Club 80-90 Forums

Hello all,

Many of You recently were really kind in help me make some decisions about the purchase of my van, an Autosleeper trident 1900 WC 1991. If you remember the price was £8000, after following all of your advice of what to look out for, and the owner being really thorough in explaining everything that had been done we made a deal, £7000.00, bodywork is great just needs a really good clean and polish, as does the interior. Thank you all for your help on this I think it really made a difference and we're now very proud owners of Kevin the camper (Christened by the kids). Kevin of course is not perfect, who is? Fully expect our old friend rust to pop its head out at some point (Probably the seams), But with new panels having been properly fitted to replace old rusted ones (Including a new tailgate and wheel arches all round) No filler having been used anywhere, and mechanically nearly everything replaced in the last few years, for now at least we can concentrate on adding our own touches cosmetically. The Exciting bit! (The fridge doesn't work from the leisure battery since the body panel behind it was replaced, ok from hook up and gas but thats another thread i think).

With this in mind I would like to ask all of you out there 'what have you done to personalise or improve your bus' ? Ours is pretty original the off-white with the red stripe, standard wheels and in my opinion the fairly drab beige interior. Straightaway I'm going to remove the gold and white stripe decals as looking quite tired but apart from that we have a blank canvas. Saw Kevtherev's van in a previous post, looked amazing, Kev you did say you were changing it again, have you finished? Any pics? What about the interior?

So if you all can post up some advice maybe even some pictures that would be amazing. Will post up some pics of our blank canvas ASAP.

Many thanks and look forward to your replies.

curtains and cushions always brighten things up and can be easily changed when you feel like a differeent look. I made all mine, they are fairly straightforward.

My advice is this.

Use the van as it is this summer. Enjoy it.

Whilst using it. Make mental or written notes on what works for you, and what doesn't (in terms of the vans layout)

Then, at the end of the summer season, set out to sort things to how you want them.

By starting to do too much, too quickly, you may just find out that by the time you have completed the work, the summertime has passed you by.

It sounds like a nice van. Just enjoy it for what it is for a while

Excellent news. One point. The fridge does not run off a battery. The 12V option runs off the alternator and only works while you are driving along. You then switch over to gas or hook up when you stop!

How about you posting up some picks lol
mm

metalmick8y wrote:How about you posting up some picks lol
mm

+1

Ah yes I guess it really should be 'i'll show you mine if you show me yours' And of course I realise not everyone would want to post pics of their pride and joy for the world to see! Our van is in the garage at the mo having some minor mechanical work done so we are picking up this weekend, will give it a good clean and then post some pics just incase i've made a massive mistake and you lot tell me its a F0RD!

Was really just thinking some ideas as to what can be achieved with colour schemes, fabrics/ carpets/ vinyl's / door cards / fittings / exterior paint schemes / decals / new wheels etc, realise it was a fairly broad stroke and there is definitely the argument of keeping it as original as possible. Do want to keep the overall character and not dive into some crazy modernisation. Does it increase the desirability if its totally factory spec or does a classy new scheme bring extra value? Just floating for discussion.

We do intend to get out in it as much as possible this summer as you say best to live with it for a while before deciding to change things too much.

With regard to the fridge, I think thats what he meant then, it doesn't work whilst on a run just from the hook up.

Well done, glad to hear that you've done the deal, enjoy

Great to be part of the club
Being a newbe I have only just realised that there is a wealth of info in the technical area of the forum, didn't realise I could drill down to separate sections, campers, wheels and tyres etc.. Obviously best to browse there first for inspiration and then be more specific with my questions and refer them to the appropriate section.

Whilst were at it there us a section ,computers, go there and scroll down to , how to post picture's , lol and maybe you have some maybe of the works that were done prior
mm

OK OK MM will ask the man in question if there any any pics of the work and will also take some of the van as it is now.lol appreciate everything dude! Very keen to finish our last thread!

Aye with luck you've bought a good one ,the ref to previous work and pickies is that folk nearly always take them but don't pass on the dross ,and its nice to have pictorial provenance as well as the sellers word hehe
mm

Good shout will do!

Photos as it is now. http://www.mojuice.co.uk/camper.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wiredone2 wrote: With regard to the fridge, I think thats what he meant then, it doesn't work whilst on a run just from the hook up.

Not sure how you would know it's not working on a run, as the cooling effect when on 12V is minimal at best. The fridge needs to be cold to start with, preferably with ice / freezer blocks in the ice compartment. The 12V will just about maintain that temperature in transit. If you start from warm, it's always going to struggle.
Some on here keep the thing running on gas while travelling, but I don't.

Even when on hook up the fridge can take a while to get to temperature, especially in hot weather, or if it hasn't been used for a while. Just needs a little patience!