PhilJ W

It is indeed the monocoque body. Talking to the vendor she said the fuel consumption figures are less than 20 mpg, hence the thoughts about LPG. The extra weight will not be too much, only the bracketry to support the spare wheel that can hopefully fitted onto the rear panel and the LPG tank about the same weight as the spare wheel it will replace. The biggest problem with fitting LPG equipment is routing the feed pipes away from the exhaust which is a legal requirement.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Still undecided on the camper van, apart from the water tank there are one or two other issues that although they will not prevent me from using it I would like to be able to deal with. One is the spare wheel, the problem is that its still in the same place as when the chassis rolled off the production line, in a drop down tray centrally behind the back axle. With the caravan body being at least two feet longer than the vans it will be difficult to access so I will have to look into fixing it externally. A bonus from that is as I am considering fitting it to run on LPG a 'donut' tank will fit in the vacated space. Not a lot to do today other than a bit of shopping after the postman calls as I'm expecting a couple of parcels.

Goodnight all.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. Been to check out the camper, still undecided as I've learnt that the road tax is £230 a year. Its in not to bad a condition for a 31 year old vehicle. Those that I have seen photographs of have different interior layouts and arrangements. This one even has the water tank in a different place, on the side alongside the petrol tank with the filler caps only about 18 inches apart so putting petrol in the wrong tank is understandable. Off now to watch the two hours of railways on BBC2.

£125 if added to my existing insurance (full comp).

The shovel was used for cooking breakfast (bacon, eggs and sausage). It was usually into an old newspaper and then into the firebox. (As told to me by an old engineman.)

BSW01, If you are going bald or already bald on top you will find that you will also start losing hair from your lower limbs. This is natural as male baldness in most cases starts from both ends.

Morning from Estuary-Land. Not much too do today except for a bit of shopping and checking out the motor caravan, also need to check out things like insurance which shouldn't be too much as I can add further vehicles on my car insurance at no great extra cost. A bit overcast at the moment but signs are it will brighten up before the next lot of rain. Thats it for now, be back later.

Goodnight all.

I see that now, but I 'turned the page' to find a lot of threads blocked. If I'd looked a lot closer I would have realised.

My grandfather was a cabinet-maker and his first task as an apprentice was to make many of his own tools. This included a pair of planes made entirely of wood (except for the blades of course). They were adjusted or set using wedges.

Strange, I went to page 2 of 'New content' and every thread was locked? So back to page 1 where everything is OK. I see one of the mods has just locked a thread, I suspect he pressed a wrong button.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Sat-navs, no thank you. A few years ago I was going to the Chatham show with a few fellow club members, this was when the show was in the old dockyard. The driver insisted on using his brand new sat-nav despite myself and one or two others who knew the way offering to navigate. As we came up to the entrance I told the driver to turn right at the next roundabout to enter the dockyard but he insisted on following his sat-nav which had told him to turn right at the next roundabout. This we did to be confronted with the long bricked up original entrance to the dockyard! The reason for my looking at purchasing a camper van is that there are many places I would want to visit that are more than a days journey away from home and as I'm getting older long journeys tend to be more tiring but it will only be used for the odd night or weekend away. The vehicle I'm looking at is remarkably cheap, largely due to the petrol in the wrong tank, but I will be checking out its mechanical condition first and foremost before committing myself.

Evening all from Estuary-Land. The motor caravan is an Autosleeper, a company that has a good reputation by all accounts. The chassis is a Bedford CF2, one of the last examples built with the Opel 'high cam' engine and 5 speed gearbox. It also comes with almost a years MOT. Getting near to bedtime so goodnight all.

Afternoon all from Estuary-Land. I've arranged to view the motorhome Thursday night but in the meantime I've done a bit of research into the model I'm interested in. I was delighted to find that there is an owners forum for the model so I duly joined and asked the question about replacing the tank. I was told that it would not be neccessary to replace the tank as petrol or diesel in the water tank is a quite common occurance and flushing agents are available. Incidently the respective fillers are nowhere near to each other, the fuel filler cap is low down just behind the drivers door but the water filler is at waist level on the rear panel. It would require stripping out the kitchen units to reach the tank anyway, the body is a one piece fibreglass monocoque type. Tony, the vehicle itself is at Benfleet, almost in the shadow of Hadleigh castle. I did once contemplate hiring a camper or mobile home for a visit to the USA and the prices looked quite reasonable if booked as part of a 'Fly-drive' holiday. I was thinking of going with my dad but his health wasn't up to it.

Then there is the story (urban myth?) of the petrol thief who tried to syphon fuel from a motor caravan by sucking on a tube but he'd got the toilet tank instead of the fuel tank.

If the water tank is fitted where I think it is* the whole thing should be accessible and I would be replacing everything anyway, pump, pipework and maybe even the tap(s). *The sink unit is fitted across the rear of the vehicle so I'm assuming that the fresh water tank is not too far away. The only problem will come about if there is any fixed panels and/or dismantling of other items to get to anything.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Belated anniversary wishes to Sarah and Andy, isn't there a first anniversary coming up soon? I had to look up about the terrible events in Japan, the victims were in a home for the disabled apparently. Hope to view a motor caravan shortly, its quite cheap as the owner managed to put petrol in to the water tank. Purchase depends on as to whether or not the tank is accessible for replacement and how much it will cost. EDIT SM its usually trees with the denser foilage that deaden sound better. Trees such as Oak despite appearances are quite 'open' and evergreens are the best hence the attraction of the dreaded Leylandii.

Goodnight all.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Didn't venture very far in the car over the weekend as the roads were snarled up as expected. Chris, when I visit Quainton Road the second hand book shop is a must, but you have to hunt out some of the treasures within as they are sometimes well hidden. Thats enough of my drivel for this morning, be back later.

Goodnight all.

Oh you wrote welding, my mistake.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. As someone said on another thread Dover is an enormous bottleneck, basically funnelling the traffic from two motorways onto one small roundabout. It was thought that the ferry traffic through Dover would disappear once the Channel Tunnel was built but instead some of the alternative ferry routes went instead. I can remember when living in the East of England getting to Dover entailed several hours journey whereas Felixstowe or Harwich to one of the Dutch or Belgian ports was a far better proposition. Unfortunately after the tunnel opened these routes became less viable and most were curtailed or have ceased altogether.

Goodnight all.

Morning all from Estuary-Land. Not doing much today, just putting my feet up. Bye for now, be back later.