motorhome newbie, old hymer, one year in europe....
Discussion
hi everyone.
i've posted on a couple of other threads, but thought i'd start my own rather than crash others.
well. here goes!
We are currently moving along with the sale of our house, and using the equity to fund a year off, travelling and seeing as much of the bits of europe that we want to as we can.
when this plan started off, i was trying to think of a way to see quite a few places, in as real a way as possible, which has led to the posting in this section
. completely new at this, we've never spent an hour in a motorhome before, let alone a year, so perhaps we should have come here for some advice on what to get.
We didn't though and we have picked up this old but lovely hymer 2.5 non turbo with less than 100k on the clock.
it has a solar install, lpg refillable gas bottle, and has just come back from a year in spain and morocco.
it also had a new clutch, belts, tyres and service before the previous owners set off, oh, it's also just breezed through the last mot. hopefully a good sign for a 25ish year old van!
being new to all of this, there are a few things i could do with a hand with. i've already replaced a cracked skylight cover in the bathroom, and removed, cleaned, and re seated the unit too as it had a tiny leak.
when we viewed it, we noticed two repaired cracks in the shower tray floor, the owner said they were fine, and had never leaked, but once home i decided i didnt like the look of them, so.... took out the whole bathroom (its a wetroom tray) picked out all of the old crap sealant/adhesive sanded, fiberglassed, and re painted the whole tray. everything was given a thorough clean and polish, then put back to as was, having taped a couple of dodgy , but amazingly, not leaking (i hope) waste elbows. the upshot is the bathroom looks pretty good, and pretty solid now too.
next on the list is to sort the lighting. i'll change the bulbs over to led, and want to replace a current unit, which i think is non standard for an led strip light, this is where i could use a hand, i know nothing, and i mean nothing about electric, so please, treat me as a dummy.
id also like to wire the head unit to the leisure battery if thats possible, so if anyone can help, then please chime in.
other jobs involve fitting an awning rail along the van, hopefully new vinyl floor (the old one is a bit grubby) cushion covers to be made etc.
the van currently has a carbon monoxide alarm fitted, i'm going to get the gas checked and serviced, even though everything works, it would put our minds at rest, and hopefully not our bodies!
and off to a garage for a full service before the big off!
will sign off now, but feel free to ask questions, ill try and get some more pics up soon.
craig
i've posted on a couple of other threads, but thought i'd start my own rather than crash others.
well. here goes!
We are currently moving along with the sale of our house, and using the equity to fund a year off, travelling and seeing as much of the bits of europe that we want to as we can.
when this plan started off, i was trying to think of a way to see quite a few places, in as real a way as possible, which has led to the posting in this section
. completely new at this, we've never spent an hour in a motorhome before, let alone a year, so perhaps we should have come here for some advice on what to get.We didn't though
and we have picked up this old but lovely hymer 2.5 non turbo with less than 100k on the clock.it has a solar install, lpg refillable gas bottle, and has just come back from a year in spain and morocco.
it also had a new clutch, belts, tyres and service before the previous owners set off, oh, it's also just breezed through the last mot. hopefully a good sign for a 25ish year old van!
being new to all of this, there are a few things i could do with a hand with. i've already replaced a cracked skylight cover in the bathroom, and removed, cleaned, and re seated the unit too as it had a tiny leak.
when we viewed it, we noticed two repaired cracks in the shower tray floor, the owner said they were fine, and had never leaked, but once home i decided i didnt like the look of them, so.... took out the whole bathroom (its a wetroom tray) picked out all of the old crap sealant/adhesive sanded, fiberglassed, and re painted the whole tray. everything was given a thorough clean and polish, then put back to as was, having taped a couple of dodgy , but amazingly, not leaking (i hope) waste elbows. the upshot is the bathroom looks pretty good, and pretty solid now too.
next on the list is to sort the lighting. i'll change the bulbs over to led, and want to replace a current unit, which i think is non standard for an led strip light, this is where i could use a hand, i know nothing, and i mean nothing about electric, so please, treat me as a dummy.
id also like to wire the head unit to the leisure battery if thats possible, so if anyone can help, then please chime in.
other jobs involve fitting an awning rail along the van, hopefully new vinyl floor (the old one is a bit grubby) cushion covers to be made etc.
the van currently has a carbon monoxide alarm fitted, i'm going to get the gas checked and serviced, even though everything works, it would put our minds at rest, and hopefully not our bodies!
and off to a garage for a full service before the big off!
will sign off now, but feel free to ask questions, ill try and get some more pics up soon.
craig
wow, thanks everyone! i really didn't expect such a response.
to be honest, like a few people i know, 2016/17 were a bit tricky for me, mainly in my own head to be honest, and we are cutting ties with everything we know to do this. weve both worked from 16 to get to the stage where we are fairly comfortable, nothing like some, but we have/had a nice little 3 bed house near the sea, and a stable job for me that ive been in at my current employers for 12 years, and lots of nice things around us, and yet, i just don't feel i'm living my own life, but doing what is expected of me. i've had some tough days to get me to the stage where i've just said f
k it, and acted upon it. i'm not brave, nor a great adventurer, i just think i can do more than work to pay for stuff i don't need/want.
i wont go on and on (i easily could) but any questions, feel free to ask.
so back to the van, re: access, the front end is fiberglass, and between the grill and windscreen is a removable bonnet which allows room to work (i'd imagine, i've not had my hands dirty yet!)
agent 006, thanks for that, i've read about wire colours confusing people, so will revert to the original diagrams for wiring.
also noticed on our control panel that the tube over the kitchen made little difference to the needle reading, is that volts? this is how bad i am!
so this is what i want to replace
can anyone tell me what i need? simple kits ive found on amazon involve a plug and a power block, presumably i can do something without all of that?
cheers folks.
craig
to be honest, like a few people i know, 2016/17 were a bit tricky for me, mainly in my own head to be honest, and we are cutting ties with everything we know to do this. weve both worked from 16 to get to the stage where we are fairly comfortable, nothing like some, but we have/had a nice little 3 bed house near the sea, and a stable job for me that ive been in at my current employers for 12 years, and lots of nice things around us, and yet, i just don't feel i'm living my own life, but doing what is expected of me. i've had some tough days to get me to the stage where i've just said f
k it, and acted upon it. i'm not brave, nor a great adventurer, i just think i can do more than work to pay for stuff i don't need/want.i wont go on and on (i easily could
) but any questions, feel free to ask.so back to the van, re: access, the front end is fiberglass, and between the grill and windscreen is a removable bonnet which allows room to work (i'd imagine, i've not had my hands dirty yet!)
agent 006, thanks for that, i've read about wire colours confusing people, so will revert to the original diagrams for wiring.
also noticed on our control panel that the tube over the kitchen made little difference to the needle reading, is that volts? this is how bad i am!
so this is what i want to replace
can anyone tell me what i need? simple kits ive found on amazon involve a plug and a power block, presumably i can do something without all of that?
cheers folks.
craig
thanks. i read your thread a while back. there are cool old things eh?
thanks for the offer of the wiring, i belive i have the diagrams for ours, i'm just so dim with this kind of thing. presumably i need a sting of 12v warm white leds, and a switch, and i can replace the old light with the new one? do i need a specific 12 switch do you know?
thanks for the offer of the wiring, i belive i have the diagrams for ours, i'm just so dim with this kind of thing. presumably i need a sting of 12v warm white leds, and a switch, and i can replace the old light with the new one? do i need a specific 12 switch do you know?
s2sol said:
The light in your picture will have, I think, 2 festoon bulbs in it. The cover pops off carefully. I'll be working in an old Hymer later, and I'll have a look. The small spots below the upper cabinets will take a G4 led fittings. If you're lucky, you can get these to fit the 4 fittings in the big bathroom light, too.
For fluorescents, I use little pads which come with smd, t10 ba9s and festoon fittings. Tear out anything beyond the black and red wires after the switch, and connect as many as you want. LEDs are sensitive to polarity, and the bathroom light almost always needs to be reversed.
thanks for that. For fluorescents, I use little pads which come with smd, t10 ba9s and festoon fittings. Tear out anything beyond the black and red wires after the switch, and connect as many as you want. LEDs are sensitive to polarity, and the bathroom light almost always needs to be reversed.
it's all a bit quiet on the van front at the moment, as it's looking like our sale is all going ahead. we should have move dates by the end of next week, then the madness begins.
hopefully once were settled the other side of that, we can then spend some time on the van in preparation for our off at the end of april.
sorry for being so quiet for so long, but things here have been bonkers.
so we completed on the house at the beginning of the month, and are now living with my folks for the couple of months until the big off.
with the house sold, we have some funds to spend getting the van ready to go.
jobs so far include buying and fitting a new tambour door which was missing on the overhead cupboard in the kitchen.
we replaced the gas struts on the drop down bed as my back was groaning lifting it already (im 35!) so replacement parts from sgs engineering who were most helpful, and about an hour in total to do both sides and it's much easier to shift now. it really is a very simple job for anyone tempted, just be methodical and release the end facing away from the screen first just in case
we took a trip up to ikea at the weekend, and picked up some pots, a bin i modified to allow it to pull out, and fit in a cupboard under the sink, bits and bobs, small storage boxes, and most importantly a new matress.
we chose the morgedal foam mattress, and it seems nice and comfy. bearing in mind it'll be used daily, we wanted a mattress, not a piece of standard foam. hopefully it'll serve us well.
the obvious thing to do with a brand new mattress is of course take it out of its cover, and attack it with a bread knife which is exactly what i did. laying it in place we drew the shape, and trimmed the new one to shape. re-fitted the cover (tucked in the corners on the curved side) and we now have a custom fit mattress, ideal!
we also scored ourselves a near new kampa rally pro 390 xl air awning on ebay which arrived at the start of the week.
to say its fking huge is an understatement!
it doesnt quite fit under the bench seat in the dinette, so with a plan to raise the height of the base, i took a trip to the diy store. a few hours later, and a new ply base to boot, it fits..... just, and i mean just! we will need to find a technique to pack it down to make it fit a little better.
consistent to form, were away in the van this weekend to try it all out (the last/first time we went out in the van was a cold snap in november and it was freezing then too)
i'll update with how we get on.
in the meantime, my wife is working on covering the cushions, with one base and back done so far, they look great!. were a good combo, as i just have no patience for fiddly bits, where shes happy to get on with it.
i'm sorry there are no pics, i'm working on it. i'm a bit of a tech luddite nowadays, so bear with me.
also, the lights look to be a piece of cake, fear of the unknown and all that, i have a switch, cable, a string of leds, and a soldering iron, that'll be next weeks job.
for now, i cant wait to have a restful couple of days away, and to play in the van again with wifey and the little one.
thanks for all the comments.
cheers
craig
so we completed on the house at the beginning of the month, and are now living with my folks for the couple of months until the big off.
with the house sold, we have some funds to spend getting the van ready to go.
jobs so far include buying and fitting a new tambour door which was missing on the overhead cupboard in the kitchen.
we replaced the gas struts on the drop down bed as my back was groaning lifting it already (im 35!) so replacement parts from sgs engineering who were most helpful, and about an hour in total to do both sides and it's much easier to shift now. it really is a very simple job for anyone tempted, just be methodical and release the end facing away from the screen first just in case
we took a trip up to ikea at the weekend, and picked up some pots, a bin i modified to allow it to pull out, and fit in a cupboard under the sink, bits and bobs, small storage boxes, and most importantly a new matress.
we chose the morgedal foam mattress, and it seems nice and comfy. bearing in mind it'll be used daily, we wanted a mattress, not a piece of standard foam. hopefully it'll serve us well.
the obvious thing to do with a brand new mattress is of course take it out of its cover, and attack it with a bread knife which is exactly what i did. laying it in place we drew the shape, and trimmed the new one to shape. re-fitted the cover (tucked in the corners on the curved side) and we now have a custom fit mattress, ideal!
we also scored ourselves a near new kampa rally pro 390 xl air awning on ebay which arrived at the start of the week.
to say its f
king huge is an understatement! it doesnt quite fit under the bench seat in the dinette, so with a plan to raise the height of the base, i took a trip to the diy store. a few hours later, and a new ply base to boot, it fits..... just, and i mean just! we will need to find a technique to pack it down to make it fit a little better.
consistent to form, were away in the van this weekend to try it all out (the last/first time we went out in the van was a cold snap in november and it was freezing then too)
i'll update with how we get on.
in the meantime, my wife is working on covering the cushions, with one base and back done so far, they look great!. were a good combo, as i just have no patience for fiddly bits, where shes happy to get on with it.
i'm sorry there are no pics, i'm working on it. i'm a bit of a tech luddite nowadays, so bear with me.
also, the lights look to be a piece of cake, fear of the unknown and all that, i have a switch, cable, a string of leds, and a soldering iron, that'll be next weeks job.
for now, i cant wait to have a restful couple of days away, and to play in the van again with wifey and the little one.
thanks for all the comments.
cheers
craig
bear with me,
so here are a couple of pics of me ripping out the bathroom to glass the cracks up in the shower tray and reseating the skylight/replacing the cracked window that was in there.
the tambour door was bought over size on ebay. i cut a few grooves into the back edge of the runners to allow them to take on the profile of the existing cabinet.
then trimmed the slats to size, et voila!
this is the awning not fitting in the bench in the van, and another one of the bench with the height raised, and the first of the cushions covered. the original material is on the panel on the wall. these too will be wadded and recovered.
and heres a thrilling shot of the bin (has my life really come to posting pictures of bins on an internet forum ?)
slides in and out though, so it does make it quite practical to live with.
i'll try and take a few more pictures over the weekend, i often find when i'm doing something, i cant be arsed to stop and take photos as i'm usually too busy swearing and being cross, but will try to get any shots of what im doing in the future. i'll also get one up of the bathroom and repair i made to the tray.
cheers
craig
so here are a couple of pics of me ripping out the bathroom to glass the cracks up in the shower tray and reseating the skylight/replacing the cracked window that was in there.
the tambour door was bought over size on ebay. i cut a few grooves into the back edge of the runners to allow them to take on the profile of the existing cabinet.
then trimmed the slats to size, et voila!
this is the awning not fitting in the bench in the van, and another one of the bench with the height raised, and the first of the cushions covered. the original material is on the panel on the wall. these too will be wadded and recovered.
and heres a thrilling shot of the bin (has my life really come to posting pictures of bins on an internet forum ?)
slides in and out though, so it does make it quite practical to live with.
i'll try and take a few more pictures over the weekend, i often find when i'm doing something, i cant be arsed to stop and take photos as i'm usually too busy swearing and being cross, but will try to get any shots of what im doing in the future. i'll also get one up of the bathroom and repair i made to the tray.
cheers
craig
thanks for the help on the ACSI cards all. it is on our to do list.
we received the kampa awning last week, and penned in the diary a weekend away as i finished early from work on the Saturday.
naturally, the tempertures plummeted, but we took the van away anyway, despite knowing we'd be without heating overnight (we've not had a hab service since we bought the van, so despite the heater working fine, and a carbon monoxide detector in the van, i'm not prepared to leave it running yet.)
so the awning went up just fine. the only snag being the ground we were on. the site advised using rock pegs, and i bent three of these trying to find a way through the rocks. anyway, here are a couple of pics.
it isn't the prettiest of jobs, but i was damned if i was going to try more pegs for the sake of making it look a bit ore taught, at the end of the day, it fits, and despite the weather, we managed an hour in the afternoon in a tshirt and jeans loafing about.
having previously posted a grotty picture of the bathroom, heres one of it finished.
i still need to finish the trim by the sink, and ideally wanted to make a new door underneath, as we got the van without one. does anybody have any idea what i need? presumably a sheet of some kind of plastic/coloured perspex?
the shower tray repaired quite well, and was given a coat of showertray paint from somewhere on amazon. it went on ok, no idea how it will hold up in the long run though.
finally heres a shot of the van looking fab against the backdrop of chesil beach.
this was just after taking it up a climb of 17%!
i wont lie, it struggled up for sure, but we still had one gear left!!! so all was ok in the end.
worth mentioning, that the weymouth to bridport coast road is superb, a few small villages, open roads, good visability, and stunning views. a must if your in the area, there were loads of bikers out over the weekend giving it some.
oh, and predictably, it was bloody cold at night!
the vans off for a mechanical service tomorrow, then once back it'll be booked for a hab inspection. theres a new vinyl floor on its way which will take some serious language to fit no doubt, then i think were getting things sorted.
thanks for all the comments, i'll try and keep things updated as we go.
cheers
craig
we received the kampa awning last week, and penned in the diary a weekend away as i finished early from work on the Saturday.
naturally, the tempertures plummeted, but we took the van away anyway, despite knowing we'd be without heating overnight (we've not had a hab service since we bought the van, so despite the heater working fine, and a carbon monoxide detector in the van, i'm not prepared to leave it running yet.)
so the awning went up just fine. the only snag being the ground we were on. the site advised using rock pegs, and i bent three of these trying to find a way through the rocks. anyway, here are a couple of pics.
it isn't the prettiest of jobs, but i was damned if i was going to try more pegs for the sake of making it look a bit ore taught, at the end of the day, it fits, and despite the weather, we managed an hour in the afternoon in a tshirt and jeans loafing about.
having previously posted a grotty picture of the bathroom, heres one of it finished.
i still need to finish the trim by the sink, and ideally wanted to make a new door underneath, as we got the van without one. does anybody have any idea what i need? presumably a sheet of some kind of plastic/coloured perspex?
the shower tray repaired quite well, and was given a coat of showertray paint from somewhere on amazon. it went on ok, no idea how it will hold up in the long run though.
finally heres a shot of the van looking fab against the backdrop of chesil beach.
this was just after taking it up a climb of 17%!
i wont lie, it struggled up for sure, but we still had one gear left!!! so all was ok in the end.
worth mentioning, that the weymouth to bridport coast road is superb, a few small villages, open roads, good visability, and stunning views. a must if your in the area, there were loads of bikers out over the weekend giving it some.
oh, and predictably, it was bloody cold at night!
the vans off for a mechanical service tomorrow, then once back it'll be booked for a hab inspection. theres a new vinyl floor on its way which will take some serious language to fit no doubt, then i think were getting things sorted.
thanks for all the comments, i'll try and keep things updated as we go.
cheers
craig
Well here’s a bit of a thread resurrection. We are currently in a little camperplatz in Zeeland, Netherlands. We had loads to sort before we set off, and every day was about trying to get the van sorted before we left, the last thing i wanted to do when i finished a day was come back and write about it!
We were supposed to leave the uk on Sunday the 30th, but with a poorly little one, and a poorly wife, we just didn’t see the point in busting a gut to hit a date, so on weds the 3rd we left Dover, and arrived in calais at the beginning of our travel adventure.
Obviously, the first thing to do when you get to Calais is leave, so we headed north (west) and up into Belgium. So far stopping off in overnight spots or cheap places like tonigh, we’ve traveled through Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp.
All in lovely sunshine, and all nice places, we’ve been lucky enough to have decent places to stay, To be fair, even staying in a parking space in Ghent on a Friday night wasn’t bad. It took a little getting used to, but once sorted mentally, it was fine, and had a great view over the rowing lake just outside the city centre.
The van has been good. Things I’ve learned so far,
cruising speed is about 85kph
The fridge needs a service, badly.
The tap in the bathroom leaks, which ends up on the shower tray floor =wet feet in the middle of the night.
It leaks oil, a lot. Will investigate further at some point.
However, it has been comfortable, and a decent space to call home for the last week. Living compact is a double edge sword, on one hand cleaning takes minutes, on the other, your always tidying/packing away/cleaning. I’m also already grateful for a proper hot mains powered shower
I’ll try to update a bit more on here, but WiFi in a field is not often laid on, so will probably be a bit patchy. We do have our own blog for those interested.
Www.whilewewander.co.uk
Best
Craig
We were supposed to leave the uk on Sunday the 30th, but with a poorly little one, and a poorly wife, we just didn’t see the point in busting a gut to hit a date, so on weds the 3rd we left Dover, and arrived in calais at the beginning of our travel adventure.
Obviously, the first thing to do when you get to Calais is leave, so we headed north (west) and up into Belgium. So far stopping off in overnight spots or cheap places like tonigh, we’ve traveled through Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp.
All in lovely sunshine, and all nice places, we’ve been lucky enough to have decent places to stay, To be fair, even staying in a parking space in Ghent on a Friday night wasn’t bad. It took a little getting used to, but once sorted mentally, it was fine, and had a great view over the rowing lake just outside the city centre.
The van has been good. Things I’ve learned so far,
cruising speed is about 85kph
The fridge needs a service, badly.
The tap in the bathroom leaks, which ends up on the shower tray floor =wet feet in the middle of the night.
It leaks oil, a lot. Will investigate further at some point.
However, it has been comfortable, and a decent space to call home for the last week. Living compact is a double edge sword, on one hand cleaning takes minutes, on the other, your always tidying/packing away/cleaning. I’m also already grateful for a proper hot mains powered shower
I’ll try to update a bit more on here, but WiFi in a field is not often laid on, so will probably be a bit patchy. We do have our own blog for those interested.
Www.whilewewander.co.uk
Best
Craig
Yeah its odd, seems to have stopped again now. it looks like most of the taps have a cartridge inside that is replaceable for under a tenner. Obviously that’s too easy, and our screw holding everything together is rusted to bits. We should pass a camping store on our way to get the fridge serviced, so if they have one i might pick one up, and contemplate drilling out the old screw and bodging a fix. With regards to a plan, we are heading for Bergen in Norway as our most northerly point hopefully around July time, then turning around and hoping to spend winter all along the med from Croatia to Portugal.
Are you travelling? How’s it going?
Are you travelling? How’s it going?
Well after calling around loads of garages, i think we have found someone who has taken pity on us. We’ve found a garage at the top of Holland who has had a look at the van, and ordered the parts necessary to hopefully fix the oil leak (suspected crankshaft seal, so new timing belt as well), and replace the back box and last section of pipe from our exhaust. To be honest i quite fancied doing the exhaust myself, but the issues of where to source one from, only having a basic socket set with me, and how to dispose of the old one has me leaving it with the garage to do.
In terms of travel, Holland is flat.
So, so flat. To be honest, the topography of the land hasn’t changed since we arrived in Calais. I’m sure ill regret it when were halfway up a mountain with a burnt out clutch, but for now, i don’t wish to sound ungrateful, but I’m bored of it.
Were travelling with our little one, so cities are not a lot of fun, and though we are doing them, we both feel the sweet spot will be finding smaller towns, and hoping from one to the next.
We are right on the edge of Friesland, and hoping that from here to Germany and into Denmark will be a bit more interesting. Despite having never been, the Scandinavian countries interest me, so i’m Hoping we see more and experience more than we have over the last few weeks.
One thing that strikes me is that everyone in a motorhome is 60 plus, so who knows where all these adventuring millennials are that i keep seeing on instagram?
It would be nice to engage with some people of our own age, and get a feel for a place.
The other thing is how blindingly obvious it is, that the young flock to the cities. Even a youngish family in the country is a rarity. I guess were doing something a bit odd, and most people will be at work or what have you in the week, but i hope to engage with someone within my own half of life expectancy soon.
Heading off to one of the islands near texal once the van is sorted, hopefully Sunday, and then on to Groningen, then Germany and up.
Craig
In terms of travel, Holland is flat.
So, so flat. To be honest, the topography of the land hasn’t changed since we arrived in Calais. I’m sure ill regret it when were halfway up a mountain with a burnt out clutch, but for now, i don’t wish to sound ungrateful, but I’m bored of it.
Were travelling with our little one, so cities are not a lot of fun, and though we are doing them, we both feel the sweet spot will be finding smaller towns, and hoping from one to the next.
We are right on the edge of Friesland, and hoping that from here to Germany and into Denmark will be a bit more interesting. Despite having never been, the Scandinavian countries interest me, so i’m Hoping we see more and experience more than we have over the last few weeks.
One thing that strikes me is that everyone in a motorhome is 60 plus, so who knows where all these adventuring millennials are that i keep seeing on instagram?
It would be nice to engage with some people of our own age, and get a feel for a place.
The other thing is how blindingly obvious it is, that the young flock to the cities. Even a youngish family in the country is a rarity. I guess were doing something a bit odd, and most people will be at work or what have you in the week, but i hope to engage with someone within my own half of life expectancy soon.
Heading off to one of the islands near texal once the van is sorted, hopefully Sunday, and then on to Groningen, then Germany and up.
Craig
Nice one, thanks for that.
Would be handy to be able to link via instagram, but until then....
A quick update with the van, we had oil piddling out of the cambelt side of the engine since we left really. I assumed it was as a result of the garage over filling the engine at the service (which they denied) anyway, after the rear section of the exhaust fell off, it was apparent we needed a mechanic to take a look. I tried so many, all full, or uninterested. I contacted a chap called willem up in the north of Holland. I picked him as he had a stingray sat in the workshop on his google images, and thought he might be a bit ‘different’.
He was.
Lovely bloke, lovely Worksop, and nice lads who worked with him too. We had a chat about the van, and came to the conclusion that the crankshaft seal was probably shot, he ordered the parts there and then, rearranged his working week, and fitted us in the next day (today) despite being full for the next few weeks, he told me his guys asked why he did it, and he told them “because if i or you were stuck in France, or Spain, or anywhere else, you’d hope someone would help you”
He worked on our van all day, an i mean all day.
The culprit was a scratch on the crank itself, likely from a puller used the last time the seal was replaced.
With that done, new belt and tensioners, and a new exhaust on the back end, hopefully we will be good for a while to come. I hope so, as our funds are taking a hiding at the moment.
The next handful of days look to be wall to wall sunshine, and as we pass out of Holland, into Germany, and nearing Denmark, i’m Hoping for a bit of a non eventful time. Starting tomorrow with a cycle around one of the islands off the north coast of the Netherlands.
The next update will hopefully be more travel and less garage workshop.
Cheers
Craig
Would be handy to be able to link via instagram, but until then....
A quick update with the van, we had oil piddling out of the cambelt side of the engine since we left really. I assumed it was as a result of the garage over filling the engine at the service (which they denied) anyway, after the rear section of the exhaust fell off, it was apparent we needed a mechanic to take a look. I tried so many, all full, or uninterested. I contacted a chap called willem up in the north of Holland. I picked him as he had a stingray sat in the workshop on his google images, and thought he might be a bit ‘different’.
He was.
Lovely bloke, lovely Worksop, and nice lads who worked with him too. We had a chat about the van, and came to the conclusion that the crankshaft seal was probably shot, he ordered the parts there and then, rearranged his working week, and fitted us in the next day (today) despite being full for the next few weeks, he told me his guys asked why he did it, and he told them “because if i or you were stuck in France, or Spain, or anywhere else, you’d hope someone would help you”
He worked on our van all day, an i mean all day.
The culprit was a scratch on the crank itself, likely from a puller used the last time the seal was replaced.
With that done, new belt and tensioners, and a new exhaust on the back end, hopefully we will be good for a while to come. I hope so, as our funds are taking a hiding at the moment.
The next handful of days look to be wall to wall sunshine, and as we pass out of Holland, into Germany, and nearing Denmark, i’m Hoping for a bit of a non eventful time. Starting tomorrow with a cycle around one of the islands off the north coast of the Netherlands.
The next update will hopefully be more travel and less garage workshop.
Cheers
Craig
Thanks for that. The van has fly screens on all windows and roof vents, and we’ve modified one for the door too. I was hoping by staying on the west coast maybe conditions/wind would keep them at bay rather than inland with still waters and less wind? Either way were going, and if its grim, it’ll be a whistle stop tour.
Well, the island we went to was fantastic. Shciermonnikoog is a small island off the north coast of holland. Traffic free and with less than 1000 residents, i guess this body of islands is their equivalent to the Sicily isles.
(I know, i know, i need to add some pics, i’m Getting there, but internet has been useless, so we haven’t uploaded much of late)
We spent the day on a fantastic beach, and cycled the island,, a ferry ride back to the mainland, and on again.
Passed through and along the north of a very flat, quite dull Netherlands, and then onto a greener Forrest riddled, but still ultimately flat germany.
We spent a couple of days in Hamburg which was a great city, pottering around a huge gardens right in the heart of the city,
http://www.whilewewander.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/...
And then next, pootling along the harbour side. Well, the residential harbour side. I think i read that Hamburg is the third busiest port in the world. The amount of cranes and containers we passed along the motorway would suggest some truth in the claim.
http://www.whilewewander.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/...
Since then we have continued north and arr driving up the west coast of germany heading to Denmark.
There are some pleasant nature reserve/estuary/marsh areas along the coast, but the beaches are basically silt, not that that stops the Germans enjoying themselves.
The beer choice here is superb, and the German folk seem largely a friendly bunch, though it does feel like this part of the trip is a bit of a ‘transition’ as even the locals struggle to suggest things we should see or do.
The weather is set to change today after weeks of sun, which has been getting progressively warmer. Today should see the beginning of a few days of storms, so i think we’ll head to a campsite today, put up our (excellent) kampa air awning, and take five before moving on again.
Oh, the van seems to be ok, still leaking oil. The mechanic basically said its an old engine, and weeps a bit from everywhere, it’s kind of to be expected. Probably true, though interestingly, he said it wasn’t the original engine, and looked like a car engine? 2.5 fiat non turbo diesel if anyone can shed any light?
Anyway, here are the chaps who sorted the cambelt and crank seal woes.
Cheery cheers.
Craig
Flipping eck, what have i done wrong with those two images folks?
(I know, i know, i need to add some pics, i’m Getting there, but internet has been useless, so we haven’t uploaded much of late)
We spent the day on a fantastic beach, and cycled the island,, a ferry ride back to the mainland, and on again.
Passed through and along the north of a very flat, quite dull Netherlands, and then onto a greener Forrest riddled, but still ultimately flat germany.
We spent a couple of days in Hamburg which was a great city, pottering around a huge gardens right in the heart of the city,
http://www.whilewewander.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/...
And then next, pootling along the harbour side. Well, the residential harbour side. I think i read that Hamburg is the third busiest port in the world. The amount of cranes and containers we passed along the motorway would suggest some truth in the claim.
http://www.whilewewander.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/...
Since then we have continued north and arr driving up the west coast of germany heading to Denmark.
There are some pleasant nature reserve/estuary/marsh areas along the coast, but the beaches are basically silt, not that that stops the Germans enjoying themselves.
The beer choice here is superb, and the German folk seem largely a friendly bunch, though it does feel like this part of the trip is a bit of a ‘transition’ as even the locals struggle to suggest things we should see or do.
The weather is set to change today after weeks of sun, which has been getting progressively warmer. Today should see the beginning of a few days of storms, so i think we’ll head to a campsite today, put up our (excellent) kampa air awning, and take five before moving on again.
Oh, the van seems to be ok, still leaking oil. The mechanic basically said its an old engine, and weeps a bit from everywhere, it’s kind of to be expected. Probably true, though interestingly, he said it wasn’t the original engine, and looked like a car engine? 2.5 fiat non turbo diesel if anyone can shed any light?
Anyway, here are the chaps who sorted the cambelt and crank seal woes.
Cheery cheers.
Craig
Flipping eck, what have i done wrong with those two images folks?
Edited by craigthecoupe on Wednesday 30th May 07:01
Spuffington said:
Are those blocks of flats down at the new HafenCity where the Elbphilharmonie is?
Yes i believe so? It’s near the opera house. Was that part of the development or was that new too?
I did like it there very much. There still seems to be a good bit of digging up going on, but a block or two back from the water, near the town hall.
After Hamburg we headed north, via itzhoe to a great free overnight a few yards from the beach, well, grassy dyke with rocks, dirty water and jellyfish. I think living in Devon i have been fairly spoilt for beaches. Anyway, after a hot day reaching about 29, and an afternoon run, it was great to cool off at sunset with a cold shower by the sea.
Special thanks for the image help. It’s a pain in the tits with piston heads not hosting, but with a clunky work around, it appears I’ve made it!
Thanks folks
nadger said:
Brilliant adventure! I’ve really enjoyed reading it so far.
When you travel north through Denmark, if you head up to Frederikshavn to catch the ferry let me know. I know the place really well, if you need recommendations for camping stops/restaurants etc I know a couple of places off the beaten track I can recommend!
Thanks for that. We were thinking of heading up the west coast, popping over to Aalborg, then up near skagen and back to hirtshals to take the ferry. Is Frederickshavn worth seeing?When you travel north through Denmark, if you head up to Frederikshavn to catch the ferry let me know. I know the place really well, if you need recommendations for camping stops/restaurants etc I know a couple of places off the beaten track I can recommend!
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