Question - what would you rather have in a high mileage van?

Question - what engine would you rather have in a high mileage van?

Obviously, as a Merc owner I am biased, but here is my attempt to be as least biased as possible!

I don't think it's too unfair to say that when it comes to very high mileage - 250k and above for example - Mercs are probably a better bet. The old Mercs are famous for their longevity, not just the engines but the drivetrain - the manual gearboxes seem to go for ever. It is no co-incidence that the reason you never see pre 95 mercs on our roads is that they have mostly been exported to Africa, where they are still running. In Morocco, almost every van is a 5 cylinder pre 95 Merc - hugely overloaded, looking completely wrecked, but just going on and on and on. I know guys in the UK and EU who make a living from searching out old Mercs and shipping them out to Africa. They don't do that with any other make that I know of! Another reason is that they are relatively easy to fix - they are the good old fashioned traditional design - in-line engine, gearbox, propshaft rear axle driven wheels. Front wheel drive vans tend to be harder to fix because everything is crammed under the bonnet. Old Mercs also have a reputation for taking abuse. If badly maintained, they tend to moan and groan and whine but they rarely explode or fail catastrophically (although it can and does happen - it just seems to happen less than with others).

It is also worth considering that every old make has its "features" and reputation for common faults. Here are one or two - based on what I have read and picked up over the years. Mercs - over the years the fuel system gets clogged, leading to loss of power and sometimes complete breakdown. Usually fixed by changing filters and cleaning the fuel tank. Mercs will also overheat, especially on long mountain passes. This is usually dues to radiators clogged with muck and or faulty fan. Mercs often lose gears, leading to owners thinking the box is broken, but in reality it is the selector mechanism, which hardly ever gets maintained. It's an easy fix. Fiat family - the commonest and most famous problem is with fifth gear - it seems to wear out and break easily. It is a very well documented problem. It is critical to maintain the correct gearbox oil level. The fix is easy, and quite cheap, but only to a mechanic who is familiar with the problem. Whole gearboxes have been replaced at great expense, when all that was needed was a new gear and some knowledge. Fiat family also can overheat on long hills - they have electric fans which can fail, but this is also an easy fix. There are others, but I think those are the main ones.

The other big thing is that Mercs are RWD and Fiats are FWD. FWD vans get stuck in the mud and wet grass far more easily than RWD vans. RWD is also better in the snow. That's a fact, and nothing to do with make - it's horses for courses. The other thing is that Fiat family vans have quite a wide range of engines, turbo and non turbo, and are generally faster, and more economical. For many people this is the clincher. The Mercs only have one engine - the 5 cylinder 95 HP non turbo, they are not fast, much happier at 55 than 70, and thirsty - 25 mpg max.

However in motorhomes, the duty cycle is a lot less than in their commercial counterparts. So it's not just about the engine and transmission. A commercial van will hit the road from new, and work hard for maybe 5 years - ten years max, and then will be worn out and scrapped. But during that time it will have been regularly serviced. Motorhomes are the opposite. They spend most of their time doing nothing, and then several weeks of intense activity. A 25 year old van with 100k on the clock has only done 4k a year - a commercial van will do over 50k or more a year - it's a huge difference! Commercial vans and trucks can and do clock up a million in 10 years, and this is what they are designed for. So the problem with motorhome use is not so much mechanical wear and tear, but age related, and standing around. Rubber gets perished, fluids get old, wiring harnesses get corroded - in fact it's a whole host of little problems, and some of them can be truly frustrating. Old vans of any make need quite a lot of TLC - you can't just treat them like modern cars, which hardly ever go wrong.

So service history becomes really important - any van, any make, over 20 yrs old, over 100k or 200k on the clock, with service history, is a great find. Unfortunately most service histories tend to end after a couple of owners, or after 10 years. This is one of the reasons why some people buy German vans from Germany - the Germans tend to keep their service histories bang up to date, and their TUV (MOT) system is much more rigorous than ours.

Finally, another thing to consider is - suitability. How handy are you? If you have experience of a particular make, or have friends who are, or a local garage who knows a particular make well, then it's daft not to take advantage of that. Similarly - what do you want a van for? If you want a van for UK holidays, weekends and festivals, and generally just a few weeks a year of traditional use, then again, it doesn't really matter what you have - cover yourself with a good breakdown policy to get you home, and just get on with enjoying your van. But if you intend to go on a big road trip around Europe and N Africa, and really clock up some miles and abuse, then it's a different equation. Both Mercedes and the Fiat family have extensive dealer and parts cover, so at the end of the day you just have go with your gut feelings.

My gut feeling is for Merc, and I have clocked up over 350k over 16 years in 3 separate vans and in some really heavy and rough use. Not without problems, but in all that time I have only ever actually broken down and had to be recovered twice. Once was a broken oil pump that was directly caused by a mechanics mistake during service, and the other was a broken alternator - I could have carried on to a garage if needed, but I didn't know that at the time, so chose recovery, as I was covered. I have had many other problems, including a new flywheel and clutch, over heating, gear selectors, brakes overheating, glow plugs and relay, but most of these have been fair wear and tear or bad maintenance, and I have limped on, sometimes for hundreds of miles.

In the spirit of fairness, I also know know many Fiat owners with a similar story ...

As they say on TV - the final choice is up to you.

RONS TECHNICAL TIPS NO. MIMO WIFI MIFI WIBBLE MIFI'S AND ANTENNAS EXPLAINED FOR MOBILE DATA

RONS TECHNICAL TIPS NO. MIMO WIFI MIFI WIBBLE 

MIFI'S AND ANTENNAS EXPLAINED FOR MOBILE DATA

There are two types of Mifi device - those with sockets for an external antenna, and those without. Those without are in the majority, and they rely on a built in antenna. The built in antenna is identical to those used in normal phones, so a mifi with an internal antenna should perform the same as a normal phone, for data, on the same network. This is good enough for most users. The networks claim that they have over 90% coverage, but we all know that out in the country there is always a chance that you won't get a signal. Sometimes you will be in a "fringe" area, where the signal is weak, and sometimes you can improve things by moving the device around - putting it near a window, or higher up. I have often managed to get a signal on a mifi device by velcroing it to the rooflight!

Radio waves travel in straight lines, so it is common knowledge that you get much better reception if your antenna is high up and unobstructed. That's why TV antennas are mounted up on the chimney, and commercial radio masts are located on high masts on top of hills.

So for those people who want the maximum performance from a mifi device, adding an external antenna can make a big difference. In fact it is a very big difference, because an external antenna is much bigger and more efficient. Generally speaking an external antenna will give you at least 10 times more signal than an internal one. However it will not guarantee you a signal everywhere. Some places just don't have any coverage - full stop. But many places have a weak signal - too weak for an internal antenna, but no problem for a big external antenna.

But it's not cheap, and no compromises can be made. Coax cable has to be run into the van from the antenna, and properly weatherproofed. Coax cable also loses a proportion of the signal per metre, so it's length should be minimised. Because the antenna sockets on mifi units are so small, they can be very fiddly, so it is best to locate the unit in a place where it will not be moved very much.

You will also come across something called MIMO, which stands for Multiple Input Multiple Output (open loop spatial multiplexing). This is a system where two antennas are used for simultaneous transmit and receive, resulting in better performance. That's why most mifis have two antenna sockets, and most external antennas have two coax leads - one for each socket. There isn't much alternative nowadays - it's nearly all MIMO - that's why most external antennas are plastic domes - there are 2 antennas inside.

What to go for is entirely up to you - it's basically the same as the old portable tellys. You would get a decent picture if you were lucky, sometimes a grainy one, and quite often none at all. If you then plugged in an external antenna up on the roof or on a pole outside, then the picture suddenly went perfect.

What I like about it is that it is always on - no setting up. The van has wifi all the time, which feeds a laptop, two phones, two tablets and a GPS. If we are in the middle of nowhere, and there is no signal, we just accept it, because we know that we have an excellent antenna, so we don't have to bother messing about about trying to reposition devices for better reception. 

Mifi devices with antenna sockets are a little more expensive, and those that have their own display are preferable, because you can can see at a glance if you have a signal. Quite often just moving the van from one pitch to another can make a difference - radio waves can act in very strange ways, because they tend to reflect off rocks and buildings, so moving the van just a few feet can make a difference.

Suitable mifi units with antenna sockets include the following - 

HUAWEI: E5372, E5573, E5377, E5786, E8278, E392, E398
VODAFONE: R210 R212 R215 R216 K5150
ZTE: MF821 MF823 MF93E

This is not a complete list. Personally I use Huawei, and have found them to offer good value for money.

Taking out the drop down bed ...

In answer to a FB question about removing the front drop bed in a Hymer. 

I am a great believer in taking out the drop bed, if you are a couple, and want the space, and hardly ever have guests or children to stay, then it's a great mod. You won't believe the difference! The bed comes out with 4 bolts, and - it's quite a job for two practical blokes. But it does come out and fit through the door - It's a "right said Fred job". So err on the side of caution, unless you are a strong practical couple.

Here are some photos of mine, it's a 700, with the bed out, new shelves installed, and TV and speakers mounted. You will see I have mounted the sun visors on the underside of the front shelf. You need to modify the curtain tracks and make it look tidy, either with wood or fabric. It wasn't cheap - I paid someone to do the joinery, and I wish I had paid extra for doors - things keep falling out of the cubby holes! Although we have a system now to prevent this.

It would have been wildly expensive to try and reproduce the Hymer veneers and style exactly (although of course nothing is impossible with money!) so I went for something that complimented it, with the same angled shapes as the Hymer cubby holes. My fitter bolted the whole thing together using the original bed mounting bolts.

 The front windscreen then becomes "liberated" and the views get even better! Driving is more fun and open. It takes you a year to get used to not ducking your head. I can't recommend it highly enough. In a 660 you can still make the dinette into a bed if you have to. But I am no fan of dinettes either! But that's up to you, there is an easy mod that turns the dinette into an L shaped settee, but then you need a removable table. Jon Avery wrote about it once, let us know if you need that info.

Truma 3002 fire won't light? Truma ignition problems?

Most classic Hymers have a Truma 3002 - the heater with the brown front panel. One of the commonest problems is that it works perfectly for years, then suddenly stops! When you push and turn the knob, you should get that familiar tic tic sound - if you don't, then it's usually an ignition problem. Two things happen when you push and turn the knob - turning it operates a small switch that switches on the ignition unit - that makes the tic tic sound, and pushing it opens the gas valve to the pilot light. Once the pilot light is lit, the thermocouple inside the burner operates, and allows the gas to keep flowing when you release the knob. If you release the knob too soon, then the thermocouple doesn't have time to heat up and the pilot light goes out., The basic operation is just like lighting the cooker.

Once the pilot light is lit, if you continue to turn the knob, the main burner will ignite with a familiar whoosh. The point on the knob dial that this happens depends on the ambient temperature. If you open the knob fully to a high setting, then you will usually get both the pilot and the main burner igniting together.

There are 2 problems that can happen at this stage - either no ignition at all - ie no tic tic sound, or the pilot lights, but the main burner doesn't.

No ignition


The way the ignition works is that at the lower left hand side of the fire, when you take the cover off, is a small plastic box about the size of a cigarette packet. This is the ignition unit. Usually it has a single or double AA battery in it, but not always. Some vans don't have the battery - the box is supplied with 12v from the van supply. Either way, you need to make sure that the box either has a good battery, with clean battery connections, or a good 12v supply. The battery supplies power to the ignition unit which transforms it into a pulse of electricity that produces a spark at the electrode in the burner - just light the spark of a cigarette lighter.

At the back of the ignition unit, there should be a single wire coming out of the middle of the back. Make sure the knob is in the off position and pull this wire off. If you now turn the knob on as if to light the fire. The box should tick - if it doesn't then the box is suspect. The wire is called the HT lead - it carries the pulse of power for the spark. It gets worn and brittle with age, and its insulation breaks down. Sometimes it breaks completely, other times it sparks to the metal chassis - sometimes you hear a muted tic tic, but either way, the fire won't light. So first you need to know you have a working ignition unit - make sure the battery is new, and the connections are good. Be careful - if the unit tics to your fingers you will get a shock, not fatal, but no fun either. Always make sure the knob is OFF whenever you go near the HT lead with your fingers. With no HT wire connected, the box should audibly tic when you switch on the knob. If it does, then you know you have a working ignition unit, and the problem is with the HT wire.

The other two wires from the ignition unit go to the rotary switch that is located at the bottom of the long shaft of the control knob. As the knob is rotated from the zero/off position to the on position, you should hear a gentle click. This is the switch that completes the circuit of the two wires that go to the ignition unit, and it should start ticking (with no HT wire connected). This doesn't often fail - but as there are 3 possible points of failure - you have to be able to eliminate each one. If you get no audible tic tic from the ignition unit, then it is definitely suspect, but you also have to eliminate the (rare) possibility of a faulty switch. You can do this by pulling off the switch wires and touching the two pins together with the tip of a screwdriver - this completes the circuit and the unit should tic.

Non ignition is usually always the battery, or dirty battery connections, or dirty connections on the ignition unit. But if you have a good tick from the ignition unit (with no HT wire connected) then it's likely to be a damaged or old HT lead, and unless it's sparking to chassis in the section before it goes down into the underside of the fire, then the only solution is to take the fire out, exposing the underside where you can see the rest of the HT wire leading to the burner. Usually, if you are sure the ignition unit is working and ticking nicely, you will find that the wire is either broken, or corroded, or the insulating sleeve is broken and it is sparking to the chassis. It is possible to repair if you know what you are doing, but usually it's best to replace the whole HT wire with a new one from Truma spares. Taking the fire out isn't actually that complicated for a confident DIY'er with a decent tool box, but can only be recommended with a whole bucket full of warnings about gas safety - you will have to be totally confident about breaking the gas supply, and then leak testing on reconnection, and you have to be quite sure that you have reconnected the chimney pipe, with its silicone gasket ring, perfectly, as well - otherwise you risk deadly fumes leaking into the van. So basically for most people, at this stage, you need a qualified Truma guy, unless you are sure it's the ignition unit, in which case this can be replaced DIY with no safety issues.

But it's nearly always the battery, or a faulty 12v supply, or dirty connections around the box - but if it happens to you, you should be able to narrow it down. It's embarrassing and expensive to pay a professional, when all you needed was a new AA battery, and to clean a few connections.







No main burner ignition

The other common fault is that the pilot light lights, but the main burner doesn't. The Truma heaters are unusual in that the pilot light is big enough to provide a reasonable amount of heat - it is basically a low setting.  On a fully working heater, as the thermostat cuts in and out as the ambient temperature rises and falls, the heater changes from low setting (pilot only) to high setting (main burner). You will hear the familiar whoosh, as it does so.

The commonest reason for the main burner not to light is a sticking gas valve. If you take off the front of the fire, you will see that the main control knob is connected to the main gas valve by a long control rod. The bottom end of this control rod locates in a recess in the top of the shaft of the main valve, allowing it to be both pushed in, and rotated. The shaft is spring loaded, allowing it to spring back when pushed in. What happens is that after many years, it gets full of dirt and dust, and gets stiff. A common cause of the main burner not lighting, is that this shaft is not springing back fully, and is not allowing the main burner gas valve to operate. The remedy is to clean and lubricate it as best you can, and work it up and down so it presses in and returns fully without sticking. You can use WD40 or silicone spray - anything that works really, but preferably something that doesn't attract more dirt. Common sense is the best ingredient.

Over many years of operation you may notice that when you light the fire, the knob often springs back quite slowly after you release it - this is a sure sign that it is dirty and needs a clean.

Another reason for the main burner not operating is a faulty thermostat. This is the copper tube thing at the bottom right. This is connected to the main gas valve by a thin copper tube. As the temperature rises and falls, liquid inside the tube expands and contracts and operates the valve. It is a sealed system and not serviceable. The copper thermostat and the gas valve have to be replaced as a complete unit, and is basically a professional job.

Boatyards make good pitstops

RONS TECHNICAL TIPS NO - "AHOY THERE!"

Caravan and Motorhome repair and accessory shops can be few and far between when you are in far away places (or Scotland!). 

But don't forget that boats use many of the components in our vans - or very similar. Boatyard people also will have the skills and understanding to try and help you out.

So if you are near the coast, or a big lake - a lake big enough to have plenty of boat activity - then head for the nearest town and search out the local boatyard. They always have bits and pieces - "chandlery" and fibreglass skills.

In the UK, and countries like Holland, Germany and France which have extensive canal networks, you will also find boatyards and repair places inland - so check your maps for canals.

In an emergency there is a good chance that a boatyard can sort you out or effect a running repair. They will also know the best local places for diesel work - most boats have diesel engines.

Just don't park on the slipway - especially if it's green!

Fixing a broken blind.

The plungers that you squeeze together with your fingers, to operate the blind, have a plastic pin which locates into a hole in the slider. The pin shears off the body of the plunger, so no longer moves the slide - technically it's a weak design, although not many actually break, we get a couple each year. The solution is to either buy a cheap blind from a breaker and cannibalise it for parts, or you can repair it. Basically it needs skills similar to model making. The usual approach is to take it apart and then locate where the pin used to be. Then drill a hole in the plastic and glue in another pin. You don't even need glue if the pin is a good fit. This could be a bit of broken drill, or a small "seloc pin" also called "roll pins" from a model engineering shop, or anything that your ingenuity can come up with. It's only the equivalent of a finger in a hole! The bad news is that you have to disassemble the whole blind just to get at it. I once spent hours of my life that I will never get back thinking that I could drill a hole from the front and then insert a screw so that the tip would locate in the hole. The trouble is that you don't actually know where the flipping hole is, so it's guesswork and easy to ruin the whole thing. So easier to just bite the bullet and disassemble. You then can see exactly where the hole needs to be drilled because there is a mark where it used to be. 

If you look for spares from a breaker, then you need to know that the blinds are made by a company called "Seitz" - "the ones from 20 years ago that you squeeze together to pull them up" - most breakers should know what you mean. It doesn't matter what size blind it comes from, as the part is the same on all blinds. It is unlikely that you will just be able to buy the part - most breakers will charge you for the whole blind. The going rate (2016) is around £30 a blind. If you have a choice, buy a blind bigger than yours, then you will have spares that can be cut down.

Have fun!

USING A TABLET INSTEAD OF A DEDICATED SATNAV

RONS TECHNICAL TIPS NO "WHERE AM I?"

USING A TABLET INSTEAD OF A DEDICATED SATNAV

People seem to like dedicated satnavs, but even the cheap ones are expensive. I use an android 7 inch tablet - you can get brand new ones for £69, and s/h ones for buttons, and I run TomTom for android which costs £15 a year. The latest version of TT is really very good - not perfect, but very good. You don't need a connection to the internet, but if you do, then the traffic information is really excellent, and because the screen of the tablet is so big, it's a really nice display.

The icing on the cake with this solution, is that you can use the tablet for other things. Mine is basically setup as the vans mission control. It is mounted on the dash and isn't used for anything else - it lives there just like a dedicated satnav. In addition to TomTom I have the Wildcamping app, Google maps, and I also have the entire UK set of OS maps, which isn't cheap, but worth it for me. Because mine is always connected to the internet I can do research, messaging, facebook - anything I want really, and all from the drivers seat, while doing 90mph in the outside lane operating the phone with one hand and a beer in the other while steering with my knee. Obviously.

The Wildcamping app is particularly cool if your tablet is internet connected, the map displays the nearest spots, and with a single press it fires up Google street view and displays a photo of the wild spot.

Having Google Street View at your fingertips while on the road is also incredibly useful - saves having to get the laptop out or squint at the phone. As an example, I use it to check if there are any height barriers at shopping centre car parks. The only problem with it is that you have to put the beer down in order to operate the tablet. 

If you buy the right tablet, and spend a bit more on one that has a sim socket, so it basically becomes a big mobile phone, and then shove in one of the cheap PAYG data sims from Three or EE, not only will you get real time traffic info from both TT and Google, you can use the personal hotspot feature of the tablet and provide wifi in the van for all your other devices. It is worth remembering that a tablet generally has a better antenna than a phone or a little mifi unit, and when mounted in the clear at the front of the van (see photo) will generally get a better signal in remote areas. Not as good as a dedicated external antenna, but better than a small phone.

So basically a dash mounted tablet/phablet is a very versatile jack of all trades and much cheaper than all but the cheapest Chinese sat navs.

I am very picky about satnav, and have tried them all except Garmin. I must say I am very quietly impressed with TomTom for android. It updates itself and is pretty much always up to date and maintenance free. I am more than happy to pay their reasonable annual fee.

Apple users can achieve all of the same buy buying an old Ipad mini, but unfortunately it has to be one with a sim card, because only the sim card Ipads have GPS. You don't need to have a sim in it for it to be a decent sat nav, but having a data sim in it, or tethering it to a phone will give you TomTom's traffic info - which is rather good. Most Android tabs have GPS - but do check.

Mine is mounted with Velcro, and fed power from a USB socket on the dash, and can be removed in seconds for security.

Finally - I was joking about the beer and operating while driving. They have now doubled the fine and points for operating a device while driving, so even I am now behaving myself, after years of knee steering I now have both hands on the wheel! It's weird! Mine is set up so that while driving it only needs a glance, and the voice instructions are really good. I even have it set up so that I can voice control it - I can say "Hey Google, navigate to the nearest Tesco", and it works. But usually it's just easier to do all the research and set up the journey before driving away. And of course your copilot can also do all the button pressing while you are driving.

I am not saying this is the best way to do things, but it is my favourite solution in my van. It isn't particularly technical, and quite easy to set up. Even if you only use a tablet for satnav - you still get a huge screen for very little money.

TomTom

OS Maps from Viewranger app

Wildcamping app

Photo view of wild camping spot

I have now also added a second tablet to cover the speedo. The app is called DigiHUD Pro, available from the Android app store.