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Post by atefooterz on Apr 10, 2015 17:33:42 GMT 10
OK just had a good downpour, after fourish hours of dry time, no leaks!! *HappyDance* So it is that ledge where the the screws attatch the top of the windows to sit flush on the van, that while it looked sound was leaking via the tiny hair thickness gap where it joins the van plus also more water sucked in along non original course screw threads. So just i need a good few days of dry & can remove all the dodgey sillicone & sika that does nothing but look ugly plus non original and then repair and seal discreetly to get that original factory tidy look!!
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Post by atefooterz on Jun 16, 2015 23:24:18 GMT 10
I am beginning to think that a static under cover caravan is best! Something i am pondering about mine and the slow to very fast leaks starting up is temperature (Of old decrepid mastic) Last 2 months i had a few leaks in 14-26c, used a temporary sealer to identify & stop ingress areas, worked a treat. Then moved camp sites and the onset of winter, 1c-16 max last week and with some reasonable rain no issues were had. Now heading north and getting warmer, plus the usual flex of moving an old girl, and some amazing new leaks have appeared Sad part is after having the interior very dry since Easter it is a virtual swimming pool and old damaged areas that did not look bad ( possibly due to the drought conditions where it was stored plus months of 30c to 40c dry weather. For the first time i have a soggy mattress lol Luckily i have a few spare in the Transit and the emergency secret weapon an inflateable one given as a present by youngest Son a while back. Hungering for composite new watertight shell. Afer interactions and first hand adventures with the vintage guys, i saw that inevitable leaks are part of the scene but it is no fun when the caravan is a primary residence. Bonus is i received a free waterbed, with the worst designed bladder ever. haha
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Post by tasmillard on Jun 19, 2015 7:54:17 GMT 10
Hope you get it all sorted out and I guess thats something ill also be on the look for leaks once the van is on the road.
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Post by atefooterz on Jun 19, 2015 10:45:08 GMT 10
Hope you get it all sorted out and I guess thats something ill also be on the look for leaks once the van is on the road. Hopefully, as you have prepared and renewed the seals yours will be good! Mine is all original plus misc repairs by previous owner, mostly the old sillycone over the join style. At least i got almost 6 months dry use plus it survived the 2 record breaking rains just before Christmas. Big fast wet seems ok but it is those days of non stop rain/drizzle that sort out pretend joins and watertight ones. If i just tarp the interior with white plastic i can cure two things in one go, stay dry and get that trendy stark white, blood donor mobile interior vibe haha
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Post by atefooterz on Jul 22, 2015 23:19:53 GMT 10
Found a great site for year colours etc... Fashions
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Post by Mustang on Jul 23, 2015 8:12:44 GMT 10
Found a great site for year colours etc... Fashions"Minni Winnie" is my favorite. Hey Ate, may be time to visit an unsuspecting caravan yard & splash the plastic?
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Post by atefooterz on Jul 23, 2015 10:10:48 GMT 10
Found a great site for year colours etc... Fashions"Minni Winnie" is my favorite. Hey Ate, may be time to visit an unsuspecting caravan yard & splash the plastic? Nice, any plastic splashing is dedicated to a new build, in my situation of no income tiz silly to get sentimental on an oldie.
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Post by myarrow1 on Aug 4, 2015 20:40:20 GMT 10
100% dry in some kick butt rain = "classic"! Lucky you! Some of my seals are pretty damn hard and will need replacing me thinks. I've tried rubber conditioner with some success but I'm a firm believer in doing things 'properly'. It seems our vans are almost twins! Let me know if you do refurb the interior, would love to buy the oven if you part with it. Mine has the cook top only. Hi Kayfarm. ive been keeping an eye on your posts/pics. Especially the rear repairs. That is where I have started. The bed is out and rotten ply is out. Rot in the rear frame. No wood left under rear alum belly...only the bolts that held the wood to the chassis. Just wondering, where did you find your new ply, as I reckon it will be hardto match ?
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Post by atefooterz on Aug 4, 2015 21:02:24 GMT 10
Lucky you! Some of my seals are pretty damn hard and will need replacing me thinks. I've tried rubber conditioner with some success but I'm a firm believer in doing things 'properly'. It seems our vans are almost twins! Let me know if you do refurb the interior, would love to buy the oven if you part with it. Mine has the cook top only. Hi Kayfarm. ive been keeping an eye on your posts/pics. Especially the rear repairs. That is where I have started. The bed is out and rotten ply is out. Rot in the rear frame. No wood left under rear alum belly...only the bolts that held the wood to the chassis. Just wondering, where did you find your new ply, as I reckon it will be hardto match ? Something worth doing , if a post is older than say 6 months, is to click a username that takes you to their profile where you can read when they last visited = Username: kayfam Last Online: Jan 29, 2015 at 7:06pm So do not stress if something goes unanswered as they may be travelling in a finished van somewhere. If no one replies than look for a similar issue. So with the ply one we cannot get matching ply. Depending on where you live ( Please see this Post Location Thread Linky & post there so we can keep track or make something suitable for your area, i say go to Brookvale Mr Plywood NSW and you are in WA then we both lose:) ) can decide what is easily available. If you have any friendly old boatbuilders close by sometimes they can help you source good stuff that looks grainwise similar then stain/varnish to suit. If you are a bunnings fanatic then you will end up with some generic stuff and 20kg of paint added to the Arrow haha!
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Post by atefooterz on Jan 25, 2016 12:05:55 GMT 10
Left my caravan on the Sunshine Coast to house/ pet mind & do the Chrissy family cockroachy location things, then delayed a week so just lived in my "motor home", piled junk to expose mattress on Transit Van floor:). So very pleased to finally make the run up the coast, apart from an unplanned 2 day delay in Coffs catching up with an old work mate and after sobering up finaly getting re united with my Franklin home,then pretended to be holidaying over the unofficial weekend... just because! Soon i am back to Sydney with Franklin for a tidy up and then sale to finish off an amazing two years of classic Caravan life. So many lessons and things i did not think of, knew existed and or were solved by some clever design features, to incororate into my own new build.
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Post by atefooterz on Feb 6, 2016 4:26:51 GMT 10
Epic fail this morning, heading back and the dodgey hinge and the broken one that have survived for many klm let go on the front window stone guard, i heard a funny noise over the rain & engine then discovered i was looking at my front windows = omg! This is of course a section of the M1 past Maroochydore and before the Colaundra turn off, if someone is after whatever remains of a very rare part to get. Seeing Gitanos post i am missing mine already, not to mention the leaky windows i never needed to worry about under that shield haha!
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Post by atefooterz on Feb 6, 2016 19:15:52 GMT 10
Thinking about it, as i have not moved the van for a long time and i am kicking myself as i even looked at the knurled rollers but did not test they were tight, i suspect some teenager fiddling when i was away as both were maxed out to not hold anything tight. The other issue is the squirrily wind that has ripped off the ugly fluro cover on exterior! This survived much stronger winds plus the long journeys as posted above. In spite of being taped on it also became road kill somewhere between Nudgee,where it was last seen intact and taped down & Coffs Harbour. Lucky no one close following me!
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Post by tasmillard on Feb 11, 2016 6:33:07 GMT 10
Sounds like you had a close call with the bits falling off. Its amazing what vibration will do. I recently noticed on mine that the big side window was opening up on the highway, not much but certainly was unlocked. Given its a big pane of glass, I was worried it would shatter flapping on one edge as the other catch was fine. I looked at the catch and no issues, just a little lose but again she opened. So I replaced the catch and ill see how that goes.
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Post by atefooterz on Feb 11, 2016 14:50:41 GMT 10
This is not just vibration but more aerodynamics. Mine is spoilt mostly by the tug & hides in a slip stream. That last adventure was really gusty swirly mostly side on gusts that while not exceeding the 90-100klm forward motion were enough to detach flow & cause buffering. But yeah nasty vibration if you want to be non technical I would not take any chances with your glass! some of mine flap a bit but have enough cusion from rubber surrounds and at most can only move 1mm. I must replace those rotted plastic window catches... or just the classic caravan lolz!
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Post by atefooterz on Apr 22, 2016 0:25:19 GMT 10
You know when you have stayed in one spot for waay too long when the campsite goes all mardi gras over place!
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Post by atefooterz on Sept 7, 2016 9:34:35 GMT 10
Some may recognise this location as the weed patch earlier in this thread. I am back better than last time as i have the run of the place and power. I am set for those early hot hot days and better have a great place to fix up Arrow a bit and also play with other toys. And be ready for those Sydney family things starting early October. Step one = cut a hole for a caravan. Step two reverse and level. Step three (optional) fix antenna pole to look straight from any angle not just from a head.....
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Post by tasmillard on Sept 7, 2016 9:46:03 GMT 10
Hopefully it wont stay there for months on end. Do you have something under that draw bar to prevent moisture/rusting?
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Post by atefooterz on Sept 7, 2016 9:58:57 GMT 10
Hopefully it wont stay there for months on end. Do you have something under that draw bar to prevent moisture/rusting? Hopefully it can stay there till after Easter! It is my home after all. The draw bar and steel under, was hit with converter & had 2 coats of galmet hammer finish, done early 2015, no chips so far and all good. Internal i run a fan to keep dry, wet weather in winter, humidity in summer under control. Pic of completed A frame paint ditzygypsy.proboards.com/attachment/download/1487
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Post by tasmillard on Sept 7, 2016 11:35:10 GMT 10
Nice, should of know you would be prepared. What I meant was that it will be on the road travelling, mobile home to boot! I like your spare wheel setup, nicely out of the way and easy to get to.
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Post by atefooterz on Sept 7, 2016 11:47:51 GMT 10
Nice, should of know you would be prepared. What I meant was that it will be on the road travelling, mobile home to boot! I like your spare wheel setup, nicely out of the way and easy to get to. This Arrow set up and the Transit van have been my full time and only home since July 2014!! Only the view out of the windows changes at times. I had to change a tyre on a wet & cold night but was able to get it out easily at just caravan hooked up to towball height, i had the trolley jack & stands on standby, with all the naysayers voices swirling. Not needed, as expected, as it went in on a level jockey wheel height sitting in mates workshop, so no need for changes and i would do one the same again, if no existing or ugly in front system was there! EDIT: The carabina, painted matching hammertone, is bait, i first started leaving it on after hearing about coloured shackles!! A few passer by wags make a comment most just see it hanging the chain on the brake lever off the ground.
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Post by atefooterz on Dec 14, 2016 17:25:19 GMT 10
A new record high for my un aircon Arrow, with the hot air & 39c day (external) then over night last night low of 30c (external) by 10pm last night it hit 31c inside & with todays 38c max (external) has peaked at 33c! At present it is back down to a chilly 29c as the change has started to come through.
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Post by tasmillard on Dec 15, 2016 7:06:36 GMT 10
Still very balmy compared to Tassie temps.
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Post by atefooterz on Dec 16, 2016 0:56:35 GMT 10
Still very balmy compared to Tassie temps. I was thinking about what you guys were saying with winds, except this was a brutal hot one not bone numbing cold! Apart from non stop drizzle, todays 24c much better, a bit of an English summer day sorta thing.
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Post by tasmillard on Dec 16, 2016 7:06:46 GMT 10
Non stop drizzle, perfect conditions to find caravan leaks!
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Post by atefooterz on Dec 16, 2016 13:58:41 GMT 10
Non stop drizzle, perfect conditions to find caravan leaks! The 40c days prior perfect to ooze old mastic! Being static for a while makes any leaks predictable or not happen with ooze. It is that first rain after twisting around on the road, now camped, that yields the surprizes with an old classic.
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