Mel B Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 It is TRUE ... there ARE black holes in campers!!! I know, cause I've found it in mine! *-) What am I blathering on about? Well, let me tell you a little story first. I mentioned previously that we had bought a Smart car and collected it last Thursday, then on Friday we went to Camper UK to have a few jobs done on our van. After moving some of the bits and pieces from our van to the Smart car so they wouldn't be in the way (we'd bought loads of stuff from the show etc), I then took my laptop out of the overcab storage area and the folder with the paperwork for the Smart car dropped off onto the floor. As we were in a hurry to vacate the van, I quickly picked it up and left it in the van, then we spent the morning slobbing around in the dealer's lounge area where I did some surfing on the web and drank their lovely hot chocolate! :$ When they'd done the jobs we returned to the van and moved some of the bits back from the smart car and then came home and emptied the van of some of our bits and pieces (just the ones we needed). On Saturday morning hubby was looking for the Smart car paperwork and we couldn't find it - I remembered it falling off and picking it up, then leaving it in the van, but that was all ... that's when the 'fun' started ... We completely stripped out all of the stuff from the van that we'd bought, went through all of the lockers, cupboards, cubby-holes etc and couldn't find it ... we then went through all the stuff we'd removed and check it, then checked again ... and the van again ... we also went through the Smart car too (just in case!) and still couldn't find the paperwork. Oh b*gger!!!!! 8-) It was all of the paperwork - the bill of sale, MOT, service history, engine guarantee etc for the Smart ... the lot ... gone ... the only thing we could think of was that it had been picked up accidentally by one of the Camper UK technicians when they were working on the van ... phone call to Camper UK but nothing had been found ... they'd have a look ... no phone call back so they can't have found it ... oh double b*gger!!!!! By this time I'm sure you can imagine that we were getting a bit 'het up' about it to put it mildly - trying to replace all of the stuff wouldn't be easy! As we were out most of yesterday this morning we decided to ring Camper UK again and asked if they would have another look round to see if it had gone into their rubbish bin/skip with the packaging from some of the items that had been replaced whilst we'd been there - yup, they'd have a good look round. In the meantime we set to and had yet another check of all the stuff, both out of and in the van ... now, I remembered that on Saturday morning, when clearing the van initially, that a laminated A4 piece paper had tried to go AWOL down the back of the overhead cab locker and was lurking between the cab headlining and the outside panel - I could just see the end of it sticking out so retrieved it ... I wondered if the paperwork had made a bid for freedom that way too! :-S Out came a thin piece of garden cane, then a fly swatter, and eventually hubby managed to retrieve the 'folder' from the paperwork!!!! Ah-ha ... so that's where it had gone!!!! To say we were relieved is an understatement!! 8-) But there was more to come as that was the easy part ... how the h*ll were we going to get it out!! Hubby got his phone and was just about to ring Camper UK when Alan, the workshop manager, rang him - they couldn't find the paperwork (no wonder!) and hubby told him the good news ... but then the bad news as to where it was and asked for his advice on how to retrieve it ... that's going to be a 'big job' it he said!!! *-) In the meantime I'd tried to remove the plastic moulding in the base of the overcab locker but it was impossible due to 3 of the screws being hidden behind the facia panel. So I had then moved to the front of the headlining next to the windscreen to see if I could get up into the cavity that way. I was in the process of removing one of the cab sun visors near where we thought the paperwork might be - Alan said that would probably be the easiest way anyway but that I'd have to remove the cab light too to get access ... easier said than done as the clips that hold the light in place are way over the top, but eventually we managed to get it off and I unscrewed it. I managed carefully to pull the headlining down a bit and could just see the paperwork which was caught up behind one of the stregthening pieces which run across the cab so there was no way it would just drop out. I pushed my hand a little way in but it was a very tight fit and I didn't want to damage anything so I tried retrieve it with some tongs ... unsuccessfully. Now there was no other option but to push my hand further in ... fortunately I just managed to squeeze it in sufficiently so that I could 'tweezer' the paperwork between my finger tips and gradually pull it all out. Hubby checked it was all out and I was then able to put everything back without damaging the headlining. Hooray!!!! :-> Determined NEVER to have a repeat of this, I then got some pipe lagging and white gaffer tape and filled the gap with cut-down pieces of the lagging and then ran tape over it to prevent it moving and seal it all up ... no way is ANYTHING going to go down THAT BLACK HOLE again!!!!! >:-) So, the moral of this story is ... check to see if your overcab is 'sealed' at the rear and if not, seal it as soon as possible ... I don't know what caused the paperwork to go down there but I certainly wouldn't want anyone else to have to go through the worry and palaver we have!!!! Hopefully we don't have any more BLACK HOLES in our van .... *-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 my tax disc slipped down between windscreen and dash and was a bit of a job to retrieve..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Hi Judge;My wallet slipped into my wife's handbag in the Motorhome , now that's what I call hard to retrieve,,,,Regards,Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted September 17, 2012 Author Share Posted September 17, 2012 JudgeMental - 2012-09-17 10:22 PM my tax disc slipped down between windscreen and dash and was a bit of a job to retrieve..... Yes ... I've found that 'mini' black hole too ... I've 'lost' an Allen key down there ... whilst trying to find it I retrieved a pencil I didn't know had disappeared - the Allen key is still an 'escapee'! I've put some of the left over pipe insulation in the gap to stop other things joining it! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Hi Mel,Sorry ,,,,but yes good trick to block it up the way you did ,,,,,,rather strange such gaps should be left ,,,,you never know,,,we are talking about a 2012 model?Regards,Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 onecal - 2012-09-17 11:35 PM Hi Mel,Sorry ,,,,but yes good trick to block it up the way you did ,,,,,,rather strange such gaps should be left ,,,,you never know,,,we are talking about a 2012 model?Regards,Brendan Annoying is the most 'suitable' (and printable!) word, but as it is a van conversion the don't tend to have the full moulding that coachbuilts do; the gap isn't massive - it varies between 1/2 inch at the edges and 1/4 in towards the centre - but obviously stuff like paperwork can easily go down it ... but NOT ANYMORE! >:-) I thought I'd post about it so that you can all have a good giggle (now come on, be honest, I bet some of you did!) and also know to have a shuftie are your own 'van to ensure the same thing can't happen to you. :-D The thought of Judgemental trying to retrieve something and getting his chubby hand stuck in the cavity would be hilarious!!! (sorry Eddie!). (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 double sided sticky tape on a ruler or card does the job...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onecal Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Hi,You would have thought they would have sealed all gaps up,,,,cost savings?Thanks for the info' Mel and a smile.Regards,Brendan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted September 18, 2012 Author Share Posted September 18, 2012 JudgeMental - 2012-09-18 1:15 PM double sided sticky tape on a ruler or card does the job...... ... are you still talking about the same thing as me! 8-) :$ Possibly, but it was well down and 'jammed' so I'd still have had to do it the hard way ... but thanks for the tip ... hopefully I won't need it now :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 We have a black shelf 8-)..............which we discovered many years ago not far from here.........I have a feeling of deja vu :-S..............Sue has a gold watch which somehow she lost on........THE SHELF.......in the camper :'(.....................being a family heirloom like Horace we hunted high and low, turned the camper inside out.................couldn't find it :-(...............so went to the local plod down the road from here in La Baule as you needed a police number for your insurance.................took bleedin hours *-)............finally left with our chitty saying it was lost, went back to the camper and as we went through the door looked at.........THE SHELF........there was Sue's watch 8-) 8-) 8-) and NO I did not claim on the insurance...........I was too young and stupid in those days (lol) (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nona farm Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Mel, I loved reading your story, and yes it brought real chuckles!! Not nasty I promise, but very sympathetic. Shirley :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HymerVan Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 My 2003 Dethleffs Bus II (traded in in 2006) will probably still have a thin gas spanner rattling around the inside of the overcab nacelle audible when taking sharp bends due to a similar problem to yours ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted September 20, 2012 Share Posted September 20, 2012 JudgeMental - 2012-09-18 1:15 PM double sided sticky tape on a ruler or card does the job...... That's what I did. Worked to my relief first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michele Posted September 22, 2012 Share Posted September 22, 2012 Oh Melanie :D :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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