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The ironic bit is that CHEP got their start through the simple appropriation of pallets left lying around by the US military.
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Jul 31, 2020 20:16
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Window fitted and gas inspection done. The gas installation passed easily, with a small advisory that there could be a drop vent under the cooker but it's no big deal. No leaks, no remedial work, and both the engineer and the guy who ran the place complimented me on the work. Nice. Also the van didn't miss a beat across 200 miles, although the steering is a bit nervous so I'll probably get the tracking checked. Picture at the end of the window installation. It looks way better now and is a lot less dingy inside.  Glad you guys convinced me to do this, also glad I took the time to research it and do it properly.  They also had a cool shop truck. Its the owners daily and the main workshop parts hauler.  If any of you ever need camper work doing in the south of the UK I'd recommend Autohaus Newport without hesitation.
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Aug 1, 2020 19:28
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Pretty much finished in the kitchen, just need to put in the tie down for the grey tank and box off the last little bit of gas pipe. That and redo the cupboard doors but we aren't thinking about that right now.
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Aug 2, 2020 18:15
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Looking fantastic, awesome work. You naming that beast Clifford?
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Aug 3, 2020 02:27
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Like the big red dog?
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Aug 3, 2020 12:52
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Blacknose posted:Like the big red dog? Exactly.
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Aug 3, 2020 13:42
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I don't name my vehicles but if I did that'd be a front runner.
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Aug 3, 2020 13:49
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This is looking pretty OK I reckon.
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Aug 3, 2020 23:08
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Better than the traditional carpet. Probably will wear pretty well, too.
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Aug 4, 2020 21:38
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Got a quote for 100 notes to get the wheel carrier welded into the door frame. Think I'm probably just going to get it done so I can panel that door and stop thinking about it.
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Aug 6, 2020 10:12
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Bit hot for soldering but I now have a working reverse camera. This is an ordeal I've not discussed much, but I bought a £15 reverse camera and dash cam months ago, against my better judgement. The cable was too short, but no bother I'll just buy a 10 metre one right? Well, it turns out its a weird 5pin standard that basically doesn't exist outside China and even then its not common. I get an extension lead after some searching but for whatever reason it doesn't transmit power. Eventually I found a 10m lead but I couldn't figure out why it still wouldn't work so put it down for a while to work on other stuff. Sat down with it a few weeks ago and discovered the pinouts weren't right, and inspecting the length of the cable I found a slice in it which was causing shorts between the cores. Cut to today, I've chopped the bad bit out and soldered it back up and finally the loving thing works.  
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Aug 8, 2020 19:40
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Are you going to set it to display the rear view all the time as a stand in for a rear view mirror?
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Aug 9, 2020 08:24
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Probably run it with the rear as the main camera and the front inset in the corner. I'm not sure I'll be able to get an amazing angle for it as a rear view but it saves wiring the camera into the reverse lights to make it auto switch.
Blacknose fucked around with this message at 20:04 on Aug 9, 2020 |
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Aug 9, 2020 09:19
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I think the cable is still like a meter too loving short.
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Aug 11, 2020 19:22
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Finally made some progress worth posting. Got the tiles up, just need to grout and seal. Decided to use CT1 rather than tile adhesive cos the bulkhead flexes a little and I don't want them falling off. Looks pretty good already.  
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Aug 16, 2020 19:12
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Looks good. Why does your stove have 3 knobs but 2 burners?
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Aug 16, 2020 19:53
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It also has a grill.
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Aug 16, 2020 20:13
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Blacknose posted:It also has a grill. Translation for Americans: "a broiler".
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Aug 16, 2020 23:09
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Is that like a salamander?
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Aug 16, 2020 23:13
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Got the bracing welded in for the spare finally. Guy who did it runs a welding/fabricating shop and while I think what he's done is fine the welds are proper snot quality. Hope everything else he's done over the past 30 years has been a bit tidier than this.  But paint hides a multitude of sins.  Bolted the carrier back up and for reasons lost on me 2 of the bolts cross threaded half way down the bolt, so I had to cut two m10 stainless bolts out. Absolute pain in the arse and the cause of the 2 more minor bleeding incidents of the day.  Then moved on to the floor - I bought some cheap self adhesive lvt online. I was quite apprehensive about laying it but it went down super easy in an hour or so.   Fully stabbed myself in the finger with a brand new blade in Stan during the process, but fortunately most the blood went under where the floor now is, and the 2 or 3 splatters on other stuff should wipe off. I promised personal injury and I guess I intend to deliver.  Finished up with the tiles the other night after work too, and stripped down the cabinet doors again to straighten them up.  Tiny bit of tidying to do but the front space is near enough done now.
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Aug 22, 2020 22:36
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Looking good, nice and light.
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Aug 22, 2020 22:45
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My eye is twitching that there isn't a pattern to the placement of the backsplash tiles, but I'm really liking how 'stealth' the outside is with the modern camper interior.
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Aug 23, 2020 00:14
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They're intentionally random but yeah I get you. I thought about a pattern but figured that would also bother me so I went Hog Wild.
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Aug 23, 2020 00:19
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If those welds are bad I should probably put my welder up for sale. I think they look good especially for welding onto sheet metal, which can be so easy to burn through and tricky to get thicker stuff welded onto. I has some small angle that I was welding to sheet metal, actually thick stuff, 18ga, and half of the welds were sticking to the sheet and wouldn't penetrate the angle.
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Aug 23, 2020 01:00
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Fair enough. Don't get me wrong, they're secure and I'm sure with a bit a grinding could look presentable. The photos is probably of the best weld on there - the top right is pretty messy and there's spatter all up the door and frame. But I'm no welding expert, so it's reassuring to know that actually it's just a slightly tricky material to work with. Either way, no ones ever going to see it again once I put panels over the inside of that door so 
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Aug 23, 2020 01:15
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Blacknose posted:Got the bracing welded in for the spare finally. Guy who did it runs a welding/fabricating shop and while I think what he's done is fine the welds are proper snot quality. Hope everything else he's done over the past 30 years has been a bit tidier than this. Your welding expectations are far too high! Those welds look tidy, well done and solid (especially considering they haven't been tidied up/dressed at all). You're never going to get perfection when welding new metal to old metal in place on a vehicle unless you pay lots of money (which I assume you didnt!)
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Aug 23, 2020 13:48
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I paid as little as possible. I will readjust my expectations.
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Aug 23, 2020 15:18
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Another trickle of progress. Headboard on the bed. I only have a shot from the back. I've not detailed the process but by this point we all know it's some PSE timber screwed to ply and painted with green emulsion.  Also got the panel on the bottom of the sliding door.  And the cushions + mattress arrived.  Excuse the mattress sticking up, I didn't want to shove it into the space until it had finished expanding. It'll only stick up a few cm above that top board when it's fully seated.  Which leaves the smallest of jobs for the living space left. Cupboard door on the over cab storage, latch for the kitchen doors, panel on the top of the sliding door.
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Sep 6, 2020 20:05
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Do you have to add more windows and some graphics to retitle it as a motorhome or are you keeping the stealth look?
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Sep 7, 2020 11:11
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With the current regulations it would never pass without more windows, a professional respray and graphics. Given then it can't have more windows and won't likely have the other two things it's just going to end up registered as a van with windows.
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Sep 7, 2020 12:35
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The mattress has now expanded to its full size and it's a biiiit tight but it's just about OK. 
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Sep 7, 2020 15:04
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Looks comfortable. I always thought it would be cool to make a van with hammock mounts inside instead of a bed but idk how well that would actually work
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Sep 7, 2020 17:21
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Not sure if you have room, but have you considered putting some sort of vented matting under the mattress? They're always a hotspot for moisture buildup.
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Sep 7, 2020 19:37
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I have exactly that. I think it was Dry-mat or something, designed for sailboats.
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Sep 7, 2020 19:42
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PokeJoe posted:Looks comfortable. I always thought it would be cool to make a van with hammock mounts inside instead of a bed but idk how well that would actually work I'm sure I've seen pictures of hammocks mounted in vans, albeit also with an actual bed.
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Sep 8, 2020 01:10
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Took the van out for a night finally. Parked up by the harbour of an old fishing village called Keyhaven or something.     Was pretty good. Some big takeaways - really need to sort window blinds before using it again, especially wildcamping. Wheel chocks seem important. Take more aeropress filters than you think you'll need. Other than that it went pretty well. Also went to see the cruise ships parked for covid by Weymouth. The photo doesn't really do justice to how weird seeing like 10 cruise ships just parked up is. Or how big they are.  Cool panorama from portland over chesil beach also. 
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Sep 18, 2020 18:15
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I was just thinking about this thread. Nice work using the van for its purpose! If those are your takeaways it's pretty drat solid overall eh?
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Sep 19, 2020 03:56
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Yeah fairly few obvious snags. Oh I really need to put a proper catch on the kitchen doors too - I had to tie them shut with a USB cable. Going to reprioritise my todo list and continue chipping away at it between working.
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Sep 19, 2020 08:41
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Oh also I forgot to put up pics of the finished back door panels. 
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Sep 19, 2020 08:43
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| # ? May 22, 2024 08:52 |
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Are you going to go full-time #vanlife with it? Looks really good!
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Sep 21, 2020 16:02
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