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Post by Husky on Jan 23, 2018 14:06:58 GMT 10
Have to let me know what the Hot Water System is like as i'm on the look out for one as well. Have to install one in the Viscount before July school holidays. Apparently going two weeks either not showering or calling into truck stops isn't on the agenda.  |
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Post by atefooterz on Jan 23, 2018 16:10:08 GMT 10
Depending on where you are going, many big service centres have free showers now, most equal or cleaner than many caravan parks lol.
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Post by Husky on Jan 23, 2018 17:52:07 GMT 10
99% of our camping is in the middle of forests with 12 plus dogs (this year will be 18) so not really welcome in a caravan park.
Also the misses asked really nicely and I just can't seem to say no so shower it is. Thinking hot water service in the van with shower rose coming out from external recess in wall high enough to get the shower cubical under. Should work OK as I've seen it done on a few other vans
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Post by thehohars on Jan 23, 2018 17:55:08 GMT 10
We can have it down @ Corowa if you like. That gives you time to install it before Easter. Never thought of that - that would be awesome if you have room.  Thanks so much. A nearly empty 101, I think we have room |
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Post by snoops on Jan 23, 2018 19:36:37 GMT 10
Never thought of that - that would be awesome if you have room. Thanks so much. A nearly empty 101, I think we have room Once I sort him with the dollars I'll get hm to get it to your place. 👍 Thanks again. 😊 |
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Post by snoops on Jan 23, 2018 19:42:19 GMT 10
Have to let me know what the Hot Water System is like as i'm on the look out for one as well. Have to install one in the Viscount before July school holidays. Apparently going two weeks either not showering or calling into truck stops isn't on the agenda. It's a Truma B14 - 14 litre unit - www.caravansplus.com.au/truma-14-l-ultra-rapid-hot-water-service-gas-only-p-16208.html - so more than enough hot water for a couple of showers, then some. Takes about 40 minutes to heat from cold and will use around 700 grams of gas to do that heat. They retail for around the $790 to $900 for the gas only unit which is the downside but got lucky and haven't paid anything near that. I have a $180 cheapy instantaneous in the Franklin which works but isn't fantastic by any means. The Viscount will get the Royal treatment with its accesories. 👍 |
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Post by thehohars on Jan 23, 2018 19:55:37 GMT 10
Have to let me know what the Hot Water System is like as i'm on the look out for one as well. Have to install one in the Viscount before July school holidays. Apparently going two weeks either not showering or calling into truck stops isn't on the agenda. It's a Truma B14 - 14 litre unit - www.caravansplus.com.au/truma-14-l-ultra-rapid-hot-water-service-gas-only-p-16208.html - so more than enough hot water for a couple of showers, then some. Takes about 40 minutes to heat from cold and will use around 700 grams of gas to do that heat. They retail for around the $790 to $900 for the gas only unit which is the downside but got lucky and haven't paid anything near that. I have a $180 cheapy instantaneous in the Franklin which works but isn't fantastic by any means. The Viscount will get the Royal treatment with its accesories. 👍 Why Gas only the down side? Ours works perfectly well on gas only. You will find it heats up in near 10 minutes for a shower. Turn it off and there is enough hot water for wash up in the morning, so no gas usage. |
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Post by thehohars on Jan 23, 2018 20:06:39 GMT 10
Have to let me know what the Hot Water System is like as i'm on the look out for one as well. Have to install one in the Viscount before July school holidays. Apparently going two weeks either not showering or calling into truck stops isn't on the agenda. We have a slide on camper on our ute dare I say 130 Defender. Our Thuma Gas only, has been on board since 2007 and hasn't missed a beat. Fire up every time and hot water in around 10 minutes. Thuma are not the most cheapest units but they are the bomb when it comes to efficient hot water service. Hope this helps. |
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Post by snoops on Jan 23, 2018 21:09:39 GMT 10
Have to let me know what the Hot Water System is like as i'm on the look out for one as well. Have to install one in the Viscount before July school holidays. Apparently going two weeks either not showering or calling into truck stops isn't on the agenda. We have a slide on camper on our ute dare I say 130 Defender. Our Thuma Gas only, has been on board since 2007 and hasn't missed a beat. Fire up every time and hot water in around 10 minutes. Thuma are not the most cheapest units but they are the bomb when it comes to efficient hot water service. Hope this helps. I meant the price, not the gas - looking at what I wrote, it didn't come out like I meant it, 😊 |
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Post by atefooterz on Jan 23, 2018 21:49:08 GMT 10
Do you have a doggy spa for sweaty puppies after the run or that all happens back home after your events?
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Post by Husky on Jan 24, 2018 19:28:57 GMT 10
Do you have a doggy spa for sweaty puppies after the run or that all happens back home after your events? They don't really get sweaty. At -5 degrees they normally just walk a big run off. Or lay down for half an hour then are up wanting to go again. They do have a remedial Massuse and Bowens therapist which keepsbthem well tuned throughout race season. They might get a bath once every few years unless they get really ferrel |
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Post by mickmarsh on Jan 24, 2018 20:40:51 GMT 10
Got some more done this arvo and got a few surprises too. First up I reinstalled the front awning.  8221CFDD-64B7-4D1C-B117-3DEB621109FE by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr Definately needs another coat, but is cleaner and shinier than the rest of the van.  FF5BFA49-60C7-428E-80C9-8F379E002D91 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr I was then going to re seal a couple of windows but they are actually still sealed well at the moment (I'm sure that will change but I can go onto other more pressing stuff) so thought I'd start the J moulds as there is water damage down the back from these. Up the ladder and guess what I found... Marconi rail!!! Holy crap, wasn't expecting that! 🙁  515EE0A1-B39B-4F01-A7CB-913D34F2A2F3 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr So, thought I'd pull the annex out to confirm this... sure enough....  2116DE5B-6EF5-4F20-AA37-A301EC5EC906 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr Anyone actually used these? I have read only horror stories on the Vintage forum about getting the annex up using these.. I'll guess I'll find out as I doubt I'll have the time to modify the annex and put up sail track before its first outing. So unfolded the annex a bit more - I'ts in great condition.  34A4A583-4062-4E28-8F63-0F38D6C2B2AF by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr Cleaned and resealed the back half of one side, no pics, but nothing really to see. Took the back outside light off and another surprise...  01FCC372-8153-4452-A980-3577D5A1CA9E by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr The original colour of the stripes used to be green! Called the original owners Son but he said he only remembers it being yellow so either it was changed early on, or changed at the factory - if someone ordered yellow would they have painted over a green stripe to use a different van rather than wait for a new van to come through the factory? Hmmm, now I have to work out what colour to do this - the green does match the annex nicely though... Still time to think about that though. I do like how Zippo did the green stripe over a silver base on his, could well steal that idea...😉 Did a couple of other jobs, installed a couole of new locking clips to one window, a few new rivets here and there and fixed uo a bit of rubber glazing wedge on the windows so it doesn't look as grotty. Chatting with Nig after Christmas. The family bought it new.I'm tipping they ordered a yellow one. Viscount probably didn't have a yellow one ready to go so they grabbed the green one that was built and painted it to what the customer wanted.
The family never bought anything s/h or at least to my knowledge they didn't.
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Post by snoops on Jan 28, 2018 17:19:39 GMT 10
Went up to where the Viscount is being kept to help my mate with some wiring issues on an old car he is getting ready to register. While I did this, he graciously helped out with the metho and started stripping the paint of the sides. It is doubtful I'll get to repaint it before it's maiden outage in March but with the paint off it it will look better in the meantime I think. My mate wants me to remove all the paint and strips and polish the aluminium - it would look great but be a maintenance nightmare I think. The Viscount could be in my own driveway by this time next week - the Franklin is basically finished - just a few finishing touches then I will swap it over with the Viscount to make a start on it - the new owner of the Franklin hopes the transport company will be ready to get it mid Feb. Once it is home, I will be working on it every evening and spare hour to get it ready in time for Corowa. Beds, electrics, fridge and water are the 4 biggest items to get sorted. Will start to order the new shiny bits this week, so they can go straight in when I get it home - new Engel Fridge, Toilet, Electric brakes, MPPT solar controller and lots of other goodies should be here ready to meet it.  4B627CB4-7024-4A4F-BC32-CC8B8E1E9D0B by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr  CCA42605-6AA4-4BE0-A3CE-81D6AFE5DE32 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr |
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Post by snoops on Jan 28, 2018 17:46:09 GMT 10
Oh and forgot to mention, the van copped 2 very heavy afternoon thunderstorms over consecutive days - The site where most of the water damage is inside - which can from the LHS back J rail - was dry as a bone, as was the rest of the van although I still have the RHS J rails to remove and reseal.
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Post by Mustang on Jan 29, 2018 8:29:31 GMT 10
In keeping with the character of the Viscount theme I would paint it in original theme, but having a body so straight a shiny "Aero" theme would certainly be an head turner!!!!
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Post by Husky on Jan 29, 2018 9:43:22 GMT 10
What a masochist. Bare metaling a 22 ft van? But I guess if you want the best paint job you can it's the only way. How easy is the old paint coming off?
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Post by snoops on Jan 29, 2018 11:53:56 GMT 10
What a masochist. Bare metaling a 22 ft van? But I guess if you want the best paint job you can it's the only way. How easy is the old paint coming off? There's about 3 or 4 hours in what you see there - it's coming off very easily. Used about a litre of metho so far. The lower we get, the harder it gets, but as you say, I wan't the best paint job possible, so bare metal is the only way I'm going to achieve this. The areas that get hard to move with metho, I'll attack with some thinners. It should be in my driveway by the weekend all things going well. See you this arvo. |
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Post by snoops on Jan 29, 2018 20:51:48 GMT 10
Well, it begins....
The Franklin is officially no longer mine and will leave the driveway this weekend to be replaced with the Viscount. I only have 5 weeks to make it ready for Corowa so it will be nose to the grindstone every spare minute now.
Will have to work out a list of priorities, but Beds, electrics and water/loo will be the highest. Anything else after that will be a bonus.
Started the big spend today - only the best for this one, I'm lucky enough to be able to invest the bulk of the sale money from the Franklin building this, so it will be a step up that's for sure.
Fridge - Engel STR100F 240/12 volt
Toilet - Thetford C402
HWS - Truma 14 litre gas only
Deisel Heater - Cheap ebay job (won't get used much so didn't want to break the bank with this.)
Solar regulator - Victron 100/50 MPPT
Already have 500 watts of solar panels and 4 x 100Ah batteries for it.
Plus pump, fittings, accumulator and everything else needed to entirely replumb the van including second tank, tank gauges, etc.
Still need to get an electric brake kit and DO35 hitch too before we get it registered.
Hopefully by this time next week, the posts will be coming thick and fast! Can't get too carried away though, I do still have 1/2 dozen things to finish on the Franklin so better do that first!
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Post by Husky on Jan 30, 2018 6:03:43 GMT 10
It's good that the paint is coming off easy. Given me something else to think about for mine now.
Looks like you have a tighter time line than I do. Looking forward to the future posts. If you need help sing out and I'll cruise down. Might be a nice change restoring a van to its former glory than the totally far out re building I do in the business. I do get that pang of guilt everytime I rip something out that was original most come from my car restoration days.
I'll put a post up about yesterday later thisavo. Pretty much fed up last night and crashed was pretty exhausted.
Talk soon
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Post by snoops on Feb 3, 2018 22:45:45 GMT 10
Well, it's finally in the driveway. 😊👍
The Franklin is complete and awaiting transport conformation - it's now up at a mates place an hour closer to the new owner.
Will start to post pics as I get things done. Off to a car show in the morning but hoping to make a start in the aftrenoon. DO35 hitch was fitted for the trip home - very nice bit of kit. 👍
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Post by Mustang on Feb 4, 2018 8:01:26 GMT 10
Nicely simple the DO35, we have one on the modern.
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Post by snoops on Feb 4, 2018 14:49:29 GMT 10
Went to a car show this morning with my Son and some mates, so only got half a day in today on the Viscount, but plenty to show for it. Started with the plumbing. Out with the old, including the 240 volt hot water service.  FDEE2AF1-4ED0-4699-B0C7-429772B137DE by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr In with the new - including a modern mains inlet with check valve so I can simply whack a hose in it at home or those rare occasions we end up in a Caravan park. Sureflow pump with accululator - which takes the pulses out of the watervflow at the tap and allows proper low volume running of the tap turned right down low if you need to - made a big difference and very happy wih the flow rates. 👍 Nothing fixed down yet until I'm 100% happy with the performance and that it doesn't leak anywhere.  BBEA1034-BE8E-494C-A937-BC8473264F0A by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr  794F5E46-397F-40B0-A49F-540787E23BA7 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr A modern bit - the old taps were past it and I like the conveiniance of a flick mixer. Water flow from the tank is very good. The water that's been coming through the system after 30 years is, um, interesting... Flushed the tank a couple of times and everything runs clear now, but until I do it a couple more times then run some sanitiser through it, I won't be trying it out.  3D2045D8-1ED0-4214-A07D-25D76D1A7A2B by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr Ran new lines to where the new HWS will go -which is where the old one was. Left a large loop as I don't know where the connection points are yet (I'll have the HWS when we go out on our first trip - it's being bought down from Qld by some friends). Just need to run a gas line into there as well - once the fridge is out, I'll run that line into the compartment as I won't need gas for the new fridge.  CE604404-AF2B-4212-8A11-3A7BA5AAB675 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr As the shower isn't anywhere close to being finished, I haven't run the water for this - it will be easy to bang in a T piece in the hot and cold when I get to this. |
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Post by snoops on Feb 4, 2018 15:04:56 GMT 10
So, with the water sorted I started looking at the Electrics. This will take much longer and it will be quite involved. First port of call was to work out where I can put 4 x 100Ah deep cycle batteries. Hmmmm.  B751D8F0-DCE9-42BB-AC7F-5FC7745DBEFD by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr It's like Viscount knew this would be a requirement 46 years after it was built...  7C249D4E-143A-4EA1-AFA1-CE5F42C4BB5A by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr They fit perfecltly -there's just enough room here as this is right where the guard for the wheels is -so the weight is right over the axles too. Not 100% ideal as they are on the same side as the kitchen and fridge, but the ensuite will weigh quite a bit on the other side right over the other inner guard so that will even things up a bit. I'll need to vent this compartment outside - I've ordered a solar powered fab which runs all the time the sun is out and is very quiet apparently. As the batteries will only be charging during the same hours, this should be more than enough to keep the compartment free of gas build up. 500 watts of solar is sitting there waiting to go on the roof too. The inverter and some switching will go above the batteries in the bottom of the cupboard above the second battery from the left. Next small job in between mucking around with the power) is to pull the fridge out - the new one will be here this week so I can bang it straigh in. I've measured up the old fridge and the new one is exacly the same width, 30mm taller (which there is plenty of clearance for) and about 50mm shallower so it won't stick out like this one does, but I'll make sure I've got plenty of venting going on for it. |
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Post by Husky on Feb 4, 2018 15:16:44 GMT 10
nuts hot mate. Hot water, get it? hot derr lol
I was gonna say pick a cupboard, any cupboard but the ones you used are awesome. Cant wait for a few lessons on this power set up you have. I'll be the envy of everyone at wild dog and the nationals. For the last 3 years Ive gotten away with two deep cell truck batteries and when they died at the start of last race season i got one which has the same of not more output than the two previous batteries had. i'm curious as to why so many in your system, will they be running your fridge as well or something?
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Post by snoops on Feb 4, 2018 15:28:41 GMT 10
I'll be asking a fair bit from this setup - far more than the Franklin. Fridge will be running off 12 volts the whole time - no gas in the new one, but it's an Engel so low power draw - around 3.5 amps when running. The next biggest load we tend to run are fans - not the dinky little 12 volt wall mounted jobs but 240 volt pedestal fans. On a hot night we can have 2 running - current draw for these is around 8 amps for the pair from 12 volts. Got a diesel heater coming too - these draw around 5 amps when running so quite a bit really and remember that when I need the heater, solar won't be too plentiful.
Despite all that this will be overkill by a fair bit, but that's the way I like doing things. If I had a spare $3K sitting aorund I'd ditch the 120Kg of AGM's in favour of 200Ah of Litium at 16Kg that woukd do the same job, but that is just a pipedream at the moment...
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