you wouldn't want a gas/electric fridge then......
I like that - looks a bit more homely than most campers.
And I forgot to add - £4.5k sounds like a good deal, even if it needs a bit of work. The ones I keep seeing are more than that as-is, before any conversion work.
They all rust. Heavy on clutches, injector hoses split for fun and spray a fine mist of diesel over the engine, this rarely causes fire. Engine good for 300k easily.
For 4.5k it is a bargain no doubt.
I remember choking after i bought the red bus after seeing the same style vehicle on here for sale for 4.5k......Then i looked at the interior .....
This sprinters a million times better in the interior than that.
thanks! Yeah I've spotted some renovated LT35 and Sprinters going for 8-10k on ebay, but this'll need a respray to match them, and a dometic fridge would be nice rather than the free standing job you can see in the photos. The van seems to not have many bodges but it needs care and attention.
It'll be at the Big Bike Bash later this year if anybody wants to knock on the door. So far the rust is cosmetic with tiny holes in a few places (P40 over those), though I'm eying up the mig welders at toolstation... Trouble is I'd need time to get the welding technique dun else I'd doubtless blow through the metal. In the meantime I'm going for the 'snow leopard' paint effect hahhaa, with urban industrial / shabby chic I suppose interior.
Trail_Rat : your obviously well versed in van life : can you recommend any good forums and what not ? Spotted a few converted mwb ivecos out today on the mothers day arboretum run.
RE: clutches I heard they were good for serious miles.
Not that well versed spookys yer man. Ive only had the big red bus 5 weeks.
Is it in better condition than [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182501847132 ]THIS ONE[/url], available for about the same price ?
this van is in good overall condition
Gotta be trolling
Sunday jumper. Entirely different car.
The sprinter 4*4s command a silly huge premium.
I feel the need to scream about that gas system...
The cylinder, really doesn't look like a refillable. It looks like a standard cylinder with a dodgy ebay adaptor...you can overfill that by brimming it with liquid LPG, and leave no space for expansion in hot weather/fire. All the legit tanks have an 80% fill cut off valve, and modern ones have four hole fittings (inlet, outlet, level gauge, excess pressure/blow off valve).
(do you disconnect the existing gas pipes when filling the cylinder?)
That gas coolbox/fridge. Not for use inside! Super dodgy, they need ventilation when run on gas, an open window or louvre vent doesn't count, it should be outside in fresh air, or a nice draughty tent (not a sewn in ground sheet unless it has a cooker area with mesh windows etc)
Apart from that, not as rusty as I was imagining!
The CAB40 fridge will be fine inside when run on a hookup, it's rare that we use gas for the fridge anyhow, and if we do the doors will be open a bit at the back plus we have a CO monitor. Anyhow the hob itself produces a fair bit of CO when boiling water, and I have 2 massive noisy police issue extractor fans on the roof if need be.
The gas cylinder itself, yeah it must be disconnected and reconnected to fill via LPG of course. So are you saying that the cylinder cannot be refilled at all, or just not refilled via LPG? There is a ratio 1.6 times the volume of the cylinder or something, mentioned in the 'manual'
As for 4*4 sprinters, yeah they do go for a lot of money and mine is in a lot better condition than that one lol! Especially now I have blitzed it.
We're taking it away on 'hols' this Easter, with halfords pro socket set and multi meter. I'm getting the mains checked out by a mobile 'van tech
Your not supposed to use the hob in the back with it all closed up either.
Difference between hob and fridge is you don't tend to leave the hob on while your sleeping.
One of my jobs when i get back is is to plumb my fridge up correctly - that is to seal the back of the fridge from the living area and fit the correct exterior vents for airflow and exhaust - no mean feat as i need to joggle the edges and sink them into the side panel to let the side door clear.
Be ready for hassle trying to fill that LPG bottle at the regular car garage. I suggest finding a recommended garage that understands them as most will just assume as me and spooky did that it's a non refillable - it certainly doesn't look like one. Don't rely on being able to fill it at any old autogas garage. Seen some right barnys when the traveling community try and fill their cannisters up at local asda autogas point.
Also clean your jets often if burning LPG.
Worth the money for those curtains alone.
😀
I'll bank on refilling it via the usual cylinder refillers then, it's massive and will realistically last us years and years. An underfloor one would be a nice idea but can't be bothered for the moment.
The curtains look OK in reality, certainly when compared to a lot of caravans out there, and it's possible to get the material online I can post a link?
About the rust : well the sliding door bottom is rusted out and that needs replacing sometime, it's not apparent from the outside though. Also the police used the rear step as a sort of reversing anchor so it's dented to hell, can be fixed for nothing though.
I've got to get a towbar on it for a bike rack which I'll leave attached all seasons, probably, (hate messing about with bike racks)
I wasn't being facetious about the curtains, they are awesome.
Today the caravan mane cam round to check it over before we head off for the Easter break, spooky yes you were correct the cylinder is a non-refillable type, apart from to exchange with another using the local business printed on the side of the cylinder. All in all it went pretty well gas is all OK, I need to add a RCD, to the 'leccy but the earth check went fine and she's good to go.
Here's the worst rust I've found : https://goo.gl/photos/EBACHP5pYnMtGQNv5
And after some epoxy-mastic a P40 (fibreglass muck) oh and RIP Bosch niCd drill
https://goo.gl/photos/bC3WawYUhaJqvqto7
The rear step is also good as a reversing aid, who needs a camera?
https://goo.gl/photos/bhLjgnmgC5pryDbg8
The rest of the door looks good, but mr Rust has concentrated on this spot:
https://goo.gl/photos/nt3RG4zUrukWMXL3A
Birds nest after swapping the single passenger for a twin bench seat:
https://goo.gl/photos/WXoksPtwy88XDnN26
Well it looks good. If your planning to keep it any length of time please cut out that rot and let in good metal.
That rust will continue under the fibreglass (of which p40 is only water resistant)
It'll fester under the fibreglass patch and be much worse (and a much harder repair )in 12-18months. We all patched like that first time round and ive learned the hard way.
As it stands neither of those will be hard/long repairs to have done correctly and if your near Montrose at all i can recommend a very reasonable welder looking to expand his vehicle repair portfolio (and it's not me)
Back from holiday : broken ankle precluded any biking in Kielder but I got in some walking / lurching..
The van performed without any dramas it handles pretty well for a van, the front pogo's when hit with a load of bumps like it needs a lot more damping, but it resists under steer pretty well it responds not too bad to the throttle, and doesn't roll to much either. Mpg is 26 to 28 not exactly great.
For that rear seal repair I had ground down the metal and then kurust treated it, then a little p40 over any holes, then epoxy-mastic over the whole lot (which is waterproof). New metal would've been better for sure but I'm hoping this repair will last a good while (more than 18 months) maybe 4 years. Well I can hope. Other similar repairs like small holes etc, I will p40 over the epoxy then epoxy over that again, ie to stop water getting into the sills through the small hole.
I was expecting something far worse.
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My 03 mwb Sprinter was for ever bubbling up wee rust bleeds, they just seem to pop up unrelentingly. It will I am afraid only get worse.
Sprinter single seat bases are quite sort after as most folk swap the bench for a captain.
You can get refillable gas canisters for not too much money to swap that one out. Speaking of gas are there drop out vents by the bottle, fridge and hob? If not then you need some as it is all too easy to gas yourselves. (/dadmode-)
The electrics under the front seat don't inspire confidence. Do they have any conduit or protection when run round the van?
I like the retro look inside.
Oh and check by the injectors first the chuffing death. When they are on the way out there is a build up of oily debris around the injector. We had an injector die in France and it cost €500 to get fixed bt Mercedes.
