Breakdowns and my To-do list

Just become owner of a 2006 Nuevo, enjoying ownership so far and condition-wise, everything is as expected.  Not factory fresh, but we're not roughing it either.  

So far, the jobs list I've compiled is this - the benefit of everyone's experience would be much appreciated!:
Broken catch on the bathroom door.  Does anybody know if these are available and reasonably priced or should I try to knock one off with the 3D printer? (I saved a few £ fixing the fridge door lock this way)
Internal lights - the metallic coating on most of the lights has rubbed off, presumably with many years of use/cleaning - has anybody tried re-coating them with any success?
Spare wheel carrier - I've soaked the fixings with WD40 and left it alone for the time being but it looks as though this hasn't had any attention since it left the factory.  I don't fancy my chances in an emergency right now - any advice on how to free it off so that I can pre-empt getting stranded?
Tyres - fronts are nearly gone (and I bet the spare is no use either - see above!) - any recommendations for these or stuff to avoid?
Split charge system - foul smell and smoke from under the driver's seat (not resultant from the driver on this occasion ) came from the middle fuse on what I think is the split charge relay.  The drawing in the manual shows only one relay but the vehicle has two and the second one seems to be for the 12v supply from the vehicle power system to the fridge  Anyway, the fuse melted as we were driving along.  That is to say it got so hot that the plastic melted, not the fusible link.  I yanked out the molten remnants with pliers because it was too hot to touch and we continued driving, but we currently have no 12v on board unless we have an EHU to power the charger system.  The fuse/relay block will need to be replaced because it got partially melted during the incident. I am optimistically thinking that it might simply have been a bad connection, high resistance leading to localised heat generation, but I don't want to reinstate everything and then see it have another meltdown.

Also a couple of operating questions, if I can sneak them in:

The heater works fine on gas but the supplementary electric (Truma Ultraheat) doesn't seem to work on any of the kW settings, even though the green LED comes on when the dial is turned and I can hear the thermostat click when I turn the thermostat dial.  Is there a fault or am I not doing something right here?  (the breakers are all on!)
Dometic Fridge - cools well on gas but 12v and 230v are not effective.  Is there a good way to start fault-finding (eg test the resistance to see if the electric element is open circuit?) and whats the best way to go about it?

Any advice (except perhaps 'buy a tent!') appreciated

Hillbilly

Hillbilly wrote:
Split charge system - foul smell and smoke from under the driver's seat (not resultant from the driver on this occasion ) came from the middle fuse on what I think is the split charge relay.  The drawing in the manual shows only one relay but the vehicle has two and the second one seems to be for the 12v supply from the vehicle power system to the fridge  Anyway, the fuse melted as we were driving along.

Not an uncommon problem on conversions of that age. The cause may be historical, or current or a combination of both.

The most likely cause is that the leisure battery is in a poor state of charge. When the split charge relay connects the alternator and a fully charged engine battery to an almost-flat leisure battery, a lot of current tries to flow. Sometimes that will blow the fuse, but at other times it will not be quite enough to do so, and the 20A fuse sits there with 19A flowing through it, and the fuse and connections get very hot. Once that has happened, the terminals at each end of the fuse become less springy, don't contact properly and arcing can happen, which further damages them and melts the plastic.

The damage may already have been done before your journey, or the leisure battery may currently be in a poor state - you would have to test it to find out.

Fortunately it should not be complex to replace the fuse assembly - either as a DIY job or via the services of an auto electrician.

Hillbilly wrote:
Tyres - fronts are nearly gone (and I bet the spare is no use either - see above!) - any recommendations for these or stuff to avoid?

Most motorhome (and caravan) tyres are replaced due to their age and damage rather than wear.  The CAMC (Caravan & Motorhome Club) recommends replacing all tyres, including the spare, after 5 years and certainly after 7 years.  The age of the tyre can be determined from figures on the sidewall.  If you need to replace your tyres you will need to decide whether to go for more expensive and higher pressure Camper (CP) tyres which are specially designed for motorhomes or standard light Commercial (C) tyres.  There are many manufacturers of the latter but only Continental, Michelin and Pirelli make CP tyres.  As CP tyres probably weren't around when your motorhome was made, the plated tyre pressures are probably for C tyres rather than CP tyres.  Either way, make sure you follow the tyre manufacturer's recommendations for your fully loaded axle weights which you can get from a public weigh bridge.

Regarding the split charge system and melted bits. Complete replacement parts can be obtained here.
I had the same thing happen several years ago, it was dry and loose connections on a relay and  fuse. No problems since.
https://www.vehiclewiringproducts.co.uk/c-219-relays-flasher-units
Al.

Tyres:. You will pay a bit more for CP tyres but definitely worth it, particularly if you lay vehicle up over winter. I wanted to fit Cross Climates to my Nuevo but rang Michelin first. I had very firm advice to use CP ( they were only £5 more per tyre) particularly to avoid flattening of the walls when not in use.  Van tyres are designed for occasional heavy loads and continual use. Motorhomes are ALWAYS loaded to about 75% of tyre max rating and spend more time standing. QED - no contest for me.

I use Continental Four Season C, 119/121 load rating which are 10 ply, and have choice of pressures to suit the usage. The similar size CP tyres are 8 ply of a lower load rating 115.

For storage I over inflate and move the van periodically.

Great advice on the tyres from everybody, thank you - I had no idea there's a range for motorhomes, just assumed it would be light commercial vehicle stuff.  This will be priority expenditure at next payday, and that gives me time to go to war on the spare wheel carrier.  Rears are new and now I look closer I can see they're the Continental CPs - the previous owner had to put fresh on to get it an MOT.  The fronts were made in 2014 so by any measure, they've had it.  I haven't checked the spare, doubt I could use it in a hurry anyway!  In the meantime I'll be ordering bits for the 12v repairs.....

There's lots of advice on this forum re tyres and also, the spare wheel release mech on Peugeot Boxers. On taking delivery of our Broadway, the agent made me promise to call the breakdown service out in case of eg puncture. The reason being that the supplied jack is for the PB base vehicle and is NOT strong enough for motorhomes. PB's are made principally for LH drive vehicles and access for such would invariably be from their nearside. In the UK, access is from the o/s and should never be attempted without breakdown assistance, especially on a motorway hard shoulder.
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Having said all that, ensure that you have the correct bit - some are 5 sided, some 6 - to lower the spare wheel. It's bizarre that Peugeot fitted some with 5 sided, some with 6  and then didn't include the correct fitting in the jacking kit.
Make sure that you are turning the winding mechanism the correct way to drop the wheel. 
Best wishes ...

The pentagonal allen key superceded the hexagonal type when the spare wheel carrier was modified to prevent it accidentally dropping the spare wheel onto the road while driving! Modified carriers and subsequent production have the BLACK pentagonal key, earlier unmodified carriers have a silver coloured hexagonal key.
My van was delivered from new with BOTH keys.