Sills

[gninnam]

Can someone explain to me why there are 3 sills on the bus - outer, middle and inner.
If you replaced the sills, why can't you get away with not putting the middle sill in, as it's boxed in?????
Or am I being thick again

 

[ianscooby]

From memory this is the same as an mg, it supposed to provide the strength on the outer most points running the length of the chassis by forming a box effect :?:

 

[VWAIRCOOLED]

Thats it,you're forming a nice strong box section with the inner and outer sections a bit curved and the centre quite flat in the middle all welded together.Without the centre section it will be a lot weaker.

I noticed when doing the sills on my van that they only make the inner sills long enough to reach the back of the outriggers.I had to lengthen the inner sill because I changed the outrigger at the same time.I think really they should make them full length and you could cut them down if you wanted to, if you don't want to change the outrigger.

 

[gninnam]

Thanks for the replies - I thought it was something along those lines but you have
now turned me into a believer :?

 

[dandaz]

I noticed when doing the sills on my van that they only make the inner sills long enough to reach the back of the outriggers.I had to lengthen the inner sill because I changed the outrigger at the same time.I think really they should make them full length and you could cut them down if you wanted to, if you don't want to change the outrigger.

Sorry you have confused me...

All the inner sills I have fitted have gone past the outrigger and into the rear arch...

Mine have alwaysed been JK inner sills...

gninnam ..lots of vehicles as well as vw campers have no middle sill , save your cash unless your bus is prone to stopping on railway lines... :lol:

 

[james_stan]

Would it be fair to say that the inner sill is only really critical on the slide door side ? Due to :-

a) needed to guide the door

b) extra strength needed to compensate for opening door

BR

James

 

[shaderdash]

Great question can I tag onto your post?
I am researching repair parts for my dc and need to do inner and outer sills but do dc's have middle sills?

 

[VWAIRCOOLED]

I noticed when doing the sills on my van that they only make the inner sills long enough to reach the back of the outriggers.I had to lengthen the inner sill because I changed the outrigger at the same time.I think really they should make them full length and you could cut them down if you wanted to, if you don't want to change the outrigger.

Sorry you have confused me...

All the inner sills I have fitted have gone past the outrigger and into the rear arch...

Mine have alwaysed been JK inner sills...

gninnam ..lots of vehicles as well as vw campers have no middle sill , save your cash unless your bus is prone to stopping on railway lines... :lol:

I only changed the sills on the sliding door side and I repaired the centre sill which joins the top and bottom of the inner sill together it.If I keep the van a couple of years though the other side will probably want doing
I must of got the wrong inner sill then,will check with suppliers next time if I have to do it again.

I'm not too sure I would leave the centre sill out completely though? But no doubt there are plenty of them driving around without any fitted which haven't fallen apart yet.Maybe I'm too fussy?
I reckon if you've stopped on a railway line an inner sill won't stop you getting crushed,but I wouldn't want to test the theory :wink:

 

[gninnam]

Another question then.
Do the sills actually impart any strength to the vehicle as this is what I thought the
chassis running the length of the van does, or am I missing something again :?

 

[dandaz]

Another question then.
Do the sills actually impart any strength to the vehicle as this is what I thought the
chassis running the length of the van does, or am I missing something again :?

Yes ,any box section is strong...So the chassis/sill/jacking points make up another box section...So you have three box sections.....


and you sliding door would fall off... :lol:

VWAIRCOOLED....We will flip a coin for the railway line... :twisted:

Ginnam is your bay nearly ready?

 

[Htotheunit]

and you sliding door would fall off... :lol:

 

[gninnam]

Ginnam is your bay nearly ready?

Not even close

Working abroad so I haven't got the time to do the work and the bloke who says he can
is fully booked until next May so the vans just rotting away nicely

How are you doing - I will still need the new beam :wink:

 

[Camperdan]

Hi All,

I'm in the process of replacing all 3 parts of the sills on both sides of my van at the moment and it is my opinion that the middle sills on each side are the most important of the lot! They are much thicker and therefore stronger..... the inner and outer sills are thinner and fitted alone would, in my opinion, not provide enough strength.

Lets face it..... VW knew what they were doing when they built these things and I am under no illusion that the middle sill is fundamental to the design and strength of the whole van. This wouldn't just come into play if parked on a railway line....... in any accident the correct strength of any part of your van could make the difference between walking away or not.

I wouldn't even consider leaving this part out and urge that any of you doing the same work - "repair or replace all parts of the sills to the same construction and strength as VW did"!

Also, the parts I bought were all of the correct length and didn't need extending? Also, for those of you yet to buy these parts - I bought parts from a mixture of suppliers, so as some feedback - personally I found the inner sills supplied by Just Kampers to be a much better shape, fit and quality - the middle sills are exactly the same whether you get them from Just Kampers or Alan Schofield, these don't follow the correct shape of the originals but fit ok with a bit of swearing - and for the outer sills, I found the Schofield ones again to be a good fit.

As I said..... just my opinion

 

[dandaz]

Hi All,

I'm in the process of replacing all 3 parts of the sills on both sides of my van at the moment and it is my opinion that the middle sills on each side are the most important of the lot! They are much thicker and therefore stronger..... the inner and outer sills are thinner and fitted alone would, in my opinion, not provide enough strength.

Lets face it..... VW knew what they were doing when they built these things and I am under no illusion that the middle sill is fundamental to the design and strength of the whole van. This wouldn't just come into play if parked on a railway line....... in any accident the correct strength of any part of your van could make the difference between walking away or not.

Hi

You have to remember that VW moved with the times ,what used to be safe in the 1970`s was not considered safe say in two years time ,ie the intruduction of the front bulge panel and the exit of the removal rear valance....

But VW get it wrong all the time even in the 80`s with putting the T25 petrol tank where it is so the top can easierly rust.. :roll:

gninnam I have done 6 front beams since september I am started to get a bit sick of them... :?

But I still always on the look out for em.. :twisted: