Bob Marley Millard

[Deleted]

Hi All,
This Millard's story starts with us buying her from a Bob Marley fan (hence the terrible paintjob) . We were in need of a cheap van for our two children (10 and 13) when we move temporarily into a shed and donga. My children are used to having a separate space from us so we decided to buy a cheap van and do it up. So this Millard came up for sale and a price that fitted with our limited budget. The idea is to remove everything inside, reline, new floor, sort out windows and a new paint job inside and out. Unfortunately, it wasn't until after reading this forum that I realized the issue with Millard windows. Since I am missing 3 this is going to be a real challenge .


The interior has had several attempts at modernising and the layout has also been altered. I discovered that this van only had a double bed but someone added a single bed at the front (as seen in some layouts that are original). Due to this I didn’t feel bad in striping the interior to suit our use.


I am so glad that I came across this forum, however, my skills are not great and any advice would be appreciated. I have been following other threads that are a wealth of knowledge. I have already started the strip down and have found a few issues that were expected.
Take Care!
Clueless

[ForumMod]

G'day Clueless, and welcome to the forum! ;D

Wow!! Great project ahead of you!

Three missing windows, huh? No matter, there looks like there's more than enough windows in the van. I can see two at the front, two on the doorside, and two at the back. I'm guessing there's probably another two or three on the other side (the "offside").

Here is the CaravansPlus webpage showing what Millard parts are still available today. They are getting fewer and fewer as the years roll on, but you can still get some stuff: Millard parts


Ideas for how to proceed? Hmmm. I think I'd be grabbing an A4 sheet of paper and working out a floor plan of what needs to be in the finished van: two beds; two desks (or one desk and a table); wardrobe or chests of drawers; somewhere for the TV?; anything else?

Then I'd scribble in those fixtures on the floor plan, disregarding the present location of windows. Only the wheel arches and doorway should interfere with where you locate stuff on the proposed plan.

Once you've got to a point where the layout looks like it could work, you then look at which windows have been blocked out or are not needed. You really only need three windows spread out in a van to provide adequate cross-flow ventilation (one either side and one at one end), so as long as you end up with three windows unblocked in your plan you are sweet. Windows can be taken out of one spot and relocated to another spot if necessary. Any vacant openings can be blocked up with suitable weatherproof "cladding" (eg. any flat lightweight metal such as from the carcass of fridges or washing machines...and plenty of sealant.)

When you reline the interior walls, you cover over the redundant window openings and just make the cutouts where the three windows will be. (Remember that the door when opened is also providing ventilation, as is the roof hatch).

How're we going with our imaginary plan so far?

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

I have made a start and the caravan is beginning to show some of her lost features ;D. She's looking like she has a split personality!


The white and yellow are major improvements on the green, red, yellow and black. Already used 4 litres of paint stripper and had to go buy more. I found it easier to apply the paint stripper thickly with a brush and then use a soft scrubbing brush to scrub off the bubbled paint. I then followed up with an old broom to do a final brush off. Tried using a plastic scraper but wasn’t easy on the un-flat surface. I have also removed all windows and window frames as well as the door with the help of WD40 and a husband. I have made a start on removing the old glue and silicone . I have found turps on old t-shirts works great.


Thanks Al , your advice has been great. So I did what you suggested and put pen to paper and did a design.

The back windows I thought I might replace with some marine ply and Perspex like in the following photo so there is still light.

Who would have thought that there are uses for old appliances ! I guess this idea could be used to replace the vent for the fridge and the water inlet to fill the tank as we no longer need them ?
Next job after stripping paint and removing silicone is to replace some of the rotten meranti beams in the ceiling .

Thanks
Clueless

[ForumMod]

Struth, Clueless!!, no mucking about with you, is there?!!

Straight into it, and already the van is a shell of its former self!

Marine ply and perspex for the back windows will work. So will using flat sheeting to cover the fridge and water filler holes.

Sounds like we've got a plan happening. Couple more days and the kids will be able to move in! ;D ;D ;D

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

Hi There- if you need to reline walls have a look at the stuff that Camich? used in the viscount reno I think it was called foilboard -it looks great as a liner and apparantly has good insulative properties.Im gonna give it a go when I do the end of my van.

ditzygypsy.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=photos&action=display&thread=1415

[Caprinut]

Very industrious worker. Not sure about using husband to scrape painty off. I find they just bleed and smear- Use a 3

[Caprinut]

Sorry hit enter button by accident. Was suggesting using brillo pads rather than husband to scrape paint off.
;D ;Df
Have not heard the word " donga " for a few years. Are you maybe ex South African?
Godd luck with project
Pete

[Deleted]

Thanks for the link to Camich's van, frankinholly! That Camich's is a wealth of knowledge. Saw the foil boards and will see if I can find some around my area, price will dictate what I use however.

Pete, no I'm not South African, here in Central Qld we use donga all the time (mmm perhaps we are behind the times??). So what are Brillo pads perhaps we call them something else. Do they scratch the aluminium? Little concerned with using anything to abrasive but I am very new at this game so any advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for the encouragement!

[Deleted]

When we brought the van I asked the Bob Marley fan what sort of caravan was it . He replied that it was a Boroma but when I checked out this forum I knew it was a Millard . Yesterday I uncovered the sticker that said 'Millard', which the Bob Marley fan painted over .


We finally removed the jockey wheel ;D which was covering the number:


So our Millie is M27152! What year will this make her? I am imagining that she is around my vintage .

[Deleted]

Hi All
I have been working hard trying to get the glue/ silicone/ liquid nails and mastic off from around the windows. Although the after photo below is prior to glue removal and final gutting of interior you get the idea.

I had mainly used a combination of scraping, turps on a non-scratch scourer and finally if it still persisted I hit it with the wire brush on drill. (I plan to paint the van anyhow).

There were some rotten ceiling beams on the door side .

The other parts of the ceiling beams were still in ok condition .



After help from you guys here on the forum (Thanks for the input ) I removed all crumbling timber and sprayed the rest with wood hardener. After the wood hardener had cured, I used some left over spent timber to make up u- supports to rest on the aluminium frame and then they were attached to the ceiling beams to replace the rotten timber. (Thanks to my husband for all his help of course!) I still have to paint the ceiling timber with primer/ sealer but will wait until I finish removing the glue/silicone etc. from the roof. I must so a BIG thankyou to a follow forum member who took some time out of his our day to come and visit my little Millard ;D. Chris your help has been very wonderful and reminded me of my purpose of my van: to provide temporary accommodation. Started to go a little overboard with the renos, the van was becoming a restoration instead of a reno. Next job is to complete the removal of the glue, etc from the roof. I am a little worried about how to remove the stuff from the middle of the roof; I don’t think the ceiling will take my weight. What have other people done to get to these sections of their roofs?

Take care everyone and happy vanning .
Clueless

[Caprinut]

Regarding your roof, if you have a weather proof carport or big tarpaulin, I would pull the roof sheets of completely. It will require patience, but you need to remove the edge alu moulding that provides a lip for sealing roof to walls anyway if you want to ensure a good reseal. I patiently removed the hundreds of staples with a flat screwdriver and pliers, and then you can pull the entire roof off as one sheet as per my pic.
The roof sheets are folded and crease together to form one piece, and can be laid down on a hard surface and sanded with flap discs and prepped before pulling it back over and sealing the edges and fitting new edge beading.
Easy Peasy
Pete

w beading

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Your doing an amazing job Clueless, keep up the good work

Cheers
Donna

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Hello Clueless,
To be able to work on the roof, place supports from the floor to the ceiling timbers to support your weight, and then clean, seal (paintable sealant) and paint -- as long as you you have your weight supported, there is no need for any excess work in removing the cladding.
You are doing a GREAT job, and the next owners will appreciate your efforts, but you need to keep in mind what YOU plan to use the van for, and where you will have it parked.

Regards,
Chris.

PS
Have you photographed and measured the interior framework?

[Deleted]

Peter, the thought of removing the roof did enter my mind but Chris is right I need to consider the purpose of the van once complete. So I am continuing to remove silicone, etc around the edges and as far as I can reach across. I will then brace the ceiling to complete. I am not enjoying that tar stuff, it sticks to everything.

Thanks for the encouragement Chris and Donna , feeling a little deflated as I feel I am still dismantling and I can't wait to start the rebuilding.

I still have to tackle the hatch, as well, before I can declare the victory over the roof. Back into it tomorrow.

Happy vanning everyone.

Clueless

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Time certainly flies when you are having fun . It’s almost a month to the day since we brought the caravan .

I have almost finished the roof. I discovered that the most effective way to remove the bitumen tape was to use a sawing action to cut the tape off. After removing the tape I used turps to clean up the large amount of bitumen still left behind. I also found that after removing the roof hatch I was able to reach most areas of the roof ;D. Now I will only have to support one end of the van so I can finish removing the bitumen tape.

Having almost completed the roof clean up I am planning on how to fix the leaks and bumps prior to painting .

Rather large gap at the front of the van. Someone in the past has tried to fix but the two ends of the aluminium never made contact . I am thinking of using a sika product to ‘glue’ the overlap together and rivets to hold, followed by a sealer over the top. Will this work ?


Not sure if this photo allows the bumps to be seem but trust me an elephant has walked across this roof. I will have to do some panel beating to push the bumps out from the inside. The aluminium roof sheet has been pulled away from the side of the van on the door side which I assume did not help the bumpy roof. I have removed the aluminium edge mould just from this section so I can re-stretch the aluminium sheet across the roof and also reseal to stop leaks.
I also have a little repair work to do on the roof hatch.

I will hit the top of the roof with rust converter and replace the ply on the underside as well as adding some insulation. The hatch is also missing the handle to move the hatch up and down – hopefully hubby can weld something up.

Chris I was going to take photos and do measurements on internal walls today but I was caught up in getting the roof done. I will make sure it is done this week . As I continue work on this van I am always thinking would Chris think that I have gone too far? So when I considered removing all the edge mould because it would look nice all shiny, I decided that it may just be over doing it.

So I am now up to considering sealants to get this roof waterproof. I am reading through what a lot of others have done here on this site and I am still none the ???wiser .
Chris I can’t remember what you told me to use a paintable sealant for?
I am considering using butyl mastic on the hatch and edge mould and a sikaflex where a permanent seal is required. Or was this the time to get some paintable sealant??

Have a great week!
Clueless

[ForumMod]

Good grief, Clueless!! It looks like the roof of the van was used for a deck at a Bob Marley concert!! Lots of dancing and stomping around, with a bit of "hoochy-kooch" to get the party swinging! ;D ;D


Most silicone-type sealants will act as an adhesive as well as a sealant. When I was working in a heavy industry, we used to stick metal signs onto walls with gobs of silicone sealant. Tape them up until the sealant set, and then remove the tape. I've also "glued" a mirror to a bathroom wall with silicone sealant. Pretty versatile stuff!

If you do a Google search for 'paintable sealant exterior' there'll be lots of results to help confuse you! Try this website for a commonsense approach: www.paintpro.net/Articles/PP605/PP605_Caulking.cfm

cheers,
Al.

[Deleted]

Hello Lauren,
When I mention 'paintable sealant', I believe that ALL sealants used on an older caravan should be paintable (except for finishing touches) - most, but not all, Mastic sealants are paintable, and generally last very well. The bottom line is that you can paint first and seal after (sealant is visable) or seal first and paint after (sealant is hidden).
NOTE: Your van will be protected from most of the elements while you own it !!!!
When selling the van, however, you should more than recoup your costs because you are doing the job properly.

Chris

PS. If you need some assistance, I have some free time this week-end ---- please don't hesitate in contacting me.

[Deleted]

im using clear outdoor guttering silicone to seal mine. its working well. ive only got 2 tiny spots where i didnt quite fill the gap properly.

[Deleted]

Hi All,
It has been a while, had to stop work as other life activities got in my way. Anyhow back into the van project. I have almost completed the sanding of the exterior of the van, which brings me to my next challenge - painting the exterior. I really don't want to get this wrong as I have felt the results of a poor exterior paint job. I have read posts regarding painting the exterior and I have come up with the following to do list:
Wipe down with 50/50 water and metho, remove with lint free cloth
Paint with etch primer
Paint with exterior grade paint

Now my decisions to make are to use a paint brush/ roller or go with spraying??? Also, are all etch primers made equal??? Type of paint - notice a lot of people have gone with a Wattyl solarguard or should I go with an enamel???

This is will not be a grand designs in Caravans just a place for my children to live in the short term, so expense is also a factor.

Thanks in advance.
Clueless