NigelEvans
New member
Some random thoughts on avoidable conversion issues after 3 months on the road in South America.
Screws: Loctite is your friend. The wood screws have been fine but I should think around 40 engineering screws have fallen out of various control panels, appliances and fittings.
Tyres: I’m sure I’ve got the front tyres way overinflated. The problem is I’ve never been able to get a straight answer from Toyo as to how low I can run them without causing sidewall damage. This exacerbates tracking on worn roads (found plenty of them!)and makes the front over- hard on gravel.
Gravel Roads: After around 700 miles of gravel roads ranging from good to near impassable I can confirm that I absolutely hate them! The truck is truly awful on gravel roads. The springs are too hard and there is not enough suspension travel. These are characteristics it shares with other heavy vehicles, such as buses and lorries. The difference is their wheels are larger and they can run at lower pressures.
Plumbing: My main problem here was my system was fitted without an expansion tank. Notwithstanding the error I would avoid flexible hose and jubilee clips on any pressurised part of the system. My sink tap was plastic, the connections failed after about a week, again I’d avoid if you’re going off-road.
Seitz windows: They really aren’t good enough, they leak dust like a sieve, they leak water and the mozzies just walk through them. Having said that the alternatives are just so expensive there isn’t a choice. We’ve fitted fine mozzie proof netting on Velcro strips to the windows this has the added benefit of catching most of the dust.
Dust: This has been a major inconvenience. It gets in through door seals, fans, vent holes, open windows, closed windows. I don’t think it can be entirely prevented but in the future I’ll be using 3M release tape every morning in dusty areas (especially gravel roads). 10 minutes taping up will save an hour of cleaning.
Fans: We have a couple of marine quality fans which have proved an absolute must (thanks to Stephen Stewart). One fitted over the bed and one in the front. In a larger van I’d have more.
Windscreen repair kit: Carry one, I’ve used it twice so far and it seems to work.
Rubber hose repair tape: Carry one, it works!
Water filling hose: Get the longest one you can carry, next time I’ll get a flat one. The taller your van the longer the hose, It’ll save you dragging down electrical cables and trees trying to get close enough to a tap.
Door Catches and Locks: This a Vario/Mercedes specific problem. The door locks and catches do not like heat, cold or dust. They even seem susceptible to altitude! Make sure you know how to repair them they’re going to let you down at some point!
Eberspächer: Temperamental little things! Mine won’t run it the voltage falls below 24.2v. It stopped working at 8000 feet (just when we needed it). They’re great when they work but you need an alternative.
Gas: Not used anywhere near as much as I thought, still on the original 15Kg cylinder.
Fuel: You can never have too much! Couldn’t buy any for a week in Bolivia (that’s another story). An auxiliary tank or cans are a must in some parts of the world.
Altitude: Got to just under 18,000 feet, truck performed fine, pulled like a train all day. Me I got so disorientated I couldn’t even spell my own name at the border.
Screws: Loctite is your friend. The wood screws have been fine but I should think around 40 engineering screws have fallen out of various control panels, appliances and fittings.
Tyres: I’m sure I’ve got the front tyres way overinflated. The problem is I’ve never been able to get a straight answer from Toyo as to how low I can run them without causing sidewall damage. This exacerbates tracking on worn roads (found plenty of them!)and makes the front over- hard on gravel.
Gravel Roads: After around 700 miles of gravel roads ranging from good to near impassable I can confirm that I absolutely hate them! The truck is truly awful on gravel roads. The springs are too hard and there is not enough suspension travel. These are characteristics it shares with other heavy vehicles, such as buses and lorries. The difference is their wheels are larger and they can run at lower pressures.
Plumbing: My main problem here was my system was fitted without an expansion tank. Notwithstanding the error I would avoid flexible hose and jubilee clips on any pressurised part of the system. My sink tap was plastic, the connections failed after about a week, again I’d avoid if you’re going off-road.
Seitz windows: They really aren’t good enough, they leak dust like a sieve, they leak water and the mozzies just walk through them. Having said that the alternatives are just so expensive there isn’t a choice. We’ve fitted fine mozzie proof netting on Velcro strips to the windows this has the added benefit of catching most of the dust.
Dust: This has been a major inconvenience. It gets in through door seals, fans, vent holes, open windows, closed windows. I don’t think it can be entirely prevented but in the future I’ll be using 3M release tape every morning in dusty areas (especially gravel roads). 10 minutes taping up will save an hour of cleaning.
Fans: We have a couple of marine quality fans which have proved an absolute must (thanks to Stephen Stewart). One fitted over the bed and one in the front. In a larger van I’d have more.
Windscreen repair kit: Carry one, I’ve used it twice so far and it seems to work.
Rubber hose repair tape: Carry one, it works!
Water filling hose: Get the longest one you can carry, next time I’ll get a flat one. The taller your van the longer the hose, It’ll save you dragging down electrical cables and trees trying to get close enough to a tap.
Door Catches and Locks: This a Vario/Mercedes specific problem. The door locks and catches do not like heat, cold or dust. They even seem susceptible to altitude! Make sure you know how to repair them they’re going to let you down at some point!
Eberspächer: Temperamental little things! Mine won’t run it the voltage falls below 24.2v. It stopped working at 8000 feet (just when we needed it). They’re great when they work but you need an alternative.
Gas: Not used anywhere near as much as I thought, still on the original 15Kg cylinder.
Fuel: You can never have too much! Couldn’t buy any for a week in Bolivia (that’s another story). An auxiliary tank or cans are a must in some parts of the world.
Altitude: Got to just under 18,000 feet, truck performed fine, pulled like a train all day. Me I got so disorientated I couldn’t even spell my own name at the border.