# Work on our new Auto-Roller 600G



## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

_Note to mods: Could'nt find anywhere else this should go - please feel free to move it to a more appropriate home if there is one_

Well, the deal to sort out the camper is done - everyone is happy and our new mode of MX transport arrived last Thursday. Lots to do now as they come with nowt and we sold ours fully kitted out. So, the job list to date is:

Fit new awning (blooming heavy!)
Fit TVs in front & rear
Install new inverter (12v/240v) and run secondary 'mains' cabling/sockets
Install second leisure battery
Install DVD and plumb it to all TVs/monitors
Install reversing sensors/camera and cable all to the cab
Install cab TV/monitor
Install TV/Freeview ariel
Install Sky box/dish
Rack out garage
Install 240v into garage
Fabricate and install additional 100l fresh water tank
Take it to Ford to fit new wiring, window switches, motors and door cards

Phew! Not much to keep me busy in the evening 'till the end of the year then!

First job was to sort out the kids and fit a new TV over their bed. Argos had an excellent one day only offer and we got two 15" LCD TV's for the price of one! They have an excellent, really clear picture too. Believe it or not, the bracket weighs more than the TV! (and costs 50% as much as the telly too!). Here it is mounted in the 'travelling' position










and open (the DVD will be fed from the front where the other TV is and will put the PS2 on the shelf above).










(pics a bit naff due to no flash on my phone - sorry!)

On Saturday my friend and a fellow 'MotoX Dad' came over to help and we set about some of the outstanding list of 'to-do's'. First job was to fit the front TV into the cabinet - simple job and took just a few minutes.



















Next we needed to work out where to put the new awning. Now, silly as this sounds (yes, I know it goes over the door!) it's actually far more difficult than it sounds. Firstly it is important to find where the coachbuilder had installed the strengthening bar on the vehicle (believe me, these things are heavy and if installed in the wrong place will rip the side off the vehicle. Once that was located we needed to find a datum point to measure from - we chose the center of the kitchen window for a couple of reasons; it was easy to measure from both inside and out and it had an expanse of flat roof to measure down from to get the datum for the horizontal.

Once we had marked a fitting line in pencil alont the side of the vehicle, it was time to retrieve the awning from it's storage place in the roof of my garage (got bored of the kids riding their bikes over it)










unpack it and check that all the mounting points etc. were included (don't want to drill the van then find can't mount the brackets!)










Now we have the vertical datum set we needed to work out where on the horizontal to put the brackets. They need to be placed to allow horizontal adjustment so that the Comander-in-Chief (Mrs JDS) will be exactly happy with the final location of the awning and also to ensure that the mounts on the inside do not foul any of the furniture. We decided to put the center bracket into the wiring void above the kitchen sink










The rear mounts could not be hidden inside a cupboard, so we decided to place them above the rear shelf where they will be hidden by DVDs and books etc. and the front two could be hidden in the main wardrobe.










At the same time, I removed the main control panel (above the entrance door) to fit some additional wiring for the awning light which will be fitted in a week or so when it arrives!)










Now all the positions are measured and marked it was just time to drill the holes. Let me tell you, taking a power drill to the side of a brand new expensive vehicle is not the easiest of things to do (perhaps that's why the pic is so out of focus!)










Anyhow, 10 holes later and it was time to start fitting the brackets onto the side of the vehicle










Finished










Inside the center bracket will be hidden by replacing the wiring facia in the cupboard










The rear shelf in progress










and finished










and the front mounts in the wardrobe










and finished too.










Next job was to hang the awning onto the brackets (not an easy task as these 4m awnings weigh a ton), drill the bottom of it, screw and bolt it onto the brackets and volla, finished.










Next job was to install an additional 85 amp/hr leisure battery and a 600w inverter. This required us to remove the passenger seat to get to the existing leisure battery.










Once we could get access we needed to move the battery 90 degrees to fit the second one in, then make up new tails to connect the two. The inverter was mounted to the bulkhead behind the passenger seat, the croc-clips cut off and battery connectins crimped onto the tails to enable permanent fitting to the battery setup. By this time the light had gone so this bit invloved a lot of cussing and swearing as I kept dropping various screws and bolts and spending ages hunting them down. anyhow, this is what it looks like all finished before we re-installed the passenger seat.










All tested and functioning fine and the inverter will be powerful enough to run all the mains eqpt. we have in the vehicle if we don't have a hookup. Seat went back in a matter of minutes and just the sawdust left for Mrs JDS to hoover up in the morning.










Next job is to install the mains into the garage and start to rack it out ot hold the chairs, tables etc. (the petrol can looks a bit lost in there!)










Sunday we spent mostly at the MX practice track so hardly got any jobs done on the camper today. I was really impressed that they red-flagged the tracks at 11:00am this morning and everyone turned off their bikes for 2 mins silence - very moving.










However, I did manage to sneak in a quick job to the camper after we had unpacked and washed off the bikes this evening - we now have 240v power for the jetwash etc. in the garage










So, the list currently looks like this:

Fit new awning (blooming heavy!) *DONE *
Fit TVs in front & rear *DONE *
Install new inverter (12v/240v) and run secondary 'mains' cabling/sockets *DONE *
Install second leisure battery *DONE *
Install DVD and plumb it to all TVs/monitors
Install reversing sensors/camera and cable all to the cab
Install cab TV/monitor 
Install TV/Freeview ariel *DONE *
Install Sky box/dish
Rack out garage
Install 240v into garage *DONE *
Fabricate and install additional 100l fresh water tank
Take it to Ford to fit new wiring, window switches, motors and door cards

*Monday* came and went with no progress on the van, however, Tuesday evening saw me back at work on it agian. I decided that I was unhappy with the 240v power that I initially put in the garage - as I intend to run the jetwash etc. from it I decided to replace it with a built in RCD, much safer IMHO










At the same time I took the opportunity to run mains up to the rear for the TV and DVD (decided to put a seperate DVD into the rear TV setup as it was cheaper than cabling it from the front!), so added some trunking etc. and installed a double socket above. I had to remove the shelf to get the power, freeview cable (which WILL run to the reciever at the front of the van) and SCART lead to the TV.










Then just a case of putting it all back together, tidying up the wires and testing that it all worked.








.

I was planning on putting the awning light on this week as well, but Trigano just came back with a price for the parts - £65.97 + delivery and VAT !!! So that's been shelved for a while - I'll hunt around the caravan accessory shops as they are bound to have something simialr that will work out at less than £80 and to be honest, I'm not likely to be sitting out under the awning at night anythime in the next 4-5 months!

So, update on current list status:

Fit new awning (blooming heavy!) *DONE *
Fit TVs in front & rear *DONE *
Install new inverter (12v/240v) and run secondary 'mains' cabling/sockets *DONE *
Install second leisure battery *DONE *
Install DVD and plumb it to all TVs/monitors *Cancelled, now front only*
Install rear DVD and freeview *DONE *
Install reversing sensors/camera and cable all to the cab
Install cab TV/monitor 
Install TV/Freeview ariel *DONE *
Install Sky box/dish
Rack out garage *Pondeing how*
Install 240v into garage *DONE - now with RCD *
Install 240v into rear of van *DONE *
Install and weld into place document safe *new*
Fabricate and install additional 100l fresh water tank
Take it to Ford to fit new wiring, window switches, motors and door cards

Some progress, but a L-O-N-G way to go before it's finished (anyone know about racking out the garage in one of these things?) not least sort out the TV cabinet at the front, run the ariel cable from the back to the front, install the safe (today's new purchase) etc. etc. etc.

Thanks for Mandy & Andy for some of the advice they have given regarding bonding in strengthening beams into the garage etc. I'll keep you updated on the progress!

Cheers for now,
John


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## rollerteam7maxi (Oct 21, 2007)

Brilliant, you are doing well! Luckily our Maxi 7 came with the awning fitted already so didn't have the scary prospect of drilling holes in the side ourselves.

Going to bookmark this one to show OH how you did things, as the interior of yours is very similar to ours.

Keep up the good work.


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## grumpyman (Sep 24, 2006)

What a brilliant report found it very interesting and know where to bring my Van for work. :wink:


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

I wish I was as organised as you. 

I am currently in the process of "thinking" of fitting extra TV's to the bed area in our van. The cables are giving me the biggest headache so far.

Keep up the good work and I look forward to your update.


Richard...


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Rollerteam extras*

Hi

Thanks for the interesting read and the photos. 230v is the boot is an excellent extra - I used it a lot initially - everything from ironing outdoors, to the electric frying pan to the CD player when sun bathing.

Russell


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## mandyandandy (Oct 1, 2006)

WoW !! very impressed, makes our few modifications look like playschool stuff. 

You would get an excellent job on TV demonstrating all this, and magazines would love you. 

Very strange seeing the inside of our van on screen makes me so glad that we have banned TV in the van, just think how much less work it would have been. 

Another tip just watch the little plastic stopper that stops the slide door into the garage going too far, our door sticks quite often and then you push it too hard and yes we knocked the stopper off without knowing so the next time someone did it they hit the internal garage light and broke it.

Good luck with all your work, we had the awning, bbq point , refillable gas tanks and filler point and of course the SOG unit all fitted by the dealer, they made an excellent job, and I know far better than we could have done. Really envy you people who think Oh we need one of these and just be able to fit it. 

Keep up the good work and keep the pics and info coming

Mandy


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## mandyandandy (Oct 1, 2006)

got another job for you  

you need to replace the brackets in the warddrobe that hold the bar up , they snap after about 6 months  

easy job to do ,the only thing you need to watch is the length of your screws ,

If mandy sees that i have replied on her forum she will kill me ,so if anyone asks i wasnt here , 

Andy


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## timbop37 (Jun 28, 2006)

Brilliant stuff. I tend to botch my way from one disaster to the next. It deserves a reply just to keep it near the top of the postings.

Regards

Tim


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## davesport (Nov 12, 2006)

Good informative post & I've left thanks as a picture says a 1000 words etc.

Now, down to business  I see you intend to "rack out" the garage. This is something i'd like to do in my Hymer as we use ours a lot for mountain bikes & carry shed-loads of gear. Have you found a system for racking or shelving out the garage.

Many thanks, Dave.


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## LondonMotorhomeHire (Jan 20, 2008)

Hi JDS. I/we have just bought a autoroller 700 which in many ways is very similar to yours and I was wondering whether you have installed your reversing camera yet.....I have bought a 'wired' one and wonder which way to go with it. I know the camera-thingie goes on the back of the van and the screenie-thingie goes inside, but, well, you know what I mean.
Where's the best place to site the camera.
Which way to trail the cable to the cab and so on.

Any help would be appreciated. Oh, and by the way, did you or do you happen to have a general habitation area instruction booklet/sheet. I'm not finding it easy to get life into the new fridge/freezer.....everything else seems powered up but the two LCD panels on the fridge are dead. Maybe I'm missing a switch somewhere.

Cheers.


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## rollerteam7maxi (Oct 21, 2007)

Hi Tug,

We also have the 700 (maxi) which had an upgrade including the camera installed when we bought it.

The camera is in more or less where a radio would go (is yours also the type that you press the button and the screen pops out and unfolds into an upright position, looks like a radio or cd player when closed?)

We have the manual for the fridge and I will try and dig it out and see if there is anything obvious about why it may not be powering up.

Anything else not very techy I can help you with, let me know.

Tara


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## dbh1961 (Apr 13, 2007)

Like many others, I'm waiting to see your garage racking.

I'd love to do ours, but I can't figure out where to start. I'm sure that if I just go ahead, I'll then have regrets that I didn't do it this or that way - so I'm sitting on the fence at the moment.

Based on your posts so far, I think I'll let you do the figuring out, and the photos, then I'll just nick your ideas!  

Imitation is the best form of flattery, and I think there might be a few imitations of whatever you do.

Keep up the good work.


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## bikemad99 (Aug 17, 2006)

JDS,
great report,how did you have time to write it? What is your pay load,and how close will you be to it when you have fitted all your extras? I have a Roller Team Granduca on the Fiat,and am very pleased with it so hope you are happy with your new van.
Reg.


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## 97280 (Jan 15, 2006)

Excellent article, thanks. I recently purchased a Fiamma awning for my Burstner Levanto motorhome, and I'm thinking of fitting it myself. I'd be very grateful if you could explain how you located the strengthener in your van to mount the brackets to, as this is the only thing putting me off drilling holes in mine!


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## fatbast (Dec 5, 2007)

great article, mag quality!. we've a similar m/home to yours (rimor), but the garage has some racking built in,handy for odds and ends. you'll see pics on southdowns site ref rimor. a lot of that stuff was already installed in our m/h, luckily,  as i would find the elec work difficult.


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

Hi everyone and many thanks for all the very kind words (and all those who hit the thanks button too - kind of a nice feeling!). Someone asked how I found the time to write this, well, from the time it has taken to reply you'll see that sometimes I just dont! :roll:

But to answer a few questions, I enjoy writing (sometimes) and get a lot of practice on the Dervhead magazine and forum (and to tell the truth, the original article was published there but far more relevant to share it with everyone here :wink: )

Anyhow, to business firstly to Mandy & Andy, thanks for the tips on the slider and wardrobe mounts, will get them onto the list (not much happening to it at the moment other than adding to the list due to long, cold nights).

To Tug66 - If you have not found the cure to your fridge problems, yes, I do have the manual and can send you a copy. I also have the wiring diagrams for the Autoroller range (leccy, gas & water) which may also help. Regarding the reversing camera, to be honest, I've not come to any firm decision on this one yet. I may mount it high up (angled down) as there is a point in the rear moulding through which to run the cable into the van (would prob need to take out the rear cupboards to route it) or I may mount a flush one into the bumper and run the cabling back into the cab underneath the van. Regarding the monitor, it goes where you like it best. We have the OEM Ford double height CD player in ours (not a flipout screen aftermarket CD/DVD player, more's the shame) so I plan to replace the driver's sunvisor with one that has an LCD monitor built in and run it to that - that way it tucks hidden out the way when not being used; out of sight, out of mind as they say.

To Bikemad99 - Re: the payload, to be honest, I need to get it on a weighbridge and check. With all the MX gear and a couple of bikes, genny etc. in the back it's getting VERY close. Add to that I'm looking at if I can fit an additional water tank underneath for the jetwash and it will be touch & go to be honest. The only addition I've fitted that weigh anything worth mentioning is the awning (and that's darn heavy when your up a ladder trying to slot it onto the brackets!)

To Mayner - Initially, I cheated when looking for the strengthener and phoned Trigano's technical support team (who incidentally are very helpful) and they gave me the approximate measurenemts (down from the flat part of the roofline) to find it. Having said that, when it's damp in the morning, if you stand at the back of the van, just out to one side and look along the length it is just possible to see the strengthener along the side due to the way the dew forms on the sides of the van - perhaps you will be able to on yours too (I also used this trick on our CI Carioca).

One thing that did bother me was security - the doors on the RT are not brilliant (nor are they on any motorhome really) so one job I have done over the winter is to fit the Fiamma Safe door locks which are installed into the inner frame of the door and fold over. Seem good quality and at under £70 for three (all one key pattern thankfully!) a worthwhile investment.










For those who have asked about the racking in the garage the simple answer is that I am still thinking about it. While originally it seemed a good idea I played around with some Dexian systems and it limited what I could fit in the garage and also made getting the motobikes in & out a bit of a pain. The current solution is Fiamma Garage Bars which fit to the garage wall and consist of two aluminium rails and 5 eye sliding hooks and fixing screws for each side.










This allows lots of flexability on where things get lashed down and for storage we are currently usung large plastic bins with lids - while not perfect it's a flexible system and does work (although I'm still not sure if it is the right solution!)


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## LondonMotorhomeHire (Jan 20, 2008)

*Updates*

Hi Folks, I thought i'd post an update on some jobs which have been completed on my 700 since being inspired by this excellent post.

Regarding the reversing camera:
I exchanged the wired one for a wireless. I have located the camera above the high-line brake light facing downwards with the fiama 4-bike rack just in the lower frame of the pic to give a reversing guide (something the judge distance against). The very thin twin cable for the camera goes into the aerodynamics moulding to the top edge and down the side edge of the van via the rubber trim edge. It is then connected the the reversing lamp unit.
The screen is bracket mounted to the right of the drivers dash board, above the air vents. the power is taken from the 12v socket in the 'glove-box' in front of the driver.

It all works perfectly, displaying the reversing view when reverse-gear is engaged. It stows away in the glove box when out of use/not driving.

I have installed a status 530 aerial above the wardrobe and run the cables via the same route as the heat pipes in the high-line cupboards. This is joined by a 240v 4-way plug bank installed in the cupboard above the fridge-freezer, which now houses a microwave I have installed. One can remove and replace the frame edge of the cupboard to increase the opening and thus, fit a microwave to suit.

I have installed a Autosound !5" 7 in 1 LCD screen in the roller-front cupboard, similar to this poster's. I installed a 4-way 12v block running off the single outlet.

I had a panic this easter weekend while spending our first 3 days away, in freezing temps and driving snow in yarmouth, when the screen started to flicker on and off and I also couldn't seem to figure out the freeview part of it. That drew an early end to the rugby viewing.
Having suffered a total power loss on leisure battery the following morning 2+2 = leisure battery loss of charge due to not moving the van for two days................so all made sense.
A short drive soon recharged it and all worked perfectly well afterwards.

Having now read the booklet properly, I am pleased to report that we are receiving 60 freeview channels and 30 radio channels in 100% perfect clarity.

The entry door at the rear has rather flimsy 'pockets' made out of plastic and its very inviting to pull the door closed with one of them so I have screwed on a much heftier handle with which to pull it shut, especially in windy conditions.

anyways, quite pleased so far.

Entertainment's seem okay, heating via the combi heater was great, the shower worked just great.....and, well, nothing to complain about really.
all in all, quite pleased.

Oh, by the way.......thanks for the offer of the instructions, but I contacted Steve Smith in aftersales service at Autotrail and have since had pdf files of everything one would need sent through to me.

Happy homing.


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## hilldweller (Mar 8, 2008)

The RH awning bracket - it's not straight.


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

hilldweller said:


> The RH awning bracket - it's not straight.


I presume you're commenting to me? In answer, yes it it, everything checked with levels (multiple, laser and spirit) first. Are you looking at the inside pics which were taken before it was tightened up? Thanks for your comment.


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

*Re: Updates*



tug66 said:


> Hi Folks, I thought i'd post an update on some jobs which have been completed on my 700 .....


Sounds like excellent progress. Out of interest, what make of camera did you buy as a lot of the wireless ones I have looked at are a little 'cumbersome' IMHO.

If you can, I'd also recommend that you fit an additional leisure battery - it really does make a big differance for a very small cost.

Best of luck with (any) remaining jobs and enjoy the van.


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

mandyandandy said:


> ... Another tip just watch the little plastic stopper that stops the slide door into the garage going too far, our door sticks quite often and then you push it too hard and yes we knocked the stopper off without knowing so the next time someone did it they hit the internal garage light and broke it.


Hahaha ... as soon as I read this I checked ours and guess what, it just fell off in my hands - the screws are way too small for the job! Anyhow, luckily, the 240v socket I fitted sits just in front of the garage light and nicely stops the door from hitting it, so I think that (more by luck than judgement) I'll leave it at that and not bother to replace the stopper.


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## duetto96 (Jul 6, 2006)

Excellent article and particularly interesting because we pick up our new auto roller next week. 
And there was me wondering where I dare drill a hole to hang the clock!! 

I assume you must be happy with the base vehicle and the quality of the accomodation etc? 

I did have a question about your task of taking the vehicle back to Ford for the wiring work. What is that for?

David


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

duetto96 said:


> Excellent article and particularly interesting because we pick up our new auto roller next week.
> And there was me wondering where I dare drill a hole to hang the clock!!
> 
> I assume you must be happy with the base vehicle and the quality of the accomodation etc?
> ...


The vehicle was supplied without electric windows (should be standard). The dealer missed this (PDI ????) and when we refused to accept it they phone AutoRoller and were told that 'yes, a batch arrived without the windows fitted for we fitted a radio instead" !!! We accepted the vehicle as long as the dealer paid for the OEM windows to be fitted by the Ford dealer (which they did) to ensure the warranty remained in place. All done and works perfectly, but as they had to replace the door panels too (holes in wrong places) it worked out at just under £900 inc. the VAT, so I doubt the dealer made that much on the overall sale as they gave us a 'very healthy'PX price on our old CI.

Overall, build quality is OK, but a little dubious in places, but it pays to remember that these are still built to a budget. That said, I've seen many far more expensive vans that are finished far worse than our AutoRoller. Given the choice, I'd buy a European spec one next time as they are based on the Fiat chassis - the engine is better, smoother and returns better MPG than the Ford (but the rear-wheel drive of the Transit is very useful though).


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## LondonMotorhomeHire (Jan 20, 2008)

Thanks JDS.

I'll dig out some details about the camera later on and add them.

Can I ask you to give some more info on adding the extra leisure battery. In fact, the one that was in the van when I bought it was so low on charge that it wouldn't self-charge via the van so I had a new one fitted, being advised to keep the original one and to charge it via the mains until fully loaded.......a long way of saying that I have a second battery already, all I need is advice on how to fit it. I can see what the original poster has done but I'm not sure about how to link the two batteries together and........is there some sort of mechanism that splits the two of them?

Cheers.


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

tug66 said:


> Thanks JDS.
> 
> I'll dig out some details about the camera later on and add them.
> 
> ...


No probs. I presume that your battery is located under the passenger seat too? If you look at the pics in my original post, you can see that the standard battery is installed E-W. There is just about enough room to change it to N-S orientation and fit another in beside it - this saves space and lots of long, unsightly cables too. To insall it you don't need any additional charger, the one fitted is more than capable of handling the job. You will need to get some more cables though - you can get these ready made from your local auto-factors fairly cheaply and will need them approx 3 feet long to allow for routing and corners (better to have too much than too little!) - if they are way too long, just shorten them slightly.

Once you have moved the battery, disconnect the negative connection. Then install the second battery beside it (180 degrees rotated so + & - terminals are opposed - makes connection easier) and connect the batteries in parallel (pos to pos, neg to neg) then re-connect the neg (from the charger) to the battery. Unfortunately, this is not too clear in the pic as I used single coloured cables rather than red/black). This arrangement should ensure that both batteries are charged in parallel. Best of luck.


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

Sorry, forgot to add you will need to disguard the original battery securing bracket and make a new one (a wooden wedge will do the job just as well) to fit between the two batterys and the inside front of the seat box (approx 1.5 inches) just to ensure that they don't slide forwards. With two under the seat there is no room for lateral movement so no mods needed there.


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## camoyboy (May 9, 2005)

Hi JDS,
I think there is an error in the previous post. The batteries should be connected positive to positive, and negative to negative to maintain 12v. Connecting pos to neg, pos to neg will give you 24v!!
Also connect the charger to pos on one battery and neg on other to give an even charge to both batteries.

Impressed with the work done on your MH, I'm looking forward to getting our new Rapido with garage so I can do the same.

Colin


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

camoyboy said:


> Hi JDS,
> I think there is an error in the previous post. The batteries should be connected positive to positive, and negative to negative to maintain 12v. Connecting pos to neg, pos to neg will give you 24v!!
> Also connect the charger to pos on one battery and neg on other to give an even charge to both batteries.
> 
> ...


Yes. you're right. re: polarities (I knew what I meant, shame nobody on here is a mind reader... hahaha) Have ammended it. However, the charger is connected in parallel and charges both.


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

Just a brief update as I've had some free time today and finally managed to get round to doing a little more work on the garage area - having used it a bit now we have found out what we need, how we use things etc. so it was time to try and make better use of the huge space. The pre-reqs were that it must take two motorbikes and at least one push-bike and all the paraphenalia that goes with motocross and general vacation use.

I decided that the easiest solution overall would be to put in a shelving unit across one side at a level high enough to get things such as the genny, jetwash etc. under as well as slide the wheels of the motorbikes under, leaving the top free for box storage and use as a workbench when we are racing. All pretty simple really, made out of 12mm marine ply and screwed into place in-situ. Nothing prem screwed to the van and the hook/eye runner at the bottom hold the legs firmly in place so it all lifts out if we need more space.

The top doubles as a workbench with a small tool kit built into the left hand side. For this reason, I decided against installing runners or hooks to keep the storage boxes in place as they would just get in the way when using the workbench and opted to use strategically placed bungies instead, not that pretty, but perfectly functional.

All I need to do now is to cover the top in black non-slip rubber and it will be complete.

Workbench side









And from the loading side









While I was at it I also installed large industrial eyes into the runners under the ceiling so that we can sling a 6' table from the ceiling in the 'dead space' (held firmply in place with ratchet straps) which also keeps the useable space to a maximum.


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Work on motorhome*

Hi

What an excellent place to store the table.

This thread really is top notch, and thanks again for sharing your ideas.

Russell


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

Well, more progress and changes to the camper. Firstly, I've modified the largest waste tank (which was previously fed by the shower) into a holding tank for the Jet wash - this gives me a 200 litre capacity now. Luckily it is just a standard tank (with lots of pre-threaded holes of varying diamaters) so just needed to drill one out for the feed/fill tap










and one for the overflow










and presto, all complete. As we never use the shower (it's my beer store!) it's not really a problem, but there is space to hang another tank in front of this one, so sometime in the future I'm going to put in a new (slightly smaller) waste tank for the shower to drain to just in case we ever do decide to use it for anything other than a store room).

However, all this added weight and transporting multiple bikes all the time etc. has pushed us perilously close to the overall weight limit (indeed, it could easily be over it on some occasions) so it's off to Watling Engineers in a few weeks time for a custome designed and fitted tow bar as we have had to move to a trailer as well










more on kitting this out later, but we have sourced a lightly used ex-British Superbikes one which I picked up this evening - so with the awning as well this makes an excellent 'pit' area for the boys, leaving the normal awning free for the girls to do catering and stuff (an not to moan about 'that muddy bike taking up all the room'.....)


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

OK, not much gone on here for a while so thought that I'd add a few updates. No pics this time I'm afraid, just the words.

The awning that was one of the first jobs to be done has proved a godsend as it's nearly always raining when we are out and about but it had one drawback - because of the way it mounts on the side there is a 1.6mm gap the length of it so rain can still run down the side of the van in small amounts - while not a show-stopper this had turned into an irritation that I needed to cure and so I fitted a specially made 'extruder strip' the length of it and volla, problem solved in 3 mins - how I missed this essential accessory on the Fiamma website I have no idea!

While on the subject of awnings, I decided to invest in a Privacy Room. Initially I brought one on ebay but this turned out to be a complete PITA dealing with the vendor so I ended up ordering a new one (for not that much more it turned out in the end) and with the instructions and DVD that came with it I'm glad I went the new route, they don't look a 'two minute' job to errect - trial run next week on the drive when I have some time and perhaps some pics then.

I have also fitted a wireless reversing camera. While easy and (relativly) quick to fit and better than nothing, it's only marginally better as it's on the limits of the camera's boradcast range and the monitor will only pick the signal up in one place which is too near the gearstick for my liking, so I'm going to replace it with a wired camera at somepoint in the future, however, as I said, it's better than nothing and will do for the short-term.

Lastly, fuel economy and general lethargic issues. As some of you will already know I am underwhelmed with the peformance (or rather the lack of) and terrible fuel economy (average 17mpg) of the Transit 140bhp chassis the van is on so have decided to do something about it (as the Ford garage insist there is nothing wrong with it) and have re-mapped the ECU. The map has been written to improve torque and horsepower (but not ludicrously) and will hopefully have it a little more eager in each gear and as it _should _be working less-hard, increase the MPG. Other than starting it to ensure it still runs (which it does!) I won't be using it until we head to MX this weekend, but as we will be carrying three bikes and all the associated paraphenallia it should be a good test - I'll post the details next week, and if all works as planned, name and congratulate the tuning company who have done the work ...... stay tuned for the details 

(Edited for poor spelling, hope I've got them all!)


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Rollerteam*

Thanks for your update - really enjoy reading them. Maybe you should become a bespoke motorhome manufacturer.

17 mpg is a disaster though. Are you towing when you achieve that? Does the moroehome have twin rear wheels? I knock out about 23-24 mpg and weigh about 4800 kg loaded.

Keep us posted.

R


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

*Re: Rollerteam*



Rapide561 said:


> Thanks for your update - really enjoy reading them. Maybe you should become a bespoke motorhome manufacturer.
> 
> 17 mpg is a disaster though. Are you towing when you achieve that? Does the moroehome have twin rear wheels? I knock out about 23-24 mpg and weigh about 4800 kg loaded.
> 
> ...


Nope, that remarkable (!) figure is stock, as it the almost inability to accelerate or get past 70mph (on the continent) or hold speed up hills. It's a LWB, twin rear wheel (single axle) setup. It seems to make little differance if it's loaded or empty either but on a recent holiday to Brittany we managed to scrape 18mpg by sitting on the cruise as much as possible between 55-60mph and choosing major roards where we could - this was made worse by my wife (who was following in a 2.7 litre car) informing me that at that sedate speed she had been averaging 54mpg !!! :-(

The tow-bar goes on next week so I'll report back if it makes any differance when towing, but as the front of the van takes the bulk of the wind-hit I would expect only something like a 1mpg differance.

Re: making motorhomes - well, I'm sure I'd enjoy it more than my current job, but, unfortunately, I doubt that a) I have the skills, b) I could get the investors to back me c) I could sell them and d) it would pay the bills ..... shame though, it would be much more fun


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*Rollerteam*

Hi

I am digressing from the real subject of the thread, but re MPG.

My van gives the same whethe fully loaded or not, hence I always travel with full water tanks etc. The trailer (car) does knock the mpg to about 21-22.

I know absolutely zilch about engines and tuning, so please let us know ho you get on.

R


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## mandyandandy (Oct 1, 2006)

Hi, As you can see we have the exact same van and had the exact same MPG , went and had it checked over by Ford who did a little tweak here and there but only gained us and extra mile.

Then checked tyre presures and hey presto !! we are now on around 22-23 mpg, dropping from 60 to 55 on the cruise has also helped too. 

Love reading your updates, funny to see what others do with your van so to speak. 

Mandy


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

Well, progress has been made, we did 49.6 miles (mainly on country lanes, not motorways) with two motorbikes, full fresh/jetwash tanks, generator, jetwasher, tools and all the associated MX paraphenallia onboard and used exactly 10 liters (2.199 gallons). Thanks to Mike at Rapid Remap the fuel economy has risen from 17.5mpg to 22.5mpg (OBC recorded 22.4mpg - this taken just after we filled up) on a brim-to-brim fill.










There is a little more 'urgency' in the top two gears (5th/6th) but I feel perhaps a little more available torque would help when cruising there (especially as the tow-bar goes on tomorrow and the it'll be towing the twin wheel trailer from then on).

Overall, it's a big step in the right direction and I would recommend this route if you are in a similar situation - the speed at which Mike can get the kit and re-maps fitted is supurb; next day for the reader to arive and once I emailed him the original engine map he turned it around in less than 2 hours and 5 mins to upload to the vehicle. I now have the original and a backup of the modified map on Mike's Remap-Pro reader so can revert the vehicle to original spec at any time if needed. Obviously, speak to your insurance company before going ahead and re-writing your vehicle's ECU!


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## Rapide561 (Oct 1, 2005)

*MPG*

Hi

This is a dramatic increase in terms of percentages. Excellent result.

R


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

OK, time for a few more updates .....

Got the towbar fitted yesterday by Watling Engineers in St. Albans. Really nice bunch of good old fashioned engineers (you know the type, shirt, slacks, tie & toolbelt) - made an excellent job of designing, bracing,installing etc. (unfortunately, all the pic shows is a black towbar sticking out!)










The electrics prooved to be a bit of a PITA as they needed a bypass box due to the canbus wiring and finding somewhere to put it in the garage where it would not get broken by bikes, boots 'n' stuff was a bit of a challenge, but we got there in the end.

This evening it was time to 'nail the shed' to the side of the van (trial fit) of the Privacy room. Opening the bag there seemed to be a LOT of bits, so for once I dived in and read the instructions - total waste of time, will be using them to light the next BBQ!

anyhow, I cracked on and in less then 1.5 hours it was all up - not bad as I had no help from Mrs JDS despite the "I'm just coming, hold on a mo" at the start of the epic ......

Anyhow, once the instructions were suitably dispensed with it all went together pretty simply (sorry about the last two pics - I went for a brew and by the time I got back the light had gone)

Ready for assembly










Roof edges up and first panel attached










Sides on










Finished



















Not sure how my neighbour feels having my van and shed on his drive/grass for the night, but too late to put the thing down now ....

EDIT - Replaced the horribly dark last photo with one taken this morning !!!


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## 106755 (Aug 30, 2007)

JDS et al,

We opted for the 'driveaway' type awning on our 600. It has an annexe with an internal tent which accommodates a double inflatable mattress with ease. Useful when an extra teenager or so join us. It is a fiddle getting the 'tunnel' section strapped over the roof so I have just ordered 3 lengths of awning rail which will be my next job to fit. Photos to follow once i'm successful. Thanks to JDS and a tube of Sikaflex 512 I'm less worried about voiding my dampness warranty. Like JDS the front edge encompasses the LPG door, whilst the rear edge stops just short of the nearside rear locker. Unlike the 600G, with the 600 it is not really practicable to get at stuff from either side. I've also noticed that the heater/boiler tends to accumulate fumes in the awning so its probably just as well that there is a big air gap under the vehicle.

JDS, is that a Maplins wireless camera I see peering out above your number plate? I've not taken the plunge yet, so was interested to hear about your signal range problems.

Lastly, I'm just coming up for 3000miles and have not reset the OBC at all so far. My average mpg has improved steadily from new and is currently 22.4mpg and average speed around 36mph. Having had a few Ford diesel cars before (but no Transits) I'm not expecting it to be fully run in until 10-15k. I generally set the cruise control at 60mph on motorways etc, and stick to less than 50 on all other roads. I've learnt not to travel with full water tanks when possible, but with all the other 'stuff' in it I'm afraid to put it on the scales anyway.

Talking of which... developing on an idea I got from a firm who I rented a Rollerteam 600 from prior to buying, attached please find a couple of checksheet/reminders I spent a winter evening knocking up. I know they're soooo sad, but I put in the sort of info that you invariably need in a hurry but can't find quickly in the handbook. I've saved them as Word 97 files so hopefully you can modify them easily if you wish. The no. 2 file when laminated and trimmed will fit into the pouch in the driver's visor, but leaving the important details like speed limits and height etc visible and close to hand.


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

Alimax said:


> JDS, is that a Maplins wireless camera I see peering out above your number plate? I've not taken the plunge yet, so was interested to hear about your signal range problems.


Yes, it is. Of course, as soon as I put the trailer on it will be useless (but where we park the van has a low fence, dictating I needed a low mounted camera to watch it!) but that said, it's useless anyhow. It's right on the limits of its range and the monitor will only pick up the (very snow-stormy) picture if I mount it on the airvent next to the gearstick, anywhere else in the cab it gets nothing - this is of course no good as it gets in the way of both changing gear and indicating etc. (and now lives in the glovebox as I'm fed up with it in the way).

My advice would be to save your money and put it towards a decent wired setup. I will be keeping the monitor (nice and compact at 3.5") as it has a great quality display when driven from a wired camera plugged into the aux. port but the camera's going in the bin .....

Liked your check sheets BTW - thanks!


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## JDS (Sep 21, 2007)

Ok, here's a little more on our current conversion, this time the trailer. We have been using it for about a month now, but literally just to throw the bikes and gear in without too much organisation, so as we had a weekend off and it wasn't training, after a day at the practice track on Saturday I spent sunday trying to organise the trailer a bit.

The first job was to remove the old bolted on rear number plate (bolts rusted, so needed grinding off!) only to find that these held on the 240v strip light on the inside rear of the trailer - so fitted new stainless steel bolst there, then rivited on two spring-loaded no. plate holders to allow for easy changing of the plates depending what vehicle we are using (sometimes just tow withthe car if only going to practice track). Next I wanted to replace the two reflective triangles that were either side of the no. plate with LED lights (not needed as has another two triangles lower down at the bottom of the trailer) and while I was at it I also replaced the mouldy old no. plate light with a nice bright new LED one as well.










I still have the rear lights to replace with LED versions and the outside awning light to replace, but ran out of time!

After moving bikes in/out, kit in out for what felt like a hundred times, I had finalised a plan and set to installing the heavier items luike the compressor and jetwash and then running some extra power down to the rear of the trailer a) for the compressor and b) to enable easy access for anything else. First job was to install a new retractable air hose on the left hand side which makes life much easier than dealing with coiled hose. Next I needed a way to ensure that the compresser did not wander around the trailer while we are travelling around; with trailer floor mounts getting expensive (when you need 16 of them!) I looked around for a suitable alternative and came up with using exhaust clamps - cheap, easy to install and all that is needed was to make a flat plate to fit underneath out of some old galvanised steel plate (to stop them pulling through the floor when tightened up) and volla!

Here with the compresser installed and the air-tools strapped next to them:










and the same solution for the jetwash (can you see the siliconed holes where I mis-measured and drilled the holes right ontop of a chassis member ! - doh!). Thanks to Iain at Finer Details for the 25 liter container which will be used to carry detergent (whicle the camper has the main jetwash tank slung underneath):










So, once that was done it was just nessecaey to run the 240v power to the back (can just about see the sockets above the spare wheel) and tidy up. While it all looks a bit manic here, there is some method in the mayhem, honest!










The jetwash installed:










And everything in it's place:










While it loos a bit of an obsticle course in that pic there is loads of room for two bikes at the front of the trailer with just the jetwash needing to be taken out to load/unload them (which is no issue as it's needed every time and is usually the last bit of kit to be put away anyhow).


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## rl1 (May 24, 2007)

Hi JDS, great forum, any further advance on the MPG front? Think I need to get my 600g remapped..... further thoughts?


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## Roger7webster (Oct 10, 2006)

Good article but why can I not see the photos??
Edit in the first article


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## rl1 (May 24, 2007)

i can't see the ones on the first page either...


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## robbosps (Mar 10, 2014)

Just searched the forums and visited this page.

Why cant we / I see the pictures on page 1 ?


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

robbosps said:


> Just searched the forums and visited this page.
> 
> Why cant we / I see the pictures on page 1 ?


Probably stored in the cloud and been moved, removed or deleted, perhaps from the poster PC too if loaded from there.

Contact poster if poss.


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## gaspode (May 9, 2005)

robbosps said:


> Just searched the forums and visited this page.
> 
> Why cant we / I see the pictures on page 1 ?


Probably because the photos were posted in the gallery of the "old" forum which has now been deleted or possibly the pictures are no longer at the internet location originally specified in the post. Look at the post date - 2007!


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## lgbzone (Oct 8, 2008)

The images were hosted on another website and are no longer at their addresses, the first two images have the following sources

"http://www.dervhead.com/images/JDS/Camper/RearTV_Closed.jpg"
"http://www.dervhead.com/images/JDS/Camper/RearTV_Open.jpg"

He has probably deleted them


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