January 2009 , we were in the workshop and they ripped into it.
Don't assume - Ask , was our guiding comment and ask they did . We called in daily and all parties benefited.
Mike worked on the new centre door , the lockers and the under floor fit out.
We wanted to freedom camp for up to two weeks so we spent extra dollars under the floor.
Three fresh water tanks , interconnected , which provide 585 litres. Plus another 116 litre tank for the loo. Black water tank of 158 litres , grey tank of 250 litres . All are monitored by a BEP Tank Sensor unit.
The Battery locker was set up with two Heavy Duty Starter batteries and two 250 amp hour sealed Deep Cycle Batteries. These are supported by a 25 amp Pure Charge 3 Stage Battery Charger . A 60 amp Alternator for the house batteries plus the standard alternator for the motor start batteries.
A 1500 watt Pure Sine Wave Inverter , a Morningstar Tri Star MPPT solar controller , the wiring and fuses and a 240 volt mains supply system was installed by a camper van wiring specialist.
To pander to our ageing eyesight we needed an all white interior which is very unforgiving as any errors really show up.
The aircon roof mounted gear was removed and that space was converted to a light well with a four way vent/hatch.
It was a busy time as we had to keep ahead with our decision making and the purchasing of the product so the items would be available when needed.
Mike pushed on.
He installed the Atwood 22 Litre gas hot water heater and a Webasto Air Heater , fueled by diesel, plumbed from the main fuel tank.
The water pump was next , a Extreme Sensor 4 , 50psi marine pump hooked up to Pure Zone water filter which was plumbed through to the vanity basin and the sink bench.
The gas locker was vented and fitted up with three 4.5kg gas bottles.
There was enough space left to fit a Honda 2kw Gen Set on slides for easy servicing .
This was permanently wired through to the 12v/240v switch.
We had a little awning made as our thinking was that if we needed to use it , it would be in bad weather conditions and it should be kept dry.
The kitchen cabinetry was made and fitted unit by unit.
The Waeco electric only frig/freezer with microwave and cupboard over fitted as detailed.
The Dometic washing machine was securely fixed to the floor by a steel subframe that Andy fabricated.
The stove is a Spinflo Mk3 , Caprice. 3 gas rings and 1 electric ( never used so far ) with a full oven and a separate griller.
The Queen size bed has 4 large drawers under it which are easier to access than having to lift the bed up.
The kitchen has slide out pantry and drawers (no cupboards )
on full extension slides. This allows us to look down into a drawer rather than kneeling on the floor and peering in to a dark cupboard.
The bench top is made out of formica type product as was the vanity top and the table top.
With the en-suite walls up the areas were defined and as to plan.
A Majestic TV/DVD with Free To Air was mounted on a hinged panel with signals from a manually adjusted Sat/dish.
A timber overlay floor and skirting was laid in the kitchen/lounge and bedroom .
The en-suite floor was covered in a non-slip lino like what is used in big walkin showers and returned up the walls so as to be a shower base.
Also a folding handrail that can lock closed across the door for extra security.
We chose a metallic grey and white two tone which made it look quite smart.
When we bought the rig we did not realise that it had Isuzu hubcaps and they polished up quite well which helped the appearance.
We did not want to tow our 4x4 so sold it and bought a Susuki Carry mini truck . It was 4 wheel drive , high and low reduction with a 3 cylinder, 660cc motor . A canopy was fitted with polystyrene lining . We were impressed , we had a "shed on wheels"and a shopping basket , that could take on the beaches , sand dunes and supermarket carparks. Its 30 litre fuel tank took us 600 Km , we were impressed.
April 24th 2009 and we left the workshop - our life as live-a-boards had started.
