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110 lifting roof (has begun in earnest)


Jocklandjohn

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Some more progress this week. Basically bashing on and trying to get as much done as I can whilst I still have use of the bit of dry workshop space in my friend's barn/workshop.

Roof rack/running bars are coming on. I was contemplating whether to try welding the long top seam joining the two pieces of alloy that make up each side, but after considering the (high) chances of it warping, never mind waiting for the welder to have time to do it (he's very busy just now) I decided just to bolt it together with a line of stainless button head bolts and flange nuts behind with loads of Sikaflex adhesive in between, and be done with it. So I did.

Although the side looks 'slabby' and appears quite tall, it's a bit of an illusion, mainly because it's come up from the gutter, in reality the top of the rack is actually only 8 inches higher than the original LR roof, so in reality it's less high than many proper roofracks (to which a roof tent would then be added making it even higher).

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It has a funky sort-of shipbuildy-rivet vibe going on which is not perhaps 'pretty' in the slick aesthetic way that a 'proper' alloy rack on a Toyota/Nissan/Datsun is, but after all is said and done it's a basic shed-on-wheels 110 that's 25 years old and with the best will in the world and all the TLC one can throw at it it, it's still going to be a large boxy riveted, lump.

So, in that sense the roofrack probably 'fits'! Whatever - it'll do me, and I doubt I'll see another the same.

The plan is to have the crossbars loose (alloy pipe), held with a couple of beta-pins at each end so they can be pulled out and the bars removed when not needed, or even put on in various sequences depending on my needs - I often use one of two roofboxes and they are vastly different lengths so I can choose where on the roof I need to fit them and how far apart the bars need to be for each box's length and insert bars as appropriate. (And yes I've designed it so the roof bars clear the roof hatch by 1" so I can use them anywhere on the roof, even over the hatch.)

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The left side is complete (but not fully bolted down) but as you can just see the right side is still not fully bolted together as I ran out of stainless bolts (more arriving soon form Kays Fasteners on Ebay - great range of stuff, good prices and very helpful with quick delivery too).

So I started fitting the fridge runners while I wait for the stainless fasteners to arrive. Some of the alloy offcuts from the roofrack are just perfect. The fridge is going on the rhs (hinge side) of the back door. Rather than all alloy construction I thought I'd use wood as the main fridge bearers (to which the fridge is actually fastened), as its more easily worked, provides some shock-apsorption, and is 'warmer' and kinder on the hands when pulling the fridge out.

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An hour of bodging and bashing later and this is what it looks like. Its made from 3mm alloy angle 100x50mm and a piece of 3mm x 100mm sandwiched together.


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The runners are 18" long and open to 100% plus 1" so will fully clear the cupboard structure I'm building above (which will hold the gas cooker) to allow the fridge top loading door to lift unhindered. Weight carrying capacity is 68kg and even when at full extension so easily able to carry the fridge (24kg empty) plus a full load of food/drink. They have a lock-out function so will stay out safely, and a lock-in latch so should stay closed too. There's a lift and remove function too so I can easily detach the runners and remove the fridge. The fridge has rubber feet/buffers that protrude around each corner with a 6mm bolthole through them into to a captive thread in the carcase of the unit so I can bolt through directly and utilize the rubber feet as shock absorbers.

This is all very slow and laborious work, but it's the two critical parts - one, the roof bars that (hopefully!) provide an additional waterproof seal for the roof edge and unattractive line of rivets that hold it down (all that lot under the L section will be liberally coated with marine grade adhesive sealant) AND the other main thing is the fridge fitting which will determine where everything else will fit around it on that side - which will be mostly storage. I have some small plastic stacking boxes that I'm going to use, inserted on simple wooden runners, the idea being that I can remove the weight of 'stuff' easily by hoofing the boxes out if I'm doing daily driving and want to lighten the load, and if going away I can just check the boxes to see if I have all I need then slide them in, and pull a tambour/roller door down in front to retain them and off we go.

Later in the week I got the fridge itself installed.

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Sits reasonably well out of the way. When pulled out it it goes pretty far across the width.

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In an ideal world it would have been fitted lower down (and further forwards to the centre of the van), as it's quite a heavy item, but it sits up that high because of the HardTop 110 internal arches that eat up floor space, and I'd like to get access to it from outside at the back door. I've got large green storage boxes that I use for additional gear, and which also double as seat bases (inside or outside the van) with a Thermarest chair kit sat on top, so it's designed so that they can fit neatly underneath the fridge. I've got lashing eyes for them attached to the sides and floor so they dont jump about.

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The wooden unit on the left will have the small sink in it at the top. Its cut steeply at the bottom to allow legs/feet to pass, and to enable the green box lid to be opened without having to lift the box out of the vehicle. That storage area below the sink will have various 'outside' stuff in it such as tow strops, toolbox, tyre compressor etc things that I'd need to easily reach from the back door. I'm going to try to reinforce this unit so its got 'steps' in it to make it easier to get up onto the bed platform.

Fitting the fridge runners was not as straightforwards as it could have been - I could only get one pair of bolts through the under wings to hold them down because I've got an aux sandwich tank in the quarter at the rear which effectively prevents access to the under-wing area. Had to get creative with fixings but it seems to have worked.

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Got the rack assembled and fitted. Several large bolts on each side to hold the rails down, with a large dollop of Sikaflex under each one hopefully permanently sealing the sheet edge and rivets. And then a few large-flange pop-rivets along the vertical side to complete the assembly. It is very strong.

The bars are over-length deliberately so I can use the tails as lashing points, plus there will be beta-pins shoved through to hold the bars in place when I need them, and when I don't I can pull the pins and slide the bars out.

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I decided I should go the whole hog and invade Europe, so mounted a 105mm Howitzer on the front, which when combined with my roof hatch gives it a rather dashing look, don't you think?

As a pacifist I've gone for the cardboard Howitzer which should be less controversial (well until it rains) then I suspect more than my spirits will droop......

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  • 2 weeks later...

Some more progress - have been fitting cargo track on the outsides, which has meant stripping out the interior insulation and plywood lining to get access to the nuts, but I've replaced the simple white polystyrene insulation with higher density insulation panels which should be better in the long term. It was a lot of fiddly work with little to show for it, but needed doing.

Whilst in there I thought I'd stick on some steps to allow access to the now-much-higher roofrack, on which I'll have a roof box some of the time.

Found these on the well-known auction site for £6 each so got four. Very well made. So I reckon these will help. I can also add a nylon webbing loop to a cargo-track fitting to put a foot in as well if I need even more height.

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Next - recycling the chunk of the alloy I cut out of the roof and using it to make a protective/insulative cover for the water tank. I need some steel or alloy angle and will pop rivet that along the corners and then weld up a steel cradle to support it, bolted into the inner wing on the passenger side. The water tank is plastic and will get a battering sitting just inside the wheel arch so the old Birmabright alloy complete with its 3/4" of closed cell foam will protect and insulate it. Seemed a shame not to try to use the roof 'offcuts' for something else.

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Tank is a 'recycled' one - it was intended for some campervan or other and shaped to fit in a specific location so I'll need to adapt it slightly to sit where I want it - which will mean simply blocking off existing pipe holes and installing new fittings where I need them.

And the last little bit of progress is a second pair of gas struts. The available space in the alloy extrusion where I can fit the struts only allows an 18mm diameter tube, and there is a maximum weight limit with these specific tubes. However my weight calculations put my roof total weight at about 90% of their working limit, but the roof hatch is quite heavy and installed far back from the hinge so is exerting a fair bit of leverage that I probably didn't fully account for.

Problem also is that the struts only actuate after about 12 degrees so the initial push is pretty hard before the struts take over, and they are obviously struggling a wee bit with the max weight. So I've fitted a second smaller pair forward of the first set. Difference is very noticeable - because the struts are shorter they actuate earlier in the lift which makes it easier for me to push it up, and lower, and they are adjustable ones so I can de-gas them to drop their pressure if needed, however as they are, at full power, they're just dandy and will cope with the addition of a roofbox filled with wetsuits and canoe paddles, buoyancy aids etc with no difficulty. The whole stability of the roof is greatly improved too - there was a fair bit of flex in the roof when raising/lowering before but that's virtually gone now. So, worth fitting.

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Current doings - have finished covering the water tank with the bits of roof I cut out (complete with 3/4" of closed cell foam). I used various of the roof's strengthening ribs cut up the middle to make corner cappings. The bottom edges of the tank has two rails of steel angle on them for strength/support. Tank will be suspended on threaded rod with a steel plate on the bottom and cranked up tight against the inside of the wheel-arch. It's not pretty but it's strong and insulated/protected.

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I've made a (very) rough angled cover for the bottom outlet which will have a T-Piece on it - one outlet leading to the internal sink tap (a simple suction flipper) and the other to a drain tap so I can empty it. It's not a terribly robust protector but that end of the tank is in behind the bulkhead above the outrigger so is well out of harm's way and it should serve to keep all the mud and road snot off the couplings and pipe.

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And before I finished I pulled the wheel off and shoved the tank in to see if it would actually fit. It did! So tomorrow I might get it properly suspended & bolted.

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Cheers chaps. Work continues. But very slowly mind you!

And after after a load of faffing about - tank in- tank out- tank in - tank out - tank in - tank out...................more times than I care to think about, it's fitted. It was a real pain. The gap between the back of the locking filler cap and the tank was very tight and required both the respective necks on filler/tank to be trimmed carefully in order to just touch and allow the plastic pipe and jubilee clips to 'capture' each one. Skinned knuckles, lots of swearing and a sore neck from laying on my back and craning to see whats going on. But, job done.

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Tank supported on threaded rod, with a steel plate across the bottom at each end of the tank.

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You can see the proximity of the tank neck to the van side panel.

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I put a square of alloy in behind the wing to strengthen it behind the filler neck, and to give the three perimeter fixing screws more 'purchase' - that's the four pop-rivets in the square pattern around the filler. The two rivets at bottom are to attach the van side to a small bracket on the water tank as the strut that braced the side to the chassis has been cut out as it was in the way of the tank.

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All the piping is in - filler neck pipe to outside, locked, breather pipe up to the inside to keep it clean and clear, and feed pipe out the rear bottom in a protective plastic sleeve and protected by the outrigger and fed back inside the van to the sink.

Next job is a smaller tank on the other side of the wheel for waste water straight down out of the little sink, only a small tank but worth fitting I think. Saves having a sloppy mess everywhere which you then stand in when you go for a midnight pee.

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Not sure if you have planned to but it would be worth putting some plastic or rubber (like a mud flap) to stop muck from the wheel being thrown forward and lodging all around the tank.

Aye! An old mud flap is on the to do list!

I used one on the other side to seal the edge of the wing diesel tank - makes a huge difference.

I've also got old mudflap covers on the back door handle and the fuel filler. The latter was prompted by having the filler aperture and keyhole in the locking cap filled with snow and ice in minus 20 one winter, and being unable to fill the tank. Of course I only noticed when I was stood in the filling station scratching my head and wondering if anyone would notice me peeing on it. Took almost 30 mins to get the cap off. The small flap of mudflap solved that problem.

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John.

I don't use rubber mudflaps. I get emp

John.

I don't use rubber mudflaps. I get empy round plastic oil drums and cut them to make mudflaps

y round plastic oil drums and cut them to make mudflaps

Bee Pee. SAAB when rallying the 96 used to have Bee Pee stickers near the filler cap. bees flying into the filler.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Had a week break over Easter but have now got the van out of my mate's shed, cleaned all the pigeon carp off it and its back on the drive outside the house again which makes life a bit easier for nipping out and doing stuff.

Just ordered a solar panel (100W thin type) to glue to roof, and found a really excellent deal on a Morningstar Prostar 30 solar controller which I've seen advertised for anywhere from £150 to £199, and VERY nice ebay chappie has them for £50 or so plus £7 postage. This is a really solid piece of kit, made in the USA and with all the features you'd need and more. He said he has a few more so if you are in the market for one this is the thing to get - I did a load of research and these consistently came up as a reliable, quality controller.

Anyway got that to fit sometime soon, However today I fitted the roof bar retaining bolts.

I drilled and tapped each end of the bars which are intentionally left 'loose' and inserted an M6 button head stainless bolt at each end.

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These prevent the bars coming out, and when removed allow the bars to be easily slid out, or their position on the roof altered depending on what my needs are.

I have various things I'll carry at different times such as an open (canadian) canoe which needs a flat surface for lashing onto. Or a pair of sea kayaks which requires a set of J cradles on each side which are shaped to the hull profiles and allow the boats to be carried on their edges, with sufficient space in between for a long (ski length) roofbox which carries wet stuff such as wetsuits and paddles, buoyancy aids etc.

Because the boats are on their edge the curve of the hulls in their centre sections (at the cockpits) 'drops' lower than the roof bars so the gap between the bars needs to be quite long, and this method enables me to have that capability. And when I don't need them I can wind out a bolt and pull the bars out in seconds.

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Cheers Mike, it's coming on slowly.

My idea for very thin strong (Dibond) alloy panels that can slot into the lifted-roof sides to form temporary hard sides is a goer, and I've started obtaining the materials. I've been trying to figure out places to put them (two pieces for each side = 4, and a single hinged folding piece for the rear end) and can get some on the roof, but thought it might also work on the side too. Also I've been down to Morocco a couple of times and would like a return trip in a year or two and the ability to strap a load of stuff on the side will be very useful. I figured if I was going to fit them it was easier to do it now whilst I have the interior stripped out so I did, and was able to get in behind and make sure they were well fixed and sealed.

I'm working on a simple awning (with zip-on sides) for both the back door area and another for the passenger side (both fold and lie flat against the sides) and intend that the support leg for the side awning uses the rails for support, so they should prove useful in the longer term. It's not hugely expensive stuff so worth doing just now.

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On Monday I made a start on the gas bottle holder on the side panel beside the back door. Went for simple steel angle and used a grinder as I've not got any form of steel cutting capability. I can grind in a straight line reasonably well. Two bits were bolted onto the van to give me a starting point, with the gas bottle hung off the roofrack with a strap to use as a guide so it's all aligned. This involved another strap off to another vehicle to keep the bottle in the right orientation. The rear panel has no straight lines - the van side slopes, the rear window slopes etc so making it to suit with the bottle in situ seemed the most sensible course of action. (And yes the gas bottle was lifted well out of the way when I was using the welder!)

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It's a simple triangle to support the bottle, and this also allows tighter clearance between the frame and the spare wheel as it swings round. A square base would be more complex and bigger, and intrude into the arc of the spare wheel.

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The plan for securing the bottle is some flat-bar that I can bend into a semi-circle and then attach to the frame. Saw some galvy perforated steel strip in BandQ which might do.

Yesterday got it fully welded, and then a coat of primer. And today a topcoat of silver stuff.

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A few ideas for fastening the bottle's base to the frame have been abandoned because several of the bottles I've seen have had bashed bases and this might create problems with attaching clamps that hook up inside the inner lip.

Anyway it's bolted on with stainless fixings and a thin sticky rubber tape down the join between the frame and the van to seal it.

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I'll make/find something to cover the top of the gas bottle - a metal 'top hat' of some kind to cover the regulator and keep the gas pipe out of the elements, and which will be padlocked on to retain the bottle and prevent people gaining access and fiddling with the valve.

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Work continues inside. Got the work surface and storage box racking completed. It's very light pine so does not add a huge amount of weight, and its thick enough to be able to screw into the end wood so makes jointing it easy. As you can see it's dictated by the depth of the fridge, and that wider area provides a good spot for the gas cooker - enabling it to be sited far enough forwards (towards the middle of van) to stop steam and heat from affecting the timber surround that's covering the old cut roof edge above it.



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The two larger storage boxes will be held in with a simple strap looped through a few tie-down eyes, and I've been able to fit a small pull-out shelf on heavy duty slides in the gap between the storage boxes so that we have a small table that can be pulled out when needed. I've an idea for a larger table top suitable for having meals off that will sit in front of the rack of four smaller boxes (these are situated just to the left of the two larger boxes, but low down) and be deployed as a table top, supported by the slide-out table when needed, but when sat in front of the storage boxes acts as 'door' to hold the boxes in. Might manage that tomorrow.


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The small pull-out table is useful for anyone using the lock and fold/rotating seat that I have in the rear for my wee boy.

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The design of worktop with the two reductions in width as you go towards the front of the van ensure maximum space in the area behind the front seats where two of us can sit.

Got some more fabbing to do with the water and waste tank on the other side under the sink, and to finish the sink unit itself - some form of reinforcement at the bottom which can be used as a step to get up onto the sleeping platform would be useful - but having this other side done is a step forwards.

Fabric for elevating roof sides is ordered and should be here in the next few days.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest wunntenn

Bit more progress on the van. Fabric is with the sewer to get made up for the sides - they hope to start this week. Got a small waste tank in the rear quarter above the exhaust (well above it!) holding a couple of gallons, enough to save having to dump grotty water into wild campsites and making the grass manky and generally messing it up for others. Covered the tank in alloy & foam recycled from the bit I cut out of the roof, so it is protected from stones and insulated.

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On the inside the various bits are coming together and my wee lad William has now checked it out and approves! Our border collie has taken up residence too!

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And William did the ultimate test yesterday - would his wooden railway track be able to run all the way around the upper roof in a complete loop. Yes! He is delighted!

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Made a bed for wee lad over the weekend - bed is basically two 2x2 inch battens bolted to the roof in the cab area, which have slots in them for a couple of cargo tie-down straps. The straps run round the battens and support a platform made from 2 pieces of 1/8 inch ply with some 2x1 inch in between, so its a sandwich construction. I was using up leftover pieces - the ply is utter carp and warped so the bed has a slight propeller quality to it but not so much you'd slide out of bed!

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So the idea is that during the day this platform is cranked up on the tie-downs and sits securely overhead in the cab area. Come night time the seats are tipped forwards, the straps are released and the platform drops down and just rests on the seat backs, giving plenty of overhead space for the wee man to climb in and get comfy. A curtain track on the rearmost batten will allow him to be screened off from the main rear living area and have his own wee night light on a stalk to read with.

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He tried it yesterday and was well impressed. Whether he fits it next year remains to be seen!

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