing got damaged in the process. What I HAVE been doing is fitting the pair of linear actuators in the rear quarters and have had to shift the wiring about a good bit which revealed a dodgy tail light connection which I fixed, and I'm just wondering whether I've disturbed something else. Going to go round it all with the voltmeter (I have some help arrived to press things and look at what happens!). Some jobs on your own are just so hard if you need to be in two places at once - as it is I have a wheelybin and a mirror on top so I can see what the rear lights are doing!

Great stuff Ralph, thank you very much indeed.

Is it green? (or will colours vary according to MY?)