Dave's 2013 17.56-2 OB

[DaveR]

Now that 6 weeks of me living in the van has passed, and I got 2 to go, the van is holding up well, sort of.
A big fault I am living with is the roof won't lower properly now, lands unevenly, to far forward or off to the side. Having had the operation on my wrists isn't helping with it either, what fool would get both carpel tunnels done? It is taking a few goes to get it down.
The awning is rattling itself to bits. Got a few jobs to do on it also.
Given that I have driven mostly straight lines 9,700 worth so far this trip, I have a need to rotate the wheels now thanks to feathering on the sides.
Thank fully, that is all, the drop jacks need some lube in them, but for the most part, considering the abuse i have been giving it, my dust prevention is working very good, went along a very rough track few days ago with it and all was clean inside.
The dust fan is helping with the 40 plus temps, in keeping the van cool on the road.
Speaking of on the road, here we were.

 

[Drover]

Mine got heavy to lift and after it popped a ram twice I sprayed the knuckle joints with silicon spray and all came good, would wipe the shaft every so often with a silicon sprayed cloth, never gave any trouble after that and dropped evenly.

 

[DaveR]

Thanks. I'll be parking at a friend's farm today for 3 days, I'll have to sort that out somehow

 

[DaveR]

My attempts at solving the gas struts failed, nothing I could do to stop the roof from plummeting down when lowering it.
Phoned a few van repairers in the Adelaide region and found some guys in Elisabeth who could help me out. Got me some shinny new struts now, and they work better then I have seen the old ones function.
When I was there I moaned about the roof never landing in the same spot twice and not aligning with the roof seals, the guys said they fit the scissors lift mechanisms for the Jaycos, and recommended a 700mm unit. I tried to get them to fit it also, but they didn't have the time, so I scored a cheap 2nd hand unit, as that is all they had, and hope to fit it on the road some where. Don't want to flood the van again when driving in the rain.

 

[DaveR]

Hi from camp Sardine, Robe, SA.
Top of our van is middle right of pic, spot 9 for those who know it.
At least the weather is perfect, although a bit cold for this Queenslander

 

[mfexpanda]

Hi from camp Sardine, Robe, SA.
Top of our van is middle right of pic, spot 9 for those who know it.
At least the weather is perfect, although a bit cold for this Queenslander

View attachment 59058

Very nice ....

Hey @Bluey its not raining

 

[DaveR]

The rain arrives tomorrow as we get to Victoria, can't wait for that.

 

[Drover]

If you ever need anymore Gas struts I have found Gas Strut Guys, online and ebay to be a really good mob to do deal with.

 

[DaveR]

Thanks, but I needed them NOW, so had to pay the $40 each.
Hot water heater played up, was stoping and starting. Opened the cover the find it with a lot dust. An easy cup full came out of the flame chamber. Works sweet as now.

 

[Bluey]

The rain arrives tomorrow as we get to Victoria, can't wait for that.

Im sorry but in NSW we have only had a few days without lightning thunder ..rain lightning twice nealy hitting the van cars smashed by hail in coffs big winds after 14 nights in coffs 3 days no rain get to belmont pines van park text warnings about storms high winds protect your camp so more rain its been a blast
I want my vic weather back thanks
Carnt remember last time i was rained off at work

 

[DaveR]

It 8 degrees outside here in Halls Gap, in Jan....?

 

[Bluey]

It 8 degrees outside here in Halls Gap, in Jan....?

Ok thats cold

 

[DaveR]

Beautiful today, sadly, we're on the road again. Off to the Rat.

 

[DaveR]

Did it, made it home, survived 12,500 k's.
The tug, needs a clean and service.
The van, needs a few biggies.
1. Re-align the roof, fit some scissors front and rear to fix it properly
2. Fix damaged top vinyl below roof
3. fix busted plumbing, just for something different, the water pump fittings suck air in.
4. Service the drop jacks, all very stiff
5. New fixings in awning frame, rivets are warn out
6. replace the front mattresses with new set up.
Massive clean up too....

 

[Marv_mart]

Did it, made it home, survived 12,500 k's.
The tug, needs a clean and service.
The van, needs a few biggies.
1. Re-align the roof, fit some scissors front and rear to fix it properly
2. Fix damaged top vinyl below roof
3. fix busted plumbing, just for something different, the water pump fittings suck air in.
4. Service the drop jacks, all very stiff
5. New fixings in awning frame, rivets are warn out
6. replace the front mattresses with new set up.
Massive clean up too....

That seems like a lot of work! Hope it all works out and you will be all fit a ready for your next trip.

 

[DaveR]

I have been busy with the Vans repair list.
A well placed stone was the cause of my air ingress for the tank water, admittedly it took me a while to sort that one out.
Local caravan repairer is on the job for the Roof Repairs and is under insurance. I took it to them and they said this damage is typical storm damage from strong winds.
We were at Fowlers bay when I 1st had trouble with the roof not closing and the wind was strong when there. I then noticed in Port Augusta the vinyl had pulled out and I added a heap of screws to hold it in. It turns out, that is where my misalignment has come from, or, so says the van shop.
Good bit is, they are fixing it, and it WILL be fixed by them to align correctly as it was before when closing and I get the vinyl section around the top. I knew something happened for it to change suddenly, just could not put my finger on it.
The front bed.
As I'm tall, I have been sleeping on the narrow section, and it is now like a hammock, and very uncomfortable. My MRS sees no problem, she gets the big section to her self.
Anyway, I had enough of this and looked for a way around it.
It was off to the "Making Mattresses" people at the local Gold Coast branch and the guys came out to see what I wanted.
What a great decision that was, I have the new bed mattress in the van now and it is heaps better and more comfy plus, a lot lighter then the original making the front end easier to fold up.
We used the bed with out the narrow bit along the forward side.

A section of 90 mm thick high density foam was added to fill the space below.

Now the new mattress.

The 2 sections are joined in the middle by a strip held in by Velcro. The mattresses are 2 sided, that is, one side is firm, the other soft.

It folds up no worries at all, each section is thicker then the original thin section and have the pocket spring system, so it is a proper bed system, not just some foam rubbish.

Another job on the lsit was to sort out the Tugs dreadful driver seat, the 100's are a great car to drive, but have a horrible seat.
I looked at the typical seats available in the shops, but I'm not into the racing seen. Then I looked at getting a guy to rebuild my seat with better comforts and lumbar etc. Getting myself set up for this, I called around the wreckers looking for a cheap seat to fit for a short time, out of the same car, and what should I find..... A Seat out of the Lexus LX470. A flash one.
They bolt straight in, no alterations needed. The Electricals on the other hand are different. They have a memory system for his and her keys. I removed all that rubbish and re-wired the 5 drive motors to a new switch panel I built. Works a treat and is now comfy. I'll have to go on another Perth trip to test it out now. Its a dark pic, but the black part are my new 4 x switches.

 

[Marv_mart]

Great piece of work there. Where do you store the foam padding when in transit?

 

[DaveR]

It stays in place, we're looking for an old sheet to cover it.

 

[Bluey]

Was it expensive to get a new mattress made ??

 

[DaveR]

I got the basic model from the Matilda range mattresses, it is the "Old" thickness dimension as they called it of 180mm.
With it custom sized, in 2 parts and the joiner it cost $770.
They also supplied the high density foam strip at $75, I had other quotes for same material starting at $128 from else where.

The thickness could have been more for the 2 mattress sections and it would still have folded up neatly, I wanted to leave blankets etc on when packing up so I left the mattress thickness as standard, the joiner allows blankets to stay on. Remember, these mattresses have 2 sides, a soft and a firm side, just flip it over to suit. Can even have one side firm, other soft and the joiner still works.

There are flash versions of the same mattress, I got the basic range as we will get a good quality cover for it.

Here is a link.

http://www.matildamattress.com.au/