Home

Up (camper Diary)

Bits and Pieces

Side Door

The side door wouldn't pull in properly from the handle so I had a look and the cable was too long. I couldn't adjust it as the adjuster was right up to the end of the thread. I ended up cutting off about 8mm before I could get enough tension on it. Works lovely now. Just need to fix the sliding mechanism.

Steering wheel

I had to reset it back to its normal position as the cross bars were not straight (annoyed the hell out of me). First I had to get to the nut, you prise out the black horn button (leaving the metal case in the wheel). Getting the nut off was easy but to remove the steering wheel you need to bang on the underside quite hard (in different positions). once off just replace in the correct position (as long as you've parked with the wheels in line).

Tinted windows

I decided to tint the back windows to cut down on heat and save me buying curtains (I'm a cheapskate). The tints I used were the plastic sheet type. Make sure you get the longest ones you can, I mistakenly picked up different packs, one size was 60x182 and the other was 51x228. I didn't realise until I'd done the first window, but the 60x182 one didn't have enough left to do the second window. the 51x228 had enough to do 2 windows. The only advice I can give for doing this is follow the instructions carefully (yes they work!!) use plenty of water when applying the film and make sure your windows are absolutely spotless. Oh, and keep scraping the water out, over and over until your bored, this will stop and water you can't see drying and causing bubbles.

Spare wheel mount

This was a pain. I got the mount from German & Swedish and it came with bolts that are supposed to save you having to get to the back of the panel. These were completely useless. I drilled the holes out (there were already some in the panel from a previous wheel mount, but they were smaller) and inserted the bolts backings. the backs are a tube with a thread in the end. they collapse down their length (spreading out) when tightened to from a nut. the only problem was that when I inserted them two of them were too long to go in enough. I managed to start them off by inserting them at an angle until they pulled in enough to fit. Then the bolts were too long so I had to progressively cut the bolt down as the nut pulled in, then split. This happened on all the bolts leaving me with the nuts half spread and useless. I ended up having to use a pair of mole grips to destroy the heads enough to push through the panel and inserted bolts in from behind (complete nightmare to get to). Now its on it at least covers the dents in the front panel.

Heat exchanger

The near side heat exchanger needed changing. another easy job I though but once again this was made a horrible job by seized bolts, I would always recommend using loads of plug gas before starting. one nut was so seized that the stud came out of the head instead (once again taking part of the thread with it, aka like the spark plugs).

Air filter

I've fitted a pan air filter to the carburettor as it should help the engine breathe a little better. The only problem with this is deciding what to do with all the pipes that go into the original cleaner. Still yet to decide their fate.

Oil Temp Gauge

As I get concerned about overheating I decided it was time to fit an oil temperature gauge. This proved easier than first thought. I brought the kit from JustKampers, It came with the gauge, temperature dipstick, and fitting pack (connectors, wire etc). I needed a few feet extra wire and had to buy a mount for the gauge but otherwise it fitted straight in. The only snag was fitting the dipstick, which fouled the generator. I had to bend the dipstick but put slightly too much force in one spot and it kinked, it still works fine though. Due to the length of the dipstick it need securing to stop it rotating into the fan belt, this will make checking the oil slightly more tedious but I can live with that.

Glove box

I needed a complete glove box compartment as mine was missing so I ordered one from JustKampers. I thought £19.75 was reasonable, except that I'd looked at the picture and not read the details. That was just for the lid, no liner no bolts :(. Oh well looks better now anyway.

Heat Exchanger2

The second heat exchanger has now been changed as this was on its way out, in fact although it was blowing less than the nearside one the rust was a lot worse than the offside.

Carburettor

After much failed tuning on the carb. I finally decided to replace it, I brought a new one from the BVF for £90. No problems were had during the fitting but the new one has an extra tube which had to be blanked off. The van now runs much better but It still needs setting up to get the best out of it.

Engine tin ware seal

This took about as long to fit as the carb. The seal is of the foam variety and is there to keep warm air from the lower part of the engine away from the upper part. They are fiddly to fit round the back of the fan housing but with a little effort it can be 99% perfectly. I've noticed that the van seems quieter since fitting the seal as it must provide a sort of sound insulation from the engine bay.

Laminate flooring

I finally got round to putting in the laminate flooring. This means that when I go windsurfing now at least the water from the boards wont soak into the carpet. Remember to check the gap under the sliding door as After I'd done mine I realised I could have run the boards almost up to the edge of the floor (under the door). now I have a bit of a gap. Also before laying it is a good time to ad some cables running in the floor groves under the floor as once its down you can't add them later.

Stereo

I've updates the stereo and the van now includes 2x150W front speakers, 2x200W rear speakers under the seat and a JVC remote control MP3 player. The subs will go in when I have the money but for now it will do. the only problem with the setup is that the remote is infra red rather than a radio one, this means I can't adjust it when sat in the awning as its line of sight.

Starter and Fuel lines

The reason I've added these together is that if the starter hadn't gone I would never have noticed that the fuel lines were perished. When the started was replaced the fuel lines must have been disturbed, this caused them to start leaking fuel all over the manifold which I nearly didn't notice. This happened two days before Vanfest and if I hadn't of noticed them (by a sheer fluke of luck) I have no doubt in my mind that the drive to Vanfest would have resulted in me loosing the bus to fire.