Silver Starts to Take Shape

Posted on March 22, 2021 by helenkelly

It has been just over a month since the last time I posted and a lot has happened on the build. Silver is starting to look like the campervan that he will become, although it is all still very much a question of function over form. The function does seem to be magnificent though as you would expect from a couple of engineers.

Since I last posted we are now able to leave the house and meet with up to four people outdoors. This came just in time for Dave’s birthday and we were able to meet Des for the first time in 3 months and get his thought son the van.

We did not light and blow out the candles for hygiene reasons

Cupboards

Last time I posted, we only had the carcasses of the “bedroom” storage cupboards ready to receive doors but we now have doors and also overhead kitchen cupboards with doors. After much deliberation over which material to use for the doors, based on quality, weight, cost and aesthetic, we decided to go with plywood. We could have bought the doors ready made but instead many hours have been put into crafting bespoke doors. Most of them have been made more than once and a couple more will be remade. It is all a learning process and Dave’s carpentry skills improve with each door. He has done a really great job. We have gone for marine latches which mean the doors don’t come open when we drive round corners. It took us ages to agree on the latches and we are really happy with them.

The finish of the doors has been a big topic and a cause of some anxiety for me. Dave and Jason are doing an amazing job making the van super functional but it is down to me to make it look nice. Most people paint their doors white, but I really didn’t want to have to apply l.ayers of gunky paint so I decided to go with Osmo PolyX Oil which is an oil and wax combined.

I love what people are doing with plywood these days and the finish they are able to achieve. The Osmo is so easy to apply and with diligent sanding you can get a really decent finish.

However, the plywood we have been able to source locally is not the best. We have tried normal marine ply and Baltic birch marine ply but all of it leaves something to be desired so I was a bit disappointed with the doors after I applied the oil and was considering redoing them with either paint or using a white wash technique. However, after some feedback from others who have seen the doors and some experiments with paint and white wash on the reject doors, I have decided to stick with what we have. It looks fairly decent and I can live with it. I just need to treat the insides of the cupboards and finish a couple of doors that are still bare and then I can move on to the next job.

Shower and Toilet Cubicle

Building the shower and toilet cubicle has been a source of much dread over the past few months. Thankfully the Welsh First Minister helped us out there as he set a date of 27 March when we will be able to move around Wales freely and stay in self catering accommodation, including campsites. We have booked two nights away from 28 March on the Llyn Peninsula of North Wales. Campsites will not be allowed to have their shower/toilet blocks open so everyone needs to have their own onboard facilities. Finally a kick up the butt to get on with the shower cubicle. The shower itself will not be installed in time but we will have a private place to use the toilet (more about the marvellous composting toilet next time, after we have tried it out). We can manage without a shower for two days, after all it is camping.

We spent hours last year deliberating the size of the shower cubicle. The toilet will sit in the shower base, which won’t leave much space for taking a shower but it will be usable and is the best that can be done in such a tight space. We taped out the size of the cubicle on the floor and put the toilet in it before we ordered the shower base to fit as long ago as last October. Somehow we got it wrong. When Dave and Jason came to work on the cubicle, they realised that, with his very long legs, Dave would not be able to close the cubicle door when sitting on the loo. We had to pivot and build a cubicle bigger than we planned, which meant ordering a new shower base. Luckily there is enough space for this but we will lose the “hanging wardrobe” that we were going to have.

The cubicle has taken 4 days of solid work to build so far and it should take one more day to complete. The cubicle was framed out first and then marine ply sheets cut to make the three walls. We are lining the walls and ceiling with acrylic sheets in a pale blue colour. We have ordered a vertical tambour door, which should be fitted tomorrow. If you don’t know what that is then look it up. To be honest there are not a lot of options for shower doors in small places. So as of today, we have the three walls built and two are lined plus the ceiling is lined.

Kitchen

Although for our short trip next week I would be happy to cook outside under the canopy using the camp stove, the men decided it was essential we have a kitchen. They agreed they would “lash up” a kitchen just for the trip. This will give us a chance to test out the dimensions and functionality while we are away. So this afternoon they moved in the fridge and the cooker finally came out of its box. They both fit perfectly into the cabinets that Dave made a few months ago. They also “lashed up” a temporary work surface out of ply. We have a nice oak worktop ready to go in there but that needs a hole cutting in it for the sink so we will manage with the ply version for now.

Note we also have a socket for small 240v appliances

The kitchen appliances are important to us as we cook a lot. The fridge is a Dometic 80 litre 12/24 volt compressor fridge. For those of you who don’t know, one of the challenges with a campervan is that they run off 12 volt electrics, which means the appliances are highly specialised and cost a lot of money (much more than the fridge most people have in their house).

For the cooker we have a Thetford gas three ring stove top and an oven (yes an oven!). The guys are outside now plumbing in the gas cooker to the propane tank that is installed underneath the van.

So it is really starting to look like a campervan and by tomorrow we will have a bed, cupboards, a toilet cubicle and a kitchen plus solar electricity or electric hook up for the lights and fridge to run off.

We should manage OK for our two nights away. My mind is turning now to making it all look prettier. We did a quick visit to Llandudno on Saturday to B&Q to look at trims and other bits a pieces that will make rough edges look tidy etc and we have a plan. I also have to finish the ply walls and ceiling with something as they are dark brown at the moment but more about that next time. I have to make a decision about the colour of the splash back in the kitchen and I am still waiting for the shops to open so I can buy the fabric for the bench seat.

The trim section of the DIY shop is your friend

So the next big step is two nights away in the van next week to see how it functions. The weather forecast is mild but wet so we will have the canopy out and fire pit going full time probably. Luckily we have a lot of off cuts of wood knocking about. I cannot wait to be in a different environment after three months in lockdown. I have had my first COVID jab and Dave gets his on Wednesday so things are progressing. We are now trying to decide whether to move out of the house and into the van full-time at the end of May or the end of June. Finally, something to be excited about.

The Building of Silver Continues

Posted on February 16, 2021 by helenkelly

I cannot believe that the last time I posted was as long ago as 18th October. Where have the last 4 months gone? Looking back at the photos from the last post, I can see how much work has been completed. I can’t really explain why I haven’t posted for four months. I think I had an idea fixed in my head of where I wanted us to be up to before I posted again, which related to the ceiling being finished so it all looked neat. We haven’t yet got to the point, although we have actually completed a lot of work. So what have we done?

Work Completed to Date

Roof Fans We installed two MaxxFans in the roof of the van. These fans are important as they not only let in light and provide ventilation but with two fans, allow for the circulation of cool air in the summer as one sucks and one blows to allow air to circulate properly. The fans work on remote control and come with a blind to shut out the light, which also works on the remote. One fan is installed over the bed, so we can get cool, fresh air at night during the warmer months and the other is in what will be the shower cubicle and will help extract steam.

Electrical and Gas System We installed the solar panels on the roof. We have three panels of 150w each. In order to install them on the roof, Dave designed a home-made roof rack of aluminium profile. Putting the rack together was a complex job, a bit like putting Meccano together with tens of bolts and (ridiculously expensive) rubber washers but Dave had help from Jason to get the thing together and up onto the roof.

The solar panels are connected to 4 leisure batteries (200 amp hours of lithium iron phosphate in total) which will run the lights, fridge and electrical devices like laptops etc.

The solar panels are connected to the batteries via a solar controller which converts the voltage generated by the solar panels into the charging voltage for the battery (I have no idea what that means but luckily Dave is a qualified electrical engineer).

We added a battery charger and hook up cable so we can access electrical hook ups on campsites. This is ideal in the winter when there isn’t much sun to charge the batteries from the solar panels.

Now vans run off 12 volt DC electrics whereas houses run off 240 AC volts. This means that we cannot use 240 volt appliances/devices without a power inverter. We haven’t installed an inverter yet, although we will. We do have a socket for charging devices or using small electrical appliances when connected to an electrical hook up though. This means at the moment I could only use my hairdryer at campsites…if any were open…or we were allowed to leave the house…

We also connected up the gas heater so the inside of the van is now toasty when working on it. This is essential as it has been very cold with a lot of snowy days. We also plan to live in the van right through the winter over the next few years so we need heating. The heater is a Propex heater which runs off a propane tank, both of which are installed underneath the van. Hot air blows into the van via a large duct.

We also have a gas water heater fitted under the van but this is not connected up yet. In order to control the electrical and gas systems Dave created and installed a control panel. This incorporates the lighting controls, controls for the gas heater, gas alarms, gas cylinder fill level indicator.

We installed LED lights in the ceiling. At the moment we have 5, which are connected to the leisure batteries, but there will be more when the whole ceiling is complete (more about that later). You can switch each light on and off and dim each one at the light itself which is very handy when you are in bed.

Furniture Dave spent a very enjoyable few days building the kitchen carcass from 12mm marine ply. This will hold the cooker, oven, fridge, sink and some kitchen storage.

The kitchen carcass starting to take shape with the fridge slotted in to test for size

Over the last couple of days, he and Jason have started building the large storage cupboards, which are situated on one side of the bed. This is where we will store our clothes and personal effects.

The storage cupboards next to the bed starting to take shape this week

The bespoke memory foam mattress that I mentioned last time has arrived and fits perfectly. I am not 100% sure it will be comfortable enough. We had to compromise a bit on the depth but if it proves less than comfy then we will buy a mattress topper.

Miscellaneous Stuff We replaced the double bench seat on the passenger side of the cab with a single seat.

This is mostly about comfort as the bench seat was at 90 degrees and did not recline so was not comfy for longer journeys. We may in the future buy a swivel base so we can turn the passenger seat around facing into the van. Single passenger seats are in huge demand as so many people are converting vans at the moment. We were lucky to find something second hand on Ebay that was affordable and we met a guy in a lay-by in Wrexham to take delivery. We sold the bench seat on Ebay for a penny and oddly the same guy turned up to collect it, having driven 100 miles to get here. Ne had no idea we were the same people. We also finally installed an alarm so that we can feel happy enough leaving the van unattended when we go out…is we ever go out again…

I made a set of magnetic window blinds for the rear of the van which block out the light and cold/heat from the windows we installed. We also bought a set of cab blinds which work on plastic suckers. We fitted a rail and thermal blackout curtains to separate the cab from the rest of the van at night.This means that the rear of the van is completely dark at night.

A Special Christmas Night

We had completed almost all of this work by the time Xmas came. We were briefly out of lockdown in early December and had made our plans for Xmas, which involved travelling to Burnley for Xmas Eve/Xmas Day to stay with Dave’s family and then travelling to Lichfield to spend two nights with my family. Although both families were in Tier 3 restrictions, Boris told us that we could meet family for 5 days as long as it was not more than three households gathering. Only a few days before Xmas, the government made a U turn, Wales was plunged into full lockdown with only one day allowed at Xmas to meet with one other household. Gifts were wrapped and food already bought. We were all very disappointed. We needed a Plan B. Jason and Ali invited us to spend Xmas Day with them, socially distanced. We obviously did not want to drive home so in order to keep us all safe, instead of staying over in the house, we decided we would sleep in the van! That really galvanised us to make sure the van was “winter ready” as the weather forecast was for it to be below freezing on Xmas night. Even though the heater was in full operation, we packed two duvets and two four season sleeping bags. It wasn’t the first time we had slept in the van but last time it was about 12 degrees at night.

Our special Xmas night proved that the van is fully winterised. To be honest, it was far too warm with the heater on all night. The blinds and curtain completely blocked out any light so the inside of the van was pitch dark, except when we used the LED lights. The mattress was not quite as comfy as I hoped and I did not have a good night’s sleep. However, that might be at least partly due to the large amount of Champagne we drank. We woke up with terrible hangovers about 6.30am and badly scratched the side of the van trying to manoeuvre off Jason’s tight driveway. Once you start driving a massive van, you learn very quickly why most other massive vans you see are scratched and dented. Apart from the cosmetic damage to Silver, we declared our first winter night in the van to be a huge success.

Post Christmas Blues

We hit a number of snags in late December that really slowed things down. We had waited to finish the insulation and lining of the ceiling until all of the work was completed on the roof i.e. installation of the MaxxFans and solar panels. Once we had installed these, earlier in December we started insulating and lining the ceiling. It took us a while to figure out the best way to do this and what materials we wanted to use.

We were quite pleased with the job that we had done using the plastic bottle insulation spray glued to the ceiling followed by the vapour layer and finished off with a sheet of 4mm plywood attached directly to the metal ribs of the ceiling. We decided to leave it two thirds completed, pending the building of the shower unit. This meant that the vapour layer and ply lining were not complete and some insulation was left exposed.

After Xmas, we had some very wet weather and it became apparent that one of the MaxxFans was leaking. We didn’t notice this as quickly as we should have and unfortunately water crept in. Now water is a bastard, it will sneak in anywhere given the chance. It is crucial that the whole of the skin of the van is insulated and a vapour layer is added before the ply liner to ensure that no moisture, whether it be water coming in or condensation formed from human breath, reaches the metal of the van. If this happens then it will rust, so eradicating water is vital if we want to avoid having a rust bucket in a few years time. Due to the leak from the fan, we not only had a soggy ceiling where the insulation was still exposed but the metal was damp to the touch on large areas of the rest of the ceiling and even behind the ply walls we had already installed. We were gutted when we realised this had happened and rather than springing into action, it led to an inertia setting in, as we were unable to decide how bad it was and the best course of action. Would were able to address the leak? Would we be able to dry out the walls or would we need to strip out all the walls that we had spent so long installing?

We finally decided to reseal the leaking fan with some Sikoflex and try to dry out the walls using the heater. Luckily, this worked and after a tense few days, both the ceiling and the van seemed to be bone dry. We were very relieved then we hit another snag. The engine was leaking water and we were unable to use the van at all.

While Dave and Jason were pretty sure where the problem lay, it was a big job to get to and replace the defective part. We took Silver off to a mechanic who seemed reluctant from the start to take the work on but told us to leave it with him. Long story short, he kept the van for three weeks, during which time we had a lot of snow and he was unable to work on it as it would not fit inside his workshop.

Lots of snowy days for our first winter in 5 years

After three weeks he told us he could not do it. During this time, we were in full lockdown and Dave had nothing to do, except play his guitar and watch TV or read so a bit of the January blues set in.

We started to feel that we would never see the van again or get back to the job in hand. The government also keep moving the goal posts of when the lockdown will be over and when we might be able to move into the van and get on with our new life. We took the van to a second mechanic just over a week ago and, just when we needed a lift of spirits, they fixed it in 5 days and returned it to us a few days ago.

So we have achieved a lot, although it still looks very messy and will continue to do so for around another month I imagine. Things are now moving on at a brisk pace though. Having been without the van for so long and having made little progress for nearly two months, we are now galvanised to really get on with things. So what is the plan?

Finish building the carcasses of the large storage cupboards, then sort out the doors. We haven’t decided yet whether to make the doors from marine ply and prime and paint them or buy the doors ready-made from a kitchen door suppliers. We have agreed that I will do an apprentice piece to see what kind of finish we can create with primer, paint and a lot of sanding. If we are not happy with it them we will buy the doors.
Build the shower cubicle and get the shower installed. Connect the water system.
Build the rest of the cupboards. We will have smaller cupboards above the kitchen area and above the starting area.
Finish the ceiling.
Make the cushion for the bench seat once the fabric shops reopen.
Install the kitchen appliances in the carcass and connect them up. Connect the water heater.
Make the whole thing look nice. That is my job and involves wallpaper, 4 way stretch carpet, lots of primer and paint, edge trims etc.

I would not go as far as to say we are in the home stretch as there is still a lot left to do. I am not 100% sure it will be finished for Easter, which is only 7 weeks away, but I do think we have turned a corner. We have overcome a lot of challenges (including working thorough some very cold days), resolved a lot of problems and made a lot of decisions since we started but finally I can see a time in the not too distant future when the van will be finished and we will be living in it.

The Building of Silver Stage 3: Bed and Pull-out Table

Posted on October 18, 2020 by helenkelly

Things have moved on apace in the last two weeks. We have had some beautiful, if chilly, weather here and I think that helps. Having said that, Dave is absolutely stellar in getting out into the van every morning and he sometimes stays out there for most of the day. I think it is the new “man cave”. We have also really benefitted over the past week from the help of Jason. There have been many deep conversations and much pontification over the structure of the pull-out table and the bed but finally work started a week ago.

We have decided that one of the main purposes of van life is to be outside as much as possible. We already have a canopy, camping chairs, table and fire pit to facilitate that happening in all weathers. However, we have to acknowledge that there will be times when we will want to be in the van and so we will need a seating area of some kind and a table to eat and do other things at. We have had to compromise on this quite a bit in order to have a 2m bed and a shower so we have allowed a 1.2m bench seat where we can sit side-by side to eat (as we would at home on the sofa). This is not intended as a lounging area, as we will do most of that on the huge bed. You can see how the layout of the van is starting to take shape in the picture below.

A couple of months ago we acquired table sliders to allow us to build a table that will sit underneath the bed and pull out when we need it. The aim was to construct a table that would require no legs to support it. This was a challenge but we know it is doable as we have seen examples on other people’s van tours on YouTube. Now I have not been involved in this much, as it is above my pay grade, so I cannot explain the feats of engineering that have made this possible. I do know that the height of the table dictates the height of the bed as there is no point having a table that is too high or too low to use.

They worked long into the evening on Tuesday to produce this magnificent thing and have every reason to be very proud.

The bed structure has also been the subject of a lot of discussion. As I explained before, we are going for a fixed bed so that we can utilise the space underneath as storage. The fresh water tank and batteries for the solar power system will be stored in there as well as our bicycles (if we can fit them in) and other stuff that will not fit in the inside storage. The “garage” will be accessible from the rear doors but we also want it to be accessible to some extent from the inside of the van. We will have a laundry chute here and will need to get laundry out for example. There is enough space for a king size bed 150cm x 200cm but if we opt for a double bed we have an extra 15cm to play with. That does not sound like much but every little helps.We will be building cupboards to store clothes above the bed on one side and if we compromise with a double bed then we will also have more space for cupboards, which for me means more clothes. Yes to that!

Cupboards will be built to the right of the bed up to the ceiling but not on the left to avoid it feeling too claustrophobic and to allow us to lean back on the wall.

It was not an easy decision as we did not agree but once the basic structure was created it was apparent that a double bed would work better. As a standard double bed is only 190cm long though, we have opted to stick with 200cm in length and have a memory foam mattress made to fit 135cm x 200cm. Hopefully, it will arrive this week. Technically we could then use the van if we wanted to get away but it seems we might be moving into a full lockdown situation within the next week.

What you don’t anticipate when you take on a van build is just how many decisions there are to make each day and how tedious some of them are. For example this week I have been in the weeds researching the following.

Memory foam vs sprung mattresses -which is best for the van? How deep does the mattress need to be and can we get a sprung mattress that shallow or not? Where can be source a bespoke memory foam mattress? Is memory foam too hot? if so then can we get a mattress topper to keep us cool? Will we be able to get one made to fit our bespoke bed size or can we manage with standard size topper? What are toppers made of and where do we source one?
Shower mixers-shower components are made from brass and this is very heavy to support in a van shower cubicle. The thermostatic bar mixer we ordered from Screwfix was incredibly heavy and when we checked other options online, they seem to be just as if not more heavy. Can we get an old fashioned pair of taps that we mix at source? Can we find a set that does not include a bath mixer? Will it go on the wall? How does it work? What is a microswitch and is it relevant?
Lining the ceiling – should we use 3mm furniture board, hardboard or plywood? How will we join the pieces for a smooth finish? How do you paint plywood for a good finish? Which is the best primer? Should we use trade paint? Where can we source this? Should we use acrylic, eggshell or water based paint?
Shower cubicle-do we construct it from plywood and then use 3mm PVC sheets to line it or can we construct it from 10mm acrylic sheets alone? Where do we source the sheets? How do we cut it? Can we get sealant that colour matches to the blue we want to use?
Kitchen cupboards and drawers-will we buy the doors already cut or make our own? What kind of catches should we have so they don’t come open when we are moving? Can we find marine catches (for boats) that we like the look of and can afford? What colour doors should we have? Should we go for a gloss or matt finish. Is all white boring? Should the kitchen cupboards be the same colour as the other cupboards/table or different. Could we build them ourselves and them cover them with a veneer? What is a veneer exactly? What colour options are there? Where do you buy them from and how much do they cost?
Kitchen worktop-is wood the only option if we want to cut it to size ourselves? Will it be hardwearing enough? Which wood should we go for? How heavy will it be? Will a light colour get stained? Can we get samples so we can see it before we choose? Where do we get these from?
Wall finish-should we paint the ply walls or finish with a wallpaper or vinyl. What options are there for each of these? Are there any we like? Can we get samples sent?
Cab divider curtains-can we make these? How do we bend the curtain pole to make it fit? How do we attach the curtain to the walls so there is no gap for the cold and light to get through? Can we buy on ready-made? Where can we source this from? Will it fit our van?
Blinds for cab-there is no metal around the windscreen so we cannot use magnetic blinds. Can we buy a metal strip to glue around the windscreen? Can we find one that will match the colour of the trim? Will a magnetic strip work or does it have to be a metal strip? If we cannot find one the right colour should we use suckers instead? If so then should we just buy one ready made or make our own?

Really this is just the tip of the iceberg. It takes up a lot of time each day looking into these things, discussing them and making decisions. We have still had time for an excursion to Denbigh Castle though and lunch sitting outside a cafe. As you can see, we both have new puffer jackets as we are only allowed at present to socialise out of doors so we are learning to wrap up for the cold. We ate a Thai takeaway in full thermal underwear, puffer coats and sheepskin lined boots on Wednesday evening. Apparently, the sale of fire pits and patio heaters has gone up 400% in the last month. It is going to be a very strange winter.

I have also been finishing up the garden for winter. The potatoes have finished flowering and are dying back so hopefully we will get some more to dig up in the next month.

I have a bed of kale, spinach and lettuces that have been doing well for months and I have filled in the gaps where I pulled up the carrots.

I have also put in a third bed of brassicas which I hope will grow over winter but if not will be ready for spring. Here I have pak choi, tsatsoi, spinach, ruby chard, mizuma and rocket. I love my greens!

So I mentioned the impending full lockdown. We expect to hear tomorrow that there will be a full period of “stay at home” in place by the end of the week for 2-3 weeks as a “circuit breaker”. This has meant that we need to make decisions about many van-related things now so that we can place orders before the non-essential shops close for what will hopefully be only 2-3 weeks but could be longer if the government does not have the courage to bring us out of the lockdown.

So that is where we are at present. We have a bed and a table. Dave has started working on the bench seat. We hope to install the MaxxFans in the ceiling this week if the rain holds off. Plus we now have a kitchen even more crowded with stuff waiting to be installed. At least we have plenty to keep us busy during the coming lockdown.

More soon I hope…

The Building of Silver Stage Two: Heating, Insulation and Flooring

Posted on October 4, 2020 by helenkelly

Since the last post, it has been very slow progress with the van build but in the last week we have finally seen significant change. Why slow? Well we have been doing other things. Dave has spent a couple of days helping Jason build a “rum shack” in his garden.

We also had a few days away in the van on a beautiful campsite in Bishop’s Castle, Shropshire.

We had a quick but wonderful trip to visit Dave’s family…

A typical British summer picnic in the rain

…and and I spent 5 days with mine in Lichfield, as my nephew prepared to leave for uni in Glasgow.

We also had a great day out on the motorbikes in mid-Wales with Jason and Ali in stunning scenery.

I have been busy writing my other blogs and had a couple of articles published in magazines and I have been working on the garden. So we have no doubt been occupied but, in truth, there has still been plenty of time for the van. I can offer up no reason as to why the build slowed to a snail’s pace. After fitting the windows, we just seemed unable to gain momentum. However, thankfully that seems to have changed over the last few days and we have now turned a corner. So where are we up to?

One of the most important tasks in converting a van for full time living is to ensure it is warm. We plan to use Silver in Scottish or alpine winters so it needs to be cosy and free of condensation. This means that it needs to be insulated and also have heating installed for the coldest nights. Dave began the process of installing heaters for both water and air about two months ago. This involved a lot of discussion with Jason and pontification which, I have learned over the last 27 years, is what happens when you put two engineers together. I can sustain interest in the conversation for about 20 minutes before giving up the will to live and drifting into the kitchen to wash up or sweep the floor or something equally more interesting. Eventually, after considering al the options. they concurred that we would have gas heaters fuelled by a propane tank installed underneath the van. The waste water tank also goes under the van so they had to make sure there was space for everything and that it could all be installed safely. This also involved cutting holes in the floor of the van in order to bring the heaters partially inside.

All of this seems to have taken many weeks to get right as the correct brackets and different bits and bobs (technical term) had to be ordered and installed. As with most things on a van conversion, you don’t get it right first time so there was inevitable delay as Dave sourced or crafted the right accessories. However, after weeks of delay, we finally completed installation of the heaters last week and brought them through into the van ready to install ducting/pipes at some point in the future and so insulation and the laying of an impermeable vapour barrier (i.e. plastic sheet) could finally be tackled.

Insulation is a real pig of a job. When asked which job they would least like to do again, many van lifers mention insulation. The floor, walls and ceiling all need to be insulated, with either 50mm insulation board or soft insulation, the same as you use in your loft, and then a vapour barrier is secured. Now our van in only just about tall enough for Dave to stand up in metal to metal. If we laid down 50mm of insulation on both the floor and ceiling, as most do, it would be 10cm too short for Dave, so this is not an option for us. It took a while to decide how to resolve this but we decided to add 25mm strips of insulation on the floor between the ridges so there would at least be some insulation but no loss of height (as seen in the photo above). The ceiling will be fully insulated so we will lose 4-5cm in all. The floor is not fully insulated and it remains to be seen if this will be a problem with cold coming up through the floor but with a gas heater installed, I am assured it will stay warm. It took Dave a while to cut and secure all the strips of 25mm insulation board and in the meantime I made a start with insulating the walls, which turned out to be much tricker than we both expected.

Dave cutting 25mm strips of insulation board

Insulation board is flat but the walls of a Sprinter are not. They come with various indentations, where windows can be added, and other channels and gulleys, which make installing flat insulation board very challenging. After one attempt to cut and install the board, which took up a whole morning, we both agreed that our work was not up to standard and needed to be redone. This was hard to accept, as the board isn’t cheap but mostly because the work is filthy and not something you want to do twice if it can be avoided. Sawing or cutting polystyrene is easy enough but it creates bits and dust that get everywhere, including onto your chest if you forget to wear a mask, and on a windy day it blows around the garden and over into the neighbours’ gardens. Our back lawn has a white tinge, almost as if it has lightly snowed. I have no idea how to get rid of it and it might be there forever.

The first tool we used on the insulation board and an example of forgetting to put on my mask

While accepting our work was shoddy, we were stuck as to how to make the board fit properly so we went back to the trusty YouTube videos to learn what others did. No-one seems to show the whole process, I suspect that’s because there is always an element of bodging involved that they don’t want subscribers to see. We picked up some tips though and started again the next day. I must admit that I had partly lost interest by then but Dave was dogged and did a stellar job sculpting and carving the board to fit the larger spaces.

Around this time I departed for Lichfield for the best part of a week and when I returned Dave had completed all of the larger sections of wall insulation. That was not strategic on my part but worked well for me.

Insulation board in place just in time for our short break. We could not take a guitar camping on the motorbike.

Immediately upon my return to Wales, the weather became unexpectedly good so we decided to get away in Silver for a few days. Before we left we installed a sun canopy. Like everything else, the decision about which canopy to buy was not an easy one. We really wanted a Fiamma retractable awning, which is fitted to the van permanently and pulls out and retracts as needed. However, they cost around 800 quid and weigh 50kg. Although they are very popular, we decided that this was out of the question for us. We eventually settled on a Vango Sun Canopy, which we bought half price on eBay for 70 quid plus the cost of the awning rail which we had to glue to the roof of the van.

We now have a 4m awning which gives both shade and protection from the rain at a bargain price. It does have to be attached to the rail each time we set up camp, which involves Dave climbing on the roof but we are happy enough with the choice we made.

We had a great few days away. Most people would view sleeping in the back of a van on an inflatable mattress as quite squalid (and from the photo of the inside of the van posted above, you can see that it was) but it felt like the height of luxury when compared to a tiny tent and motorbike. We could take everything we wanted, boxes of stuff. We had a comfy bed. As you get older Thermarest mattresses lose their appeal, although we found that an air bed does not keep the cold out in the same way as a closed cell foam mattress. We had chairs and a table rather than sitting on the ground.

We also had a fire pit for the chilly evenings.

Dave goes for PJs while I prefer a cashmere blanket

We loved it all and it made us realise just how great it will be when Silver is eventually finished.

We returned from the trip with renewed purpose, determined to make more progress so we could enjoy more short trips away in the coming weeks (this was before we were placed into local lockdown but more about that later). We finished fitting the heaters under the van..

I found much to my surprise that I love being underneath the van…who knew?

and insulating the floor, allowing us to put down the vapour layer and restore the original floor as a base for the vinyl flooring. It turned out that my sewing skills in making 2D materials fit a 3D body finally came in handy and I was able to lay the vapour barrier, which is a sheet of plastic, around and over the wheel arches without too much difficulty.

We then set to completing the insulation of the walls using a soft insulation material made from recycled plastic bottles, which is much nicer to work with than the traditional glass fibre stuff and more environmentally friendly. Both walls were then covered with more sheets of plastic, definitely a two-man job but fairly satisfying to complete.

Silver was now ready to have walls installed. The nature of these walls has been the topic of much debate. Factory built motorhomes use board covered in wallpaper to achieve a professional finish, whereas the use of what is called 4-way stretch carpet on top of plywood is much more popular with VW owners and converters. However, the new breed of millennial van lifers much prefer to finish their walls with tongue and groove panels, which give a nice finish when painted or varnished and are easy to install. The drawback is that they are heavy. A Sprinter van has a maximum legal weight of 3.5 tonnes. Exceeding this weight, once the build is complete, and the mass of two adults, all their stuff, fuel and water is added, not only impacts on the safety of the vehicle but is liable to a hefty fine and impounding of the van. Many campervan owners dismiss this issue as not important but as motorcyclists and old duffers, we are always safety and legal first so we have committed to keep the build as light as possible. This precludes us from using tongue and groove and leaves us with the plywood option to create our walls and ceiling.

We discovered a couple of weeks ago that there are companies that sell ready-cut ply linings for Sprinter vans at a very reasonable price so we took delivery of the 6mm ply panels ready to install. The panels are not perfect but they are good enough and as 6mm ply retains some flexibility, they fit snug to the shell of the van without wasting crucial space.

We still have to decide what finish we will use but, given the visible joins between the panels and the visible screw heads, we are unlikely to paint them and more likely to use a neutral wallpaper. The jury is still out on that one.

With the walls installed we were ready to lay the flooring. We decided on industrial sheet vinyl flooring which is non-slip, waterproof and very hard-wearing. The design we chose comes with sparkly bits in show catch the light when the sun shines and prevents it from looking too much like the stuff used in mental hospitals. What we hadn’t bargained for is how hard the vinyl is to cut, especially when cold. It seemed to defeat the ordinary Stanley blade and the special hook-shaped Stanley blade but we soon discovered with the help of Google that heating the flooring with a hairdryer softened it and made it easier to cut.

I have laid vinyl a few times before but this was much harder to manage and manipulate and took us several hours to get it how we wanted it. It is great to see the first decorative finish of the van take shape though and the first indication that it is more than just a cargo van.

Our next job is to batten out the layout of the van interior, starting with the bed and then the shower, seating area and kitchen. Work begins on this tomorrow. But you haven’t insulated the ceiling yet, I hear you say. Well there is a reason for that. Before insulating the ceiling, we need to install a pair of MaxxFans in the roof to both suck and blow air, and keep us cool and ventilated. One of these fans will go directly over the shower cubicle, as there is already a hole in the roof and a small fan installed in that area and we do not want to cut an extra hole. However, we need to ensure that the placement of the MaxxFan is 100% accurate over the shower, rather than part in and part out of the cubicle but we cannot do this until the shower cubicle is battened out. This means that installation of the MaxxFans and insulation of the ceiling will take place after battening out the layout. This is a bit arse about face but was the best solution we could come up with. As I said, nothing is straightforward with a van build.

The MaxxFans have been sitting in the garage for 2 months but in preparation for the next exciting stage of the build we also now have the shower tray, Nature’s Head composting toilet, fridge and cooker purchased and taking up space in the bungalow.

I have also bought the materials to make blackout, insulating blinds for the windows and the foam for the seat cushion, which I will cover with old curtain fabric. So there is plenty to be getting on with as the nights draw in and the days get chillier. Hopefully I will report back more quickly next time as we continue to make more rapid progress.

Since Thursday, we are longer allowed to leave the county or mix indoors with anyone that we do not live with, under the new COVID restrictions for North Wales. It seems a bit daft that we cannot legally visit the garden of friends who live 20 minutes away in a different county but people from England can travel here freely. We don’t have a major DIY store within the boundaries of our county so that may pose problems in the coming weeks. Dave is also very upset that while he can visit Toolstation in Denbigh, he can no longer go to Screwfix in Mold, which is only 10 minutes further away…how will he cope? More importantly, a much looked forward to visit from Dave’s family to celebrate a birthday has also had to be cancelled. Nevertheless, we support the measures taken by the Welsh assembly to keep us safe and we will abide by the new rules despite the confusion and inconsistencies. We like our own and each other’s company and we have plenty of hobbies and interests to keep us occupied and plenty of food in supply in case things get worse. We also have the whole winter to finish and dream about using our van again.

The Building of Silver Stage 1-Strip Out and Windows

Image

It’s been about a month now since we brought (Son of) Silver home and during that time we have been very busy planning, ordering and doing. In between van stuff we have had many lovely visits from our local friends and a visit from my family, some trips out on sunny days to Llandudno, Llangollen and Chester as well as putting in work on the vegetable garden. All in all, this retirement business is pretty amazing. The only disappointment is that Dave’s family are in local lockdown in Lancashire and we have not been able to see them yet.

We are getting used to owning a van as our primary vehicle. It is massive but actually quite easy to drive, although I haven’t tried reversing it yet. It takes up two whole spaces end to end on a carpark and we are already developing an intimate knowledge of where we can and cannot park in most towns within a 30 mile radius.

There’s a lot to be done to turn the van from an empty silver box into a comfortable and functional home that we may well live in for 2-3 years or more. We started by stripping out the lining back to the metal and removing the bulkhead to allow access from the cab into the back. What I am learning already, is that regardless of how many tools you have in the garage, you seldom have the correct tool in the right size to complete the job at hand. We have become regular visitors to a range of tools shops that I call Machinemartfixstation-those of you who are into tools will know the shops I mean. Fortunately, we have all the major tool shop chains within a 20 minute drive, which in rural North Wales is considered to be “around the corner” or “just down the road”.

One version of Machinemartfixstation

The removal of the final bolts that secure the bulkhead required the only size of a particular tool, of which we had many sizes, that we did not have, so my first experience of working on the van comprised of spending an hour undoing a load of bolts, only to have to do half of them up again to resecure the bulkhead so we could drive to Machinemartfixstation to acquire the right tool. I suspect this may become a familiar pattern.

With the bulkhead

Without the bulkhead

In his previous life, Silver was a Mercedes lease van working for a contractor to the NHS and he came with a heavy, steel ramp to load wheelchairs into the back. We were able to sell this on Ebay for a few hundred quid and enjoyed an hour in the company of Compo and Clegg from Last of the Summer Wine who arrived from Sheffield to collect it. Dressed in baggy singlets to make the most of the sunny weather, these septagenarians regaled Dave and our visitors with their tall stories, while they drank tea at an annoying leisurely pace before setting off for the four hour drive home. Having lived abroad for 20 years, I love these incidental encounters with people who speak the same language (well almost), that I really missed.

The ramp in the rear doorway

It is unfortunate that when converting a van, one of the first jobs you have to complete is one of the trickiest, fitting the windows. Many “stealth” vanlifers who park up in towns each night forgo windows to maintain the appearance of being a normal, commercial vehicle. This means light sources are limited to the windscreen and any roof fans or skylights that they install. We decided to install windows in the sliding door and barn doors at the back. We ordered these from Van Pimps at a very reasonable price and decided to fit them ourselves as most vanlifers seem to. We spent a few days watching as many Youtube videos as we could of both professionals and vanlifers fitting windows. There is no one right way apparently so we decided on a scheme of work combining the best of what we had learned. We were a bit thrown when we discovered that our Van Build Guru, the ever sensible Greg Virgoe, did not fit his own windows but engaged the services of Glass4Vans, but we rallied and pressed on, after getting a last minute quote for professional fitting of 300 quid.

The thought of cutting a hole in the side of your van is pretty scary and I must admit that the stress of the day actually made me quite ill and almost spoilt the celebratory trip to the chippy that evening. However, I rallied when I saw that our lovely chippy man had given me free batter bits, or scraps as they call them up north to go with my chips, peas and curry sauce.

Our first local chippy since 2005

Although Dave and I have been a couple for 26 years, we have never built something together, so we are experiencing something new. I am glad we waited until now as we are older, calmer and more patient with each other than we were in the past. Back in the early days, we couldn’t even put a tent up together without a blazing row and even to this day, Dave erects the tent on his own while I unpack the rest of the gear. It seems we have mellowed though and we got through a whole day of window fitting without a harsh word spoken. Now that is progress.

Vans come with recesses where windows are intended to go and the glass sits on top of those recesses, bonded to the metal, so it is not a question of cutting an aperture to the exact size of the glass, where 1mm could make the difference between the windows fitting or not. Once I realised this, it seemed less scary. However, we are both keen to do a good job. We want our van to look professional and not like a product of Odge Bodge and Codge Ltd. so we took our time, hoping to get it right. We started with the side window as the back windows, although smaller, have to be done as a pair, to ensure they line up correctly.

The first stage was to remove the metal reinforcement from the window recess with an angle grinder. This involved a lot of noise and sparks and a quick cycle down to the builders merchants after 5 minutes of trying to cut using a grinding disc, to buy a cutting disc (see my earlier comment abut never having the right tools in there garage).

Once the reinforcement was off, we made a rough cut of the aperture with a jigsaw.

The hard part is getting the final cut the right size, as the recess that guides you is on the inside of the van but you have to cut from the outside. Professionals use special tools like electric shears that allow them to work from the outside while following the recess on the inside, while amateurs tend to create a template that they draw round on the outside of the van with a marker pen and then follow with the jigsaw. We came up with our own, more accurate, method which was to drill a number of holes from the inside following the line of the recess and then join these holes up with a marker pen on the outside. We drilled more holes around the curves to ensure they were accurate. This worked really well-mostly.

We then applied Hammerite to the cut edge to rust-proof it and had some lunch while we waited for this to dry.

Once the final cut was done, we thought the worst was over but this was not the case. There as more stress to come. We cleaned the window and used what is called Window Activator-no idea what this is or what it does but it comes as a little wipe in a sachet with the fitting kit. The best part of this stage was lying a large sheet of bubble wrap on the kitchen floor to receive the window and then walking over the bubble wrap in heavy boots. What a great and terrifying noise it makes – try it. We then had to apply glass primer to both the edges of the glass and the metal. This dripped a bit in a way that it did not on the professional videos and got all over our hands as we stupidly did not use the plastic gloves provided. Ridiculously we made the same mistake again when we fitted the rear windows three days later.

The glass bonding comes in tubes and is applied using a mastic gun. When Dave pierced the tube with a screwdriver, he did not pierce the whole thing and consequently struggled to squeeze the bonding out of the tube onto the metal-rookie error. We thought this would be the easy part-the professionals make it look very straightforward-but it was actually really hard to apply the bonding all around the large aperture in one smooth line. Dave’s arms were aching from squeezing the bonding through the inadequate hole. Although we knew that the bonding does not form a skin for an hour, there was a sense of panic to get it done as quickly as possible.

Finally, we offered up the window to the aperture and pressed it on. I was left holding on the window with both hands while Dave, seemingly at a snail’s pace, cut and applied the tape to hold it while it dried.

It looked great and we felt really proud of our work…briefly.

From the outside it looked amazing and completely professional. Inside was a different story though, We realised on closer inspection that we should have cut the aperture to be completely flush with the inner skin of the window recess. While we had done this on the most part, some areas of the aperture had 2-3mm of extra metal that should not be there. We presumed this would be covered by the rubber trim that had been supplied for this purpose. However, when Dave came to apply the trim it would not go on evenly over both skins and definitely had an air of Odge, Bodge and Friends about it, with a wavy finish. We removed the trim and found it went well over just the cut edge of the inner skin leaving unfinished edges on the outer skin where we had removed the reinforcement with the angle grinder. We decided to call it a day and take a walk to the chippy. Tomorrow was another day.

After 24 hours of recriminations about the standard of our finish, I remembered watching our hero Greg Virgoe applying his window trim, after the professional fitted his glass, so I went back and rewatched the video. He refers to using 9mm trim to ensure it goes over both skins. We had 6mm trim. My superior and obsessive internet search skills came into play seeking out a trim that would work for us. We ordered some and waited but sadly when it came it didn’t fit. However, I realised when examining photos of other vans on Pinterest that most people build a window frame around their windows to give a nicer finish so the trim does not show. So I have moved on and stopped worrying about it. We took the weekend off in between fitting the side and rear windows. The weather has been great so we enjoyed the rare Welsh sunshine and moved on to discuss the next stage of the build. On Monday we returned to window fitting, older and wiser. This time we were faster and it was much less stressful. We used the right disc on the angle grinder, made sure to cut the apertures flush with the outer skin, we pierced the bonding tube properly and found that the trim went over both inner and outer skin to give a perfect finish as there gap between the skins is less on the rear windows. However, we did apply a bit too much bonding on the offside window, a bit too close to the edge so we have some trimming to do with a Stanley knife when it is completely set. No harm done though.

It’s great to have the windows in. They look so cool from the outside and they bring in much-needed light inside the van. So next we focus on installing the electrics and solar and gas systems. We have a heavy shopping list of expensive items for this. We also ordered the roof fans yesterday which are out of stock till the end of the month due to the huge demand. It seems the world and his dog are building a campervan this summer. We also have to make a decision about the canopy/awning, which needs to be installed before the solar panels go on the roof. I am still in disbelief that a wind-out canopy costs around 700 quid, campervan accessories are so expensive but more about that next time.

Sawthingsclearer Reborn with a New Trusty Steed

Posted on July 21, 2020 by helenkelly

Many of you will recall the trip we did 5 years ago across the USA and Central America on our Triumph Tiger 955, Silver. It was without doubt the best experience of my life so far. Since then we have been living and working in the pressure cooker of Hong Kong. We have managed a few shorter motorcycle trips including two weeks on the North Island of New Zealand in 2016 on a rented bike.

A month in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada in 2017 also on a rented bike…
…and quick trips to Ireland and Northern Spain/Portugal on our Triumph Tiger 800 bought in 2017 to fill the gap left by the sale of our glorious Silver.

The work-focused life in Hong Kong combined with some health problems has caused us to reflect on how we want to spend our future and a year ago we took the decision to retire from work this summer, buy a campervan and spend a few years travelling around Europe looking for the right place to eventually settle and buy a forever home. While motorcycling will always be part of our life together and we still have our Triumph Tiger 800 here in the UK, we have found that long days spent on the bike and nights spent in a tent are taking an increasing toll on our middle-aged bodies and impacting negatively on our enjoyment of travelling. We always knew we would move over to a campervan one day but imagined that would not be until we were into our 70s. However, we find we want to travel and sleep in more comfort and be able to camp all year round, in all weathers, so we took the decision to move to a campervan and keep the bike for shorter jaunts.

The original plan, conceived a year ago, was to buy a professionally converted van. We had our eyes on a Swift Select 122. We love how light it is inside and the rear lounge layout, which allows you to lie on the sofa with the barn doors open, admiring the view. We spent the winter months in Hong Kong (yes they do have a winter there) obsessively checking Autotrader, fixating on vans generally and watching van life videos on Youtube. We planned to purchase a Select 122 as soon as we arrived back in the UK in June and spend the first few weeks visiting family and friends before heading off for the continent. Then COVID 19 hit and the realisation gradually dawned upon us that this might not be the best plan. Back in March we were not sure how quickly borders would open up and we are still unsure about whether there might be a second or third wave that could cause borders to close again. I have a health condition that makes me more vulnerable to complications from the virus so we want to be as safe as possible. At first, it was a huge blow to acknowledge that our plans would have to change but like everyone else during this time, we have adapted and come up with a new idea.

Dave and I agreed that the safest option would be to return home to the UK for a period of at least 6 months to wait things out. We have not lived in the UK for 15 years so that was a big decision. At some point, and I cannot remember exactly when or how this happened if I am honest, we decided that, rather than buy a professionally converted van, we would build our own. Our reasons were threefold- firstly, it would give us something to do while we were waiting out the virus; secondly we could spec the van with higher quality components than you usually get in a shop bought vehicle, such as lithium batteries, bigger solar panels, an oven and a better fridge and finally, we could build a van with a fixed bed in the back which allows for a lot more storage space underneath than that offered by a Select 122. This will allow us to take all kinds of shit with us to enhance our life on the road, including an electric guitar and small amp (yes really).

So the decision was made and the next stage was to spend the remaining weeks of self-isolation in Hong Kong researching the kind of van we needed to meet our needs. A simple task you would think but nothing is ever easy in the world of the campervan when one of you is 192cm tall. We eventually realised that, in order for Dave to be able to lie flat in bed, we would have to position our bed along the length of the van rather than across the width, which means that, if we are to fit in a shower and kitchen, we will need a long van- what is called an L4. Also, in order for Dave to stand up in the van (or almost stand up) we would need a tall van- what is called an H3. While Mercedes Sprinters are the vans of choice for most larger van conversions these days, we were initially considering investing in a brand new Fiat Ducato or Citroen Relay as there were many bargains to be had during the lockdown in the UK, placing them around ten thousand pounds cheaper than a new Sprinter.

It was only by chance that one day less than a month ago I happened upon a vanlife forum post that referred to the impossibility of registering a right hand drive commercial vehicle on the continent of Europe, due to the sliding door being on the wrong side for safe use. We realised that, sadly but unavoidably, this van we plan to convert cannot be our forever van if we eventually move to Europe. When we move, we will need to sell the van either as a campervan conversion or deconstruct it and sell it as a van with windows and then possibly build another left hand drive vehicle for future use. It is just too risky to invest so much cash in the base vehicle if we are not going to be able to keep it forever and if there is uncertainty about how much we will get back on it in 3-4 years time. We did briefly consider sourcing a left hand drive van but it proved to be too complicated and expensive, so we pivoted again and decided to buy something secondhand to reduce the potential loss on resale.

The advantage of deciding to buy something used is that a Mercedes Sprinter was now on the table. They are generally considered to be much better vans than pretty much anything else on the market so this quickly became our first choice. On returning to the UK three and a half weeks ago, we had to wait out our quarantine before we could start looking. Our first trip out was to view a selection of ex-police vehicles at a dealer in the Midlands. Although they only had one Sprinter, we had high expectations and set off with Jason for a five hour round trip on a gloomy British summer’s day. We stopped for socially distanced tea and toast along the way as cafes in England are now open both outdoors and indoors. Our hopes of buying the first van we saw were dashed by the general poor quality of the vehicle which had clearly lived a hard life. It did come with a cell in the back though.

We were almost tempted to the ambulance but it had done 250,000 miles already

Jason in his special car inspection outfit searching for rust

Over a very late fried breakfast at a classic greasy spoon, we identified a place nearby that specialised in selling on Sprinters that had been used by a courier company. The rain poured down as we were shown around a huge yard full of vehicles in the process of having liveries removed and being tarted up to sell. They were all in need of a lot more than a bit of TLC. We were shown one van covered in dents, with a partially ripped off front bumper and damaged rear doors. It came with no service history but the promise that damaged doors and bumpers would be replaced if we were interested. On the drive home, we decided we were not, the price was good but the van was not.

Fortunately, within a couple of days we located a dealer in Manchester that sold on ex lease vehicles for Mercedes Benz, most of which had been used by the health service. We viewed four Sprinters, none more than 5 years old, all in decent condition and chose a 2015 Silver Sprinter 313 cdi LWB. We drove it home that day.

Dave managed to clip the van on his right with the back end as he pulled out. Not a good start.

So there we are, we have a van. It is sitting on the drive of our rented house in North Wales waiting for us to start work on it. We have taken it out for a drive today to do some chores and it seems great.

Man in his van

It is big but Dave says it is easy to drive. I plan to have a go myself in the next few days. It is full of potential and the holder of our hopes and dreams. I can’t wait to get started but more about the next time.

Son of Silver or “Silver” to his friends

NZ December 2017 Days 1 and 2-Auckland to Coromandel

Posted on December 18, 2017 by helenkelly

We spent a quiet day in Auckland city centre after our flight arrived. Dave has been ill for a few days so it was a case of conserving energy and resting up.

Randal from Auckland Motorbike Rental came to collect us from the lovely Skycity Grand Hotel this morning and drive us 45 minutes to the coast to collect the bike. He was a friendly, chatty guy with more than 10 bikes in his garage. We were well prepared and managed to load up the bike in 30 minutes, with all the camping gear fitting in very easily, almost too easily. We have rented a Yamaha Super Tenere this time,as Dave wants to try it out with a view to trading in the Ducati in Hong Kong for something Japanese that is cheaper to maintain.

It was a brilliant blue sky day. The temperature was perfect. We rode along the coast from Maraetai to Thames, at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, where we stopped for tea.

The people were amazingly friendly and welcoming. Everyone raves about the road to Coromandel Township and warned us about the narrow, twisty bends. The road hugs the coast, right alongside the beach. It was really beautiful but we experienced a heavy shower and the sea turned grey for a while.

As we ascended up the mountain, the views down to the coast where stunning. It reminds me a bit of Ireland but the weather is much better and the flora is very different, in fact, unlike anything I have seen before.

The campsite at Long Bay is right on the beach. We pitched our tent about 15m from the water’s edge.

It became quite busy in the afternoon with locals swimming in the sea and relaxing. The atmosphere was good but much improved when only the campers were left at the end of the day. We cooked and fell asleep in the sunshine.

The time difference compared to Hong Kong, at this time of the year, is 5 hours, which works out well for us as the jet lag means we are able to stay awake till 10pm or later and get up as late as 8am. Like normal people.

First day review of the bike. Dave thinks it lacks power and is too heavy. I think it sounds like a tractor but it’s very comfy for a pillion. It is hard to get on when the side boxes are fitted though. Not very dignified.

The first night in the tent was not great as my body has to get used to it. I kept waking up with painful shoulders and turning over. I do love being in the tent though. There is something magical about getting into you nightie and snuggling down into the sleeping bag, while hearing the sound of the sea outside.

We went into town for a big breakfast, rather than cook and made contact with the internet.

We had planned to have an active day involving a walk but the weather closed in and it rained most of the day. It was fairly warm though. We stayed around the campsite reading and cooking and Dave had several naps.

Just as it looked like a totally uneventful day, magical happened just before bedtime. The sky began to slowly turn orange, then more orange and then some more (no filters or photoshop).

Seeing Things Clearer-USA, Mexico, Central America 2015-16

Posted on July 2, 2016 by helenkelly

This is my final post of this trip. We left Berlin on 10th July last year, riding to London and flying from Heathrow on 17th July to Boston. We then rode 28,000 miles across the USA, Mexico and Central America to Panama and then back to the US border and onto Houston. 9 countries and 30 US states. It is good to get some perspective, a month after returning,to see the whole thing in its entirety. I can honestly say it is the best thing I have ever done in my life. It still feels painful to remember the best times. If I came into some money unexpectedly, I would go back and do it all again tomorrow, without a moment of hesitation, possibly indefinitely.

People have asked about the best places so here is a quick rundown and in no particular order.

Memphis, TennesseeBig Sur, CaliforniaIdyllwild, CaliforniaBaja California, MexicoGuanajuato, MexicoThe Highlands and Antigua GuatemalaGranada, NicaraguaCosta Rica Beaches and WildlifeArizonaUtahApart from these places, the things I loved the most were waking up feeling excited; the sense of incredible freedom; meeting friendly people (especially in the USA); speaking Spanish (badly); being outdoors all the time; going to sleep in the tent, in the darkness; riding through amazing landscapes; seeing creatures and of course, sharing it all with Dave. We have been together over 20 years but our bond is now stronger than ever.

The things that have left the biggest impression on me include the spring sunshine in Arizona with endless clear, blue skies and the fresh, mountain air at 6000 feet and above. I fell in love with one place above all-Idyllwild, California. The place where pine cones are as big as your foot and the town is thick with hippies. If a visa was possible, I would seriously retire there to a log cabin on the mountain. I can definitely see a future where we spend part of the year there. I can also see us driving an RV with a motorbike strapped to the back, spending winters in Arizona. I cannot imagine we will not go back to the USA. It is now part of me.

What have I learned? Everything is possible if you plan and work hard at it. The countryside is where I am happiest. I am very lucky (but I knew that already). I am excited to return to this lifestyle eventually. I now know what retirement will look like but before that I have to go to Hong Kong and make some money. Until then though, I am definitely seeing things clearer.

The Last Leg-North Carolina to Houston 14th-21st May 2016

Posted on July 1, 2016 by helenkelly

It is over a month now since we left the USA and flew to Hong Kong and then back to the UK. We have been briefly to both Berlin and Lanzarote since then and have travelled across England from London to Burnley and stopped over in North Wales for a night. It has all been a whirlwind and a hard transition; going from living like vagabonds, wild and free to assimilating back into a normal life. It is great to be able to catch up with so many people and also to rest. I only realised after the trip was over, just how exhausting it was.Our trusty steed Silver arrived back yesterday, having been on a ship for a few weeks and so it seemed the right time to conclude the blog; charge up the camera to retrieve the last few photos and draw a line, very regrettably under the whole thing.

We did not lose momentum during the last 10 days, we hung on to every last minute. We dipped into South Carolin and then North Carolina, spending a night in Asheville. A hip city that seemed very liveable. We stayed in a cute Airbnb and sat out on the porch in true southern style listening to the cicadas and enjoying the warm evening air.The Great Smoky Mountains are the oldest mountains in the world and they are stunningly green. It was sad to leave them.We managed a last night of camping at another stunning lake.

Then we headed to Savannah, Georgia. What a great place this is. The residential architecture is very unique and in many places quite run down but there is loads of atmosphere and the people are very friendly. We stayed in another cool Airbnb.

The city was astonishing though in that is was so reminiscent of London. I felt the historical presence of the British more than I have anywhere in the USA

We spent a couple of hours in the evening wandering around the stunning squares of amazing architecture against a backdrop of oak trees dripping with moss.We then move onto Jacksonville, Florida for a couple of nights. The city is nothing special but we had tickets to see one of our heroes, comedian and political commentator Bill Maher. It was great to see him in the flesh. We then headed to New Orleans. We had hoped to arrive there earlier and spend more time but we had spent so much time in the Deep South dodging thunder storms and time ran out. However, we spent one night and saw a fair bit as well as enjoying 2 or 3 bars.New Orleans is extraordinary and is a place I would like to return. The buildings in the centre are stunning and the place has a party atmosphere, even on a Monday night.What I liked more though was the residential area where we stayed, about 15 minutes walk from the French Quarter. The streets are lined with shotgun shacks, painted in bright colours and there are plenty of cool bars and cafes to sit outside.

The roads are full of potholes and the place has a shabby feeling (it is not that safe late at night) but the atmosphere is unforgettable.

And so we set off for our last, long ride from New Orleans to Houston-about 350 miles. We stopped at our last Starbucks. We must have frequented more Starbucks across the USA than anyone else over the last 10 months. We have enjoyed their free WiFi and English Breakfast Tea and they have always been a port in a storm-sometimes literally.

Houston is a massive city. It felt quite overwhelming.We made it to our accommodation safely, feeling very relieved.

We had booked an apartment for 4 nights where we could have easy access to shopping malls and hairdressers to enable us to transition into school teachers for the visit to Hong Kong.We rode Silver to the warehouse and waved him goodbye.And so it was over. 28,000 miles, 10 months, 9 countries. A trip of a lifetime. I will blog a final summary in the next couple of days and will save my closing comments for then.

Silver Home!

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Dave

Weeks ahead of schedule but still not as soon as the England team.

MOT

Somehow, we passed first time. wheels are a bit out of line (rear is pointing north-west), back tyre isn’t great and there’s play in the suspension linkage. Apart from that, ta-daaaa, no problems. Not even the usual to-do with headlight alignment.

	helenkelly on Silver Starts to Take Sha…
	Donna Sterling on Silver Starts to Take Sha…
	Don E Sterling on The Building of Silver Co…
	Sharon on The Building of Silver Stage 3…
	Sabine Carey on The Building of Silver Stage T…