Thread: Stan the van (With Gav & Jan)

More done today, but what follows will be it for now, have a few other things that need my attention this week.

First cupboard back in permanently - plumbing required that I won’t have good access to also done. The water pump, accumulator and filter will all life under this cupboard with easy access by removal of the kick panel.
446FCD37-BECF-4FB3-982F-8FA8A72C787B by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

Also modified this cupboard to fit a pull out rubbish bin.
AAD92382-CF0D-4304-8686-021C064770FA by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

Drawer base back in and bench top back on.
11E405F3-27EB-416C-BB39-A03B4669094D by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

BA1C04C9-D5C9-4F46-B639-B4697073ED69 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

8C7B7221-9D4D-4153-BCF4-7B432B2F9523 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

That’s about the last of the major structural work so I can bring a lot of the stuff back in now. Still have some cupboards and shelves to put in, but they won’t make the mess all this has caused.

That looks very promising.
How are you going to do the shower - install some kind of standard shower module? I'm assuming tiles would be too heavy.
Will the suspension need upgrading because of the extra weight? Maybe airbags?

Hi mate, the shower will be a custom base made from form ply, sealed then topped with vinyl tiles. I did this in my caravan and it’s worked great. Will post some details when I do this. All panelling is aluminium composite panel and is fully waterproof so walls are all done just by making them. 👍

Suspension is fine as it is, although weight is a consideration, it’s not that critical and just being sensible will see it under its GVM. I’ve got around 400kg to play with at the moment, plus another 120 if I remove the generator, so all good there. The Sprinter 515 in this variant has a 5000kg GVM. 👍

The body is a heavy steel framed unit which isn’t ideal but workable, and it sits on 100 just fine as it is so it’s mechanically up to the task in all areas.

So a big step forward today - to get the vehicle registered and insured as a Motorhome (Much cheaper insurance and better cover) I needed the Gas and Electrics signed off. Given I did the wiring and am an Electrician I’ve already done a certificate of Electrical Safety for it, but needed the pros in to do the gas fitting to get a gas compliance certificate.

Stove top and HWS is all plumbed in and working like a treat. Went for an instantaneous gas unit as I’ve never liked having storage units in vans, etc - seems a waste when you may only use the hot water a couple of times a day.

Heats up to 50 degrees in a matter of seconds and the controller allows easy adjustment of the temp so having a shower is a set and forget exercise - just turn the tap on full and you’re done.

So next job is the water and grey water tanks but Stan is now fully usable for the time being at a Caravan Park, etc. Hopefully have the water tanks, grey water tank and solar done before the lockdown has finished so he will be ready for free camping.

Looking good Gav, we've stayed at the Alexandra show grounds a few times at Easter with the whole family.

Gav - I am picking the 101 up this weekend... When lockdown ends... ROAD TRIP!

Originally Posted by grey_ghost

Gav - I am picking the 101 up this weekend... When lockdown ends... ROAD TRIP!

Hell yeah!!!

Spend more than a few hours on Stan this weekend - on the overhead shelf in the kitchen. Not cupboards but an open shelf for some baskets to sit on - given we have everything we need day to day in the cupboards below, we can keep lighter, less used items up there.

The style we’ve done it in is in line with the rest of the build - light, contemporary and open - trying hard not to make it look like an old people’s home that almost all new motorhomes seem to look like, and I think we’ve done that.

Originally was going to make the frames out of timber but that soon turned pear shaped so I scrapped that idea and made them from aluminium which also gave me an opportunity to brush up my AC TIG skills. As they say - “A grinder and paint make me the welder I ain’t”. No stack of dimes look here, I can almost get a run going but not well enough to leave the grinder on the bench... 😁

There are cables holding up the brackets in between each basket, the whole lot including the baskets weighs bugger all, so won’t effect the centre of gravity much at all - we’re trying hard to keep all the weight low.

A few pics, there will be a bungy cord holding the baskets in place during transit as well as some caps I’m waiting on to cap the ends of the 3 open brackets. Also the RH peg board is hanging there as we haven’t worked out the height of that yet - need the splash back up to do that.

8258ED57-9DEB-4F06-8F36-4CBDF5BC3711 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

F23FF739-5574-4624-9066-AB2EF35E341D by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

C2FFF485-C581-4489-8733-A60A50FF4432 by Gavin Gregory, on Flickr

So, the splash back is next and this will pretty much finish the kitchen area completely apart from a few small bits and some tweaks.