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My Ford Transit Hi-Cube Conversion
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Micky Dolenz wrote: »That is seriously impressive.
Not any one could do what you just did. That is showing good skill across multiple trades and the commitment, I would be gone mad long before completion :P
Well done, great job, well documented.
Thanks for all the compliments folks, I appreciate it.
Honestly, there have been some days where i nearly went mad, and I couldn't face the sight of the bloody thing. It was tough at times, but as you can see, worth it in the end.....
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So, after the first outing, I've done up a snag list of things to be fixed / changed on the van before we head out again.
I will add though, that everything that was in the van worked as expected and nothing failed, with the exception of the 12V side of the fridge. In my infinite wisdom I had it fused at 5A for some magical reason or another. It blew a 20A so I put 25 into it and it was fine. Aidan, how many amps do those 212's pull on 12V do you know? Think i may need to uprate the cable going to it, not sure yet
Some of these have been lingering for a while, and some were noticed when we were away
Anyway, list:- Van Battery positive terminal clamp - I knew it was never fully tight, but after whipping out the battery on site to help someone out and put it back in, the clamp is not tight and won't tighten.
- New Van Battery - Over time, there has been a bit of acid corrosion building up on the top of the battery. Not sure how old it is, but it still swings the van every time. We had the radio running for a few hours every day too and there was no problems. Bit of a whishlist item for now
- Paint bottom of the van - Going with Black to the top swage line I think, as there originally was a side light in the keyhole on the side door. I took this out and put a lock back into it, but there are two holes from screws in it. They'll need to be filled so it makes sense really. Anyone know what sort of paint I should be using for it?
- Fix bathroom Sink - The sink has fallen through its screws in the toilet. need to put some timber batons underneath it to give it a bit of support so you can have soap on it etc... and stop it from falling in again.
- Main Sink, swap hot and cold - I had the taps out last week to swap them in case the toilet ones didn't leak, and they do. Was rushing when I put them back and now the hot and cold are backwards - wasn't that clever
- Fix taps - Both taps are leaking at the base of the spout. Need to try to get some O rings for them, or look to replacing them if necessary, but I would like to avoid the latter
- Fix Diesel Leak in night heater bottle. - The washer bottle I used for the night heater diesel is leaking. The cap isn't very good and leaks out when the diesel is sloshing about. Not enough that it had a smell in the van, but not something I want to have going on either. I need to source an alternative sort of bottle, or look to tapping it into the main diesel tank someway or another. (Open to suggestions on a bottle here)
- Radio Aerial - Its pants. Its on top of the old van roof, under the GRP roof in beside all the wiring and its not good enough. need to get an aerial on the roof of the van.
- Seal the roof - I think there are one or two spots in the seam between the GRP roof and the boday that are leaking/weeping, so i want to seal the rain gully's at the top of the body where the GRP roof. What can I use that's UV proof - Winscreen sealer, Tigerseal? Someone told me that bond and seal will break down over time with UV rays (Not sure if its true or not)
- Bolt for bunk - Need some sort of bolt to keep the bunk up when not in use instead of my trusty bit of 2x1 timber.
- Panels for back doors - Need to insulate and cover the tops of the two back doors. Not done yet.
- Skylight Cover - Need some of the Thermawrap to sit over the flyscreen to keep the light out in the (early) mornings. Black bag is no good, as the skylights are vented and it rustles in the draughts, which is a pain when you're trying to get some sleep.
- Swap front seats around - The arm rests on the drivers seat is on the right hand side, and the passenger on the left. I'd much rather them the other way around. I miss it badly, especially when the seat is swiveled around, and there's no support for my left arm. I can't just swap the seats though, as they will pivot the wrong way if I do, so I want to see if I can somehow detach the seat from the bracket, and swap over, or remove the backs from the seats and swap them...
- There's a bushing gone in the front drivers side of the van, either a link on the anti-roll bar or the bottom ball joint needs to be replaced.
Think thats it for the moment... Not much is it?
With the exception of the battery clamp, nothing is critical that would prevent another outing.0 - Van Battery positive terminal clamp - I knew it was never fully tight, but after whipping out the battery on site to help someone out and put it back in, the clamp is not tight and won't tighten.
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Probably a 120-150 amp fridge , so dividing 12 into that means you need a 10-15 amp fuse .. at minimum . I'd use at least 25A , as you get some extra "pull" from the cabling , and if you remember from my Tips , about fuses melting , the plastic often melts around the fuse holder . A fuse close to max capacity will redden , but not blow , whereas a higher Amp one will run cool . Personally I only use "MAxi" fuses for charging and fridges now. Future proof.Fingers McGee wrote: »So, after the first outing, I've done up a snag list of things to be fixed / changed on the van before we head out again.
I will add though, that everything that was in the van worked as expected and nothing failed, with the exception of the 12V side of the fridge. In my infinite wisdom I had it fused at 5A for some magical reason or another. It blew a 20A so I put 25 into it and it was fine. Aidan, how many amps do those 212's pull on 12V do you know? Think i may need to uprate the cable going to it, not sure yet- Radio Aerial - Its pants. Its on top of the old van roof, under the GRP roof in beside all the wiring and its not good enough. need to get an aerial on the roof of the van.
- Seal the roof - I think there are one or two spots in the seam between the GRP roof and the boday that are leaking/weeping, so i want to seal the rain gully's at the top of the body where the GRP roof. What can I use that's UV proof - Winscreen sealer, Tigerseal? Someone told me that bond and seal will break down over time with UV rays (Not sure if its true or not)
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Cabling... dunno what you have , but you'd need better than 28/0.30 , I'd use something that would take 30-40 amps-ish.
Get a boosted aerial with a 12v supply , or else run an earth wire to the one you have , might help .
I use Wurth Bond + Seal everywhere , white , and never a problem . Blend it in neatly , rather than leave a big build up .
oh , and once again...well done! I will look you up next time I'm going to the "glen"
0 - Radio Aerial - Its pants. Its on top of the old van roof, under the GRP roof in beside all the wiring and its not good enough. need to get an aerial on the roof of the van.
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[/LIST] Probably a 120-150 amp fridge , so dividing 12 into that means you need a 10-15 amp fuse .. at minimum . I'd use at least 25A , as you get some extra "pull" from the cabling , and if you remember from my Tips , about fuses melting , the plastic often melts around the fuse holder . A fuse close to max capacity will redden , but not blow , whereas a higher Amp one will run cool . Personally I only use "MAxi" fuses for charging and fridges now. Future proof.
Cabling... dunno what you have , but you'd need better than 28/0.30 , I'd use something that would take 30-40 amps-ish.
Get a boosted aerial with a 12v supply , or else run an earth wire to the one you have , might help .
I use Wurth Bond + Seal everywhere , white , and never a problem . Blend it in neatly , rather than leave a big build up .
oh , and once again...well done! I will look you up next time I'm going to the "glen"
Do, because the van is parked at the bottom of the Glen actually.... more or less
We'll be looking you up when we head south too....... have to do a bit of tyre kicking in Pat Horans.... ;D
Was thinking about black for the sealer, since the bottom of the van will be black. Regardless it'll be seen anyway, so it might as well be the same colour as the bottom of the van I was thinking.
Only have the regular fuse in for it with the bank of fuses that I have. I think the cable is 25A, not sure, but its definitely not higher than max 30A anyway. I could feel it warm when the fridge was running, warm, but not hot. Still I think I might need to uprate it for the sake of doing things right. The maxi doesn't exactly look very aesthetically pleasing unfortunately. (I uprated the split charge to a 70A relay and a 50A Maxi fuse)
Really, ground the aerial to the body of the van? Didn't know that would work, must try it.0 -
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Aaaaaanyway, had a look under the van this evening, to see what that knocking was in the front.
On the passenger side there is a slight bit of play in the track rod end, but I'm not so pushed about it at the moment. Turns out the Drivers side bushing at the top of the shock has had it and needs replacing.
Also noticed that the exhaust is shot. Just out of the 2nd box on the back it's fairly rotten, so that needs doing too. Whopee for me.... More for my list.....
Hopefully I'll get away with just replacing it from the 2nd box backward. Seems odd though that there's two boxes one straight after the other....
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- New Van Battery - Over time, there has been a bit of acid corrosion building up on the top of the battery. Not sure how old it is, but it still swings the van every time. We had the radio running for a few hours every day too and there was no problems. Bit of a whishlist item for now
Van Battery positive terminal clamp - I knew it was never fully tight, but after whipping out the battery on site to help someone out and put it back in, the clamp is not tight and won't tighten. - Paint bottom of the van - Going with Black to the top swage line I think, as there originally was a side light in the keyhole on the side door. I took this out and put a lock back into it, but there are two holes from screws in it. They'll need to be filled so it makes sense really. Anyone know what sort of paint I should be using for it?
- Fix bathroom Sink - The sink has fallen through its screws in the toilet. need to put some timber batons underneath it to give it a bit of support so you can have soap on it etc... and stop it from falling in again.
Main Sink, swap hot and cold - I had the taps out last week to swap them in case the toilet ones didn't leak, and they do. Was rushing when I put them back and now the hot and cold are backwards - wasn't that clever - Fix taps - Both taps are leaking at the base of the spout. Need to try to get some O rings for them, or look to replacing them if necessary, but I would like to avoid the latter
- Fix Diesel Leak in night heater bottle. - The washer bottle I used for the night heater diesel is leaking. The cap isn't very good and leaks out when the diesel is sloshing about. Not enough that it had a smell in the van, but not something I want to have going on either. I need to source an alternative sort of bottle, or look to tapping it into the main diesel tank someway or another. (Open to suggestions on a bottle here)
- Radio Aerial - Its pants. Its on top of the old van roof, under the GRP roof in beside all the wiring and its not good enough. need to get an aerial on the roof of the van.
- Seal the roof - I think there are one or two spots in the seam between the GRP roof and the boday that are leaking/weeping, so i want to seal the rain gully's at the top of the body where the GRP roof. What can I use that's UV proof - Winscreen sealer, Tigerseal? Someone told me that bond and seal will break down over time with UV rays (Not sure if its true or not)
- Bolt for bunk - Need some sort of bolt to keep the bunk up when not in use instead of my trusty bit of 2x1 timber.
- Panels for back doors - Need to insulate and cover the tops of the two back doors. Not done yet.
- Skylight Cover - Need some of the Thermawrap to sit over the flyscreen to keep the light out in the (early) mornings. Black bag is no good, as the skylights are vented and it rustles in the draughts, which is a pain when you're trying to get some sleep.
Swap front seats around - The arm rests on the drivers seat is on the right hand side, and the passenger on the left. I'd much rather them the other way around. I miss it badly, especially when the seat is swiveled around, and there's no support for my left arm. I can't just swap the seats though, as they will pivot the wrong way if I do, so I want to see if I can somehow detach the seat from the bracket, and swap over, or remove the backs from the seats and swap them... - There's a bushing gone in the front drivers side of the van, either a link on the anti-roll bar or the bottom ball joint needs to be replaced.
Up rate the cable for the 12V power to the fridge. The 12V side of the fridge works fine, but the cable does get warm when in use. Thinking its better to just up rate the thing for the sake of peace of mind.
0 - New Van Battery - Over time, there has been a bit of acid corrosion building up on the top of the battery. Not sure how old it is, but it still swings the van every time. We had the radio running for a few hours every day too and there was no problems. Bit of a whishlist item for now
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So, as i said I swapped the driver and passenger seats around in the van, and they now sit right, as below.
You can see the indicator, lights and wiper stalks are removed at the minute. I have a new set of keys and locks coming tomorrow, with the ignition key, so they're removed for that. The cover of the shock top is also out because I've a new set of shock tops coming tomorrow also, along with a set of track rod ends. One track rod end and one shock top need replacing, and as I'm getting them cheap enough, so I may as well replace them all at the same time.
Should also have a new exhaust tomorrow, from GK exhausts in the north. €70 including delivery isn't bad at all. Cheapest I could get locally was €180, and that wasn't even the dealership. There is one difference with the new exhaust though. it will be coming out the back of the van, but the existing one was a modified one, and it comes out the side behind the back axle at the moment.0 -
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So, I decided to bite the bullet and up-rate the cable for the fridge, as I wasn't 100% comfortable with the fact that the cables were getting warm. Chances are, it would never have been an issue, but I didn't set out to do a half assed job on this van, and I don't intend to start now.
I will also say a big thank you to Aidan_M_M who sorted me out with the Chassis mount Maxi fuse holder and the cable for it. For some reason our fabulous motor factors here don't seem to do anything beyond the bog standard set of cable and connectors, so getting a chassis mount one was impossible.
I took out half the screws from the front roof panel and I managed to lower it enough to run the cable along the supporting bars over the ceiling. It comes in the kitchen press, and down the back of the panels along with the rest of the cables that are running there, and out to the fridge. You'd hardly know it was a retrofit at all. I couldn't run it beside the rest of the cables over the side door, as the panel was screwed in first, and then carpeted over so I don't know where the screws are.
Below is the cable as it arrives into the fridge. I didn't have enough black cable to run back to the common negative buzz bar, so being the clever dick that I am, I doubled up and used the old +ive and negative cables together to get twice the load rating across the return. For some reason when I was wiring the van I used a common positive and a common negative buzz bar for distribution instead of grounding everything to the chassis on the return, otherwise I would have grounded the fridge with what I have.
Below is where the new fuse fits on my control panel thingamaig-e-bob that I have. I wanted the fuse holder to be visible for ease of access, so if something does ever go amiss, other people won't have their hands in where they're not wanted messing about with my wiring, and didn't want it lose and dangling about either.
Tomorrow and the next day's jobs are replacing all the locks, track rod ends, shock top bushings and exhaust.0 -
Not sure if I've mentioned it before, but i discovered on our trip away that the keys only open the drivers door.
The sliding door lock is missing the bar to go between the key barrel and the locking mechanism, and I lost the plastic fascia bit that covers the lock and makes it look nice inside the door. Went to my local ford stealership today and ordered in these few bits, so the door will work from the outside now.
Also, as below, the inside door handle on the back door is gone completely, so there is no way of locking the back door, barr a makeshift piece of steel that just jams it closed from the inside. I priced the inside bit for the lock from the stealership today and they wanted €110 + VAT for one of the pieces. :eek:
Needless to say it'll be staying as it is until I can find one lying around somewhere.
If anyone knows where I can get one handy, please do tell.
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