# The upgrade / update to our Cheyenne 696G SE



## Carl_n_Flo (May 10, 2005)

Well, Flo and I have owned our motorhome now for just shy of eight years and it is now coming up to 10 years old. It has served us very well over the time of our ownership - being at various times our travelling home as well as our permanent home in the UK at the height of the recession.

To be honest, we have looked at many others in the intervening years, but none (other than an Adria A-Class) has come close to us wanting to change.

SO - as the years have passed, things have started to wear out, sag, fall apart and just get generally tired (we are still talking about the van here - although the description could also be applied to me!!!!!). To that end, we have decided to spend a little time going through the van from front to back refreshing / replacing / repairing everything that requires it so that we hope that we will be able to enjoy another eight years of motorhoming pleasure.

As we sort things out or come across problems etc., we will post them here.............

First up - simple things...........interior adjustable lights:
These are the original Auto-Trail fittings, with LED replacement filaments that, after 10 years have gone brittle and the switches have failed-










Managed to source a pair of contemporary replacements that I thought would fit the bill - simple swap really ;










On to the 'sagging' part of our problems - the 'letterbox' style cupboard doors under the overhead lockers have warped due to gravity over the years :



















Suggestions as to how to rectify this would be most welcome. They are made (I think) of moulded mdf. I was considering backing the top edge of the door with a steel strip to straighten them up but I am unsure as to how effective this would be.

Finally for today, I decided I would do something about the collapsing bed support. This broke about three years ago when I accidentally leaned on it in the 'wrong' place but the bed was still useable. Like I said, this whole exercise is to refresh / repair the van for the next eight to ten years of its life, so I set to and pulled apart the wooden support structure to see what could be / needed to be done:










I wasn't too impressed with what I found to be honest..............



















Not only was the bed-head support only a piece of 25 x 25mm softwood batten, it was only screwed to the wall with 3 screws. And, to top it all off, these screws were only biting into the 3mm ply wall lining - no inner batten to spread the load. What hasn't helped matters is that the outer locker door frame seal has failed at some point and allowed moisture to track across and rot the lower edge of the inner ply wall - the only place that the bed-head batten was screwed to..........a very poorly thought-out design in my opinion: not enough 'meat' for the support screws to bite into!!!




























Plan is to dig out enough of the expanded polystyrene to fit a 2"x2" batten above the locker opening to allow a new bed-head support batten to be screwed more firmly into place. At the same time, the whole locker frame is going to come off, the area cleaned up, and the locker frame refitted with fresh Sika 512 sealant/adhesive. Sika now on order as my current tube has 'gone orf!!'.

Further plans and updates include:

Removing all windows and rubber seals and re-sealing/re-fitting them
Removing the wind-out awning and its carrier box, cleaning up the area and re-sealing/re-fitting it (may leave this one to the experts - it is a big and heavy item!!)
Have the fridge serviced fully
Re-upholster the seats internally - quite fancy a leather and cloth mix.
Replace the flexible strip LEDS above the overhead lockers with better quality items
New carpet fitted
Add a second solar panel to the roof
Re-spray the bonnet of the cab as it is covered in stone chips

That should keep us going for a little while and, hopefully, breath a bit of fresh life into our beloved motorhome.

More updates as they happen ccasion5:


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## philoaks (Sep 2, 2008)

Hi Carl. Looks like your making good progress with your "to do" list, she'll be like a new van once you've finished!

On our van we had to have a locker door replaced and they needed to put a piece of batten in to give them something meaty to screw into. Each year when we have the damp test done that area shows a high reading. Dealer has double/triple checked the seal and has come to the conclusion that the removal of polystyrene and the insertion of a bit of solid wood, creates a cold bridge and condensation forms on the inner surface, creating the damp meter reading.

I've done my own tests and it's only an issue in the winter/early spring when outside temperatures are low and we use the van with the heating on. Once the warmer weather comes readings return to normal (even when it's chucking it down with rain).

I'm not sure that you have any other option but just something to be aware of.

Phil


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## Carl_n_Flo (May 10, 2005)

Cheers Phil - Yes, that cold bridging thought has gone through my mind too whilst planning the job.
I thought I might slip a sheet of high density foam between the batten and the inner wall ply to form a thermal break. Mind you, the whole van has a timber frame so either AT have also fitted thermal breaks or there are plenty of other cold bridging opportunities.


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Ref the awning

I had to remove my awning (identical vehicle) TWICE for various reasons (stripped gears in the end, they can be replaced without removing the awning on everything EXCEPT AT's where its recessed into the side of the vehicle. Its NOT a difficult job BUT you need at LEAST two people.

It is "fixed" (ha ha) through the side of the MH bodywork at three locations, at either end and the centre. If you look in the cupboards etc you should see a beige plastic moulding that covers the fixings. You will need a 10mm socket to undo i think just two nuts at each fixing point (yes titchy mountings R us !!) 

Once undone you will need to ease the awning out/away from the bodywork/recessed housing. THIS is where you need AT LEAST two reasonably strong people and a couple of step ladders so the awning is at about chest height. Position the steps so you can hold onto the awning once removed yet still climb down (sounds daft, but its not something I thought about first time!!). Three is better, one on each end externally and one inside to undo the nuts. DONT try and do it from the ground, you wont manage it as the awning is too high. The awning box is seated on some mastic so you might need to jiggle it about a little to break the seal. The awning isnt that heavy but because of its size its not a one man job. If you drop it on the end it WILL break the end cap and they are NOT cheap (Pal did exactly that) 

Refitting is a lot easier !!

I had the same issue with the "letterbox" cupboard doors distorting, never did find a cure !!!

It was however a brilliant layout that really suited Mrs P and I and if I was to return to MH'ing I would go for the later version which is the Mohawk (on a 3 litre base) 

Andy


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