So after all our work that we did on our last post, we opened the doors of the van a couple of days ago to find this:

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The rain over the past few days had really put it to the test, and for the second time we were glad we had pulled everything out to start again.

After brushing it out and drying it off, we put up some paper over the vent and the skylight (which will both be replaced eventually) stuck with a bit of easy to remove tape. We did this just to see where the water was coming from.

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We also stuck some tape over the top of the back doors to see if that made any difference, then we left it until today to see where the leaks were coming from.

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So after opening the doors today this is what we found:

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Both the vent and the skylight were leaking some water could also be coming through the doors where the seals aren’t great, but most looks like it’s coming from the top. So it’s a good job we will be changing both of them anyway.

We decided to get on with getting rid of more rust, we had the strip along the back doors to do where we took up the plastic:

After giving the area a good clean we could see where we needed to get the grinder on it.

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Tony even let me have a go of his new toy 😂.

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Tony then took up the plastic on the step at the side door to see what state that was in.

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It was not looking good. it was very wet and very rusty and muddy. One section that was meant to be secured with a screw came away as it had rusted right through.

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Tony did some work on that but it’s not finished yet, and it will need welding, so we will post more pictures on that next time.

All that was left for today was to paint over all the areas that were now bare metal, with red oxide paint.

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This van build has become something a little more than we had bargained for, but one step at a time and we will get there. I’m sure we may find more things wrong with it when we get it on the ramps, and our friend looks at it mechanically.

As always we would emphasise on safety, please wear the correct safety personal protection equipment.

That’s all for today. See you all soon for more updates. Stay safe and stay well.

Kiera & Tony