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Post by atefooterz on Mar 27, 2016 23:35:24 GMT 10
No better test than beer temps!  |
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Post by snoops on Mar 31, 2016 18:12:11 GMT 10
Well, it has begun... Going to do the couch first. Removing the old uncomfortable L shaped unit and putting in a custom 2 seater couch. So, for histories sake - Before...  An hour later - too late to go back now....   Notice at the end of the bed - the 2 compartments that were behind the couch wall - totally unusable space - this will be rebuilt as well with a fold up base so I can store bedding, etc under there. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2016 19:18:28 GMT 10
Gab, I was talking with my wife about removing the back breaking dinette seats and replacing them with couple of Scandinavian lounge chairs like the ones from Ikea.
My only worry it is in the future we sell the van to get one a tad bigger how it will affect the value.
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Post by snoops on Mar 31, 2016 20:52:44 GMT 10
Thought about that, but under the seat is where my batteries and inverter need to live, so a built in is what it's going to be. I'll be making it look sort of 70's - it will have curved ends, lots of buttons and fabric as shown previously. Now I just have to build it! |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2016 21:11:08 GMT 10
The layout of mine it is different and I was thinking in placing the battery and hardware in a box under a small table between the two seats.
The only problem with that it is that I will bring the weight forward which worry me a bit.
As it is now the van have 120 kg on the ball.
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Post by fnqfranklin on Mar 31, 2016 21:27:17 GMT 10
Gotta love that orange fabric on the seat.
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Post by snoops on Apr 1, 2016 5:19:22 GMT 10
The layout of mine it is different and I was thinking in placing the battery and hardware in a box under a small table between the two seats. The only problem with that it is that I will bring the weight forward which worry me a bit. As it is now the van have 120 kg on the ball. That's a problem I have too - both batteries and the inverter were in the top bit of the L, just behind the axle. I will now have to put one of the batteries right over the axle and the inverter in front of the axle (the inverter weighs a lot - it's a big Selectronic unit) so my ball weight will increase slightly (it's around 150Kg with 2 full gas bottles and the spare but I usually carry the spare and 1 bottle in the back of the ute when towing, but it's something I need to consider. |
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Post by snoops on Apr 1, 2016 5:20:48 GMT 10
Gotta love that orange fabric on the seat. Oh yes - it makes me relive my childhood every time I see it. they are available if someone wants them - all cusions and backrests are in good condition so if anyone is looking for that 70's look, let me know, you're welcome to them. |
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Post by planner on Apr 1, 2016 11:05:43 GMT 10
Notice at the end of the bed - the 2 compartments that were behind the couch wall - totally unusable space - this will be rebuilt as well with a fold up base so I can store bedding, etc under there. Snoops I used that space under the bed for storage as well, extra bedding, buckets, hoses etc. only light stuff. I found that if I put all the camp chairs under there it affected towing slightly. Couldn't feel any sway, but if I watched the rear of the van against the white line it was wobbling maybe 50mm. Not enough to worry me, but enough to annoy me when I looked backwards. Chairs now mostly travel in the ute. |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2016 21:09:25 GMT 10
I have twin beds at the back of my Arrow. Under one I stored the spare tyre and under the other camping chairs and other light things.
I am trying to balancing the weight on both sides, one with the fridge and the other side with the battery.
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Post by snoops on Apr 2, 2016 11:39:07 GMT 10
Never thought about the spare going back there - that could work as I still have too much weight over the front. The 2 batteries and inverter weigh in at nearly 70Kg all up so balance the weight well opposite the fridge and kitchen. The spare being back there would help I think. |
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Post by snoops on Apr 3, 2016 17:15:43 GMT 10
Ok, more done today. Started rebuilding the couch area, and reinstalled most of the 12 volt system in its new home.. Also ripped the bed base out - what a catastrophe that was - really badly made and HEAVY! All made from 1/2" chipboard, I weighed it once I had it out - 67Kg! So, a few pics. The batteries and inverter in their new home. The primary fastening system for all the timber work is glue - polyurethane to be exact. Screws are only to hold it while everything dries. The frame, when finished will have a plywood skin glued onto it, so it will be really strong. I'll post more once I get it done. Batteries are 33Kg each, so their position is as good as it will get. The big blue box up front of the wheel arch is the inverter - it's a big, heavy duty Selectronic unit - easily the best inverter I've ever come across, but it is big and weighs nearly 10Kg. It can peak at over 1,500 watts but has a continuous rating of 600. They used these in the NSW Ambulances for many years - Australian made - they can even start motors - try that with your Chinese unit... . It is massive overkill because the most it gets used at is 135 watts when the fridge is running on 240 volts while being towed. It also has a sleep mode that it goes into automatically when the load drops below 4 watts for 10 seconds - great for overnight - you don't need to turn it off.  The ply at the very back was a bit beyond it, so I removed some of it to check the frame - no dramas there, and little damage. It will just require a new bit of ply glued onto the frame to make it good as new, then I can rebuild a smaller and lighter bed frame.  And here's what 67Kg of chipboard looks like - some people shouldn't be allowed to DIY.  |
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Post by myarrow1 on Apr 4, 2016 18:35:35 GMT 10
It's lookin good Snoops ! What colour ply are you gonna use ?
Mate, your rear frame was a lot better than mine.....mine was a mess...
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Post by snoops on Apr 4, 2016 19:07:46 GMT 10
Just plane hoop pine - it will all get painted like the kitchen anyway. I was very surprised about the condition of the frame as the van was leaking quite badly through that area at one time. I will reglue all the joints and strengthen it slightly like I did at the front before putting the new panel in.
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Post by fnqfranklin on Apr 5, 2016 6:47:35 GMT 10
Hmmmm, I put my battery in the cupboard next to the fridge beside the wheel arch as the 12v wiring was in that area and it has easy access, hope i didn't make a mistake.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2016 12:30:16 GMT 10
Just store the beer and wine on the opposite side to balancing the weight  |
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Post by atefooterz on Apr 5, 2016 13:12:22 GMT 10
Happy to see chipboard removed, sad to continue reading so much of it still being fitted in facebook/diy groups. 67KG of dry chipboard is about 130KG of swolen wet bits of rubbish flaking off a neglected, undiscovered wet issue. |
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Post by snoops on Apr 5, 2016 18:36:42 GMT 10
Hmmmm, I put my battery in the cupboard next to the fridge beside the wheel arch as the 12v wiring was in that area and it has easy access, hope i didn't make a mistake. I doubt you've done anything seriously wrong unless your spring loads on that side were already close to maximum and you have heaps of other stuff on that side, but it just made sense to try and balance the weight of the fridge and whole kitchen area by putting them opposite - remember my batteries and inverter top 70Kg all in. 1 battery on the kitchen side shouldn't matter too much - unless it is a single 200AH unit or something giant like that. |
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Post by snoops on Apr 5, 2016 18:39:02 GMT 10
Happy to see chipboard removed, sad to continue reading so much of it still being fitted in facebook/diy groups. 67KG of dry chipboard is about 130KG of swolen wet bits of rubbish flaking off a neglected, undiscovered wet issue. Yep, it's beyond me why people use - or have ever used chipboard - I just don't see the advantages of it in any scenario - even budget, there are much better materials for the price. I'll be using 6mm marine ply, but it will be of super light weight construction while still maintaining strength - more to come on that, but it will involve a lot of precision routing work. |
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Post by fnqfranklin on Apr 5, 2016 19:33:50 GMT 10
Just store the beer and wine on the opposite side to balancing the weight You didn't add the wife to the list.  |
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2016 19:47:08 GMT 10
It will be very dangerous to suggest that |
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Post by planner on Apr 6, 2016 9:03:43 GMT 10
Hmmmm, I put my battery in the cupboard next to the fridge beside the wheel arch as the 12v wiring was in that area and it has easy access, hope i didn't make a mistake. I would'nt stress too much, If you're going to load one side heavier than the other, it's best to be the "high" side. Take note of the next horse float you follow with only 1 horse in it. The horse will generally be on the drivers side. My battery is on the fridge side, and forward of the fridge (under bunk). I'm happy with placement and weight distribution. |
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Post by doublechevron on Apr 7, 2016 10:28:38 GMT 10
Hang on a sec .... Someone used 67kg of chipboard to make the bed .... With an innerspring mattress on that you would have HUGE weight at the very back of the caravan too. The bed frames I've removed would struggle to be 10kg all up!
seeya,
Shane L.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2016 10:34:35 GMT 10
In my Arrow I removed the springs a wire for the old bed frames and put a 6 mm plywood on the top.
I was not kin in making new frames for saving 10 or 15 kg of weight.
I guess that if the van was Ok for 39 years with that frames plus the 2 bunks will be Ok now without the two top bunks.
Some people are obsessed with weight, my van as it is can carry 350 kg of load and having a total weight of 1250 kg.
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Post by doublechevron on Apr 7, 2016 11:02:04 GMT 10
In my Arrow I removed the springs a wire for the old bed frames and put a 6 mm plywood on the top. I was not kin in making new frames for saving 10 or 15 kg of weight. I guess that if the van was Ok for 39 years with that frames plus the 2 bunks will be Ok now without the two top bunks. Some people are obsessed with weight, my van as it is can carry 350 kg of load and having a total weight of 1250 kg. The original bed would have been 15kg ... foam mattress maybe 5kg .... replaced with chipboard and innerspring mattress will add probably 100kgs. so removed 100kg from your payload (and place it at the back edge of the caravan). this is why our old caravans are so staggeringly lightly built. It takes nothing to make them really heavy, really quickly. eg: my old 22' caravan. mid 80's is about 1600kg empty. The same family 'van from jayco these days is about 2.6tons empty  seeya, Shane L. |
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