Weight & Space Saving

by plattypus Tue May 10, 2011 8:12 pm

I am always looking at ways that I can make space & save weight in our Symbol especially now that diesel is so expensive.

On the back of the shower room door is a folding wooden & chrome vanity screen, which when opened up shuts off the entire back of the van for anyone changing or drying after a shower, we didn't need this ( been married for 44 years) all lovedup

So I've taken it off, you wouldn't believe how heavy that was. Never did like the box on the wall which was basically just a shelf for a tv, that's gone, just a bracket now for the tv. that box was very heavy too. We never use the large table stored behind the rear passenger seat so that & it's tubular 'leg' is now gone, just looking for a folding picnic table that will be thin enough to fit in it's place.
The tubular 'leg' that holds up the small table sat in the storage gully above the sliding door, it took up so much room, so I have relocated it to the space between the rear passenger seat & the sliding door using the same clips Weight & Space Saving P1000822

fits perfectly, unobtrusive & easy to get to. Frees up that valuable space. Plattypus

by stevomar Tue May 10, 2011 8:54 pm

All good stuff plattypus.
Another good idea for saving weight is leave your wife at home and go off on your own for a few days like I'm gonna do in July.
lolflag

Darling- if you read this then don't
hit me best_friends

Stevo

by plattypus Wed May 11, 2011 9:04 am

Blimey! how did you wangle that one Stevo all confused

by stevomar Wed May 11, 2011 10:01 am

Easy platypus
Debbs (my wife) is doing a part time archeology degree and has to go on a dig when I've got a week off- so me and the dog are going away!
HOWEVER- Last night she dropped on me that she's gonna drive the van to Toulouse with 3 of her mates on a kind of Thelma and Louise roadtrip! I won't sleep being parted from my (our?) van
Stevo confused3

by Paulmold Wed May 11, 2011 10:58 am

stevomar wrote: Last night she dropped on me that she's gonna drive the van to Toulouse with 3 of her mates on a kind of Thelma and Louise roadtrip! I won't sleep being parted from my (our?) van
Stevo

Oh, I am so glad that my wife doesn't drive!

by plattypus Wed May 11, 2011 3:24 pm

stevomar wrote:Easy platypus
Debbs (my wife) is doing a part time archeology degree and has to go on a dig when I've got a week off- so me and the dog are going away!
HOWEVER- Last night she dropped on me that she's gonna drive the van to Toulouse with 3 of her mates on a kind of Thelma and Louise roadtrip! I won't sleep being parted from my (our?) van
Stevo

They always come up trumps in the end, don't they shrugg

What would we do without them loveheart

by CC Wed May 11, 2011 3:41 pm

stevomar wrote:Another good idea for saving weight is leave your wife at home and go off on your own for a few days like I'm gonna do in July

stevomar wrote:Last night she dropped on me that she's gonna drive the van to Toulouse with 3 of her mates on a kind of Thelma and Louise roadtrip!

Oh well Stevo...
Looking on the brightside at least you still get a break alone, even if it does mean being stuck at home alone with the dog!! sit

CC

by dogseal Thu Jun 02, 2011 11:45 pm

plattypus wrote:I am always looking at ways that I can make space & save weight in our Symbol especially now that diesel is so expensive.

On the back of the shower room door is a folding wooden & chrome vanity screen, which when opened up shuts off the entire back of the van for anyone changing or drying after a shower, we didn't need this ( been married for 44 years) So I've taken it off, you wouldn't believe how heavy that was. Never did like the box on the wall which was basically just a shelf for a tv, that's gone, just a bracket now for the tv. that box was very heavy too. We never use the large table stored behind the rear passenger seat so that & it's tubular 'leg' is now gone, just looking for a folding picnic table that will be thin enough to fit in it's place.
The tubular 'leg' that holds up the small table sat in the storage gully above the sliding door, it took up so much room, so I have relocated it to the space between the rear passenger seat & the sliding door using the same clips fits perfectly, unobtrusive & easy to get to. Frees up that valuable space. Plattypus

Hi Plattypus.
I've done your modification on relocating the table leg tubes. thanks for the tip!
I'm currently making a bracket to fit a fiamma 180 back box to the nearside rear door out of aluminium, which mounts to the door hinges.
The main reason for fitting the box to the nearside is that it's behind the washroom.. so the window is pretty useless anyway when reversing the van. I've got it fitted at the moment but its very much a 'work in progress' project.
I'll take some photos this weekend of what i've done & try to upload them.

Tim.

by plattypus Tue Jun 21, 2011 8:11 pm

Hi Tim.

Sorry at not replying to your message re fiamma box. but we have just got back from 3 & abit weeks in the Hebrides.

We too are going to fit a Fiamma box on the rear, am thinking of buying a bike rack to fit it but as dont cycle any more , find this a very expensive way of fitting box. So am very interested in your project, any photos yet?
Roger allthumbz

by bedford1984 Wed Jun 22, 2011 5:40 am

hi plattypus i saw in go-outdoors last weekend a plastic folding table for £15.99 think it measured 60x60x80 it could be just what you want check there camping section .
john allthumbz

by plattypus Wed Jun 22, 2011 8:12 pm

bedford1984 wrote:hi plattypus i saw in go-outdoors last weekend a plastic folding table for £15.99 think it measured 60x60x80 it could be just what you want check there camping section .
john

Hi John. Thanks , I'll have a look at that one
Roger allthumbz

by dogseal Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:41 pm

plattypus wrote:Hi Tim.

Sorry at not replying to your message re fiamma box. but we have just got back from 3 & abit weeks in the Hebrides.

We too are going to fit a Fiamma box on the rear, am thinking of buying a bike rack to fit it but as dont cycle any more , find this a very expensive way of fitting box. So am very interested in your project, any photos yet?
Roger

Hi Roger,
I made the bracket out of 2 off 3metre x55x9.5 lengths of aluminium & some 6mm ally sheet, speedfabbed together with 6mm csk screws. its light & mounts to the door hinges with spacers. At present we are in Devon on holiday & the thing is in use.
Before we went away I managed to add some outriggers to support the bottom of the fiamma box, as well as paint the bracket. I had to drill 2 holes in the door skin to add support in the middle rib of the door.
All in all, I'm happy with it, all I need to do is to replace the hinge spacers with stainless ones when i get back home & it's sorted. I'll take some photos of the setup tommorow, the whole thing has cost me £40 so far.
Tim
up!

by Patty123 Thu Jun 23, 2011 12:11 am

bedford1984 wrote:hi plattypus i saw in go-outdoors last weekend a plastic folding table for £15.99 think it measured 60x60x80 it could be just what you want check there camping section .
john

When we had our Symbol we took out both tables and used one of those folding TV tables from Dunhelm Mill (4.99) and stored behind the seat by sliding door, much better than the fixed tables.

by plattypus Thu Jun 23, 2011 3:21 pm

hi Patty123

Thanks for that , going into Dunelm next week to sort out some bedding so will look at them there tables allthumbz

roger

by Bartfarst Fri Jun 24, 2011 7:34 pm

Like the idea of storing the table leg down low. Thanks for that Platypus!

Our 1995 Harmony is a 2 + 2 i.e. has the bed for the kids up in the hi-top. As the girls have now left the nest the three heavy sliding bed sections come out of there in the summer, and go back in for storage in winter: heavy and high is not good for handling.

We always leave our hook-up lead at home when touring.

We leave spare cushions at home too - no weight but bulk and inconvenience when putting the bed up and down.

We also ditched the second table that lived in the wardrobe, replacing it with a smaller one that could be erected in front of the rear two seats in driving configuration for the girls to use in transit. This table we then stored by the sliding door, much as the suggestion by Platypus earlier in this thread for storing the table leg.

Whilst we're on the wardrobe, we also removed the rail as we put all our clothes in those small square cloth bags much favoured by German supermarkets and The Body Shop etc. We've tried fewer, larger bags but always come back to these smaller ones.

The grill pan has to stay home as we stuff the area beneath the stove with bread etc in transit, leaving a till receipt on the stove to remind us that it's under there before firing-up the stove.

Note that fridge vent covers will just go into the slot between the rear seat base and the wardrobe.

We can't afford to take silver screens on grounds of space. Instead we carry a silvered concertina-style insulated sun screen that covers 95% of the front screen area (from Feu Vert in France I think) and which makes a heck of a difference in hot and cold conditions.

No weight but we ditched the original AS-fitted wheel trims firstly as they used to come off on cattle grids and secondly on even gentle desents of alpine passes the unventilated front brakes got very, very hot, and I didn't want anything restricting air flow to them.

Bartfarst

by dogseal Sat Jun 25, 2011 7:26 pm

dogseal wrote:
plattypus wrote:I am always looking at ways that I can make space & save weight in our Symbol especially now that diesel is so expensive.

On the back of the shower room door is a folding wooden & chrome vanity screen, which when opened up shuts off the entire back of the van for anyone changing or drying after a shower, we didn't need this ( been married for 44 years) So I've taken it off, you wouldn't believe how heavy that was. Never did like the box on the wall which was basically just a shelf for a tv, that's gone, just a bracket now for the tv. that box was very heavy too. We never use the large table stored behind the rear passenger seat so that & it's tubular 'leg' is now gone, just looking for a folding picnic table that will be thin enough to fit in it's place.
The tubular 'leg' that holds up the small table sat in the storage gully above the sliding door, it took up so much room, so I have relocated it to the space between the rear passenger seat & the sliding door using the same clips fits perfectly, unobtrusive & easy to get to. Frees up that valuable space. Plattypus

Hi Plattypus.
I've done your modification on relocating the table leg tubes. thanks for the tip!
I'm currently making a bracket to fit a fiamma 180 back box to the nearside rear door out of aluminium, which mounts to the door hinges.
The main reason for fitting the box to the nearside is that it's behind the washroom.. so the window is pretty useless anyway when reversing the van. I've got it fitted at the moment but its very much a 'work in progress' project.
I'll take some photos this weekend of what i've done & try to upload them.

Tim.

by plattypus Sat Jun 25, 2011 7:41 pm

Hi Tim

Very impressed with your fixing frame . Do like the idea of having it on the rear nearside. But afraid I'm not very good at metalwork, unless I can find someone to do it for me will have to pay out and get a bike rack!!!!! shrugg

How is the right side of the frame mounted? is it screwed through the door? Clever idea of utilizing the door hinge bolts. well done
Roger

by dogseal Sat Jun 25, 2011 8:38 pm

plattypus wrote:Hi Tim

Very impressed with your fixing frame . Do like the idea of having it on the rear nearside. But afraid I'm not very good at metalwork, unless I can find someone to do it for me will have to pay out and get a bike rack!!!!!

How is the right side of the frame mounted? is it screwed through the door? Clever idea of utilizing the door hinge bolts. well done
Roger

Cheers Roger,
The frame is made out of aluminium, it's easy to cut into lengths. The parts were just clamped together then drilled & tapped using a battery drill, so the holes lined up when the clamps were removed. An easier way would be to have the parts welded together. On the right hand side I had to remove the door trim on the inside to drill holes big enough to get some bolts through the door skin. The bolts screw into a tufnell block & the frame bolts to the tufnell using countersunk screws on the outside. I made up some outriggers to support the bottom of the fiamma box to stop the box flexing.
So far it's worked great, & frees up space in the van. Plus I can still see out of the rear when reversing.

Tim.

by Peel Tue Jun 28, 2011 1:29 pm

Save weight - avoid small children.
Having a relatively easy camping life with my pair requires a massive Kyham awning, travel cot x1, high chair x1, pushchair x1 among other things. And as eldest has just come off her stabilisers we'll shortly be adding bikes to the list.....

by plattypus Tue Jun 28, 2011 8:25 pm

Peel wrote:Save weight - avoid small children.
Having a relatively easy camping life with my pair requires a massive Kyham awning, travel cot x1, high chair x1, pushchair x1 among other things. And as eldest has just come off her stabilisers we'll shortly be adding bikes to the list.....

Hi Peel
Promise I won't moan about space saving again twiddle_thumbs

Just pleased we've been there, done that, got the jump suit!!! Mind you that's when we first really enjoyed camping which started it all off. good times camper

plattypus

by Dutto Tue Jun 28, 2011 10:03 pm

Peel wrote:Save weight - avoid small children.

LOVED IT!! Brought back so many memories of the early 60's; i.e. abject poverty and a growing family that had to be kept amused in the holidays.

My first "motorhome" was an A40 van with two kids, a Bukta Tent and a plastic bucket in the back. Nothing as luxurious as seats or seat-belts for the kids just the occasional shout of "I told you to SIT DOWN!!" when I heard the "thud" followed by the scream and the sobs.

What a great feeling. Arriving, throwing the back doors open and saying "Come back in about two hours for your tea." They must have been really ugly kids because no-one even tried to steal them, and they always managed to find the way back to the van, even if we'd moved to the farm up the road!

Enjoy your kids - it won't be long before they're asking "Could you just have little Annie for the holidays while we get a break?" This happens about two years after they left home and gave you your first break in twenty-five years!

Dutto
drinksallround

by schofj Fri Oct 21, 2011 9:54 pm

First post for me on owners site wave

Looks a great site
Like your space saving ideas - might move my table column/leg to down by passenger seat - did you find a folding table to go behind the passenger seat? I had a fiamma tripod to use column table outside the van - but it wasn't a good height and then I dropped the tripod - leg broke off - not so good as cost £30+ oh_blast!

by plattypus Sat Oct 22, 2011 8:58 am

Hi Schofj

Welcome to the forum camper

No didn't bother to get another table, I've removed large table altogether and put the small table in its place. i raised it higher so it fits in original recess by using 4 pieces foam pipe insulation.just fits exactly. Just got a cheap small folding plastic table for outdoors.
Roger

by whisky Sat Oct 22, 2011 10:34 am

Dutto wrote.

"What a great feeling. Arriving, throwing the back doors open and saying "Come back in about two hours for your tea." They must have been really ugly kids because no-one even tried to steal them, and they always managed to find the way back to the van, even if we'd moved to the farm up the road!"

So thats why he's in Spain. Eventually lost them. Weight & Space Saving 1819939118

Whisky.

by cyclops2 Sat Oct 22, 2011 3:21 pm

Just a couple of minor space saving mods that we have made on our Duetto. Got rid of the 2 tables and the tube. Have a small folding table that can be used out or in and fits beween wardrobe and seat.
At night we use the 2 lengthwise single beds (much easier for my nocturnal visits to the loo). This means that we don't need the backrest to make up the double bed so we have binned it and made more room for the offside bed. With the backrest in place the bed had to be pulled out. During the day still comfortable to sit with a couple of cushions.
Have tried leaving the passenger seat facing backwards at night instead of turning it forwards and putting cushion behind. It gives extra length for the bed but is slightly lower on my van. Needs a cushion in to make up the height. Not totally convinced yet but means that you can get rid of an extra A/S cushion.
Next thing I would like is a backbox but they are expensive. Have a bike rack and am considering making a plywood box to take cable, hose. watering can, levelling blocks etc. Anyone done it before?

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