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Post by PeterV on May 23, 2018 1:23:32 GMT 10
Hello folks, going to post a few pic's of my old caravan I inherited from my parents. Like most caravans, it has a story... It was initially a rollover write-off that was picked up by the husband of a friend of my Mum's whom worked as a caravan repairman. He rebuilt it and my parents bought it for a song and took off around Australia on their big lap. They'd been gone for 5 years or so, returned to W.A. and was using the caravan for short trips here and there. Eventually they both got too old, Dad got sick and I inherited her in 2010. I had 2 or 3 overnighters with my grandchildren when my one of my sons (who lost his driver’s licence) lived in it for approx. 8 months near where he worked. After he'd finished with it, it was then put to more use for my sister (whom lived in the country and needed a place to stay while she was at university in Perth. She was in it for 3 years). I now have the caravan back again and I've had a few short trips (a couple of weeks each) since I retired in May last year. I noticed a few little things that needed repairing including a pretty darn huge water leak... warping cupboard sides... sagging ceiling... broken kitchen tap... broken stabiliser leg... you get the picture. I LOVE this old caravan as it's been Mum and Dad's, been through a few members of the family and even survived a bush fire that destroyed approx. a dozen caravans around it but left this one virtually untouched. Have a look at the pic's below... I've decided that with the water damage, etc, I am going to renovate/rebuild her completely. So more pic's to follow and please comment/suggest/plead/demand and generally tell me if you think there is a better way. Thanks everyone. 
Avatar by Peter Vince, on Flickr 
IMAG0001 by Peter Vince, on Flickr - with 2 of my grandchildren. 
IMAG0073 2 by Peter Vince, on Flickr - the interior, a little dated but functional. 
IMAG0262 by Peter Vince, on Flickr 
IMAG0299 by Peter Vince, on Flickr - some water damage that has occured in many spots around the caravan. 
IMAG0300 by Peter Vince, on Flickr - Leilani helping me do some running repairs. |
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Post by hughdeany on May 23, 2018 9:03:49 GMT 10
Hi Peter,
What a great story and worth fixing!
I see it has an interesting change of layout too.
Cheers
hughdeany
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Post by PeterV on May 23, 2018 9:24:02 GMT 10
Hello hughdeany, thanks for the reply. It does have a different layout... The beds are L shaped singles down the back and (L) side. The fridge is raised and sits by the door at the head of the (L) bunk. I neglected to get any pictures of that part. I'm a newbie and had a little trouble loading pictures up. I'll find the pictures of the fires and upload those soon. Thanks again for the reply - PeterV.
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Post by bobt on May 23, 2018 11:01:08 GMT 10
Gidday PeterV
Welcome aboard. We don't have too many from the West on here at the moment. Look forward to more pictures on the history of your van and progress reports. You will find lots of helpful stuff on here and some talented people. We have a passionate fixer upper of caravans who lives in Perth, we shall have to rattle his cage and get him out from under his to say hello.
bobt
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Post by PeterV on May 23, 2018 11:11:12 GMT 10
Thanks bobt, I've been chatting a bit to tasmillard who put me onto this site. Anyway, here's some more pictures of said Viscount from the fires... 
IMG_0361 by Peter Vince, on Flickr - Some of the devistation. 
IMG_0358 by Peter Vince, on Flickr - This was just across from my caravan. 
IMG_0360 by Peter Vince, on Flickr - The sole survivor of this section of caravan park. You can see the fire split, went around both ends of it and joined up to continue destroying the rest of this section. There was some heat damage but no flame damage. |
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Post by bobt on May 23, 2018 11:20:51 GMT 10
It has been a very long time since I was caught in a fire of this significance. I have seen the results of many and it still amazes me how a fire can be so ferocious and yet go round objects/items properties like you caravan. Just shows how lucky you can be sometimes.
tasmillard will be a great source of info for you.
bobt
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Post by snoops on May 23, 2018 18:43:02 GMT 10
Welcome along. Great story and bloody amazing it survived that fire! Looking forward to seeing some updates of you getting it all ship shape again. 👍
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Post by PeterV on May 23, 2018 19:56:45 GMT 10
Thanks snoops.
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Post by tasmillard on Jun 1, 2018 6:42:31 GMT 10
Great to see on here Peter. Love the pics, the bushfire shot is amazing! Good idea to post pics along the way and seek feedback, many skilled individuals on this site and certainly worth their weight on gold... they helped me many times.
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Post by 78466noM on Jun 5, 2018 16:54:02 GMT 10
Looks like your van was meant to be and it has a great family story.
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Post by PeterV on Jun 7, 2018 10:56:08 GMT 10
Thanks 78466noM.
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Post by PeterV on Jun 8, 2018 14:59:08 GMT 10
![]() ![]() Hello again folks, just a quick progress report... very little progress indeed ! Been helping my injured son move a houseful of furniture so new carpet can be laid. I didn't know my 4 grandchildren (of that particular offshoot of the family, I have 4 sons and 10 grandchildren) were such hoarders. Anyway, I managed to almost remove the entire inside of the caravan before all efforts came to a screeching halt. In my inspections, I found a few little tiny "pin-prick" holes in the outer skin, probably as a result from the fire. So, as allot of the wood was affected by water anyway, it all came out. I was quite happy with the lay-out of the caravan, even the colours, etc. Now it will have a brand new modified interior, I'm thinking black, white and greys with a splash of colour in matching curtains and bedspread... we'll see how it goes and, of course, photo's will follow. Here's a couple now with my plan so far... 1) remove interior completely 2) fix holes in outer skin 3) on advice from tasmillard (thanks mate), work from outside -> in. Remove lid and skirt of caravan, renovate and insulate that. Check flooring and remove to inspect chassis, paint floor and chassis/draw-bar with bituminous or rust proofing paint. Brakes and bearings. Reseal j-rails and renovate windows/door and reseal those too. 4)paint outside and apply decals that I designed myself  5) insulate interior and rebuild inside. So, that's the plan. If anyone has any suggestions or tips they can offer, please do. I'm new to this so any advice would be much appreciated. Bye for now - PeterV
IMAG0073 2 by Peter Vince, on Flickr - before... 
IMAG0282 by Peter Vince, on Flickr - after. |
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Post by bobt on Jun 11, 2018 20:41:08 GMT 10
That to do list sounds pretty good to me. Love it when other things get in the way of progress. I have plenty of experience in that space.
Keep the progress with pics coming. We enjoy it.
Bobt
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Post by PeterV on Jun 12, 2018 12:10:38 GMT 10
Thanks bobt.
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Post by PeterV on Jul 7, 2018 18:47:01 GMT 10
Hey folks, haven't forgotten this forum or doing any actual renovations... Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with the "sign board/Chloroplast/Corflute/Project panel" when renovating please? I've heard it's lightweight, just as strong as wall panelling, water proof, etc. Just an idea before I actually start on the old girl. Thanks in advance - PeterV 
5bb88ac5-c6cc-4756-98bf-1a2444a04880 by Peter Vince, on Flickr |
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Post by snoops on Jul 7, 2018 19:15:17 GMT 10
It is light and quite strong, but personally not sure that I like the look of it or how you'd join it, etc. There probably are uses for it in a resto though.
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Post by PeterV on Jul 9, 2018 9:44:32 GMT 10
Thanks snoops, been wondering the same too. I believe it can be joined with the strips that join standard 3mm wall panel.  4580c08c-7d32-4761-a804-d4fdbabab3dd by Peter Vince, on Flickr  download by Peter Vince, on Flickr The trouble is the biggest sheets (from Bunnings) are only 1200 x 900 so there would be many visible joins... I believe you can paint it too to remove the transparent look. |
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Post by PeterV on Jul 9, 2018 9:58:17 GMT 10
Just found a place in Perth that does 8' x 4' sheets, 3mm thick - a pack of 20 sheets for less than $200.00 ! The mind is racing...
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Post by 78466noM on Jul 10, 2018 12:13:11 GMT 10
Before you put walls on think about insulation the cost is minimal for most I used an expensive one but there are lots out there even Styrofoam you can get for free if you look. The difference if done well will make it easier to cool or warm up depending on weather .  |
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Post by PeterV on Jul 10, 2018 23:20:12 GMT 10
Thanks for that 78466noM, DEFINITELY going to insulate the walls and the lid. I've even thought of a way to shield the vinyl between the lid and walls using shade cloth. Here is a quick sketch of it...  Caravan skirt shade by Peter Vince, on Flickr The green sections are shade cloth clicked on with press studs (similar to how the draft skirt clicks on), it will still let some light and the breezes through but (hopefully) will help shade the vinyl and reduce heat entering the caravan. That's the plan so far anyway. I have a very talented daughter-in-law that has a pretty heavy duty sewing machine that I hope I can talk into a day of sewing. Take care and thanks again for the advice - PeterV. |
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Post by 78466noM on Jul 12, 2018 10:51:51 GMT 10
that looks like a great idea for summer and winter nights Styrofoam or something similar between the vinyl and shade cloth should help you a lot ( you may be the first to come up with this )  |
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Post by PeterV on Apr 11, 2019 20:57:28 GMT 10
Hello folks, I'm sorry I've been absent for so long, I was trying to come up with all sorts of excuses to explain my lack of progress. I was thinking illness (although partly true...) my mother being very unwell, (also partly true), my injured son requiring a personal carer (again, also partly true) but really just a lack of enthusiasm is to blame. Any way, I really haven't done much at all since my last post but here's what I've managed to get done in the last couple of days - from this...  IMAG0311[1] by Peter Vince, on Flickr - a very out-of-shape floor - to this...  IMAG0312[1] by Peter Vince, on Flickr - to no floor at all. I have a question though if I may please? Is the flooring (the actual wooden floor) structurally part of keeping the caravan rigid, etc? Not quite sure of the correct terminology... What made me ask is the floor beams are approx 270mm (nearly 12 inches) apart, the floor was riveted to the beams in 200mm (8 inch) intervals. This seems like a bit of overkill to me. So, if any of you have any ideas about wether this is nececary or not, please let me know. Here is a photo of the rivets 200mm apart. As always, thanks in advance for any help you may be able to give - Peter V.  40619136563_faa5e0b788_m by Peter Vince, on Flickr |
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Post by PeterV on Apr 11, 2019 21:09:44 GMT 10
So now, it's working from the outside to inside but also working from the floor up. The main reason I ripped the floor out (apart from the fact it needed replacing... desperately...) is to check the integrity of the beams and welds. It all looks pretty darn terrific except for one small rust hole in a face-plate at the front of the draw bar - more photos to follow and an inspection by a steel fabricator/welder to see if it's fixable or needs replacing. Thanks once again and happy travels - Peter V.
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Post by pisces51 on Apr 12, 2019 23:07:40 GMT 10
G'day Peter,
Good to see you back on the forum again. I think we've all gone through periods in our projects where we lose interest for a while. I remember getting sick of working day after day on my vintage caravan, and took a break that ended up lasting 11 months, before I decided I should really get back into it.
The flooring is an important part of the overall structure of a van. It's the main thing that locks all the "fixtures" together to the chassis (fixtures are all the floor cupboards/seats/bed frames/etc.) A rivet spacing of 8 inches is probably a bit of overkill, but I guess it's better to have too many than not enough.
I would recommend your replacement flooring be 15mm thick. Even though your chassis bearers are only 270mm apart, your photo shows that there aren't any cross-members at the same level as the bearers. That means there's nothing supporting the edge joins when you lay the floor sheets into position.
cheers, Al.
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Post by PeterV on Apr 13, 2019 1:14:45 GMT 10
Hey pisces51, thanks for the reply. Yes, you're correct, there are 4 cross-members but NOT at floor level. I will take on board your suggestion of 15mm thick flooring. I was wondering about what thickness I should use. There is... was 9mm but so full of holes and cracks, etc. I am thinking about bolting the floor with stainless steel or galvanised bolts and lock nuts, the rivet holes are 4 or 5mm (both sizes are used). I would make all the holes a uniform size, slightly countersink the hardware into the floor and use large washers to help spread the load on the wood. I was thinking every second hole but staggering the bolts in each row. Sound like a plan??? If anyone feels this is not the way to go, please let me know. I bow to all of your previous experience. Thanks Al, much appreciated - Peter V.
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