Sort of new here

Welcome & new forum members - Please introduce yourself & your motor here.
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w3526602
Posts: 50
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:32 pm
Info: (That's my old RAF number)
Location: Currently South Wales, Northants soon

Sort of new here

Post by w3526602 » Tue Sep 06, 2016 7:46 pm

Hi,

I registered with this forum quite some time ago, but found I couldn't get back in. Determined effort over the weekend, and Lo, I appear to be here again.

I'm guessing that many member know me already, John Williams, lately of South Wales, now Kettering, user name is my old RAF number (w3526602), and I sign with my "last three" (602), which enables me to recognise my own mail. Not funny when you were born before WW2.

I saw my first Land Rover in Croydon, circa 1953, but didn't drive one until I joined the RAF in 1959. Thenceforth, I drove them in UK, Arabia, and Malaya, for nine years. I bought my first Land in 1973ish, and have owned one or more, almost continuously ever since.

My current project is a 1959 109" petrol, which has covered less than 50,000 miles, and had only done less than 200 miles since her last MOT ... but that was 42 years ago. She is now back on the road, but I have only driven her a bit over 100 miles ... still doing her "sea trials".

I am planning to fit a Romahome demountable camper pod, donated by a Suzuki micro-pick-up (similar to a Bedford Rascal). I have almost completed adapting the jacks to lift it up to a metre off the ground, so it clears the 750x16 tyres.

I have a truck cab bulkhead (or chassis cab, if you prefer), to replace the standard tub, after which I will have to fabricate a flat-bed/tray-back, but I would like to add a few more miles before I start to pull "The Aunt" to pieces again. The Aunt (FUX173) is so named because she was originally delivered to "Auntie Beeb".

I will try to post some pictures in the appropriate section ... just give me a few minutes

HTH

John W (henceforth 602)
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RMS
Posts: 2236
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2012 12:02 am
Location: Near Wakefield, UK, in God's own Country!

Re: Sort of new here

Post by RMS » Tue Sep 06, 2016 7:51 pm

Hi 602,

Glad you finally made an appearance on here :cheers:

Looking forward to the pictures, and to see how well the demountable works on a 109"

Cheers,
Robin.
1967 109" Carawagon 200TDi
1972 109" SW Carawagon 2.5NA
1958 109" Carawagon 2.25P (project)
1972 109" Carawagon 200 or 300TDi (project)
1974 Dormobile 2.25D (project)
(Robin on S2C forum)
gossamer
Posts: 365
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2012 3:34 pm
Location: Derbyshire (South End of it)

Re: Sort of new here

Post by gossamer » Wed Sep 07, 2016 8:03 pm

Hi 602
To infirmary and beyond!
w3526602
Posts: 50
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:32 pm
Info: (That's my old RAF number)
Location: Currently South Wales, Northants soon

Re: Sort of new here

Post by w3526602 » Wed Sep 07, 2016 9:32 pm

Looking forward to the pictures, and to see how well the demountable works on a 109"

Hi RMS,

Picture of The Aunt are in MEMBERS VEHICLES, showing what I've got, and what I'm aiming at.

The Romahome pod should be OK on length (back of cab to back of rear X-member), but height might be a problem.

The Luton has to clear the truck-cab roof, and the pod floor has to clear the tops of the tyres. And I don't know where the top of the chassis will be in relation to the tops of the tyres , when the pod is loading the springs. There might be some trial and error involved ... and I'm not totally happy about my jacks. I will have to lift the pod about 500mm more than Island Plastics intended. I think my jacks are more substantial than IP's, but it's not a nice feeling having to lean into the pod while frantically winding it back down. :aaagh:

I'd like to fabricate some high tressles, that can be pulled apart when The Aunt is underneath, but steel is stupidly expensive.

602
Troika
Posts: 67
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2013 2:20 pm
Location: North East Scotland

Re: Sort of new here

Post by Troika » Thu Sep 08, 2016 7:23 am

My father bought a dual cab CF bedford with demountable Sunseeker 6 berth back in around 1974, it came with large box section supports that were stored horizontally under the pod and required the use of a bottle jack to raise and lower each leg, one at a time.

The demounting process commenced with the disconnection of 4 bottle screws, a task in itself easy within the controlled environment of the Vauxhall main dealer showroom, but my father was never one to pay too much attention to details, manuals were never read in advance and we kids knew to stand back and say nothing. Deployment of the jack arms to the vertical position involved herculean efforts with many, many swear words directed at the alignment holes, which were always just below or just above the required level for locking pin insertion or which completely slid out of the captive sleeves and rolled underneath a slightly wobbly demounted pod sitting on three legs.

Looking back now, and recollecting the number of aborted trips due to jammed legs, leaking bottle jacks and near miss crush incidents of toes/fingers/arms, they were great times, and we all survived the age of the demountable.

Would I have another one now, no flippin chance. :laugh:
w3526602
Posts: 50
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2012 12:32 pm
Info: (That's my old RAF number)
Location: Currently South Wales, Northants soon

Re: Sort of new here

Post by w3526602 » Thu Sep 08, 2016 8:55 am

, manuals were never read in advance

Hi Troika,

Men are from Mars. Women read the hand book.

Actually lifting to height will not be a problem.

Stability during the lift may be. As you lift one end, the pod will go off horizontal, which tends to push the jacks at the other end off vertical .... probably similar to using a Farm Hi-lift jack with only two tyres touching the ground on a windy day.

I'll see if I can find a photo of my modified jacks. Yes. They are straighter than the photo suggests. The other photo is of an original jacking point ...I think a PO had an "Oops" moment.

Instead of the two little jacking points, which seemed somewhat less than adequate, I have fitted 50x50x4mm thick box sections across the full width of the pod, and modified the jack probes with 40x40x4mm box section welded to the detachable flanges. This leave a slight rock, which relies on wide feet to compensate. Probes are at 600mm above the ground, and can lift 400mm. The jacking points add a further 50mm to the clearance above the tyres. That should be adequate, or even over-kill, but we all know what Sod's Law says.

Oh yes, the Romahome is virtually the same width as a Series Land Rover.

602
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