Re: Modding my Stanway (and PVCs in general)

by RogerThat Sat Sep 28, 2019 8:33 pm

Not sure you can call this next one a mod, it's more of an accessory probably.

But extremely useful!

Also on the advice of another ASOF member, a way to shelve the wardrobe without actually fitting shelves!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Now we can get stuff out of the bottom of the wardrobe, without having to empty everything on top of it first hugegrins

by RogerThat Sat Sep 28, 2019 8:37 pm

This next mod was for my dog.

Bless her, she somehow managed to place her paw underneath this gap on the bottom of the front passenger chair, then as she turned around let out an almighty yelp as she twisted her foot!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by RogerThat Sat Sep 28, 2019 8:39 pm

I added some additional wood to extend it to the floor, covering it in the original fabric too (which I cut off from the back) so when you look at it now, you'd never know it wasn't supposed to be like this.

And it now touches the floor...

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

No more trapped feet!

by RogerThat Fri Nov 01, 2019 7:46 pm

The sliding door on my van needs some serious effort to close it from the inside, I think it's to do with air pressure as opening a window before closing the door helps, but is not always practical.

Combined with the fact that there is nothing to get hold of on the rear of the door to help "pull it in" to latch, it's a real pain in the * Inappropriate Word *.

I've seen a few people have added handles to aid closing but I was seriously restricted on space mainly due to the size of the window blind enclosure / trim.

So I bought a couple of straps on eBay for a few quid, I think they may have been intended to be grab handles in some vehicle or other.

I used a bit of masking tape here to allow me to mark the centre point and to stop the drill slipping.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by RogerThat Fri Nov 01, 2019 7:47 pm

Then simply pop-rivet the strap in place.

It's now soooooo much easier to pull that rear corner of the door in and close it successfully, first time round.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by RogerThat Fri Nov 01, 2019 7:51 pm

More of a gadget than a mod, this is TyrePal.

I've got TPMS built in to the dash but that only shows a yellow warning light, usually when it's too late.

Having a visual indicator of the tyre pressure allows you to see how one tyre is doing compared to the others.

It's solar powered and therefore completely wireless.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by RogerP51 Wed Nov 06, 2019 11:48 am

I'm very impressed with all the modifications you have done.
Do you still find the time to drive it? hugegrins

by RogerThat Wed Nov 06, 2019 7:58 pm

We tend to use it more as a day van at this time of year - well, when I'm not modding it hugegrins

I use it for work a couple of times a month too so it still gets some love smile!

by RogerP51 Wed Nov 06, 2019 9:45 pm

by RogerThat Sat Nov 23, 2019 8:52 pm

I've always thought the holes on the front grille that are big enough to get half a hand in were a daft idea.

Those radiators look seriously expensive to repair.

Zunsport make all manner of mesh grilles for cars and vans. They're a quality product and a great fit too.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I took the plunge and invested.

Here's the size of the holes before:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

And after...

Looks much safer!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by Bernilynn Fri Feb 21, 2020 3:48 pm

Hi,

Can I ask what cable you use to connect your Echo to the 12v system please?

Many thanks

Taff

by Clib1 Sun Mar 15, 2020 4:42 pm

Fantastic mods Autosleeper Stanway

In your upgrades did you come across the water pump pressure switch & the waterpump on your Stanway ? - I have a 2016 model with constant running pump

by RogerThat Sun Mar 15, 2020 5:15 pm

Bernilynn wrote:Hi,

Can I ask what cable you use to connect your Echo to the 12v system please?

Many thanks

Taff

Hi Taff, sorry I missed your reply!

To run a full size Echo via 12v / USB, I bought one of these: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

allthumbz

by RogerThat Sun Mar 15, 2020 5:18 pm

Clib1 wrote:Fantastic mods Autosleeper Stanway

In your upgrades did you come across the water pump pressure switch & the waterpump on your Stanway ? - I have a 2016 model with constant running pump

Hi Clib1, I can't believe I've found another Stanway owner, we're a very rare breed hugegrins

The pressure switch is very well hidden. It's under the rear passenger seat, tucked down beside the leisure battery.

I'll see if I have a photo and will reply if I do. If you still can't find it give me a shout and I'll go and take some pics allthumbz

by RogerThat Sun Mar 15, 2020 5:22 pm

I don't have an exact photo, but if you remove the seat base cushion and lift up the frame, you'll see the dial close to the middle of this front board:

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by Bernilynn Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:48 am

RogerThat wrote:
Bernilynn wrote:Hi,

Can I ask what cable you use to connect your Echo to the 12v system please?

Many thanks

Taff

Hi Taff, sorry I missed your reply!

To run a full size Echo via 12v / USB, I bought one of these: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Hi,
Many thanks for that.......

by RogerThat Mon Mar 16, 2020 8:06 pm

No probs, you will need BOTH the USB connectors plugged in though so be sure to have one of those cigarette lighter / usb adaptors that has dual usb ports not just a single :)

by Baggiecamper Tue Mar 17, 2020 6:33 pm

RogerThat wrote:The sliding door on my van needs ........

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Hi RogerThat

Thank you for posting your modifications

I have been considering a similar idea but I was apprehensive that a pop rivet would be strong enough and/or might pull the door panel out of shape.
If it's not too much trouble could you post a link to the strap you purchased.
I think I will mount similar to you but use two rivets .....

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by RogerThat Tue Mar 17, 2020 9:55 pm

That should work too!

Here's the straps I bought: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

In terms of the rivet being strong enough, no issues to report, and it gets a lot of use.

Worth also mentioning that as you suspect, it's not a particularly strong piece of metal and it looks to flex as you pull it in.

If I were doing it again I'd probably remove the lower door trim completely and put a strip of metal behind the rivet hole, then rivet through the strap, the door and the metal plate. It'd help it spread the load / forces.

No distortion to report though.

by Baggiecamper Tue Mar 17, 2020 10:26 pm

RogerThat wrote:
Here's the straps I bought: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Many thanks

by RogerThat Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:52 pm

In [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] I've mentioned how bright the ceiling lights are in the van and discussed dimmable options.

The original lights are great during the day, or if you need to find that tiny thing you just dropped but on the average evening they're just far too harsh.

I've now replaced the light in the living area of the van with a dimmable one and will see how it goes.

The original, 13cm diameter light which is held in place with three screws.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Which when removed thankfully reveals the headlining was not cut to size and only a small hole for the wires is visible.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Gently tugging on those wires then brings some spade connectors in to view.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by RogerThat Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:57 pm

I bought a light from Amazon that @FreelanderUK shared a link to: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Here we have the original 13cm light on the left and the new 10cm light on the right.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

I fitted some spade terminals to the new light in order to retain the original wiring in the van which means if this doesn't work out, it's a very simple job to return everything back to factory-fit.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

The 10cm light is thankfully wide enough to cover the screw holes left by the removal of the 13cm light.

What I'm not sure about is the indent in the headlining left by the original light.

The headlining appears to be made of some foam-backed material so I'm hoping that over time it may return to it's original shape?

We'll see shrugg

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

by RogerThat Sun Aug 23, 2020 8:00 pm

The new light has three modes.

Press once and it comes on in "cool blue", which might be handy for the night time trips to the bathroom rolleyes

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Press again and it turns white.

This is it on the dimmest setting.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Then you can press and hold in order to turn up the brightness, or press and hold again to turn it down.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Quick tests reveal that the light seems to remember it's last "state".

So when I turn on the hab lights at the control panel, this light comes on if I left it on (and at the same brightness level last used) or stays off if I last left it off.

Is it bright enough? Again, time will tell when I use it on a trip.

The headlining indent from the old light isn't too much of a concern if it doesn't restore itself naturally. It's not as if I spend most of my evenings staring at the light fittings anyway hugegrins

by Relaxez-Vous Sun Aug 23, 2020 10:51 pm

Well done for doing all your modifications, it certainly gives me food for thought.
I'll pick out your addition of red and blue dots to your taps. Previously I'd looked on Amazon and ebay and all I found were paper dots, not really suitable in a shower. The closest I got to what I want would be to cut dots from electrical insulating tape
What did you use?

by RogerThat Mon Aug 24, 2020 6:08 pm

Great to hear the thread is of use allthumbz

I bought 8mm plastic vinyl sticker dots: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Two years on, still as good as new smile!