Hints & Tips

WINDSCREEN Insurance

One of our members had to replace his windscreen on his Chic. It was then that he discovered that his insurance company would only cover up to £1,000 for windscreens.  The Chic I51 windscreen costs over £4,000 to replace. Make sure you have adequate cover, never assume that conversations with your insurance company are recorded; especially when it is to your advantage.  Always get important facts confirmed in writing if you cannot see the information in the small print.

Some members have found that the floor trap doors in busy areas can show signs of de-laminating due to the heavy foot traffic they have to sustain.  Here is a tip to give those trap doors a little extra support. Measure the gap between your floors to the nearest mm. Purchase 2 adjustable feet (like for a bath support). Cut these to length so that together they are exactly the height of the floor gap. Join them with a threaded collar and screw them tightly end to end. Fix one foot end to the underside of your trap door. Make sure the position will allow the foot to reach the lower floor without being obstructed. If you have measured correctly the lower foot end will rest on the lower floor when the trap door is closed thereby giving a central support. You will be able to feel the difference when you stand on  the trap door—much firmer!

On the same theme, Brian Stocker suggests using a standard kitchen unit leg (£1.50 per pair from B&Q) fastened to the floor. The leg can be pulled from its mounting socket to provide access.

 

Brian has also fabricated a cover for the doorway entrance step to bring the void up flush with the main cabin floor. Again using kitchen unit legs to provide support.

Harsh ride ?

Gordon Beeson tells us that he has reviewed his tyre pressures with Michelin as he felt he was getting a harsh ride on the recommended  Carthago pressures. The proposed adjustment from Michelin has provided a much more acceptable ride. If interested you should seek professional advice from Michelin for your particular model and loading. You will need to visit a weighbridge beforehand so that you have the full information to hand.

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www.michelin.co.uk

WC Cassette Locker

The Dunbars tell us that they have accidentally knocked the rear of the toilet flush switch in their Chic. The result was that when they pushed the switch to flush it would not stop flushing!  The switch had been knocked out of alignment and jammed. Realigning the switch solved the problem but not a nice fault to have to fix on a rainy winter night.  Their recommended solution is to adapt a baking tin and fix it on with Velcro. Thanks Peter and Jean.

LED Bulbs to replace halogen bulbs

Gordon Beeson tells us that he has replaced some of his Halogen bulbs with Warm White LED clusters. The lighting provided is much the same but the power demands are significantly reduced. LEDs are also much longer lasting than the Halogen bulbs. CAK Tanks can supply the LED clusters  Part No. LEDSG421WW they are around £10 each. Not cheap but if you wild camp frequently the battery usage is approx 1/8th of that required for a Halogen equivalent.

Trap Door Supports

www.caktanks.co.uk

Step Trim

The aluminium strip which is used on the step edges has an unfinished look (photo left). Available from Lowdhams and elsewhere, is caravan awning trim, 11mm wide which costs £1 per metre. You need about 3.5m for a Chic I51. The centre photo shows the trim. The rear face of the trim is towards the camera. When you fit it you will need to use a very sharp blade to trim off some the rear edges where the trim goes over the securing screw heads. You will still get a slight bulge show up over the screw locations but gentle taps with a hammer on the trim will settle it into the aluminium groove.

The end result looks much more finished (photo right).

 

 

 

 

Kitchen Space

Here is a tip to increase your work space in the kitchen. Buy a ready made, trimmed shelf approx: 600mm x 200mm x 20mm in a wood finish to suit.  Cut out 160mm x 50mm from one back corner to allow shelf to pass beyond the kitchen/lounge vertical partition panel. This will also allow the shelf to sit over the horizontal of the existing partition panel.  The underside 50mm cut of this cut out, needs to be slanted by 45º to accommodate the curve of the fixed partition.  (i.e. top cut out size 160 x 50 and underside cut out size 180 x 50).  Round off sharp edges and seal any exposed wood / chip board / mdf with Unibond or similar. Sit the new shelf on the partition and mark the underside carefully to identify the location of the partition and to ensure all is aligned squarely.

Use six Plasplug, right angle brackets to locate the shelf by placing three on each side.  Note: this must be a snug fit on to the partition. You can always relocate the brackets if necessary. Once you are satisfied that it is a snug fit, use a straight edge to fit two small but strong, 4” (100mm) shelf brackets  to the underside, on the side facing the front of your vehicle.  These brackets should be secured only to the shelf otherwise the shelf will not be removable. The face of the brackets which rest on the partition panel (behind the seat head rest) should be faced with a suitable material (plywood, plastic) to prevent any damage when fitting and using.  These faces should be prepared and fitted to the shelf brackets before the fitting to the underside of the shelf with the straight edge as described above.

You will now have a shelf unit which gives you extra space in the kitchen and protects the top of the seat from any drips and splashes.  Note: the shelf will not carry heavy weights but it should be quite adequate for supporting a kettle which is full of water or the dishes when you are drying up, a lamp or a bowl of fruit.

We have found that we do not need to remove the shelf and can sit comfortably on the seat  without banging our heads against it.

Raised Floor

As we have swivelling seats in our Carthagos and the standard chassis floor pans, Desnée found the floor was too low and gave her aching legs after long journeys in our Iveco Chic. We have now raised the floor by placing a 15mm plywood covering in the foot well.  The cover sits on the floor at the engine end but is raised by about 4” at the seat end by fixing a piece of 4” x 2” timber to the underneath. This gives a useful, little storage space under the floor but more important it stops those aching legs.  Much more comfortable!  A side benefit is that the front area actually feels more spacious as the floor is level all the way across.

I have longer legs and found that I only needed to raise the drivers side by 2” using the same method.  To find which height suits you best you need to try out different heights by using blocks under any old plywood sheet. Once you find a comfortable position for you then you can make up your own raised floor.

 

Make a cardboard template of your foot well area in the desired raised position. Cut out the shape from 15mm plywood with a jig saw. Screw the supporting timber to the underside and paint the whole in dark grey undercoat.  Job done!  If you are really keen you can make up new carpets because the standard ones will no longer cover exactly.

Alko Chassis Service

 

Here is a tip from Paul Walmsley—Thank you Paul.

 

For those owners of a motorhome with an Al-Ko chassis there are two grease nipples on the rear axle that are not incorporated in a service.

If you do not grease them yourselves or ask a mechanic to do it at the service they will get missed.

Al-Ko recommend a good quality high temperature grease once a year or 20,000 miles which ever comes first.
I assume that the grease nipples are on all Al-Ko chassis and not just the ones with torsion bar suspension.

UPDATE:  Paul Bassett tells us that Lowdhams have assured him that this IS done as part of their service routine.

Licence Expiry Date

 

Here is a reminder from Martyn Curley for us to check item 4b on our photo Driving licence.

 

This is the date that your licence expires which may not be the date that you expected it to be!

 

Check when your licence expires!

 

Thank you Martyn.

Just a few things having had our T47 for over 2 years now and 17000 miles.   From Richard Dutton

Duomatic gas pigtails and calor propane adaptor:  

I found a very small leak sometimes when changing cylinders.  After some fiddling, found I could get rid of it by un- and re-tightening the connection ( tightened more than normal ).  Calor in Preston had a look at the connection and noted that the male thread form was slightly different from the calor standard which has a small taper on it.  A normal Calor connector self centres as it is pulled up giving a good 'line' seal.  The one fitted to our van has a parallel form and will not self centre.  This means that one has to be careful in pulling it up or else it will seat eccentrically allowing a small leakage path.  I always test connections by the interspace gauge and soapy water.

  Heki ( small ) roof vents

 Noticed some people have lost Heki roof vents in strong winds.  I noticed that one of the push in pins that forms the hinge had loosened - I just pushed it back.  S...d's law - the next night the winds got up and as I went to close the vent the wind pulled the aforesaid pin out and ripped the vent off.  So I check these push in pins regularly now.

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