Anderzander Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 You are doing an amazing job on this Mike .. 👏🏻 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 Thank you. I do have a slight advantage restoring boats for a living. I just wish I had our customers budget. Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arjan Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 Impressive.. You are a skilled professional ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post miketomcat Posted July 23 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 23 I made a sink shelf a few weeks ago out of a slab of oak. Cut out for the sink to sit in it and drilled holes for the tap and shower head. This was then covered in epoxy to waterproof it. The sink itself is a £3 IKEA mixing bowl with a drain cut in it, the tap is a hair dressers type so it can be used as a shower as well. This is mounted on two bits of the Ali box left over from the fridge box racking. The sink is glued in place and connected to the drain hose I fitted yesterday. Mike 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 It’s going to be like something off Instagram 😊 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted July 23 Author Share Posted July 23 5 minutes ago, Anderzander said: It’s going to be like something off Instagram 😊 It's on Instagram. But you get way more content on here. Mike 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 Water system filled and pressurised, then de-pressurised and drain down a bit. A speedfit tee had unseated it's o ring on fitting so was p***ing out once pressurised. Easy fix, just strip it and re-seat the o ring. However by the time I spotted it there was water everywhere. Fixed that and couldn't work out where the water was still coming from, turned out the threaded ring screwed to the top of the tank had a dodgy rubber seal. It wouldn't of been a problem to fix if the ring wasn't in a recess below the top of the tank. All fixed, I topped off the tank again and re-pressurised. I left it like this all afternoon so that's sorted. Also sorted the wiring for the water pump (just connected it to the battery to pressure up the system) and toilet. Hole cut for toilet cassette door and fitted, I painted it to match the rest of the trailer yesterday. I've glued some left over cladding around the aperture to seal the foam. This then allowed me to fit and test the toilet flush. Unfortunately the flush solenoid doesn't seem to open correctly it just lets a dribble through, so I need to investigate this. Mike 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 Dodgy prostate on the toilet? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted July 25 Author Share Posted July 25 2 hours ago, Snagger said: Dodgy prostate on the toilet? I'm hoping it's just some carp in the lines that's settled on the valves pre filter. If not it might be the pressure is to high for the solenoid. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 🤞 I hope it’s the cheap and easy “just needs a clean” option, though the thought of what might be clogging your toilet is not somewhere I want to go… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 I'd put money on it just needing a good clean out in the flush side. One of our old vans with an electric flush would get bunged up with black bits if the fluid wasn't mixed properly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted July 25 Author Share Posted July 25 Looks like @landroversforever wins the prize. I disconnected the toilet and valve works fine. I'll find something to poke down the hose and clear it. Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post miketomcat Posted July 28 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 28 Toilet turned out to be slightly more complicated. I didn't realise the toilet shut off valve was up under the bowl so fitted an external valve. My valve worked fine as it should, however for some unknown reason the toilets valve is wired permanently open and was closing when you flush. So one open one shut or vice versa, hence a dribble. My quick fix was to unplug the toilet valve. All this involved completely dismantling the toilet. But it's all sorted and fitted. I've wired up the emersion because it was an easy job and I needed to test it actually worked. Also got the cable/hose covers fitted. Mike 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 If there's one thing that needs to be reliable it's the toilet! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post miketomcat Posted July 30 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 30 Hopefully that's the last few bits for the toilet area for now. Sealant lines done and tidied up, I might have to revisit these when we have an operational shower. Pole for the shower curtain shortened and re-fitted. I bent up some 8mm stainless rod, threaded one end and made a plastic end plate. This allowed me to screw one end to the bottom of the timber sink surround and the other locates in a hole in the bulkhead, voilà a towel rail. Still need to tidy up the roof, probably just paint and make a clip to hang the shower head in the shower position. The other thing I needed to sort this evening was the hatch. These are second hand boat deck hatches one started to leak last year so I did a fairly quick fix. The other has started to leak this lead me to notice the first one has started to release, it not leaking though. The first one I took the perspex out re-sealed it and cleaned up (the same as they are from new). As the first has started to let go I've used a different sealant and the correct primers this time, hopefully it'll stay stuck this time. Mike 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 Looking reet smart - I've seen far worse in 100k luxury campers! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted July 31 Author Share Posted July 31 This is a £100k camper...no wait that's wrong more like £3.5k and a shed load of hours, so far. Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted August 5 Author Share Posted August 5 Gas springs added to the bed to make it a one person lift (how is a mattress and some bedding that heavy!). Lower brackets Upper (bed frame) brackets plus an extra cross beam to spread the load across the frame. At this point I fitted the gas struts I'd bought. Annd couldn't close it. So had to get under it and hold it up while I removed said gas struts and propped it back up. A quick trip to the motor factors the next day found some shorter Mazda struts at 410N rather than the 1200N of the VW struts. Fitted these and because they were shorter and less powerful it didn't open far enough and whilst they did assist it wasn't quite enough. Qué an adjustment of the geometry, I moved the upper pivot back and up, the lower one forwards. This increased the lift height and reduced the leverage of the bed so increased the lift force. Now it won't hold up on its own hence the prop but I can easily open it on my own. Mike 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post miketomcat Posted August 10 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 10 A week of testing complete. Just under 400 miles round trip. 24mpg towing, I'm happy with as it's a few kgs and not exactly aerodynamic. Mike 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 That looks great, going to paint it to match the towing vehicle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Davies Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 That looks a fantastic setup. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elbekko Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Nice! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted August 10 Author Share Posted August 10 41 minutes ago, Bowie69 said: That looks great, going to paint it to match the towing vehicle? The colour is staying we originally thought we'd picked a grey (not as dark as the ibex). It is listed as grey but as you can see it's closer to the prince of Wales bridge colour. However it blends surprisingly well with any back drop and it not a colour any other caravan/trailer is painted, plus we really like it hence the shower gel coat bought to match. Mike 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anderzander Posted August 10 Share Posted August 10 Fantastic 👏🏻 I missed your last few updates… getting those gas struts right sounds hard ! I agree with @FridgeFreezer about the $100k standard. Perhaps there is a sideline if you want a change from boats …? It looks amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted August 10 Author Share Posted August 10 19 minutes ago, Anderzander said: Fantastic 👏🏻 I missed your last few updates… getting those gas struts right sounds hard ! I agree with @FridgeFreezer about the $100k standard. Perhaps there is a sideline if you want a change from boats …? It looks amazing. The gas struts could do with being stronger but there's a risk of pulling the hinges out of the wall. To be honest just the bit of assistance helping to lift it is enough for me. The trouble with doing it as a sideline/full-time you need a fully kitted workshop, which I have access to at work but wouldn't otherwise. Also It's probably barely viable if you add an hourly rate. Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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