Second day of work in a row ! :D

So so pleased ! Managed some more work on Nina for the second day running ! Thank you weather and free weekend :).

Today I decided to tint the back windows, I bought the tint a while back, and its a job I would like to have done before I start work on the interior properly. Working out on the driveway does feel a little like being in a fish bowl at times !

I did tint the two new side windows on Scooby (the T4), but today I was going to find out this was a VERY different job !

The roll of tint I bought was enough to do both back door windows, but that was it, so no room for mistakes.


I did wonder if the pattern on the inside of these windows was going to be a problem, its kind of raised or embossed, you can see it in the dark edging around the window in the pic above. What I didnt realise was that the curve of the windows was going to be such a pain !

I cleaned the first window thoroughly using a spray bottle filled with a teaspoon of baby shampoo and water. You need to use baby shampoo as it doesnt contain the harsher chemicals that normal soap has. You need to make sure the window is completely clean and clear of dust and bits. Sadly I didnt give the inside of Nina a good clean first as well, as I now have the odd dog hair entombed under the film ! A good way to make it totally free is to run a blade from a stanley knife or something around the glass. Once it was all clean, I cut the film to size, carefully peeled the clear backing away, spraying a small amount of the shampoo solution onto the tint as I did it. Once all the backing is off, I sprayed the window too, then put the tint on with the glue side obviously against the glass, as everything is wet, you can easily slide the tint in to place, the start carefully squeedgying the excess water from underneath using something like a credit card that has a very straight edge and is slightly flexible. Mop up the water as you go. Trim around the edge once the film is sticking using a hobby knife. I bought a pack of 4 knifes from the shop What ! for around 90p which worked perfectly.

Now, on my T4, that was it, no bubbles or creases, I just had to leave it to dry. Not so with Nina ! Grrrrr. Once I'd pushed all the water out with a squeedgy, lots of 'finger creases' kept appearing all the way around the edge of the window, as quick as I was scraping the creases out, they were reappearing. I tried everything I could think of but nothing was working. I thought I'd sprayed too much water on or something.

Time for the iPad to do its magic and find out what the hell to do on the internet. I was surprised to see it was a common problem :S, caused by the curve of the window mostly, not helped by the pattern. The solution was to use a hot air gun to literally shrink the film to fit. Luckily, I still have Clives hot air gun here, so tried it out, and it got rid of the fingers ! The finished tint isnt perfect, but its good enough for someone like me. It looks mostly good, with the smallest dust spots or lines that dont really spoil the overall look of them from the outside. We've all seen the vans going around with the back windows tinted and looking like a spiders web of creases, well mine doesnt look like that ! :P.


First one done, as you can see, no major blemishes :). Its Limo tint, and as you can see, is a huuuuuge difference to the non tinted window.

Who would like to see a time lapse video of me doing the second window ? Knowing what I was doing the second time, I did it in 40 minutes from start to end, not bad for a non window tinter lol. Ok here ya go !

So thats it for today, back windows are lovely and dark now, and look great from the back ! Once I've debadged the back and its plain white, will look really nice with the glossy black spare wheelcover too :).

Once the back end of Nina has been converted to a kitchen, dog crate, and storage, the limo tint means that the stuff I put in storage wont be easily seen from outside, which is GOOD :).

Hopefully more jobs coming soon ! Make sure you stop by again :).





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Gloucester

Well, it seats me ........

Well, finally I have a free weekend and some half decent weather to do some more work on Nina, as it was dry I thought I'd try and finish the seating/bed off as much as possible. Bought the last few bits of ply a while ago now and am fed up of it just sitting their in Nina waiting to be used ! :P

The jobs left were as follows......

The inside part of the converting seat needed the left seat storage box finishing, some more 34x34mm wood to strengthen the seat top and as a base to fix a hinge to.


Also, the front facing panel cutting and fixing so that it looks like part of the seat box when pushed fully in. This pic shows the job after it was done as I was a little slow (rusty?) and forgot to take pics as I was going along. :S.

The top of the boxes you can see there, are actually in two pieces, at the back you can just make out the lines where I cut it. This is so you dont have to pull the seat box completely away from the outer box to lift them to access the storage space underneath. I have a Dewalt 18v Circular Power Saw which I use for cutting long straight lines, you need a very steady hand and good bold pencil marks to follow ! When using a circular saw or jigsaw, take your time, dont let it run away with you, if you think you might be going off the line, stop with the saw still running, then slowly guide the saw back to where it should be.

The next job was to make a cover, or door, for the Chemical Toilet compartment I showed you before. I'm leaning toward a cover with some kind of twist lock to hold it in place.


Its a 34x34mm frame that fits exactly in the side aperature, and a piece of ply that covers the hole side, tacked together with a nailgun to start with, then screwed. It will need a handle of some kind too. This will also act to strengthen the end of the seat when its sat on, especially by me !


This is the cover, and the side of the seat its meant to covering. Thats where the chemical toilet will live, in case you havent read the earlier posts.

Once this was all done, it was time to fit it all back together and make sure it works as intended !


Here it is, all back together, its really starting to look like a decent seat/bed box now ! its fully functional and has made maximum use of its storage capability :). All those hours of tearing my hair out trying to come up with a useable design that would take my weight and make the most of storage came good ! :)

This next one is of the bed section pulled out, just need the seat cushions and we'll be sorted !


It does stop short of the fixed seat, but when the seat cushions are in place on top, this wont be a problem, there was no other way to do it, as it had to fit inside the outer box.

Talking of it fitting in the outer box, when I push them in, there is a really strong blast of air that comes out the top ! I appear to have made a really efficient air pump ! I may have to build some vents into the back and sides to reduce the resistance the air gives ! :D

This pic is of the toilet cupboard open and one of the storage compartment lids being held up on the seat box.


Our cat Tiz is sitting there being 'helpful' showing you some scale or something :S. As you can see, the toilet fits in there absolutely perfectly :), and easy to access, even if the bed is made up. The storage compartments are pretty big and will store quite alot. Must remember to measure the space.








The boxes will all be lined with the same carpet that I'll be lining the walls with, so will blend in nicely, and will eventually have a blue/teal coloured seating cushions to match the blinds. The floor will have a laminate wood covering, so its going to look really nice when done :).

Well, time for sleep, lots more jobs to do, tomorrow I might have a go at tinting the back windows, they are the only windows that are clear.

Come back soon ! :).


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Gloucester

Main Lights

After the excitement of seeing my new chemical toilet fitting my workmanship so well, I was motivated to do another little job !

If you remember, one of my overhead lights wasnt working, the middle one. I made an LED strip to replace the tube that I thought had gone, turned out it was he power unit. Anyway, the LED strip compared to the good front light was very dull, so I decided that I would swap the light fitting from the back, which would eventually be a storage compartment, with the middle faulty one.

So thats what I did, I only had to swap the power units in the end, not the whole fitting, so I now have two bright overhead lights in the soon to be living area, with the dimmer but sufficient LED light strip in the back fitting which will be over the storage compartment. The tube from the rear light is now a spare for when one of the front two blows.

This is how bright the 'living area' is going to be now with the main lights on, although useful when needed, there is also going to be plenty of subtle and mood lights to use when I dont want something so bright.


Whilst I was working on the light fittings, I took the middle one down completely before realising I didnt need to, anyway, it gave me an idea of what was above the white roof lining. Disappointingly, it doesnt look like there is any extra insulation in roofspace, BUT, it doesnt nescessarily need any as there is a space, which in itself creates insulation with the air that is in between the plastic lining and the metal roof. Its just that Kingspan or something would make more efficient insulation, so I may think about that, as the roof lining is easy to take down. It may be easier to line the roof with the carpet while its down. I may also rewire the speakers that are in the roof in the back at the same time, so that they can be used with the 12v amplifier in the back with my ipod etc.


The green looking part of the photo is the roof space, this is going to make it easy to run the wires to the back for the reverse camera and the heavy duty wire that will be needed for the planned winch Im going to put at the back doors to lift my 80kg marquee up the foot or two into the back doors when Im doing shows.

Itching to get back on with doing stuff now, the weather really hasnt helped lately, but think Im just going to have to wrap up and get on with it whatever the weather is doing, or it will never be finished ! :)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Gloucester

New pressie for Nina :)

Well, it was my birthday this week, wednesday 25th for those of you that want to put it in your diaries to send a card next year, I ONLY got 15 cards this year ! :P. Need a big boost next year, thought I had more friends than that lol

Anyway, following on from last Birthdays ace present from Jen for Nina (although we didnt have Nina then, it was more for the 'hope' of Nina), the Caravanstore Bag Awning with Safari Room, one of her presents this year was a new Chemical Toilet ! Yay ! :). Another expense out the way.

Now, this is where I get a little nervous, did I get my measurements right on my seating to house it ok ?

:D, yes I did ! Just had the chance to try it and its like it was made for it :P.









Perfect ! I can now go ahead and make the door to hide it out of sight :).

See that space in the side ? Thats a toilet roll holder :P.

Now, to wish this bloomin weather would improve so I can get some more work done !

STILL not decided what to do with the windows, your comments suggest blanking them off completely, except Brian ! (yay Brian you got a mention on the blog :P) So, I'm going to get a quote on getting that done and take it from there. If its going to be astronomical then it wont happen, but I do need to sort something soon so I can get on with the interior, flooring and lining the walls etc.

If anyone has any other ideas not mentioned before, let me know ! :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Gloucester

What should I do ?

I've got a bit of a decision to make guys, and I'm finding it difficult, so I'm going to see whats most popular with you lot !

Its these blasted windows !

Ive got three options.

1- Keep existing windows, hope that they can fit different type seals and that they dont leak 6 months down the line.

2- Replace the windows with solid windows (no vent) and different type seals and again, hope they dont leak.

3- Remove the windows, get some meal panels welded in their place, then fillered flat and painted.

Like this .....


No chance of leaking, and dont forget where those windows are, the inside is going to be storage, so wont need the windows anyway.

It would also be a nice space for advertising.

Over to you guys, what would you do ?




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Gloucester

Motivation ? - Oh yeah !

Wow, has it really been almost a month since an update ?

Sorry about that to anyone that regularly comes to see the latest news !

Well, its been a busy month, although if I'm honest there have been chances to do the odd things, I just lost my motivation :S.

The leaky windows are bugging me, there still isn't a firm resolution to that problem. I'm now undecided as to whether to get the windows repaired, or have them blanked out competely, new metal welded in place of the windows and made flat then painted. This would give some advertising space either side too. As I said though, right now I cant make up my mind, and until I do, I cant start building the storage/kitchen area.

Lots more jobs to be doing in the mean time though !

Today, I decided to make a determined effort to do SOMETHING. As I had the ply to carry on with the seating, thats what I thought I would do :S.

I started with the static seat, this one needed two storage comartments, seperate to each other. The seat was made with three sections in mind, so that a third could be used for the Chemical Toilet to be stored in, accessed from the side of it nearest the sliding side door, the other two thirds to be one big storage comartment, accessed from the top via a lid.

My idea to finish off, was to basically wrap the seats in ply, then use a piece of it to divide the compartments inside. Very pleased with the results, lining the outside, gives maximum space inside, while making the outside neat and squared.






Weather wasnt brilliant today, so I mainly worked in the back of Nina :). Plenty of space. To stop the drizzling rain coming in the door, I pulled out the awning, which gave me a little outdoor space for cutting the sheets of ply down to size.


Love my awning, Jen bought it for my 40th last year, its almost my birthday again, cant believe I've almost had it a year ! Still not tried out the safari room on it yet :S.

Once I'd finished lining it, I used the thicker 9mm ply and cut it to size for the seat top, the third over the toilet compartment I want fixed permanently, with the other two thirds working as a lid to access the storage area. Not made the door for the side yet to close off the toilet compartment, actually ran out of the 6mm lining ply ! (I hadnt originally intended lining the underneath of the seats, but liked the idea of sealed in storage compartments once I started building)



Looking good :). This next one shows how the storage will work once hinged..






And this is the storage for the chemical toilet, door to be made...


The second seat was a lot more complicated, seeing as its in two parts, boxes inside a big box. The design of this part had me puzzled for months before I built them. I needed it to pull out to form the bed, but I wanted to maximise the storage too, didnt want to lose any of it. Today I started by lining the outer part, top, bottom, back and the right hand end. I didnt line the left side because it will be pushed up against the first seat to form the 'L' shape, and once the inner boxes are finshed, it wont be visible anyway. If I were ever to make these to sell, I would probably line it anyway, just to finsh it off.


Ok, things were going so well, but when I got to this point, and tried the internal framework to make sure it fitted, it was a little tight, so had a little work to do anyway. Whilst I was sat wondering whether to sand it down or plane it, I realised that I had built it with a view to lining the framework on the inside. It suddenly became clear that I wanted to make the internal box the same as the outer box, so when pulled out still looked neat and tidy, and again maximising the internal storage. The thing with me is, once I decide on something, I get a nagging voice inside my head that wont quit until I carry it out. To carry it out, it meant completely taking the internal framework apart, screw by screw, and shortening it in all directions ! Which is a lot of work. Sorry, WAS a lot of work. Yep I pulled it all apart and cut the lengths of wood down by from 7mm to 14mm. 24 seperate lengths of wood. Now its all done, Im glad I did it, I'm only going to build the seat/bed once, so might as well spend the time and do it the way I want it, even if it means rebuilding the whole internal seat box all over again !








So, this is where I left it, the left hand side is missing the back of the storage compartment because I ran out of the 6mm ply, and I need to face the seat off with the 9mm ply I have left and cut the squares for the two seat tops/lids too. It slots in and out nicely, the storage is going to work as I planned, and the front and back frames if the inner box, create the strength for the front of the outer box which has no front strengtheners to house the inside part.

There are still a couple bits I want to add to the seats, just to strengthen a bit more, and to incorporate the lids. THEN I'll be happy :).



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Gloucester

Long Time No See

Thought I'd better do a small update to let you know why things have been a bit quiet lately.

We've been living in our rented house since 1998, it was brand new when we moved in, so 14 years after coming here, we were due our 10 year Electrical Inspection. Yep, only 4 years late :S.

Anyway, we had to have a major clearout and tidy up as they needed access to all rooms, meaning a few trips to the local recycling centre. As we only have vans, and you have to book a van for a visit, I made use of my Mum and Stepdads car, so went and parked Nina at Mums then borrowed the car. That was over two weeks ago, and I've only just got her back. Mum lives right along side the A48 Gloucester to Chepstow road, so its fairly busy, and Nina has come home fairly grimy. She also nearly got wiped out by a lorry trying to turn in the road that couldnt get under the low bridge near Mums. Thanks to the neighbour for steering the driver away as he got within inches of Ninas rear quarter.








As you can see, she was VERY close to the fast A48 !

So all in all Im glad to have her home, safe and sound ;)

More updates soon, as soon as I get some decent weather and time !



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Gloucester