Mercedes Vario 814 Build - Our New Fulltime Home

Jamesh said:
What paint are you using I've got a carbon road bike to paint and Mazda soul looks ace!

As to spray booth how about 4' cube of plywood toughened glass window and welders gloves / gaiters for hands?!!
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As far as the paint goes, probably this:
www.advancedpaints.co.uk

MAZDA SOUL RED CRYSTAL (46V) Paint | Advanced Paints

High quality MAZDA SOUL RED CRYSTAL (46V) paint available in a range of finishes including Premium Solvent Basecoat – Dalcoat, Waterbase - Pacific, Aerosol. Choose your finish and size below. This paint may also be known as SOUL RED CRYSTAL
www.advancedpaints.co.uk www.advancedpaints.co.uk

Great idea on the booth - hadn't thought about building one (y)

I'll have a float around YouTube to see what's involved once I have a bit more energy.
 
Mate, take it easy on yourself. Life is short enough without you making it any shorter, and i have the tshirt.

Anyway, for selfish reasons, I really enjoy your thread and look forward to much more. Be kind and forgiving to yourself, let people wait for great work you are doing.

All the best, Mac
 
Sand blasting of wheels is very cheap, especially if your not in a hurry, and they also know the best processes. I paid £60 or £80 for a set (5) of big Land Rover wheels.
 
Wissel said:
On a slight tangent, anyone know anything about sand-blasting?

The wheels for a Vario are extortionate. I think even sending them off to be blasted would be fairly pricey (7 wheels), so figured I may as well just buy a cabinet and do it myself as I already have a large compressor.

Any suggestions for what cabinet I should go for, or anything related, would be appreciated. The Vario wheels are likely to be the largest I ever need to work on at 17.5".

Right, back to sleep.
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I used one of these with great results on some engine casings if it's just for your wheels, used kiln dried sand from wickes on a big sheet of plastic so you can reuse the sand.

www.ebay.co.uk

PORTABLE SANDBLASTER AIR POWERED 2.5 GALLON SAND BLASTER KIT WITH CARRY STRAP | eBay

2.5 GALLON AIR POWERED PORTABLE SANDBLASTER. This High-quality air sandblaster kit works with glass beads, sand and aluminium oxide. Heavy duty sandblast gun with hardened steel nozzle. Handles glass beads / sand and aluminium oxide.
www.ebay.co.uk
 
This site contains affiliate links for which MHF may be compensated.
A friend uses a guy in Louth who does a great job of his wheels, he's very fussy so will get details and post up 👍

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Like your layout, just one observation, you have the fresh water, heaters, UMass, toilet and 'barrery' 😊 all at one side with just the waste water on the other so could you end up out of kilter a bit? Swapping the fresh and waste would be better and/or moving the battery.
 
Minxy said:
Like your layout, just one observation, you have the fresh water, heaters, UMass, toilet and 'barrery' 😊 all at one side with just the waste water on the other so could you end up out of kilter a bit? Swapping the fresh and waste would be better and/or moving the battery.
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If I had the option, I'd fit the fresh water tank central to the van. This is how I did it on my current van.

Sadly on the Vario I don't have the option as I want the fresh tank inside the van for better winter proofing, so it will be 350kg to one side. The iMass and toilet weigh next to nothing as neither have a tank. The battery weighs 38kg (460Ah LiFePO4), but the 2 x vehicle batteries weigh far more and are under the drivers seat.

Also, on the other side is a full size domestic oven and a large domestic fridge freezer. This won't equal out the weight of the fresh water, but Claira's wardrobe is also on that side :LOL:

(the waste will be winterised to some extent as I'll build a box to house the two diesel heaters and the waste water together, under the van)

EDIT: I hadn't mentioned I've dropped the idea of the flashy toilet as there's more to go wrong than with a cassette.
 
Minxy said:
Like your layout, just one observation, you have the fresh water, heaters, UMass, toilet and 'barrery' 😊 all at one side with just the waste water on the other so could you end up out of kilter a bit? Swapping the fresh and waste would be better and/or moving the battery.
Click to expand...
The tilt will swap sides as the trip progresses!
 
Be careful blasting when using sand as the medium, you need a good respirator as the fine sand dust can cause pneumosilicosis (probably need a lot of exposure, but no need to risk it ?)

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I stopped following it when he got home as I thought he would be continuing to run a thread on the conversion. Only just found out that's not happening!
 
Wissel said:
If I had the option, I'd fit the fresh water tank central to the van. This is how I did it on my current van.

Sadly on the Vario I don't have the option as I want the fresh tank inside the van for better winter proofing, so it will be 350kg to one side. The iMass and toilet weigh next to nothing as neither have a tank. The battery weighs 38kg (460Ah LiFePO4), but the 2 x vehicle batteries weigh far more and are under the drivers seat.

Also, on the other side is a full size domestic oven and a large domestic fridge freezer. This won't equal out the weight of the fresh water, but Claira's wardrobe is also on that side :LOL:

(the waste will be winterised to some extent as I'll build a box to house the two diesel heaters and the waste water together, under the van)

EDIT: I hadn't mentioned I've dropped the idea of the flashy toilet as there's more to go wrong than with a cassette.
Click to expand...
Im interested to know what a flashy toilet is :LOL: :unsure:, is there a choice other than caseete or black tank? Ive had both of these and generally prefer off grid andIm finding black tank so much easier, it goes easily a week and frequently much more without emptying and im generally finding few problems with dumping it. There are a couple more seals but generally less hassle than casette and sog.

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Landy Andy said:
Can’t be arsed. What hoping for a brief answer.
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download.jpeg
 
jongood said:
Im interested to know what a flashy toilet is :LOL: :unsure:, is there a choice other than caseete or black tank? Ive had both of these and generally prefer off grid andIm finding black tank so much easier, it goes easily a week and frequently much more without emptying and im generally finding few problems with dumping it. There are a couple more seals but generally less hassle than casette and sog.
Click to expand...

Separator (more commonly, and incorrectly, referred to as composting ) toilets?

Incinerator toilets?

Ian
 
jongood said:
generally finding few problems with dumping it.
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Yes, I got set up with a super duper pump and about 60m of hose so I can empty anywhere.
14 months on now and the only time it’s been out the box is when I tested it at home🙁🙁

Always managed to find drive over dumps😁
 
Annoyingly, I think the colour is going to have to change.

Painting something the size of the Vario in a candy paint like the Mazda Soul Red will be really difficult and probably beyond my capabilities. It's a 3 part paint that needs to be consistent with each layer (taken advice now). I think even a good paint shop would struggle on this size of vehicle.

Also, in the back of my mind, I'm wondering if Soul Red will date quickly. It was only 2 years ago that Nardo Grey was the colour. Now, not really. Maybe a more classic colour that stands the test of time would be a better idea?

So, I need to decide on a colour again and open to suggestions?

Doesn't need to be in red, just something we like and suits the van. A nice simple metallic would probably be best. All of the outside accessories (awning, service doors, windows, etc) are in black (already ordered) so will go with most things.

Any ideas?

So far the best we have is Mercedes Mars Red.

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What about some sort of volcanic orange?
 

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