Autocruise Accent 2012 - more 'mods' done!

[Mel B]

I've now moved the Truma heater/boiler dials which were located under the rear bed (and were prone to being knocked and virtually impossible to see without getting down on your hands and knees) to the side of the wardrobe where they can now be accessed easily, info on the below thread:

 

Truma dials moved

 

Also, I'm fed up with the electric sliding step not always coming out fully due to it getting mucky, so I've also fitted a 'dirt' strip to the front of it to try to stop the muck getting in on top of the step and into the sliding mechanism itself. As I already had an aluminium draught strip kicking around (for an external house door) I cut it down and snipped some of the 'hair' off each of the ends so it made a nice tight fit onto the front of the casing above the step itself. Then, using 2 of the existing bolts for the step casing, I attached 2 brackets and tightened them up onto the draught strip to keep it in place. Hopefully it will stop the top of the step getting so dirty and dragging the muck back into the sliders. :D

 

I've also done a 'new version' of a dog gate but will post that another night! :-D

[pmw290442]

Hi Mel,

 

Thanks so much for setting out in detail how you have moved those wretched dials. Just wish you didn't live in Yorkshire but up here in Aberdeenshire! We would have paid you handsomely to do tne job for us.

Also, we have step trouble and when it had its annual habitation sevice, it was sorted out and oiled but after a trip up north it is well amd truly jammed again. Obviously a common problem - and I swept it regularly. Will be interested in your dog gate. Will it be Jack Russell proof?

 

 

 

[maggyd]

Now all you,ll need Mel is a cover so the lights on the dials dont keep you awake!! (lol) and my handy O.H has added a small neon light to the fridge switch so we know its switched on *-) !!!!!!!! he has made a temporary cover that he fixes over the lights when we go to bed.

[Mel B]

maggyd - 2013-07-31 10:19 PM

 

Now all you,ll need Mel is a cover so the lights on the dials dont keep you awake!! (lol) and my handy O.H has added a small neon light to the fridge switch so we know its switched on *-) !!!!!!!! he has made a temporary cover that he fixes over the lights when we go to bed.

 

No problem with the dials 'glowing' at night as we don't have the heating on anyway! :-D However, if we ever did, I'd do what I used to in a previous 'van - a carefully placed blob of Bluetac. :D

[Mel B]

pmw290442 - 2013-07-30 10:21 PM

 

Hi Mel,

 

Thanks so much for setting out in detail how you have moved those wretched dials. Just wish you didn't live in Yorkshire but up here in Aberdeenshire! We would have paid you handsomely to do tne job for us.

Also, we have step trouble and when it had its annual habitation sevice, it was sorted out and oiled but after a trip up north it is well amd truly jammed again. Obviously a common problem - and I swept it regularly. Will be interested in your dog gate. Will it be Jack Russell proof?

You are very welcome pmw, I thought it might help you with your 'task' too - it's a shame you don't live nearer as I would quite happily move the dials for you for nothing! :-)

 

As for the dog gate, well, I already had a piece of bamboo trellis that I use to keep our little monsters in but wasn't happy that it wasn't secured in any way and was a nuisance when it needed folding out of the way so I decided to make it a bit more user friendly and secure - working on the principle of how some of the old style lift door barriers/gates work, I thought I'd try to do something along a similar line so set to, using what I already had, to make my 'first attempt' at a more rigid barrier.

 

I used a strip of white conduit with a clip on front which I happened to have in my workshop (I knew it would come in handy one day), 3 'square' type screw in cup hooks, some sticky pads, 4 half inch screws, a wardrobe pole plastic end support 'cup' and a long screw.

 

The first job was to 'attach' the gate. I'd already moved the lift up worktop flap inwards on a previous occasion so there was already a gap at about an inch on the edge nearer the door, I therefore cut the conduit to length so that it fitted vertically at the end of the kitchen unit next to the sliding door, leaving an inch gap at the bottom so it didn't snag on the carpet etc and at the top too. I then removed the clip on front part and using some sticky pads stuck the rear piece on to the side of the kitchen unit.

 

Taking the bamboo trellis, I drilled holes near the end of 3 of the side poles and screwed in the 3 square cup hooks. I carefully slid these into the fixed conduit from the top and ensured that they moved freely within it whilst expanding and closing the trellis.

 

Next using a pencil I marked on the side of the rear conduit where each of the hooks sat when the trellis was fully closed and fully open and then removed the trellis from it. I clipped the front part onto the rear conduit and transferred the location of the upper and lower points for each hook onto it and then removed it again.

 

Using a Stanley knife and a ruler I carefully scored vertical slots into the conduit front piece about half an inch wide which varied in length depending on which hook they were to accommodate. I checked a couple of times and made some minor adjustment to the length of the slots until I was happy that they were the right size (better to slightly undercut and enlarge than overcut in the first place!).

 

I then drilled 4 holes in the rear part of the conduit in suitable locations to hold it securely in place and put in the 4 screws having ensured that they were not going to snag the hooks when they moved up and down the conduit.

 

I carefully slotted the front of the conduit onto the hooks, then slid the hooks back into the rear part of the conduit, pushed the front of the conduit on to the rear part so it clipped in place, then checked to ensure that the hooks still moved freely within the conduit both into the fully open and fully closed position. I then slotted a strap behind the top part of the conduit to hold the gate in the closed position when travelling.

 

The next job was to put a retaining 'cup' on the opposite side near the 'B' pillar to keep it secure so the gate couldn't be pushed out by the dogs. As there was already a recessed hole with a screw in it (that holds the black plastic trim panel in place) that was just in the right place for the 'cup', I removed the original screw and using a longer screw of the same width, I passed this through the hole in the back of the wardrobe pole 'cup' and screwed it tight into the hole.

 

The gate is now held in place at one side so can easily be expanded or closed as necessary and the dogs can't push it out/knock it over. If I find it works as well as I hope it will, I will make my own trellis out of some nice timber strips and also cover the conduit to make it blend in with the existing furniture.

[colin]

Mel B - 2013-07-29 11:20 PM

 

 

Also, I'm fed up with the electric sliding step not always coming out fully due to it getting mucky, so I've also fitted a 'dirt' strip to the front of it to try to stop the muck getting in on top of the step and into the sliding mechanism itself. As I already had an aluminium draught strip kicking around (for an external house door) I cut it down and snipped some of the 'hair' off each of the ends so it made a nice tight fit onto the front of the casing above the step itself. Then, using 2 of the existing bolts for the step casing, I attached 2 brackets and tightened them up onto the draught strip to keep it in place. Hopefully it will stop the top of the step getting so dirty and dragging the muck back into the sliders. :D

 

That looks good Mel, had thought of using rubber but draught strip might be better. We find it's not so much 'muck' as stones which (presumably) fall out the tread of boots.

[Brian Kirby]

pmw290442 - 2013-07-30 10:21 PM................................Also, we have step trouble and when it had its annual habitation sevice, it was sorted out and oiled but after a trip up north it is well amd truly jammed again. Obviously a common problem - and I swept it regularly. ..............

These cassette type steps seem to have a couple of design defects. If you remove the whole unit, I think you will find that the top of the cassette is made from PVC sheet and is inadequately sealed against water/grit entry. As most are under the vehicle, just to the rear of the front tyres this is more than a bit silly.

 

Second is that even when fully retracted, the leading edge of the step protrudes from the cassette, forming a handy ledge for any passing grit of water (lots :-)), which then tends to flow back into the cassette and along the nylon step guides. This is why they jam up.

 

I never got to Mel's solution with the draught excluder, though I thought about it, but couldn't find any in the local DIY shops. So, I instead took off the cassette, and made up an aluminium half box that completely covered the back, sides and top of the cassette. A bit like a biscuit tin with no lid and one side cut away. This was drilled to correspond with the cassette fixing bolts. I added some insulating tape strips along the fixing points to keep the aly to some extent away from the galvanised fixing points.

 

I then dismantled the cassette and cleaned the whole interior and mechanism (fairly straightforward, no special tools needed, just messy!), then reassembled it, added the biscuit tin, and re-fixed the lot back in place. Even without the draught excluder this removed around 90% of the problem after which just sweeping, and occasionally hosing, the step clear of all grit was sufficient to keep it working without problem for the next 4+ years.

 

IMO, based on how I found these work, oil is a bad idea, because it will merely bind to the grit to cause a worse problem. The best lubricant I found was a dry silicone spray, used fairly frequently, but sparingly, on just the side guides of the step, then operate the step a few times, and finally wipe the guides leaving just a suggestion present.