Sylvie our Mercedes 814d

[Darcar]

Here are some more pictures

 

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My steel wheels were in a awful state, I had them sand blasted then painted with gray paint, which hasn’t really stood the test of time....
I’m thinking of getting them power coated sometime soon.

 

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When we bought her she had 2 skylights fitted, both in poor condition.
I’m not a fan of the plastic caravan type of sky lights, I bought a yacht deck hatch which is big enough for me to climb through, and fitted it into the rear hole, ( above the bed ) the deck hatch is very strongly built you can walk on them, and of course totally waterproof.
I had a new skylight in the garage which I used for the forward hole, this is above the cooker, which is great for venting when cooking.

 

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Cutting holes for windows or skylights and all the other things that have to through your van skin. People have different ways to do it.....

I always Mark the size & shape directly on the van, then tape around the outside of the line (to protect the paint,). then drill a hole big enough for the jigsaw which is what i use to cut out the hole.
Although I’v been known to use a 1mm cutting disk in my angle grinder for the long straight cuts. I find the jigsaw easier to control.

 

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We had always intended to seal up the rear doors and fit a scooter rack on the back.
So I had to cut in a couple of side hatches, these access the under the fixed bed storage area ( our boot )
I bought a couple of frames made in aluminium and used the steel I cut out for the infill. I’v fitted a couple of locker locks, but we have now, got two Fiamma door locks fitted.