Mercedes vario 814 self build bus to FLT palace

[glenn2926]

this is guidance ( from Shuttle )

Fully vaccinated passengers, and passengers under 12 years old, will not be required to present negative COVID tests to enter French territory, but proof of vaccination status will need to be presented at border controls.

You will not be required to quarantine upon arrival in France. Unvaccinated minors travelling with fully vaccinated adults will not be required to quarantine.

Important: Prior to travel, you can upload the required document above to your booking by logging into your account/booking and completing your Health Declarations. Failure to do so will result in manual checks being required which could delay your departure.

We didn’t upload anything prior to travel. Nobody wanted to see anything except our passports. It does make it all seem a bit pointless really. I specifically asked the French border man what he needed from us. Just passports please was his answer.

 

[Lenny HB]

They looked at the QR code for the vaccine but that's all just looked at it, didn't ask for the travel form.

If going through Belgium there is an online form to fill in no tests required if stopping less than 48 hours, no boarder checks.

 

[busby]

We didn’t upload anything prior to travel. Nobody wanted to see anything except our passports. It does make it all seem a bit pointless really. I specifically asked the French border man what he needed from us. Just passports please was his answer.

He asked us for proof of vaccination...BUSBY.

 

[glenn2926]

He asked us for proof of vaccination...BUSBY.

That’s just not fair. After us going to all the trouble of getting all the required stuff we didn’t get to use it.

 

[Northernraider]

I have my qr code on the covid vaccine passport app thingy ...ill likely be heading straight from the tunnel through belgium and in to Germany this time ...wont be spending more than 48 in belgium probably a few days in Germany etc but ill be trying to escape the weather as quickly as possible

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[Leith Laddie]

Be thankful you don't live on the island of Réunion. 1.5m (yes, metres) in 24 hours isn't that unusual, I was reading this morning

I have a friend who lives in Reunion and they haven't had 1.5m of rain, they are moving into the summer there.

 

[Pilote87]

I have a friend who lives in Reunion and they haven't had 1.5m of rain, they are moving into the summer there.

I was just quoting something I was reading this morning about rainfall. I don't know if there was a reference to a particular time of year

 

[Peppadog]

The wheel will never fit through there lol that's why the one bike runner is on as it keeps the two stainless steel bars of the bike rack in line.


I think im just going to glue a flexible panel on it ...after all i only need it to do me 4 months max ill put it on with tigerseal that should hold it and as it will be behind the skylight it shouldn't get the wind ...any solar is better than no solar and to be honest im not running that much off it .

Don’t use glue. Heavy duty, 50mm wide velcro on a roll. They will never come off until you want them to. I have fitted flexi solar panels to an Eriba caravan roof, a VW T4 camper elevating roof and my boats coach roof.

Easy to fit and remove later.

 

[Northernraider]

Don’t use glue. Heavy duty, 50mm wide velcro on a roll. They will never come off until you want them to. I have fitted flexi solar panels to an Eriba caravan roof, a VW T4 camper elevating roof and my boats coach roof.

Easy to fit and remove later.

Ill never be removing it ...ill only have this van 6 months tops so i just want the panel secured properly ...if it ever needs removed thats the new owners problem lol.

 

[Northernraider]

Im kind of glad i decided to go abroad again this winter as this is what ive to contend with on the caravan every morning already and its only october ... this is with no heating being used still ..only breathing and cooking . .. windows dripping in condensation. Luckily its dry and sunny today so i can open them all and air it ...but when days of constant rain its not so easy

Ive glued the solar panel on to the iveco today as its a warm ish dry day ...still not received the bloody cable gland ...and thats going to be fun to fit as the roof is an awkward design ... can't bring cables in directly above the batteries so ill have to route cables


Its well glued down but the only place i could get it to sit flat its taking up space that could have been used later for more panels ...but hey ho it wont be my problem i guess

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[Lenny HB]

I would have expected a neater job from you Tam, very disappointed.

 

[mitzimad]

Im kind of glad i decided to go abroad again this winter as this is what ive to contend with on the caravan every morning already and its only october ... this is with no heating being used still ..only breathing and cooking . .. windows dripping in condensation. Luckily its dry and sunny today so i can open them all and air it ...but when days of constant rain its not so easy View attachment 545260View attachment 545261


Ive glued the solar panel on to the iveco today as its a warm ish dry day ...still not received the bloody cable gland ...and thats going to be fun to fit as the roof is an awkward design ... can't bring cables in directly above the batteries so ill have to route cables


Its well glued down but the only place i could get it to sit flat its taking up space that could have been used later for more panels ...but hey ho it wont be my problem i guess View attachment 545263

you wouldnt believe how many times ive argued with people on the self build sites about single glazed windows and theres always one whose van defies the laws of physics and hasnt had a drop of condensation for 20 yearsor that they want that smooth limo tint style

 

[Figaro]

I would have expected a neater job from you Tam, very disappointed

He don't care, not even cleaned the bits that aren't getting glue applied. Lol

 

[Northernraider]

I would have expected a neater job from you Tam, very disappointed.

Not easy to access this roof every move and it dents ...also up a ladder on a slope so yeah it isnt the neatest job but its on ...when the cable gland arrives ill have to go back up by which time the glue will be well and truly set so i can clean it up a little ...but this roof isnt great

 

[Northernraider]

you wouldnt believe how many times ive argued with people on the self build sites about single glazed windows and theres always one whose van defies the laws of physics and hasnt had a drop of condensation for 20 yearsor that they want that smooth limo tint style

Yes i get it all the time on self build groups and on Instagram ...ive heard every excuse from night heaters to woodburners etc etc etc ...but the basic science is simple when warm air meets cold air on an uninsulated surface you get condensation .....even on caravan and motorhome double glazing you still get some condensation in corners etc


Ive noticed that dvla seem to prefer double glazed style windows over the van glass windows for the motorcaravan status.

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[Mikey RV]

Open the windows on the first catch so you have air flow going through the caravan, might help with condensation.

 

[Northernraider]

He don't care, not even cleaned the bits that aren't getting glue applied. Lol

Yeah i wasnt cleaning the whole roof ... especially as all along the side of the gutter rails is just surface rust.

This van is purely a cheap stop gap to escape for a few months ...i dont need or want another project or money pit ..i already resent the time im spending on it that i should be spending on the vario.

 

[Northernraider]

In other news whoever it was that suggested clamping all the window panels together and drilling through them all i owe ya a big kiss ...did that today and drilled the other 4 panels in one go by clamping the 4 sheets to a bit plywood and drilling through the lot . So one set of pilot holes then one set of 7.5mm holes ...took me about an hour to do the 4 compared to about 3 hours the last time.

 

[Northernraider]

Wee solar panel looks pathetic lol ...but hopefully it will be enough to charge my 2x 130ah batteries while doon in greece

Better than nowt

 

[Figaro]

For what you paid, that van looks the dogs doodah's
Looking forward to following your travels, what date do you plan to set off ?

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[scousebird]

I would have expected a neater job from you Tam, very disappointed.

It's on the roof, no one will see it

 

[Northernraider]

For what you paid, that van looks the dogs doodah's
Looking forward to following your travels, what date do you plan to set off ?

Im planning to leave here monday the 1st ....tunnel either late tuesday night or Wednesday morning

Van looks great in photos ...close up the paintwork isnt the best etc ....but theres very little out there at the price i gave and not with the appliances etc this has . Ill have spent about £1000/1200 on it buy the time i get Cambelt done £500 and refillable bottle £220 fitted ....if it then gives me a trouble free trip ill be happy ...and hopefully get a bit of profit out it when i come back.

A cheap paintjob and a bit work on the inside here and there and it would be a good van for someone ....but the vario is my project so this will be passed on .

 

[Northernraider]

It's on the roof, no one will see it

I think i went overboard with the glue so it wouldn't blow off ...a bit more squashed out the sides than I expected ...and this stuff sticks like poop to a blanket ....thats why it looks messy ..but when dry i can trim a bit off here and there with a blade to tidy it up a bit.


I had the stuff on my face , glasses , hands, both elbows , my t shirt , the skylight, the ladder and even the top of the solar panel lol ....i hate ladders and really dont like roofs that flex under my weight lol ...so it is a little bit of a botch mess but best i could do in the space i had

 

[Phill D]

get that door painted "p.............lease"!

 

[Northernraider]

get that door painted "p.............lease"!

I was going to paint it ....but

The white paint i have is not the right colour so ive decided to leave it ..

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[2657]

Don’t use glue. Heavy duty, 50mm wide velcro on a roll. They will never come off until you want them to. I have fitted flexi solar panels to an Eriba caravan roof, a VW T4 camper elevating roof and my boats coach roof.

Easy to fit and remove later.

I have never managed to get velcro to remain stuck in the summer temperatures in S. Europe, even supposedly heavy duty.

 

[Guigsy]

I have never managed to get velcro to remain stuck in the summer temperatures in S. Europe, even supposedly heavy duty.

I had a large motorbike tank bag stuck on with 3M heavy duty velcro. Did days in Europe where the air temp was 35C, plus the heat from the engine in heavy traffic (I had to empty my boots out with the sweat at the end of the day). Also had no issues on the autobahn at 120mph.

 

[2657]

I had a large tank bag stuck on with 3M heavy duty velcro. Did days in Europe where the air temp was 35C, plus the heat from the engine in heavy traffic (I had to empty my boots out with the sweat at the end of the day). Also had no issues on the autobahn at 120mph.

Must have been much better quality adhesive than the stuff on the velcro that I have tried.

 

[Minxy]

I would have expected a neater job from you Tam, very disappointed.

My thoughts too ... Tam's standards are starting to wain a bit!

 

[Northernraider]

Ok electrical question and i know ive probably bern told this before but im just checking .

Solar panel on the van ...ill probably have to run cable about 3metres to get to the batteries ....so is the controller better closer to the panel or closer to the batteries? Which is more important to reduce any losses.


I removed that compressor as it was purely for airhorns and they didnt work anyway ... The space will be filled by an inverter instead

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