Mercedes vario 814 self build bus to FLT palace (4 Viewers)

[Dutch 68]

Few pics of it .... not completely finished but you get the ideaView attachment 534760View attachment 534761

Excellent, looking good , I have a similar clamp too, works really well, are you fitting big eye lashing brackets for ratchet straps? And the infill is trailer board isn’t it? (Phenolic resin )

 

[monzer]

monzer certainly knows how to work a bit of sheet metal

People will think I've paid you to say that

Our press brake can be a bit temperamental but with a few practice pieces it can work away pretty well. Hardest part is figuring out in which order to do your bends.

 

[Northernraider]

Excellent, looking good , I have a similar clamp too, works really well, are you fitting big eye lashing brackets for ratchet straps? And the infill is trailer board isn’t it? (Phenolic resin )

Yeah its phenolic ply but i might change that later ...not sure yet . Still need to attach lashings and make light guards and brackets. It will most likely never be off the van once i fit it ...but will see

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[Northernraider]

Scary when you think about all those other self builds out there done on old vans. Not many will have taken the trouble to get all the rot out like Tam has.

Knowing what i plan to spend on fittings , electrics etc i want it to be a good solid base . I suppose if some folk are just chucking a cheap make do interior in one they'd just cover a lot of it up . But I don't want to be welding it again in a year or 2

 

[Northernraider]

I thought about heating from the log burner for a shower too but you will not have the burner on all the time….
If your going to have plenty of solar then some sort of electrical heating of the water may be enough to warm a 5-8ltrs tank just for the shower..?
I know it’s not usually effective to heat water from power but there will be times when you’ll have plenty of sun and excess power, 35-40c is warm enough if your in a warm climate and that wouldn’t take much power…

To be honest summer time or if im in somewhere like Spain or Greece i use the beach showers or the sea etc.... Winter and cold weather will be my biggest challenge with shower. At present ive not ruled out any system ...so i may still end up fitting a truma type boiler like this caravan has ...or if i can find a diesel option ...still looking in to the bobil heaters and im also looking in to a solar dump style water heater . But so much stuff to read up on and finding people who have fitted these alternative systems and used them in anger is not easy ...

 

[Mr porky]

To be honest summer time or if im in somewhere like Spain or Greece i use the beach showers or the sea etc.... Winter and cold weather will be my biggest challenge with shower. At present ive not ruled out any system ...so i may still end up fitting a truma type boiler like this caravan has ...or if i can find a diesel option ...still looking in to the bobil heaters and im also looking in to a solar dump style water heater . But so much stuff to read up on and finding people who have fitted these alternative systems and used them in anger is not easy ...

Cold showers in the summer heat are great but as you know coming from Scotland in the cold weather you need a hot shower to make you feel human again. when You have lots of sun to heat from solar you don’t need it but when it’s cold it’s uaslly overcast so no solar. So gas or log burner for hot water or can a diesel heater do this ?

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[tacr2man]

Dont think the phenolic ply will have a long life in an area where it will get blasted by saltwater on winter roads . A hard plastic board or ali chequer plate might be the best . JMHO Northernraider

 

[Northernraider]

Cold showers in the summer heat are great but as you know coming from Scotland in the cold weather you need a hot shower to make you feel human again. when You have lots of sun to heat from solar you don’t need it but when it’s cold it’s uaslly overcast so no solar. So gas or log burner for hot water or can a diesel heater do this ?

Yes you can get a bobil heater that works from the diesel heater ...but its a fairly new concept

 

[Northernraider]

Dont think the phenolic ply will have a long life in an area where it will get blasted by saltwater on winter roads . A hard plastic board or ali chequer plate might be the best . JMHO Northernraider

Yes thats why i might change it ...but that said the floor of the van is phelonic ply and it was still in good condition when i lifted it .

Would be undersealed aswell

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[Dutch 68]

Yeah its phenolic ply but i might change that later ...not sure yet . Still need to attach lashings and make light guards and brackets. It will most likely never be off the van once i fit it ...but will see

Aluminium chequer plate would be nice, and last forever and always

 

[mitzimad]

I used a sheet of phenolic ply that had been out side for 5 years no water ingress atall

 

[Lenny HB]

Yes you can get a bobil heater that works from the diesel heater ...but its a fairly new concept

Looks like the same principle as the Truma Therme, that's been around since the arc. Latest versions have a small electric heater as well.

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[pagey]

It's all coming together now

 

[Drexxer]

I used a sheet of phenolic ply that had been out side for 5 years no water ingress atall

We had the engine cover boards of our narrowboat in the Phenolic ply, at least 10 years no issue's

I did seal the cut edges though

 

[James-Alex]

Have you thought of a back boiler of the wood burner? not sure how it would work but lots of boats have them for extra rads, no idea if it could be converted and pumped to a shower or not...

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[Northernraider]

Have you thought of a back boiler of the wood burner? not sure how it would work but lots of boats have them for extra rads, no idea if it could be converted and pumped to a shower or not...

Ive not seen any small burners with the option ... and im fitting quite a small woodburner thats designed for van use

 

[mitzimad]

Not what you want to hear but the combi heaters either gas or deisel are the easiest solution and the most reliable
There are chinese copies available now

 

[Eggs]

Not what you want to hear but the combi heaters either gas or deisel are the easiest solution and the most reliable
There are chinese copies available now

I've recently bought a Chinese copy secondhand from eBay, the problem with it is, I have to run the heating to get hot water. It's not for this van so I've only run it to test it, I'm going to put a vent in the garage of my next conversion to 'dump' the unwanted heat in the summer.

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[Northernraider]

Electrical guru's view and discuss please ...




Shipping takes a while so im forward planning here

 

[Dutch 68]

Hmmm not so sure, you get what you pay for, on the other hand you could buy new ones 3 times over lol, biggest issue is building in enough safety measures I think, always think of worst case scenario and fit accordingly …

 

[berni109]

Do you have the electrical knowledge and the test/charging equipment to be able to assemble the bank of batteries?
Very good price and cheaper now than when that utube guy did it.
Personally on balance I would give it a miss.

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[gus-lopez]

Do you have the electrical knowledge and the test/charging equipment to be able to assemble the bank of batteries?
Very good price and cheaper now than when that utube guy did it.
Personally on balance I would give it a miss.

he has a tame bloke who resides in sussex

 

[Northernraider]

Do you have the electrical knowledge and the test/charging equipment to be able to assemble the bank of batteries?
Very good price and cheaper now than when that utube guy did it.
Personally on balance I would give it a miss.

It didn't look that difficult to be honest. But that price is tempting ...i could get 8 cells and have 280ah at 24v for less than £1k

 

[Lenny HB]

It's not that simple Tam, you need to make sure you get balanced cells from the same batch. To get them cheap you need to buy from China and any problems you could have thrown money away. Then you need to add a decent BMS and heat pads.
It's not hard but you need to be careful, one Funster recently reported the cells he bought when he tested them there were nowhere near the claimed power. The key is reliable suppliers.

Edit:
Also did you take note of the problems he had balancing the cells.

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[Northernraider]

A bit more reconstruction today ...amazing how long it takes getting these bits to all fit together.

 

[Northernraider]

It's not that simple Tam, you need to make sure you get balanced cells from the same batch. To get them cheap you need to buy from China and any problems you could have thrown money away. Then you need to add a decent BMS and heat pads.
It's not hard but you need to be careful, one Funster recently reported the cells he bought when he tested them there were nowhere near the claimed power. The key is reliable suppliers.

Edit:
Also did you take note of the problems he had balancing the cells.

Thats a bummer as if it worked that would be a good set up for the money ... Still not decided on my batteries yet ...i would love lithium but 200ah victron is not far off £2k .

 

[Jamesh]

Tell me this isn't your first restoration / conversion!
Looking good!

Cheers James

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[Dutch 68]

Thats a bummer as if it worked that would be a good set up for the money ... Still not decided on my batteries yet ...i would love lithium but 200ah victron is not far off £2k .

Just spend it, it’s possibly in the top 3 of important things in a MH, I would go completely overboard on electrics, hot water , lots of it, and at a decent pressure and flow rate , and heating lol

 

[Northernraider]

Tell me this isn't your first restoration / conversion!
Looking good!

Cheers James

No i did all these like 20 years ago ..but this is the biggest one

 

[Northernraider]

Just spend it, it’s possibly in the top 3 of important things in a MH, I would go completely overboard on electrics, hot water , lots of it, and at a decent pressure and flow rate , and heating lol

It isn't the money so much its making the right choice... had issues with low power on the hymer when in dull weather so i want to make sure i have more than enough on the merc ... so lithium or gel i cant decide ...i can buy more gel for the price of the lithium ..

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