|
|
Jan 10, 2019 18:23:35 GMT
|
Think it'll have a bit of flex once it's weighed down with bed,etc? Probably not much, with how much angle you're attaching.. ..and the amount of mig wire that´s gone into the floor should stop any flexing too brilliant!.... can you reshape the roof a little at that crease, or will you end up modifying the opening? jP I´m making the slide out fit the van and not the other way round, just incase i get bored of it after a couple of years and redo it all. I´ve chopped down the side panel and tailgate so that they should fit... the window panel now weighs in at 5 kgs, even when you add the weight of the side window that´s not too bad. If i´d have made it out of wood i don´t think it´d be much lighter. I haven´t weighed the tailgate yet but there´s not much left to weigh.... I´ve also just made up the left hand runner so that it´ll take the other window.... once that panel has been reduced down to the min. i can start building the slide out properly and see if it all works. Fingers crodssed eh. Cheers, Dave
|
|
Last Edit: Jan 12, 2019 19:36:08 GMT by Oldbus
|
|
|
|
|
|
This is gonna be gooood!! Hope so mate, cheers Oh,Oh! First i thought this will be a simple T4 with a bed and small kitchen inside... ....but now ...i shouldt know you better,mate! Looking forward to this....! Greet to be honest mate it is only a T4 with a bed and a small kitchen in it mmmmmmyyyeeeah.... ok ... got it now. how are you thinking of sealing between the pull out "mini me" and the tailgate aperture once your apendage has been extended....flanges and seals? yeah something like that, i haven´t worked it out yet but i´m sure i´ll come up with something. What, not even the nurse?? Seems a bit of a waste... i was thinking more of the Hattie Jacques type of nurse and less Pamela Anderson I carried on with the right hand window thingy this afternoon. The first pic looks pretty much the same as it did yesterday... but i´ve now finished the runner so that it´ll take the window. I´ve basically welded up a few lengths of angle iron... one is there to stop the whole lot tipping back as it´s going to be top heavy(or should i say back heavy) and the other two are there to take the window frame and to stop it catching on the support frame once i push it all back in. It´s getting there slowly but the corner of the roof needs modifying so that it´ll all fit properly. It doesn´t look too bad in that pic but it´s jammed in there and needs to slide in and out without catching. That´s the job for tomorrow. Cheers, Dave
|
|
Last Edit: Jan 7, 2019 19:08:32 GMT by Oldbus
|
|
|
|
|
Looking good mate, do like a nice old "Kombi"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
ummm...errrrm....aaahh...uhhhh...? nope , still not seeing it... but i know its gonna be good...!! I hope the pics from todays´update will help clear the fog a bit mate I like the idea of the roll out extension but cant help thinking that if you use the sections of the cut van to build the rollout section from - A: It's a lot of work & B: It's going to add a fair bit of weight to the van - would it not be easier to fabricate a lightweight steel frame that is alloy sheet clad - paint it up to match the van etc - if you leave the tailgate on the van has stated you could then have a awning made to attach to the tailgate / rear of the van that comes down over the extension and also provides some undercover protection when deployed Weightwise i agree mate, i was a bit concerned about it all being a bit too heavy too but i spent all day chopping out all the ballast and actually what i´ll end up using shouldn´t be too bad. After all it was full of oxygen bottles, stretchers, rollchair lift, a doctor and nurse and god knows what else and that lot is definetly not going back in so i´ll hopefully be alright.. You´re right about it being a lot of work but that´s the reason i bought it There are ready made tailgate tents for the T 4 so i don´t even need to get something made up, i wouldn´t want to use it to cover up the bed though as i was planning using that tent as a toilet and shower. Knowing how well your MB trailer came out, I can see that this will be another masterpiece. Please tell me you are going to make a flatbed or pick up (transporter?) from the orange one?! love the idea of the sliding insert...with drop down support legs it would not droop...and keep the whole camper stable when in use. To make it lighter...you could also use tent-like sides with clear plastic windows like a pop up camper. either way, its gonna be awesome. JP Hi JP, the orange one belongs to a chap i met yesterday who sold me all the goodies (Danke nochmal Dennis) and as he has a rather tastey twin cab i can see the remains going to the scrappies (especially as he works for one) As far as the pop up camper idea goes mate that won´t be happening as i´ve already got all the material i´ll be needing to finish this project. First thing this morning i offloaded the trailer full of T4 goodies. This is what i chopped out of the orange T4 yesterday. I´ts way too big and heavy and i only need the windowframes and something to weld the rest to so i started losing some ballast.. and to help Strikey out a bit i´ve started making it all fit... Imagine that window x 2 with a roof and a big bed sized floor in it then you´ll hopefully get an idea what i´ve been waffling on about the last few weeks I´m not sure if you noticed but there was a sliding door amongst all that lot, i got thinking yesterday on the way home (it was a three hour drive so had plenty of time) why not make another slide out on the left hand side, opposite the other sliding door and fit the kitchen in it. We´ll see, first i´ve got to get the bed done first. Cheers, Dave
|
|
Last Edit: Jan 6, 2019 18:44:43 GMT by Oldbus
|
|
|
|
|
Cheers guys, just got back from my trip to pick up the back end of the T4. We started off with this morning with a normal looking T4 window bus... and after a couple of hours faffing around with the angle grinder i had a trailer full of VW metal and glas and left Dennis with this in his workshop can´t be bothered offloading it all today so i´ll get stuck into it tomorrow. Cheers, Dave
|
|
Last Edit: Jan 5, 2019 15:35:14 GMT by Oldbus
|
|
|
|
|
Good luck... Not sure I follow your intentions completely, but can't wait to see you do it! i didnt want to be the first to admit getting lost by that idea...but given the rest of the build so far I'm sure it will be peachy!! Kinda sounds like the rear door will be on the sliders, sort of like a desk drawer? Think this gives an idea of the direction? Look forward to see what you come up with. Thanks for all the kind comments guys,much appreciated it´s not that easy to explain in detail but varelse has come up with a good descrption. That video is great and gives a rough idea of what it might look like once i´m finished but my plan is a bit different. We want a full size bed and don´t want have to "build it" every time we want to use it so the bed won´t be foldable. To give us a bit more room once we set ourselves up it´ll slide out the back like a big drawer, the rear door stays where it is, is opened up on it´s original hinges and the drawer slides out. Obviously you don´t want to be sleeping out in the rain so the bit that slides in and out will be made up out of the back half of another T4. Well that´s the plan but to be honest i haven´t got the foggiest whether it´ll work or not. We´ll see in the next couple of weeks,fingers crossed! Cheers, Daved
|
|
Last Edit: Jan 4, 2019 19:54:32 GMT by Oldbus
|
|
|
|
|
Well i´ve ben tinkering around in the garage again. I´ve cleaned up the left hand rear side a bit and have started to make up the supporting frame for the slide out.... i´ve just copied the other side and have made surethe angles are the same I´ve been thinking a lot about how to make the slide out. The obvious way would be to knock it up out of some wood but i´m a lousy joiner and it´ll probably look really naff if i do it that way so i´ve found someone who is scrapping a swb T4 window bus and have bought the back end of it. I´ll narrow down the tailgate a bit so that it fits in this hole.... I´ll leave the rear window in place as you can´t have too much light on the inside of a camper. The plan is to chop out the rear side windows and windowframes and weld them to the bed frame so that they slide in and out with the bed. If i then weld up the big hole where the roof used to be the bed should then be waterproof and will hopefully look half decent when it´s been pulled out. Once it´s been painted in the same colour as the rest of the van it should be alright. ...well that´s the plan anyway, wish me luck. Cheers, Dave
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 28, 2018 16:59:02 GMT
|
I finished off the right hand bed frame this afternoon, the boxsection that´ll support the bed and rest of the slide now runs on three wheels and when the bed is rolled out is still running on two. I need to make up bracket to stop it tipping forwards when it´s rolled out as the construction will be a bit top heavy even before i get in there for a kip. Whilst i was faffing around with the frame rail i made up a small cupboard to use up the space in the side.. basically i just chopped up the cupboard i´d taken out of the other side and made up a litte frame out of boxsection to support it and the side panel that´ll make up once i get round to doing the inside.. Cheers, Dave
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 27, 2018 17:26:55 GMT
|
[or as we call it... "pluasable deniability"...or the 3B principal!! very impressive rate of progress. Cheers mate, thinking about it they must have removed at least one of the struts somewhere in the back so shouldn´t be too difficult ignoring the one in the front once it´s missing. I´ve been playing around with the slide out frame... the box section is 30mm x 30mm 2 mm thick so it´s not as heavy as it looks. This bit of the frame is only there to take the wheels on which the bed frame will be running. They´re good for 200 kg and i´ll be using 6 of them (the one in the middle is missing in that pic) so should be alright weightwise . I´ll copy what i´ve done on the right hand side next then i can start the fun bit.... Cheers, Dave
|
|
Last Edit: Dec 27, 2018 17:28:53 GMT by Oldbus
|
|
|
|
Dec 23, 2018 16:57:51 GMT
|
Ref the shelf above the cab, my experirence is with transit but it looks exactly the same, one of the reasons they leave it is because otherwise the top seat belt mounting will be weaker and pull the B pillar in (on a 20g impact thats 20x your body weight pulling in the seatbelt). Clearly its possible to stiffen it up enough to take the load but you would need to somehow convince the TUV that what you have done is adequote. Over here you would be fine though I can't see any UK mot tester picking up it (I guess they could theoretically under the 300mm from a seat belt mounting rule?) Thanks for that, i´ll take the seatbelt mounting point issue into account when i strengthen the roof. Regarding convincing TÜV engineers to be honest that´s not going to happen as there´s no way they´d accept the modifiaction no matter how well it´s been done so i´ll get it done and cover the roof with either some wood or a fabric and tell him it was done as it was converted into an Ambulance. I´ve been out collecting goodies again. I´ve bought a leather interior out of a 2007 VW Touareg and will be converting them to fit the T4. I started off in the back as i want to refit the axles to get it moveable again but can´t because the underside is not oainted yet and i can´t paint it until i´ve finished all the welding. The rear seat needs to fold away under the bed so i need to come up with something to get it all to work. Good job i kept he old ambulance seat... So i stripped it back to the bone.... ..and did the same with the Touareg seat and made one seat out of the two. and after a day of mucking around with the welder i ended up with this... which doesn´t look to pretty yet but with the cushions provissionally back on it doesn´t look to bad Next job is to adapt the base to fit the seat mount Cheers, Dave
|
|
Last Edit: Dec 23, 2018 17:08:26 GMT by Oldbus
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 21, 2018 18:45:23 GMT
|
i took out the other cupboard out this afternoon and cut out the window... The window surround doesn´t have any rust at all which makes a change. Can´t say the same about the floor though..... The inner panelling on the right hand side is a one piece job so i can´t take out the bottom half and i´m defintely not taking it all out so i´ve chopped off the bottom half, if necessary i can always glue it back in afterwards but i don´t think i´ll be needing it. I´ll keep the bit around the window and cover it with wood or fabric once i get round to the interior. and as usual i found more rust... but i´ll be redoing that bit of the floor anyway as i need a channel where the wheels for the slide out will be going, What i can say is i´ll be making a big drawer in the boot to take our camping table and chairs and i fancy using it as an extra seat as well so it´ll end up being made to take a bit of weight. On top of the "boot drawer" will be a second drawer turned upside down which will be 1.40m wide x 1.90m long, which will be our bed which i´ll need to insulate and close in somehow, but more of that later [img src="//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/smiley.png" alt=" " Don´t get it ? Don´t worry, me neither Cheers, Dave
|
|
Last Edit: Dec 21, 2018 18:52:38 GMT by Oldbus
|
|
|
|
Dec 20, 2018 16:18:45 GMT
|
i'm no designer or engineer but i would have thought that a double tube hoop of a decent wall thickness (with gussets of course) would transmit the loads that that panel currently carries? happy to be proven totally wrong but at least i got my daily gusset reference in!! Best talk to your local TÜV engineer about the removal of that roof bar. But all those bus owners who added a camper top, wheather massive or pop-up type, will have removed it, so it should be possible. Cheers guys, i think i´ll leave it in place for now, chop the hole and fit the sunroof then adapt the roof bar to match the sunroof inner frame. With all the rust and holes in the floor now gone i can move on to making up the slide out. Before i start though i need to take out all the cupboards on the left hand side. They´re in the way and i´ll probably end up using only bits of them anyway. The problem is they´re glued into place and it took me ages to get the first one out in one piece. Got there in the end though... i also cut out the side window, mainly because it needs to come out for the respray anyway but as with the rest of the van there´s rust that needs to be sorted..... shouldn´be too difficult to fix though. Cheers, Dave
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 17, 2018 18:25:45 GMT
|
...it looks even better in the snow mate
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 17, 2018 18:21:14 GMT
|
the build that just keeps giving. cant wait till you really kick off with the interior fit out... Cheers mate, me too. I´ll get all the welding out of the way, the axles and brakes back in, the awning hopefully fitted and the slide out fabricated, then i can get the underbody sorted then hopefully it´ll be a bit warmer so i can get stuck into the paintjob and then the interior. Well that´s the cunning plan anyway. I wonder whether I may briefly hijack your T4 thread. My brother in Germany wants a petrol T4 as a family car. He wants it in good condition, but is prepared to pay for it. Could you help him along by answering some of the following questions? - where would you look for a suitable bus if you were more concerned with condition than with price? So far, he's had to deal with one cheater (chap denying that the car wasn't running on all cylinders, has since been taken to court by the buyer) and two scammers (people who didn't have a car to sell, just wanted a deposit to make off with), luckily without falling for any of this. - are there alternatives that don't attract the T4 scene tax? I always thought the Espace was quite cool but he still has to give his response to that suggestion I think I had a third question but I forgot it now. Feel free to respond by personal message, and in German, if you don't want your thread clogged up. Cheers! No probs with the hijack mate,i´m certainly no expert on top notch cars, most of the wrecks i´ve ever bought needed restoring one way or the other. What part of Germany does he live in and is his German ok? T4´s are all over the place, parts are cheap and easy to come by but the really good ones are not cheap anymore. I can´t recommend anyone but without wanting to state the obvious, later models with relatively few kilometers and a decent dealers service book would be a decent place to start.
Well getting back to my rust bucket. There was a small hole in the back and the floor panelling was a bit distorted. I´d thought about just welding up the hole but ended up cutting out the floor instead. Glad i did as underneath the floorplate was the rear spring support bracket and it was a mess. Those plates you can see in the last pic were 3mm thick and with the welder turned up into "welding girders mode" i put some strength back into the structure before closing it all off again.. I think i´ve found all the holes in the back now, i´ll do the torch test tomorrow and clean off the rest of the paint with a wire brush before i prime it all. I could do with some adice on the next photo. It´s the metal support between the top of the two B Posts.. i´ve been looking at loads of Google pics and most of the high roof T4´s have left the support in place and build cupboards around them. I´d like to take it out to have the maximum height above the drivers and passenger seats.
What do you guys think,can i just chop it out? I was thinking about taking it out and combining it with the inner frame of the pamorama sunroof but i´m not too sure if that´ll weaken the structure too much. Cheers, Dave
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 15, 2018 19:18:13 GMT
|
I didn't know T4 floors were made of old Citroen H vans, no wonder they rot. no...vw's are made of vw's...thats why they rot! to be fair though after twenty years of abuse, 880,000 km´s of Autobahn and a leaky sunroof it´s hardy surprising. I managed to lose a few holes today.... but didn´t get that much done as i´ve been out and about gathering goodies. Goody No. 1 is a Renault Twingo electric panorama sunroof and frame. it 1.35 x 0.85m and once i´ve chopped a big hole in the roof should fit in nicely...fingers crossed. Goody No. 2 is the "beer storage unit" it´s not a big as i´d hoped but any larger and it wouldn´t fit. It runs off gas, 12v and 230v so the beer and Bratwurst will definatly be cold and Goody No. 3 is a 2.5m x 2.00m awning Instead of just bolting it to the outside of the roof i´m planning chopping open the side of the roof and will try to get it flush fitted so that you can´t see it from the outside. Watch this space, should be good for a laugh. Cheers, Dave
|
|
Last Edit: Dec 17, 2018 18:22:44 GMT by Oldbus
|
|
|
|
Dec 14, 2018 18:06:02 GMT
|
drop down cinema screen from the tailgate? ...not a bad idea mate but that´s where our bed will end up so it´ll have to go up the front somewhere. You need to get an organ delivery esky for your beer box. which beer box, it´ll be getting a proper fridge if i can make it fit Underneath the old plywood floor there´s a metal frame been welded in that supported the stretcher and wheelchair ramp. All this needs to come out as it´s heavy and i won´t be needing it anyway. Glad i did take it out as the original floor underneath is a mess. There´s a caravan type window fitted to the roof and by the looks of it it´s been leaking for quite a while. Also what hasn´t helped is the frame was welded in and the welds weren´t painted afterwards so it´s hardly surprising that 20 years on there´s loads of rust all over the place. The big repairplate i´d used at the front was a bit bigger than i needed which is handy as ´ll be spending the next couple of days chopping out rust and need something to weld up the holes... I must check how many grinding discs i still have, looks like i´ll be needing a few before i´m done Cheers, Dave
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 12, 2018 17:37:58 GMT
|
........... i'm planning a Slide out and will need to weld in a frame to support it all. it just gets better and better....!! wait until i get stuck in to the Panorama Sunroof and the awning that´ll hopefully get integrated into the roof
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 12, 2018 16:54:15 GMT
|
sorry guys, no progress with the estate. I´m a bit busy with the T4 Ambulance at the moment. As soon as it´s done i´ll carry on with the Ford
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 11, 2018 16:43:17 GMT
|
You going to put insulation back in under the ply ? These days I suspect they would use a sealant / glue rather than screws to speed things up. Nice work, at least there is some value to be gained on turning out a nice one of these ! James Hi James, thanks for that, the insulation will be going back in but that's going to take a while as i'm planning a Slide out and will need to weld in a frame to support it all.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dec 11, 2018 16:38:40 GMT
|
the rate you are hammering it out , you will be done in no time!! Wishful thinking mate, with a bit of luck i'll have it up and running by next Summer.
|
|
|
|
|