BXProject

[mickey taker]

I know , you either love em or hate em, but its still probably the cheapest way for a family to get away on holiday in the uk.

while away this year we looked into buying a new van.

I always thought our old girl was quite heavy but in fact its a good 600 kilos lighter than its modern day equivilant ( ours weighing in at about 1000kg )

The only things the newer ones have over mine are
air con ( the one I tested was so noisey I doubt if I would use it )
domestic style cooker ( but mine has an eye level oven and grille plus seperate hob so no bending down to the oven )

the one big plus is the cassette toilet with the tank that slides out the side as oppossed to the old style freestanding one I have where the waste tank unclips from underneath meaning you have to lug it through the van to empty it.

I have done some research and found I can get a cassette type loo from a caravan breakers for about £150 complete with external door and brackets .

does anyone here have any knowledge of cutting holes in the side of caravans to fit such a thing ?


I guess the skin is ally then theres the foam bit between the outer skin and board inner skin

so does this mean I should install some sort of wooden subframe around the hole to replace the strength lost by cutting through the wall before fitting the door ?

any help or advice would be appreciated , I know Vanny has some caravan experience but any input would be good.

If this works well I might add a couple of external access doors to the underseat lockers ( which modern vans have ) as well, so I dont have to pull the beds apart every time the kids want tennis balls, cricket sets and the like out .

The old girls bone dry so worth investing a few quid in rather than replacing it with a modern heavier van thats going to cost me about 8 or 9 grand

[Philhod]

I have a mate, Mickey, that repairs/modernises and prepares them for the new season each year.
It's his own business, just him and his lad. I'll ask him if you like.

[mickey taker]

yes please Phil

[Philhod]

ok Mickey I give him a ring tomorrow

[mat_the_cat]

I would put a frame in Mick, it will keep the two skins apart and give rigidity to the door(s). That said, we have a caravan as a log shed, and that has had holes cut in it with no reinforcement...
Best to treat the wood with a preservative first, and use something like Sikaflex 512(?) to bond it to both skins, as that will seal as well.

I'm no expert though, see if Phil's mate agrees! If you want a new bog, then you could buy for for about £250 - with an electric flush! Luxury.

[Way2go]

You may be able to find some extruded aluminium "U" channel of the right size/shape from a metals stockist that you could make a good frame from.

[Father Ted]

£150 for a thetford cassette bog? Yoooz been rubbed matey. I paid £50 for mine from a breakers in Wigan. The first cut through the aluminum is always very nerve wracking - Measure, measure, measure again, and then measure a bit more - and I still got it a bit wrong so I had to build out the wall behind the bog by nearly half an inch with some ply.

I just used some wooden battoning for the frame and some black sikkaflex. It worked, it didnt leak in and it saved cartng a leaky portapotty through the van. (1987 Swift Corvette)

[Vanny]

If your getting it from a van breakers, see if they will chop a foot of wall out around the opening. They dont have to unbolt the doors and everything and then you can just transpose the frame. Best of luck trying to put the frame in between the skins though, it will be a right pain in the haris.

Oh, 1mm cutting discs for the win here, dont use a normal width grinding disk.


Also, the best solution for holidaying is a campervan and awning, caravans are a terrible thing (except those pre 50's ones the size of a modern bedsit.

[mickey taker]

havent looked locally yet been watching prices on ebay , the £150 was for an electric flush one with a three month warranty from a place in Wales. Have just been told of a local caravan breakers so will check it out this weekend ,

whilst I like the idea of a camper van in principal they usually mean you either end up packing everything away when you go out for the day or you need a little car towed along behind it for trips out so twice the vehicle running costs ( tax insurance etc ) also parking a camper of the size we would need in Milton Keynes would be a no no.

they also seem horribly over priced ,
my caravan cost me £2000, £ 300 a year to store and a another hundred a year to insure.

my mate has just sold his camper that was only two years younger than my caravan for £8,250

[Way2go]

There was a sizeable display of large Campervans outside at the London Motor Show.

How about a Winnebago?

[Father Ted]

Ahh, well 50 notes was for a non electric remove it myself one - and no I didnt remove the frame - i made one up using baton. Cut the walls with a jigsaw.

[mat_the_cat]

How about this?

[Philhod]

Couldn't get an answeer from A & B vans today Mickey.

I have to pass there on my way to skelmersdale college in the am, so I will call round.

[mickey taker]

thanks for all the help guys ( Matts being the exception of course )

[Way2go]

Matt's contribution was only a drop in the bucket then?

[docchevron132]

How about this?

Beats taking a shit out of the door of a bus, and yes, I have seen it happen...

[smiffy]

How about this?

Beats taking a shit out of the door of a bus, and yes, I have seen it happen...

Yes but then your brother is an animal!

[Philhod]

Beats taking a shit out of the door of a bus, and yes, I have seen it happen...

I thought you meant when you were bent over, looking between your legs.

[Way2go]

I thought you meant when you were bent over, looking between your legs.

Is that why they call it a motion?

[docchevron132]

How about this?

Beats taking a shit out of the door of a bus, and yes, I have seen it happen...

Yes but then your brother is an animal!

Thats a bit unfair to animals isn't it!

That really is an image that will take dementia to get shot of.....