Caravan Renovation Questions
Submitted: Monday, Feb 20, 2012 at 20:53
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Leah H
Hi,
We are thinking of buying an 80s Viscount alloy framed caravan to travel around Australia with. The problem is in order to make the van suitable for our needs we would need to remove the cupboard & lounge running along the front wall. We are complete newcomers with regards to van renovations so my questions for anyone who has worked on these before are:
Would removing these affect the vans structural integrity?
How hard would it be to remove these?/What would be the best way to go about it?
Reply By: Villatranquilla - Monday, Feb 20, 2012 at 21:54
Monday, Feb 20, 2012 at 21:54
In most cases the carpentry work (cupboards) actually hold the van together so any modification needs careful planning - maybe speak to a caravan repair person for advice
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Reply By: The Bantam - Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 at 00:09
Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 at 00:09
Ahh ..sorry...rubbish...in vans of that age the cabinets are most likley of no structrual significance at all
people rip em out all the time.
Unless those cabinets are very
well tied between structrual parts of the van they can be of no significance.
If they are made of chipboard or masonite or random grove ply, they can not be of significance.
I'd be far more concerned about properly inspecting the chasis and looking for defects in the frame, water leakage resulting in rot and corrosion, the condition of the running gear and drawbar and the general soundness of the
shell.
there are plenty of vans of that age that have been gutted for site offices, tool and toy haulers, animal carriers or just because people wanted the space rather than the clutter
cheers
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Reply By: Member - res.q.guy (Vic.) - Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 at 08:47
Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 at 08:47
Hi
I did similar work myself, to an '85 Viscount GT, and took it round Aust. for two years. You can contact me at :
res.q.guy@westnet.com.au if you wish.
Cheers
Neil
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Reply By: Leah H - Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 at 11:24
Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 at 11:24
Thank you very much for the replies.
It would be my daughter and I working on it, so we were wondering if anyone could tell us the best way to go about removing the furniture? Is it just bolted and/or glued down?
Also, we would need to widen the door in order to get my sons wheelchair in, would anyone know how that could be done? We were thinking it would probably be a matter of removing the internal sheeting, removing any wiring, cutting the extra width and adding more bracing.
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Reply By: Member - garry w2 - Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 at 20:29
Tuesday, Feb 21, 2012 at 20:29
we have a similar van and have gutted it the only thing is staple marks everywhere as a lot was put in this way just bash the hell out of it it will probably pull the layer of ply off but just replace with new sheet over the top As far as widening the door use a jig saw or receptical saw and have a aluminum frame made and door to suit the frame and then chase up a hydrolic lifter like the taxis have to get him in the door.. have fun
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