This weekend is a long weekend, so we have taken advantage and managed to do a fair bit on the camper. It is really coming together :)
Over the past couple of weeks, our friend has wired up new LED lights for the outside of the van. We don't need to do much more and it will be ready to be registered. We have now managed to get it up to our factory, so now that we have access to power, we can do so much more work. The concrete area at the front of our shed is in the shade from about 1:00 every afternoon. It is actually very pleasant. We usually finish work at 3:00 so do not spend much time there in the afternoons.
Saturday.
I gave the van a good sweep out and vacuumed thoroughly. I was able to plug into mains power and have now ascertained that all the power points work. We have 3 double points inside and an outlet outside as well.
We also ran the fridge and (YAY) it worked!!!! I unscrewed the vents behind the fridge and got the air compressor and blew out all the dust and accumulated "stuff" from behind it.
We decided that it would be a good idea to make some brackets inside to bolt the outside lift arms. Previously they were just screwed into the frame. Now they feel much more secure.
Mick made up aluminium framed boxes that will be the dinette seats. These have a hinged timber lid, so we will be able to access the space under the seats as storage. Our "porta-potty" will also reside under one of the seats and be able to easily slide out for use.
Sunday.
Last night I was looking on Gumtree and found a 3 seater leather sofa bed in the next suburb for FREE!!! What camper doesn't deserve a leather lounge 😀. We knew it was going to be a little bit long, but it has wide armrests, so I was pretty confident that I could cut it down to fit.
It is not in perfect condition but is perfect for our camper.
Also as it was a sofa bed, it had a very clean innerspring mattress that we will be able to use as our bed. Big saving!!! I was going to buy a high density foam mattress at a cost of $159.
After collecting the lounge, I set to removing the folding metal bed mechanism. Once it was out, we now had an empty space that we will be able to use as storage. We needed to reduce the width by 100mm. I carefully cut the leather from the outside of the arm. Cutting from the centre up to each corner, I was then able to carefully roll the leather back over the armrest and expose the timber frame underneath. Then it was just a matter of marking the timber and cutting 100mm off each side as we rolled it over. Once it was cut down, I could then pull the leather back over the edges and pull it tight and screw it back to secure it. Because it will be hard up against the wall, it didn't need to be pretty.
Mick cut a piece of timber that acts as the base that the cushions sit on. The base also has holes so we can lift it up to access the storage space under the couch.
Lifting the couch into the van turned out much easier than we anticipated. We laid in on its back on top of a rubbish bin and the back edge of the van and then simply rolled in into place.
We are very pleased with it 😀
Mick fixed the dinette seats in place, now I just to make the cushions for them. We also bought some 3mm white laminated board to line the walls of the front section.
All in all a very successful day.
Monday.
Not a lot to do today. Mick managed to free up a seized stabiliser leg on the rear of the van. A bit of "gentle persuasion" with a grinder, crowbar and brute force got it moving. A good spray with CRC and it winds up and down as smoothly as the other 3. He went around the whole van and sprayed every nut, bolt and the springs in the lift arms with CRC.
We are very happy with the progress made so far.