aogrady
Well-known member
Hi,
Well it's certainly been hot here in the UK, as shown by the cavity wax which has decided to leak from the engine lid..... :roll:
Pain in the arse to clean up, but good old baby wipes seem to shift it which it is still hot, the lid seal it still sticky though.. :roll:
Anyway, got bored of the side step painted in body colour, so got some nice metallic brown, lacquer, etc and set to work, it was a quick job, as we were going away in a few days, and there was loads i wanted to do, but familly/kids time.
Before:
Ford Russett Brown Metallic
Primer, high build
Top coat and lacquer:
A few paint runs, but didn't have time to sort properly, was just a experiment to see if i liked the look once it was on the bus again.
All the fixings were replaced with stainless steel dome head bolts, stainless nyloc nuts and washers.
Finally, a special griptape was used to finish the top surface, I tried to get a contrasting colour with the paint, and with the bra on the front clip, I think it works quite well, onwards then to the installed pictures, ohh shiny!
Overall, really pleased with how it came out, brightens it up a bit, and doesn't stand out like the pearle white paint on the side step.
So we went out for a little camping, and to try out the new Vango Kela Airbeam driveaway awning
No poles, two airbeams which inflate with the provided pump, the whole lot it up in minutes, takes longer to peg it out. Good quality, bought the extra groundsheet to protect the built in groundsheet, and the carpet inside the floor which is nice and comfy. Will get some more pictures, next time
And so onto the solar panel......
You have seen the pics from earlier in the thread, so will continue on. From the outset, i wanted to be able to adjust the angle of the panel, to best allow max voltage from the MPPT regulator - though whether this is a advantage here in the UK is another matter.
I used stainless steel fastenings throughout the build.
The hinges were measured and fitted, directly onto the sides of the panel, ready for the alloy brackets, which were then bolted to the roof. Ideally, I would have liked the panel to be mounted on top of the alloy L section, with inboard hinges, then another L section below to fit to the roof, it would have made a "nicer" install if i was being fussy, but to be honest, it doubled the costs of the L section, and the walls of the panel were thicker anyway.
I do need to mount the L section brackets slightly higher - they are direct onto the fibreglass, but due to the curvature of the roof, the middle section of the solar panel rests on the roof, I would prefer it to rest where i want it too, hence I may space it up a few cm's with either cut down roof rubber bungs (demijohn rubbers) or if i can find 2 as a reasonable cost, some hardwood slats
I removed the westy metal roof slats which were fairly heavy, and full of rust, and one was bent, as i didn't need then, and they would just complicate the fitting process. Saved maybe a kilo or so weight. The solar panel is 9kg, the brackets have little weight to them.
So 2 103cm lengths of alloy L section were them fitted to the roof, and to the sides of the hinge rails i fitted earlier, and everything bolted down using the stainless fasteners, which were the same size as the original metal slat rivets.
The panel hinges towards the tailgate, and can be lifted through the rear canvas window, this way it wont get any shadows from the poptop roof, and makes it easier to clean under the panel, a job for another day, still need to paint and refurb the fibreglass, so excuse it looking a little rusty and manky!
Finshed
The wiring was clipped along the side rail, and looped so it didn't kink when raised or lowered,
and for the time being, run under the roof canvas, and down inside, and into the top of the wardrobe, and then down and under the wardrobe and into the under bed area. This is temporary, as i have some other electrical bows and things to fit, so as the regulator is quite sizeable, i cant mount it hidden, as i wont see the display, so it will be mounted externally at the top of the wardrobe up past the grab handle, just for the time being, it's fitted under the bed where the zig used to be be.
I want to redo all the wiring anyway for the new split charge system, but as we are going away at the weekend, it was a bit of a quick fit.
I have took of the leisure battery to charge fully, as it was too flat to accept a proper charge,
More pictures as i progress on
Cheers!
Alistair
Well it's certainly been hot here in the UK, as shown by the cavity wax which has decided to leak from the engine lid..... :roll:
Pain in the arse to clean up, but good old baby wipes seem to shift it which it is still hot, the lid seal it still sticky though.. :roll:
Anyway, got bored of the side step painted in body colour, so got some nice metallic brown, lacquer, etc and set to work, it was a quick job, as we were going away in a few days, and there was loads i wanted to do, but familly/kids time.
Before:
Ford Russett Brown Metallic
Primer, high build
Top coat and lacquer:
A few paint runs, but didn't have time to sort properly, was just a experiment to see if i liked the look once it was on the bus again.
All the fixings were replaced with stainless steel dome head bolts, stainless nyloc nuts and washers.
Finally, a special griptape was used to finish the top surface, I tried to get a contrasting colour with the paint, and with the bra on the front clip, I think it works quite well, onwards then to the installed pictures, ohh shiny!
Overall, really pleased with how it came out, brightens it up a bit, and doesn't stand out like the pearle white paint on the side step.
So we went out for a little camping, and to try out the new Vango Kela Airbeam driveaway awning
No poles, two airbeams which inflate with the provided pump, the whole lot it up in minutes, takes longer to peg it out. Good quality, bought the extra groundsheet to protect the built in groundsheet, and the carpet inside the floor which is nice and comfy. Will get some more pictures, next time
And so onto the solar panel......
You have seen the pics from earlier in the thread, so will continue on. From the outset, i wanted to be able to adjust the angle of the panel, to best allow max voltage from the MPPT regulator - though whether this is a advantage here in the UK is another matter.
I used stainless steel fastenings throughout the build.
The hinges were measured and fitted, directly onto the sides of the panel, ready for the alloy brackets, which were then bolted to the roof. Ideally, I would have liked the panel to be mounted on top of the alloy L section, with inboard hinges, then another L section below to fit to the roof, it would have made a "nicer" install if i was being fussy, but to be honest, it doubled the costs of the L section, and the walls of the panel were thicker anyway.
I do need to mount the L section brackets slightly higher - they are direct onto the fibreglass, but due to the curvature of the roof, the middle section of the solar panel rests on the roof, I would prefer it to rest where i want it too, hence I may space it up a few cm's with either cut down roof rubber bungs (demijohn rubbers) or if i can find 2 as a reasonable cost, some hardwood slats
I removed the westy metal roof slats which were fairly heavy, and full of rust, and one was bent, as i didn't need then, and they would just complicate the fitting process. Saved maybe a kilo or so weight. The solar panel is 9kg, the brackets have little weight to them.
So 2 103cm lengths of alloy L section were them fitted to the roof, and to the sides of the hinge rails i fitted earlier, and everything bolted down using the stainless fasteners, which were the same size as the original metal slat rivets.
The panel hinges towards the tailgate, and can be lifted through the rear canvas window, this way it wont get any shadows from the poptop roof, and makes it easier to clean under the panel, a job for another day, still need to paint and refurb the fibreglass, so excuse it looking a little rusty and manky!
Finshed
The wiring was clipped along the side rail, and looped so it didn't kink when raised or lowered,
and for the time being, run under the roof canvas, and down inside, and into the top of the wardrobe, and then down and under the wardrobe and into the under bed area. This is temporary, as i have some other electrical bows and things to fit, so as the regulator is quite sizeable, i cant mount it hidden, as i wont see the display, so it will be mounted externally at the top of the wardrobe up past the grab handle, just for the time being, it's fitted under the bed where the zig used to be be.
I want to redo all the wiring anyway for the new split charge system, but as we are going away at the weekend, it was a bit of a quick fit.
I have took of the leisure battery to charge fully, as it was too flat to accept a proper charge,
More pictures as i progress on
Cheers!
Alistair
