Back to the fold....

[Spuffington]

Just when you think you're ahead....

Prepping Harry has so far been going well. Been nice taking time to get to know him better. Yesterday I fitted a Fiamma Hymer Pro bike rack which has been in the shed for a year. Saved myself £200 by doing it myself over having it fitted by local firm. Pat on back and smug for saving money.

So you can imagine my disappointment when I went in the van today to drain the system I primed yesterday with cleaning solution only to find the bathroom filled with water! After mopping up it became obvious it was dripping behind the shower mixer valve, which happens to be situated in the most difficult area for access. So I took apart the bathrooom cabinet which enabled me to get my head in but not much else. (Sigh).

Anyway, water seems to be coming from inside the tap and dripping from the base of it. Best case scenario I need a new cartridge, worst case, new tap!!! Tap is £150 on its own.

At least it's not stopping me from using the van. Plan is for me to move in next sunday and although I can't get it seen to until next Tues, I can use shower blocks at site until it's fixed.

There's always something!!!

[surveyor]

Taps in Caravans (and I presume motorhomes) are an absolute swine. I use an adaptor that fits to an air pump that blows all the water out of our system at window. Otherwise water get's trapped, freezes and busts the taps...

Bad luck on this.

[Spuffington]

surveyor said:

Taps in Caravans (and I presume motorhomes) are an absolute swine. I use an adaptor that fits to an air pump that blows all the water out of our system at window. Otherwise water get's trapped, freezes and busts the taps...

Bad luck on this.

Yup - I also reckon it's down to the age of the van. So many little niggles are beginning to show themselves that nothing is surprising me at the moment. Thankfully the Classic Hymers Facebook page has been useful in that a Tech has recommended me the replacement mixer required. 60quid delivered. The other good thing is that even though this is a major issue, a lot of the other niggles can be easily rectified by replacing a screw here and there or tightening things up again.

I've provisionally booked it into MG Caravans for them to fit the part. But I will take a look at it again tonight as I've had a brainwave - if I can undo the retaining nut at the top and drop the whole assembly (inc. attached pipes) down and out of the bathroom cupboard before removing the pipes, swapping them over and then reversing the process. I don't think there is any way to remove the pipes in situ as the space is just too tight.

[GreatGranny]

Sorry to hear your marital situation Spuff.

Just concentrate on your daughter.

They are very resilient and hopefully she will quickly fall into the different routine.

Have you found a site yet?

As above re. CLs. They normally have hook ups and showers in a lot of them. Maybe better for longer stays.

[Spuffington]

Thanks GG.

Daughter has taken it well - clearly doesn't understand full ramifications of it but at the same time, very excited to be spending time with me in the van. She loves "Harry" so that's positive and she's keen on the idea of sleepovers etc. So all good......so far. I too am also banking on her being flexible and resilient so fingers crossed it pans out. But I'll be keeping a close eye on her and willing to do all I can to support and minimise any upset.

I've asked for a day a week of working from home so that I can pick her up and deliver her to nursery, etc. So far positive reception from work but still needs finally approving.

As regards a site - in negotiation with a site down the road from me. It's a CS but nothing other than CDP and fresh & grey water. So genny will be needed. But has the bonus that it's cheap, close to the family home (5min drive or 20min walk across fields) and even more positive (or not), 5mins walk from village pub! BUT - they normally only tolerate 14days max stay so I'm trying to persuade him that being a professional, spending lots of time in Germany and going away frequently for weekends in the van will have me away perhaps as much as I'm there. Fingers crossed. But does mean I'll need to get the shower working sooner rather than later!!!

[Spuffington]

So, it's coming together - latest achievements:

- Honda EU20i Generator purchased. Yet to run it up, but at least I have leccy secured!
- Met with owner of CS near me and he's confirmed I can stay there as often as I like, subject to the terms of his licence;
- Harry dropped off at MG Caravans this morning. Yet more stirling service from the guys and girls there. Work so far and van ready tonight:-

• - Fridge Service - good job I had them do this. Although there have been no issues, they found the burner and jet completely rusted so only a matter of time before there'd have been problems;
• - Sadly the tap I purchased for the shower is too small for the aperature the last one is fitted into, but there are no other ones which fit since they are out of production. They will be fabricating a mount for it, which is the only thing possible;
• - Kitchen tap being replaced due to frost damage(!);
• - Kitchen utensil drawer being reglued / bonded due to front facia coming apart;
• - Thermocouple on one ring of the hob being sorted;
• - New bathroom roof vent.

That should be enough capex for the moment! My poor bank balance is taking a hammering, but I have to bear in mind that 1) he's an old van and stuff like this will happen, 2) the fridge work etc. is preventative maintenance and good that it was sorted now and 3) still way cheaper than a month's rent in an apartment.

That is all for now. Will be "moving in" most likely tomorrow.

[Kneetrembler]

All the very best with your move tomorrow,and for the future.
Kind Regards

KT

[Spuffington]

Kneetrembler said:

All the very best with your move tomorrow,and for the future.
Kind Regards

KT

Thanks KT.

[eric twinge]

Yes, good luck for everything, hope it all works out.

[Blaynem]

Sorry to hear the stress your going through. Have loved reading the thread and hope you find the time and desire to keep it going. Wishing you all the best.

[Spuffington]

So, what with VED and MOT being a reminder of impending annual ownership anniversary, I thought I'd do a quick summary of where I am with Harry. And with a twist!

I won't focus too much on the overall experience, since I'm covering this in my fulltiming thread, but will limit it instead to costs...........of which there have been quite a number of late. But I guess that's to be expected with a vehicle of his age. Admittedly, some of these things were down to my own stupidity (like not bleeding off the water circuit fully before winter set in and blowing up a few of the taps) but others were purely age related and I can't hold that against him.

Most recent costs were:

Laser wheel alignment

This was 100quid from a man in a van (subcontracted via a Commercials Yard near me). Turns out to be amongst the best 100quid I've spent. Ever since I've owned him, I've had a significant amount of play around dead centre and a lot of steering adjustment required on the move to keep him going straight. I queried this at the dealers where I bought him and was told this was normal for Sprinters of this vintage. :unsure: Not knowing any different, I just sucked it up and got on with it.

It was only when he started pulling to the left that I decided to get the tracking done. Trying to get it done at a normal ATS or Kwik Fit is impossible as no-one has big enough ramps etc. so I called on the big boys and they used their chap who does all of their alignment work. Lovely fella and did a stirling job. 80quid for cash (I topped up with some beer tokens as he was thoroughly decent) and Harry is transformed. Tracks true and straight - no need for constant jiggling and as tight as a nut. OSF wheel 9mm out, NSF wheel 15mm out!

Only problem with getting this done - it showed up the real cause of the tugging to the left..................the brake caliper slider pins had seized!

Replaced caliper slider pins and minor caliper rebuild

Following on from the alignment work, Harry stayed at the yard and endured 9hrs of work to get the calipers unseized and new slider pins fitted. Due to being very low mileage (for his age), the Brakes had borne the brunt of the lack of mileage and gummed up. The lads struggled to get everything apart but suceeded in the end and I must confess there is a much more linear feel to the brakes now; a more positive action. Still somewhat lacking but I reckon new brake fluid and potentially new discs and pads will sort this (as I believe the discs are unevenly worn due to the slider pins being seized. Boys at the Yard seemed to think the discs and pads would be fine, but for the optimum setup, I think new consumables would be best, but if they say they're ok at the moment, given I don't have too much spare cash right now, I'll go with their judgement. Cash Job - 400 quid.

MOT, Oil Service, Brake Fluid Change and Coolant Change

Last year I had an epic service done on Harry, so this year is limited to Oil Service. In order to save a bit of cash last year, in agreement with my mechanic, we pushed the coolant change out to this year since everything was in spec at the time. The Brake Fluid was difficult last year since some of the bleed nipples had seized, so didn't have enough time (or cash) to spend on getting them unseized or rebuilt. I'm hoping it's something the boys sorted when the caliper pins were replaced but bracing myself that this is not the case. Irrespective, the brake fluid needs changing so work will have to be done to resolve this. Bracing myself for 350quid plus next Thurs.

New rear light clusters

I've somehow managed to pick up a 5p sized hole in the nsr light cluster. My daughter spotted it - I'm not sure whether this means that she's the culprit but it needs changing out before the MOT to ensure I don't pick up a fail or advisory. I managed to source a pair from eBay from a Hella dealer - 80quid. It was cheaper to buy the pair and thought I'd fit both as it will smarten up the rear of the van. I'll get this done this weekend.

********

Now, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that once these mechanical bits are sorted, I'm going to have a pretty well sorted van - from a chassis & drivetrain perspective. All the major service items are well up to date; many of which then don't need doing again for a long time to come. And the more "complex" jobs will have been sorted. It's relatively simple technology on the Sprinter, so barring a major catastrophic failure, I should be all good for a while. I may even take to servicing him myself in future (things like oil, air filters, fuel filters - relatively straightforward) and just keeping a written record and receipts of work. Brake discs and pads perhaps next year.

Having just done nearly 2k miles in him, it's obvious he gets better with miles. I need to make a point of using him a lot more.

********

On the habitation side, there's the usual, relatively constant need for keeping on top of things:

- spring in the flyscreen roller over the pull-down bed has failed. I need to take it out and have a look how to repair it. I'll do this myself;
- shower tray and bathroom floor really Needs cutting out, reinforcing underneath and rebuilding as it's beginning to crack with age and usage. I've been quoted 400quid by MG Caravans, which I view as quite good value for money;
- boiler might need a service or a new burner/ignitor (much like the fridge) as it's not very good being left on low settings - tends to flame-out or requires a lot of gas to ignite (thus creating a rather uncomfortable "boom" when it lights!)
- I may see about visiting a specialist carpet fitter for caravans/motorhomes before winter hits. With only being a single skin floor, it gets a little cold in winter. Slippers are a good solution to cold feet, but more insulation across the whole flooring area would be good.

********

And now for the twist.........

With everything going on and the requirement for cash, the ex told me learly last week she wanted the motorhome sold and would be requiring the proceeds. This was both heartbreaking and inconvenient given it's currently my home. However, it is just a luxury at the moment and the house is more important, so I put Harry on a Hymer Selling Site on Facebook to gauge interest. I stickered it up for 25k, which was effectively what I bought him for from the dealer two years ago. Within two hours, I had six people message me and that evening a chap come around to view him. Upon telling him how much interest I had, he indicated he was willing to offer 28k. Upon hearing this, I made a mental note to offer Best & Final bids on him and seek to achieve 30k, which is what I really need to raise.

The problem was, nothing was going to prepare me for how violated I would feel having someone look around Harry. It was horrible and seeing how someone else was so excited about driving him and benefitting from all my hard work (and money), had me soul-searching for the next week about how to hold on to him. Help has come in the form of my Uncle, who has agreed to lend me the money to buy him off my wife. (y)

But what this episode has proved, I have an almost depreciation-proof machine which although it costs me a reasonable amount in upkeep, I see this diminishing somewhat over the near-term and god-forbid I need the cash (or he does), then he can be sold relatively easily and with relatively little (if any) loss. The reason for this: there were only a few of these layouts ever produced and particularly not in the UK. They're great for couples - lots of living space but with the flexibility of taking someone else along either for a drive or an overnight too. The 4.6t chassis was an expensive option new, so they are even rarer. The 3.5t chassis barely have any payload at all (200-300kg max), whereas the 4.6t has 1.2t of payload, which means you never have to worry about being overweight. Harry also has leather (factory fitted) and a whole host of options. Plus of course all the maintenance I have done, which many vans haven't had done over the years.

So to the costs:

Pistonheads can't deal with appreciation, so these are the nominal costs, which come out at a rather respectible 80p per mile, which isn't bad on just shy of 7k miles. If you take appreciation into account, the cost per mile is just 1.5p per mile!

In reality, you're never going to get less than just the fuel cost, which is c. 24p per mile. But nevertheless, quite cool to think that it's only cost me 465 quid to own over the last 2 years.

[Spuffington]

Well - he passed!!

MOT passed with no Advisories. That means he's kept his clean slate (ish); one fail the year I bought him for a number plate bulb(!) but apart from that no advisories or fails. Happy days!

Service in the end was limited to just an oil & filter change and a general look over. The Coolant Change was postponed for another year as it was reading -23degs C so well within tolerance and the brake fluid couldn't be done due to seized bleed nipples. But he checked water content in the fluid and again it was well within tolerance so was skipped at this stage. They found some oil residue on the turbo boost pipe but just cleaned it up and tightened the jubilee clip and will monitor.

Otherwise all good. Was relieved of £299 for service and MOT which feels expensive for an Indy. But then I keep thinking that if I were to do it myself, I'd certainly have missed the misting (or anything else for that matter), so is probably worth continuing to get him to look after it since he can spot things ahead of them being an issue.

Only thing I was annoyed about - when they replaced the Euroliner wheel trims on the fronts, they obscured the tyre valves so I'll have a job today removing them and refitting before heading up to Norfolk and checking tyre pressures before the journey.

In summary though, very pleased. A weight off my mind (and wallet) and another opportunity to hear from someone who knows what they're talking about, that I have a lovely machine!

[Spuffington]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Thanks!

[Spuffington]

Well as a final post on this rollercoaster thread, Harry has today been sold to a lovely chap and his wife from the South Coast. He had contacted me during the auction to express interest but then had second thoughts after becoming attached to his current Hymer. He made contact again on Friday and whilst I was keen on holding out for someone else after a disasterous experience on eBay, the chap seemed genuine, knew what he was looking for and crucially, being an existing motorhome owner, knew what he was looking at and buying into. I think frequently non-motorhome owners get hung up on details and can't get their heads around the fact that £25k "only" buys them a 16yr old vehicle which has a history and will incur future costs.

Anyway, I spent 5hrs yesterday giving him as thorough clean inside and out and he came up beautifully. Although the buyer had told me he had viewed a similar Starline 640 a few days earlier and discounted it due to sun damage and some other bits of wear, I was certain Harry was good, but would he be good enough for this buyer? Negative thoughts plagued my mind yesterday as I scrutinised every tiny little mark, wondering if this would put him off. But standing back to admire my handy work, I was struck by just how superb Harry looks and can stand his own in the presence of the hugely more expensive Concorde. In some ways even looks better with his raked windscreen and compact dimensions.

As it turns out, Harry was just what the fella was looking for. He has some honest signs of use - none of which I hid or attempted to hide but the important things are done (which I knew). The Buyer asked me to take him around the vehicle (inside & out) and explain everything I had done or which had a history - I surprised myself by being able to go into forensic detail about every mark, service item, thought, planned or paid expenditure. In all, the viewing and test drive took nearly four hours. But at the end of the day he was happy to pay my (reduced) asking price of £25k and immediately submitted £1k cash deposit with a promise to collect in the next 10 days.

So what does all of that mean? Well, I'm firmly convinced that the Buyer has got one of the best of the breed. For as much as I love my Concorde, Harry is a particularly fine example of a motorhome which can do everything - he can hold his own in far more modern company and build quality far exceeds what can be bought new from any of the British manufacturers or more budget EU makes which cost twice the price. The drivetrain is solid, devilishly effective at enabling progress even in quite a big package and a chassis which is cosseting, forgiving and enables progress in a way which vans shouldn't really be able to perform. At just 6.7m he was/is perfect for wild camping and tight country roads - no real overhang to catch you out on tight turns and a wonderful mix of living and hab area without being too cramped for a couple or three people.

The Buyer appears a bit of a perfectionist like myself. So whilst I am gutted having to sell Harry, I am so pleased that he will be cherished in the same way as which I have treated him and know he has many more adventures ahead.

In all, Harry has cost me nothing in depreciation but a decent amount in maintenance. Much of this I would've been able to amortise had I have kept him under normal circumstances. But I'm quite happy with running costs of "just" £1 per mile over just under 8.5k miles. When you consider what even an "average" family holiday costs, I'm quids in several times over.

I've had some amazing experiences in him both as a family and as a solo traveller. He became a loved companion by my daughter and a real trooper who I could count on in any adventure I took him on, once his initial niggles were sorted. I will forever have a place in my heart for Harry and be thankful for the adventures that I had in him.

Edited by Spuffington on Sunday 27th August 22:20