Mercedes vario 814 self build bus to FLT palace

[Northernraider]

You did t say they were s/h.

I did lol

 

[Northernraider]

Ha Ha. They are likely to be s/h for a tenner. The ones I had we bought in Annecy from a French version of halford's. They were €50 back in 2005. That would make them about €100 now.

They did the job on a citroen c5 hire car but they wouldn't have been up to the job of a 5t motorhome that's for sure.

The point being though, regardless of how s**t they are, are they legally compliant or would you get done for not having suitable chains if you caused a hold up. I suspect the latter

These dont state the weight etc they just go on the tyre sizes ....and the only vehicles with 225 70 15 tyres are vans or heavy cars to be honest. This is only a 3.5t van and probably only about 2.5t at the minute going by how high its sitting on the suspension etc .

Theyll be fine ...if i ever need to use them

 

[tacr2man]

The cost difference is not that much due to how good they work , its more down to sophistication , eg how well they are engineered to be easy to fit , how thick the links are( so how much life they will have . and how much materiel and labour goes into them . For my overlander just under £400 a pair

 

[Manic]

Have tried fitting them, so if you do need them you know to fit them.

 

[Conal]

Tam, re: your batteries, if you are travelling via the M11, you can leave them with me (near Stansted Airport) and I will put them on a smart charger until you get back.

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[Northernraider]

Tam, re: your batteries, if you are travelling via the M11, you can leave them with me (near Stansted Airport) and I will put them on a smart charger until you get back.

Thanks thats a very kind offer but im going to stick them in my mums utility room as theres a radiator in there so it should keep them warm enough ill charge them up before i go and they should be fine i think.

 

[Chris]

So nice to see the van coming together Tam

Cant wait to see the finished product.

 

[mitzimad]

tam watch lidl aldi for a cheap smart charger one ive got is superb

 

[jockaneezer]

I've got an Aldi smart charger, I have it hooked up to an older battery for running my Chinese diesel heater in my workshop. The only problem I have with it is if you have a power cut, the charger doesn't resume it's charging protocol until you re-select it. So if your Ma unplugs it to do a spot of hoovering or whatever, you'd have to show her how to reset it ?

 

[Northernraider]

I've got an Aldi smart charger, I have it hooked up to an older battery for running my Chinese diesel heater in my workshop. The only problem I have with it is if you have a power cut, the charger doesn't resume it's charging protocol until you re-select it. So if your Ma unplugs it to do a spot of hoovering or whatever, you'd have to show her how to reset it ?

I can't leave them on charge while im away she widnae like it ...but if i charge them before i go and they are inside with nothing connected they should in theory hold a charge till im back. When you buy a new one they have sometimes been lying on a shelf for months .

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[Freo]

If it helps, I have a spare battery sitting in my hall. It was fully charged at 12.78v when the charger was disconnected on 21st Feb. On 6th September it was reading 12.51v (approx 80% full). So, it only lost 20% after 6 months of indoor storage.

Cracking work, by the way. Hats off to you, man.

 

[Figaro]

im going to stick them in my mums utility room

Just find a piece of old celotex or something to sit then on, off the floor

 

[Northernraider]

A little more progress today ...seam sealed the metal plates and got 2 of them in to primer.

Forecast is rain again tomorrow so probably won't get the other 2 primed till Friday when its forecast for sun ...
Iveco is in on Friday for its Cambelt and waterpump too

Everything taking longer to cure in this cold weather ....causing holdups.

 

[pagey]

adding value every day

 

[Blossom]

Northernraider Tam, your new home is coming along nicely I am looking forward to seeing the inside take shape. Just wondering if you are having any windows in the other side of the van. I can’t imagine sitting in there and not being able to see out apart from the cab part of the van. And did I read somewhere the cab will be blocked off from the habitation part, or was that one of the other vehicles .

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[Northernraider]

Northernraider Tam, your new home is coming along nicely I am looking forward to seeing the inside take shape. Just wondering if you are having any windows in the other side of the van. I can’t imagine sitting in there and not being able to see out apart from the cab part of the van. And did I read somewhere the cab will be blocked off from the habitation part, or was that one of the other vehicles .

It will have 3 windows fitted eventually ...possibly 4 . But proper double glazed units. But it will be seperate from the cab

 

[Northernraider]

adding value every day

Im just happy to see it taking shape .... and an almost end to the bodywork welding. Still a bit to do at the back when im back next spring but its 90% done and a great improvement from where it was in june.

 

[glenn2926]

Im just happy to see it taking shape .... and an almost end to the bodywork welding. Still a bit to do at the back when im back next spring but its 90% done and a great improvement from where it was in june.

Looks a completely different motor than when you first started cutting out the rot. As long as you have got it weather tight then have a great trip. Don’t worry like all work, nobody will sneak in and do it whilst your away.

 

[Northernraider]

Looks a completely different motor than when you first started cutting out the rot. As long as you have got it weather tight then have a great trip. Don’t worry like all work, nobody will sneak in and do it whilst your away.

It will be water tight before i head off ...have to seal up a skylight and the other forced air vent that will be my chimney as they both leak. But that should be that .

 

[mitzimad]

I've got an Aldi smart charger, I have it hooked up to an older battery for running my Chinese diesel heater in my workshop. The only problem I have with it is if you have a power cut, the charger doesn't resume it's charging protocol until you re-select it. So if your Ma unplugs it to do a spot of hoovering or whatever, you'd have to show her how to reset it ?

first one i had was like that i gave that away and bought another that doesnt suffer from needing to be programmed each time

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[Northernraider]

Transformation stage 1 is now complete ....its no longer a bus ...now its a van .

I think it looks shorter but mum thinks it looks longer which is strange . But either way from 10 feet away it looks not bad
Close up it looks terrible lol but it should at least keep the rain out while im gone . I've stuck a temporary plate over the chimney hole too and run some sealant around the 2 skykights for now .

Thats all im doing to it now till i come back other than give it a tidy up inside and cover up all my tools etc with a couple of tarpaulins. My new battery charger arrived today so ive had one of the batteries charging up and will do the other tomorrow. Ill start the van up and leave it running for an hour or so then switch off and remove the two batteries and put them in mums utility room ..

Garage didnt get the iveco started till this afternoon so ill not get that back now till monday.

Beautiful sunny day today but not so good again from tomorrow

 

[fat haggis]

Looks fantastic mate. Are you going to raptor it before you do the inside fitting out.

 

[Winger]

Slowly slowly catchee monkey Tam. Well done! Now go and enjoy your winter

 

[Mikey RV]

Looking good, proper job.

 

[Chrisallys]

Looks a fab job mate. Hope you're keeping a good quantity of photos to look back on in a year or so. My tip is print them off and fill an album cos everybody will want to see the work you've done.

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[glenn2926]

Looking good Tam. Have a great trip. You’ve earned it. Hope you’re going to do a trip report of it.

 

[Lenny HB]

What happened to than nice bus you bought?

Are you goi g to put a tempory covering on the floor to try and keep moisture out?

 

[gus-lopez]

but mum thinks it looks longer which is strange

Probably because Mum has to look at it for the next 3 months whilst you are off on a jolly

 

[Northernraider]

Looks fantastic mate. Are you going to raptor it before you do the inside fitting out.

Undecided yet ...the roof will have to be done for sure as i also need to fit the roofrack etc before i fit it out , not sure about the rest yet .

Looks a fab job mate. Hope you're keeping a good quantity of photos to look back on in a year or so. My tip is print them off and fill an album cos everybody will want to see the work you've done.

I have over 500 photos off it so far lol ...but i will need to go through them and delete a lot

What happened to than nice bus you bought?

Are you goi g to put a tempory covering on the floor to try and keep moisture out?

Yeah a tarp under the wood i have

 

[Eggs]

Undecided yet ...the roof will have to be done for sure as i also need to fit the roofrack etc before i fit it out , not sure about the rest yet .

I have over 500 photos off it so far lol ...but i will need to go through them and delete a lot

Yeah a tarp under the wood i have

Have you got a roofrack? If my ex missus hasn't chucked it out I might have one off my old 811.

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