Aidan's tip of the week

I am about to fit seitz windows and bought unibond super window and door frame sealant.
Its a silicone sealent. I want to fit them this weekend any sugestions of where to buy something else in dublin if its not suitable

I make it 12 tips as below... well played AidanMM

Tip 1
following from the Alko-chassis thread about greasing them , Peasant gave me the go-ahead to post a "weekly tip" , here's the first in hopefully a regular series of simple things I've picked up in the workshop. We start with the basics...


Most motorhomes I see are pretty clean , but still there's the few dirty ones out there . Crud , and mud , and sediment , if not shifted , builds up in the seams , seals and joints of the MH . Over time , this turns to a mossy type of growth , and can actually push the seams apart . And in winter , it holds moisture in the joint , which when it freezes expands even further , and rapidly makes the problem worse .
Regular cleaning , with a good Car-Wash type brush will prevent this . On the roof , where it can be worst , something a bit stiffer , like a sweeping brush , might be better . And don't let anyone tell you you can't use a Power Washer... You Can , as long as you exercise a bit of common sense .
Don't direct the high pressure spray into the edges of windows , vents , seams etc .

A bit of car-wash shampoo helps soften grime , or the likes of Fenwickes Caravan cleaner , or my own personal favourite , Traffic Film Remover (from the likes of Concept) .

And god forbid , if there is a dodgy seal or leak lurking secretly , if you wash the camper regularly , chances are you'll find it! Sure it's a nuisance , but better to find it and get it fixed than to leave it lurking , and quietly destroying the timberwork...

After the effort , your 'van will look better , and keep the smile on your face .

Tip 2
A lot of customers tell me they leave the Camper plugged into main at home permanently , between trips away . The thiking being that it keeps the battery topped up , and the fridge cold , maybe also a little Dimplex type heater turned on to keep it aired out . Good idea you'd think? No , it seems.
From what I've seen , even though the charging system should tail off to a tiny charge , all batteries prefer to go through cycles of charging and discharging . Whereas constantly charging , even at a trickle , will eventually cook the battery cells . I've seen it with Dry Cell , Calcium , Gel , Acid , Leisure and ordinary types , none of them seem to like it . They'd be fine for a few months , maybe a year , then they seem to deteriorate .

Also , fridges..... I've discussed it with the tech guys in Dometic/Electrolux , and Thetford , and they say Motorhome fridges aren't designed to be left on permanently . Sure they'll work , but the life span of them is a lot less than a typical household fridge . So being on constantly means they may last only a few years , rather than a decade .

What we find works fine is to plug in the camper for a day or two a week , it's plenty to keep a healthy battery charged , and to keep a fridge in good working order . Also in these times of income worries , you'll lower your ESB bill a wee bit .

If you do like to keep a heater working over the winter , see if you can disable the charger , or else run an extension lead through the window for it .

Hope that is useful to ye.


Tip No.3..

Gas today... Anyone with screw on connections to the gas bottle , if it's a Threaded nut with a rubber seal/washer in it , it should be only a little more than hand-tight . Put away that vise-grips! Over tightening damages the seal , causes it to break up . Also , check your flexible pipe , if you're lucky enough to have a "normal" Kosangas type regulator , a lot of people have pipes that are perished and cracked , and don't realise it . The standard flexi pipe you get in the hardware is supposed to be changed every few years . It's normally dated .


Tip No.4.. 12v Electrics
Do you know where the camper gets it's main 12v feed from the battery? On Ducatos pre 2002 it's usually beside the engine battery , from 03-06 under the passenger seat . This should be a fused link , often 2 separate one , one for the charging , one for the fridge 12v . Well worth looking at , and making sure that they're not corroded , melted , or loose . They carry lary amounts of current , often enough to overheat , and melt the plastic around them.
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Tip No. 5.. lubrication.
Aerosol tins of spray grease are your best friend! Gear linkages on Ducato's , all the moving parts of the awnings , the electric Step , the wiper linkages , the bonnet hinges and latch.....anything that moves , a shot of grease makes all the difference . Regularly giving any of them a quick spray , means they all work freely . It's especially noticeable on the Ducato gear linkages , on the '88-'94s and the '03-to current models .

Even a press catch , or toilet catch with the top and bottom clips too . If you find the grease is "dirty" , a smear of Vaseline.


tip 6


When parking your motorhome up for the winter/long periods , empty the waste tank , fresh tank , toilet tank (if you have one) , drain the boiler , then turn on all the taps for a few seconds to purge the water pipes . Then , turn off the pump , leaving the taps in the On position . This helps prevent them bursting in frost .
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tip 7
Truma Combi heater/Boilers
Truma heating system not seeming to work as good as it used to? The strength of the warm air not as strong out of the vents as it had been?

Have a look-see around the bottom of the Heater/Boiler , the pipes dusting the air out around the camper regularly pop off , they're normally just pushed into place with no mechanical fixing.
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tip 8

Fridge on Gas
If your fridge isn't working well on gas , and in particular if you get a nasty , almost cloyingly sweet smell around it or from the vents, your flue is choked with carbon .
This is common on fridges left on gas while driving , and also on modern fridges with separate freezers . The burner and flue need to be stripped , cleaned , and the jet cleaned or replaced . Beware , for Dometic/Electrolux fridges , there are 3 different jets!

Also , if its a home build , or one you've had to remove the fridge from , the rear of the fridge should be sealed from the inside of the van , and there should be a vent or two in the floor , near the burner .


tip 9

'Nother simple tip...

Seitz style blinds getting sticky ? Get a tin of WD40 , attach the straw and direct a spray into the corners of the frame . if you can get the blind to move up and down a bit , the WD40 works its way into the recoil , and 7 times out of 10 frees it up to normal.

tip 10 polishing
Some of the braver , more dedicated souls here polish their campers , not just the cab , but the "house" and all . It's a tough job , time consuming ,but by Gosh the results are worth it . The camper will be a lot easier to wash , and will stay clean for longer , and if you use a good Wax , it'll help protect it. Take a lazy week to do it , take the cab one evening , the rear another day , and half a side yet another day still . And any good quality Car polish will do , like CleanCar.ie's Chemical Boys , AutoGlym , Sonax even Turtle Wax.
Also , get some rubbing compound , I favour Farecla G3 or G6 , to remove scratches or particularly dull paint .

You can perfectly safely use both rubbing coumpound and Car polish on the Plastic windows , and it freshens up the look of an older motorhome massively. I do it regularly .

tip 11

Water treatment
Once a year or so , put some De-scaler into your fresh water tank . quarter fill the tank , preferably with Hot water (I use the steam-cleaner) , and flush thrrough the taps till some hot water comes through all of them . Do this or 5 times , for a few seconds each time , every 10-15 mins or so . Then drain down the whole water system including the boiler , and flush through the lot at least twice with clean water . On older MHs , you'll often find the spray from the shower improves /
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tip 12

Tip when resealing.
If you ever have to replace and reseal a window or skylight or vent , after stripping off the old sealer , regardless what you use , "key" in the surface with some sandpaper , something like 400 grit.

Citric acid, available from a chemist's shop, is the way to go. I have followed the advice found here:

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=9617&posts=6

with great success and the cassette looked 'as new'. Apparently the float for the gauge can come loose if you agitate the cassette too vigorously when cleaning it so take it handy

Aidan_M_M wrote: »

As the SawDoctors famously sang.... "Oh lord , will it ever stop ra-in-ing!"

Take note where the water sits on your MH if it's outside , and see if you can turn it , or put one side on some planks , to keep the water from gathering up there . No point in having it sitting there and trying to work it's way in past the seals...

hi would it do harm to leave it on levelling blocks for any length of time ?

For my past 2 motor homes, I've used 2 x 3 foot lengths of 9" x 2" timber which I drove 2 wheels up on. Just enough to let the water flow off the roof. One end of each board cut at 45 deg makes it easier to drive up.

T

Just came across this great post. Thanks for all the tips.

meercat wrote: »

Aidan M M
Great advice as always
Really appreciated
hope you dont run out
thanks

+1 Aidan. Thank you for spreading your knowledge.

Feel free to take a break for the winter and come back in the Spring with tips on what to do when your camper comes out of hibernation. (Hope that doesn't sound like I'm being bossy !!)

Mine is going away this weekend. Hope all is safe with it over the next few nights. It's cold out there.