On old alarm systems in old camper vans.....

The reality about alarms on old vehicles. Many vans have alarms fitted when they are new. It makes sense, and it's often an insurance requirement. At the time they might have been fifty grand vehicles, and if any van is going to get nicked, then the thieves are going to choose a new one - just like cars.
Now wind the clock forward 20 years. That same alarm system, with it's wires and connections and it's radio key fobs has survived 20 summers of use and 20 winters of storage, and basically they start to go wrong, and worse they go temperamental. Corrosion is usually the biggest culprit. And of course they always let you down at the most inconvenient time.
It is almost impossible to get competent maintenance and spares on a 20 year old alarm system. Not impossible, but time consuming and potentially expensive.
So why bother? Just disconnect or bypass the bloody thing and remove it from your life altogether! The reality for most of us classic owners is that a thief won't even look at our vans. 
Now I am not advocating zero security - but it does all depend on your circumstances. If you live in an area where vehicle security is important, then you should replace, rather than try and repair - you will get modern alarm technology and a warranty.
But if you live or store in a relatively safe area, then you can probably do without. And don't forget the good old fashioned hidden immobiliser switch and physical devices like the Crooklock family.
Then of course there are intruder alarms for when you are in the van. If you feel you want these, then there are easily fitted standalone units that fulfill that purpose.
Of course security is a matter for individual owners, but when it comes to a temperamental 20 yr old alarm system, I suggest to bin it or replace it.

refillable gas bottles

Question

About to head off to Europe for 8 months and need to keep warm. We currently have one 6kg red Propane in our B534, 1990. Obviously this won't last long enough so trying to figure out best options - what gas is available there and can it be used with our regulator etc. Advice and facts welcome please! Unfortunately don't have photo of our regulator as currently away from Hans the Hymer.

Reply

By far and away the best solution for long term travellers in Europe is to fit refillable bottles which you then fill up as and when needed with LPG at around 50p a litre - often less. It works out about half the cost of equivalent bottles and with a set of adaptors you can fill up anywhere, and get away forever from the insane situation of having different bottles and connectors in different countries. A simple one bottle solution will cost you less than that, and a more sophisticated twin bottle system a bit more. Have a Google for Gas-it systems - it is possible to DIY if you are confident, or Peter Curry will I am sure offer you a professional job. We are long termers and our refillables are basically essential equipment. When it's really cold we keep our S700 toasty warm 24 hours a day for approx 20 litres a week - about a tenner. LPG stations are all over the place - some countries less common than others, but there are plenty of websites and / or POI's for your GPS that tell you where the stations are, and you just build it into your schedule. We still have our half full 6kg bottle stashed away for emergencies .... but haven't needed it yet!

suspension noises .....

Question - 

We had a crunching noise on our Merc S700 front suspension. Changed the shockers last week but it was there again as we set off this morning after being parked from Thursday. It was at every movement of the van but almost disapeared after a good run from Doncaster to Darlington. As we entered the gate to the CL here, John braked hard a couple of times and it was there on the way up after the initial dip from braking. The springs look fine. We have had this sound for the last 6 months but think it is getting worse. Suggestions.

Reply

 I'm pretty sure I know what this is - you have described it pretty well. At the end of each leafspring, where the spring is formed into a circle for attachment to the body, is a bush - a circular chunk of rubber. The leaf springs attach to the body with brackets. But the springs have to pivot here, so they have a rubber bush with a pin through it, which acts as both a pivot and a shock absorber, allowing the spring to flex quietly and smoothly. I am pretty sure you will find these bushes to be worn out. The rubber wears away and eventually there is no (or very little) rubber between the pin and the bush, so it's metal on metal and that's what causes the crunch and groan - personally I call it "graunching"! The reason I am reasonably sure is that you say it does it on braking or bumps - that's when the springs are flexed - when the nose goes down under braking or gravity. At first you only hear it occasionally, but as the rubber wears away it gets gradually worse, until you notice it!
Mine got so bad a few years ago that I couldn't walk about the van without the springs graunching! When I got it fixed it was like getting in a Rolls - like a new van. It's a garage job unless you are skilled  - probably around £200 if you are lucky - but could be more depending on your garage.
And don't forget to do both front and back spring bushes - thats 8 in all - it's usually the front springs, but it could be the rears too, and it's daft not to replace them all at the same time.
Now of course I could be wrong - I've been caught out several times! But I am sure enough to suggest it. 
If you get underneath and look at each end of the leaf springs, you may well see bits of rubber sticking out - sometimes you even can see how the spring end joint doesn't quite look right. I can post a photo tomorrow if you want. If you see any evidence of this, then we are on the right track.

about Morocco in a Hymer

 I spent 2 6 month winters in Morocco - 2009 and 2011 - in my Hymer S700. 
Basically I had a great time and I consider it safe .... occasionally challenging, but basically safe. 
It is the most moderate of the Muslim countries and the people are as nice(and occasionally bad!) as they are anywhere else. But it's not Europe, and most of the negativity I have encountered from others can be traced to cultural misunderstandings. Things work differently over there, but they do work.
What's really good about Morocco is that it is motorhome paradise! You will see vans everywhere, mainly French. Thousands of French people, usually retired, spend the winter there. So basically there is plenty of infrastructure to support them.
It helps if you speak some French, but as almost everywhere, someone will have a few words of English.
The roads are good and getting better, you can see just about everything you would want on decent roads, and even the dirt roads are OK. 
Arriving at Tangier and the first few days are a bit of an assault on the senses, but you soon get used to it. It pays to remember that you are not pioneering an expedition to Mars....you really are one of several thousand other European vans on the road.
If you want my advice for a first winter, I would give the north a miss and head straight for the sun - the really good winter weather doesn't start until you get to Agadir, a leisurely 2 or 3 days drive down the coast. On the N1 coastal road just north of Agadir you will find plenty of proper campsites full of vans, and this is a great place to talk to others and settle in and get the feel of the place. 
After that you can choose - mountains and desert, or coast and sand. The further south you go the hotter it gets.
I went all the way down to the Western Sahara as far as Dahkla and consider Agadir to Dahkla one of the top road trips it is possible to do in Europe, while still covered by normal insurance.
There are plenty of campsites - ranging from basic to very modern. It is also a wildcampers dream - you can park almost anywhere, and if you are approached, it is usually out of curiosity, or a desire for a small fee - and I mean small. Small fees for services rendered are a part of their culture. 
The cities are very hectic and commercial, especially Marakech, which is the most popular tourist destination for people who fly in. Prices are sky high and attitudes poor. But other cities off the normal trail are great - Fez, Meknes and Agadir, and all the towns are great. The markets are crazy and there are plenty of supermarkets.

Captains Chairs are ISRI truck seats

 If you search ebay for "isri truck seat" or slight variations thereof, you should get hits from second hand seats to brand new ones for over a grand! I believe they were also popular in some taxis.
For those who don't know, ISRI is short for Isringhausen who are one of the major manufacturers of commercial vehicle seats. The majority of what we call "Captains Chairs" in our Classics are Isri truck seats mounted on a swivel plinth.
This basically means that you can tap into the commercial vehicle marketplaces when looking for seat spares and upgrades, as well as the traditional camper markets, and maybe save some money.
The seat is usually secured to the plinth by 4 hex bolts, which when removed allow the seat to come away in a single piece, revealing the plinth and swivel mechanism as manufactured by Hymer, which, those of you who have actually disassembled one will agree, is quite a primitive mechanism and responsible for the resounding and re-assuring "CLUNK!" that you hear when returning the seat to it's forward position. However, it's simplicity means that you can mount just about any commercial truck, taxi or SUV seat on it, from a variety of manufacturers.

Mercedes diplomacy

Allow me to introduce myself as Tech Editor of Classic Hymers, along with our small group of other technical advisers who are named in the Group introduction section at the top of the page.
All Fiat based Hymers are front wheel drive, and all Mercedes are rear wheel drive. Some of the bigger Mercedes, those who's model numbers start with a 6 or 7 also have double back wheels.
It is generally accepted not just in motorhomes but in vehicles in general, that you will get more traction, and therefore get stuck less, with a RWD vehicle than a FWD vehicle. This is a matter of simple physics - there is more weight over the wheels of a RWD vehicle and therefore more traction. This applies to any make, it is just coincidence that in Hymers all Fiats just happen to be FWD and all Mercs are RWD. However it should also be said that this only really applies to slippy surfaces like grass. If you always stay on Tarmac, then for all intents and purposes there is very little difference. 
However, with many campsites and showgrounds being grass, and the UK climate being what it is, it is only a matter of time before most motorhomes encounter wet grass, and then the differences become quite apparent. A FWD van will get stuck more often than a RWD van. Driver skill is also a big factor when it comes to not getting stuck.
When it comes to reliability of Fiat vs Mercedes, this is a hot topic that provokes much discussion and emotion because everybody understandably will be a fan of their own particular choice. It is my job to be impartial, but I think it is fair to say that Mercedes have a better reputation than Fiat, not only in motorhomes, but pretty much right across the motoring industry. Mercedes and BMW and Audi have managed to convince most of the world that theirs are the ones to aspire to. But it is not a black and white question, especially with older vehicles. It is simply wrong to say that all Fiats will break, and Mercs never will. All engines from all major manufacturers are capable of long reliable service - otherwise those manufacturers would have disappeared long ago. The other thing to consider is why are some manufacturers more expensive than others, and why are people willing to pay the premium? However there are also historical factors. Today, Mercedes come in the bottom half of the reliability tables, but back in the 80's and early 90's, their old engines had a justifiable reputation for being the best. They dominated taxi fleets all over the world and whole governments used nothing else for their emergency and military fleets. This reputation was based almost entirely on the qualities of the diesel engines Merc used at the time - in particular the 5 cylinder 3 litre model that is found in all pre 95 merc Hymers, and there is no doubt that this engine has a great reputation - and not only amongst motorhome owners.
With regard to post 95 Merc models, also known as Sprinters - well in a nutshell they are also no different. Technology moves on, and 1995 saw Mercedes introduce a huge raft of new models, prompting Hymer and many other manufacturers to also introduce new ranges based on the new chassis, and Fiat also brought in new chassis.
The other thing that is often not mentioned is that there was a big change in 1997 in driving licence regulations. Prior to 97 if you passed your test, you could drive anything up to 7.5t. After 97 this came down to 3.5t, resulting in a big move in the motorhome industry to build vans that were under this weight, so as to appeal to the maximum number of customers. So this meant that weight became all important, and it is a simple fact that a FWD chassis is quite a few kilos lighter than it's RWD equivalent. Cost also became an issue and the result is that pretty much all the modern vans you see on the road today are under 3.5t and powered by FWD Fiat Ducato chassis. In modern vans, Fiat rule the roost!
So given that you said you want an automatic, and that you often visit showgrounds, if you fancy the retro look of the pre 95 Hymers, then you should look at any auto pre 95 Hymer with a designation that starts with S5xx, S6xx, or S7xx The S denotes Mercedes chassis, the first number denotes the approx length, and the last two numbers the layout. You might also look at post 95 models that feature the newer Sprinter chassis, which I believe feature a semi auto gear box which offers the best of both worlds and are a dream to drive.
Good luck!

Bathroom glass mirror door replaced with plastic mirror

After many miles, years and drinks, eventually you might suffer a broken bathroom cabinet glass mirror door - You can save money and never suffer it again if you replace with 3mm acrylic mirror sheet.

Firstly you have to examine whether the long plastic bits top and bottom that grip the glass are intact and that they have their little nipples intact that locate into the holes in the plastic cabinet body top and bottom. If not you have to order fresh from Brownhills - not cheap! Although if you are a handy DIY'er, because you are replacing glass with plastic it is possible to fabricate your own hinge arrangement using epoxy glue or similar.
Then you do a search on Ebay for "acrylic mirror sheet" and decide if you cut it yourself and make your own hole for the catch, or have the whole thing done by the supplier. I chose the latter cos I was lazy and in the end I only saved about £20 - but the saving wasn't the issue for me - I wanted an unbreakable door because of the miles I do on rough roads - my old one survived 3 falls before finally smashing, and the hinge holes get worn, so plastic was the way to go. the finished item isn't as heavy and doesn't have the satisfying clunk of glass, but you can't tell the difference til you touch it.
Oh and PS.....I dribbled a bit of hot melt glue in the channels before assembly - any glue will do - just holds the whole thing together nicely, but don't get any glue on the mirror!