Things to Fix - the After Action Report

We've got a few jobs to do as a result of our experiences -

1.  Sort out a decent waterproof cover for the roof tent. Even if it didn't let water in, the present one is just too tight a fit unless it's warm and dry. It's stiff and unmanageable when wet and cold and can only be fitted from "on top". This involves kneeling on the roof (and the cover), gripping the corner with both hands and trying to push it down over the corners of the folded tent base. Sooner or later my hands are going to slip and I'll pitch head first off the roof with potentially fatal consequences. The new one will be a little larger in all directions and we might try to get away without using a zip like the last one. We have an appointment with Tim at "Stitch it". Bespoke. Bigger and with better fastenings. Patent Pending...


2. Experiment with a different power source for the fridge. The Waeco EPS-100 which was supposed to do an automatic changeover from 12v to 240v site power has now been tested and it doesn't work on 240v AC so is now a pretty useless Black Box. We'll get a 240/12 transformer with a "cigarette lighter" socket on it and do the switch from truck power to site power manually - automatic stuff is useless if it's unreliable.


3. Get a more reliable - ie working - power source for the GPS etc. The multi-socket extension we used just doesn't have the muscle to charge the HUDL, Garmin and Sat phone together and they all began to run out of puff towards the end. I'm not sure how much "oomph" each needs but clearly what's available isn't enough. Using the inverter to charge them worked but is inefficient and requires a lot of faffing about with long cables which then get in the way.


4. The filler for the water tank isn't large enough to let the water flow in (from a bottle or can) without "choking" and spilling out of the inlet. We took a hose to fill it from site taps but none of these were close enough to use with our 6 feet of hose. I'd intended that we'd just extend the hose provided by the site....The breather tube I'd installed in the filler leaked and allowed water to spill, unnoticed for a while, into the storage areas. Not good. Rusty tools. We need a better method. This looks like being a simple funnel, pouring the water straight into the tank, possibly through an open window. Makes the fancy chrome filler a bit redundant. Tricky to estimate how much to put in, too. I have a dipstick for the tank that I made up before we left so I know how much more the tank will hold. However this means we have to fill from a measured container, not a hose, or risk overflow going everywhere. Not ideal.

5. We bought some new toys because they looked like a Good Idea At The Time. With reference to the problem above, this 10 litre water (or other fluids) container is an example.

the hidden tap is protected from breakage - good idea!

 It has a "hidden" tap inside the larger screw cap which protects the tap in transit. "What a good idea", we thought, "since we have to fill the water tank from a measured container, We'll have one". Those of you who are cleverer than us will spot the problem straight away....With the tap in place  - it replaces the small cap - there's no way for air to get in to replace water coming out. The resulting suction and increasing low pressure stops the flow. This is physics. Not difficult. And easy to discover when you do your product testing prior to trying to sell it to mugs like us. Yeah? You did test it, right? I had thought, stupidly, that the design would somehow allow for that trivial detail. "Oh, you want water to come out when you open the tap? What an unusual thing that would be. No, that's not part of the design. It's just a water can. The tap is just for decoration." is what we might have heard if we'd actually asked the question.

In other words there's no breather and it takes over 40 seconds to fill a small mug with water. I timed it. After I'd bought it. The flow rate can be increased by loosening the large cap but at the risk of water running out all over the place until the level is almost down to half the contents.

not one tap but two

Given that somebody had to design the mould for this thing...was this so difficult to work out? Sorry, but this is a bit of a "hobby horse" of mine. I did a design course years ago which has left its mark - if something doesn't do what it's designed to do, the first time and every time without messing about, it's just junk.

A Good Idea let down by poor design. If the large cap was on the short side....which becomes the top when in use...well, I'm sure you see what I mean.

 So, we could either chuck it away or make it work. We chose the latter option. I drilled a 14mm hole in the only place that wasn't going to compromise the dimensions  - not any deeper nor wider - and put in a Shraeder valve with the core removed. Now, when the valve cap is off and the tap opened, there's a full flow of water. Brilliant. Now, was that so bloody difficult to work out?


And a few thoughts on how we might use what we have a little better. Take the accommodation options, for instance. You might remember my comments on roof tents vs ground tents in a previous post. On this trip we were more or less forced to use established campsites every night, which isn't our preference but the thought of being thrown out of our chosen field by an irate landowner or forest warden at some ungodly hour wasn't appealing. We've proved, though, that the back of Elly is a reasonably comfortable place to sleep and, without the obvious tent advertising our activity, it might be possible to get away with just parking somewhere quiet in Spain or France. Certainly it'd be feasible to use the Aires without any problems (other than the noise of motorway traffic all night).

In other situations the side curtains to the awning would also provide a sleeping option although a little more obvious. For a "campsite" option, though, it'd be pretty good if combined with a groundsheet if it was wet weather. Not totally weatherproof though as the seal with the side of the truck isn't close and in a wind we'd need to seal the gap under the chassis, perhaps with Wolf boxes or something. Certainly not midge-proof. Outside of Western Scotland, though, it could mean saving the weight of the roof tent and perhaps replace the Oz tent as well if the weather could be relied on to be consistently good. Probably never, anywhere we're likely to go.


We took the woodburning stove, its chimney, a big bag of fuel and the Cadac cooker. We used the Cadac once, the stove never. For a summer trip (anywhere south of the Scottish border) we won't take the stove and think seriously about the Cadac even though we used it all the time in Morocco. The reason for this might be that we were cooking whole chickens a lot in Maroc as this seemed to be the best source of fresh Joined-Up Meat. This isn't a problem in Europe and the inside stove is OK for steaks etc and easier to clean. With this in mind I saw this camping stove "grill plate" from Aldi which we thought might let us grill bacon etc on the inside stove without the mess that goes with it. Sue tried it out today in the kitchen and the fat that ran into the "easy clean" gutter under the grill caught fire....perhaps this wasn't a fair trial as it was on a ceramic hob, so we'll try again on a gas stove - but outside Elly's kitchen, just in case! From the size of it, though, it will probably fit the Cadac perfectly.
(Actually, it didn't. It wasn't the right diameter to fit the Cadac's pot "grips". Returned for a refund)



As for the mechanical stuff, the suspension set-up worked well and despite the weight on the roof I didn't feel that we were "rockin' and rollin'" too much. I had my doubts about the heavy-duty springs and shocks but everything seems to go together very well. The steering guard absorbed at least one heavy impact that would probably have bent the steering rod...I'm glad I fitted the diff guards although the rear guard never took any hits. This is probably just as well given the state of it. I've seen some rubbish in the years I've been working on Landrovers, but this piece of crap really took "rubbish" to another level. Paddock Spares never replied to my complaints so that's the last order they'll get from us. [ After some weeks of being ignored they eventually refunded the cost, but it took a lot more correspondence than it should've done] If I hadn't left it so late to order it I'd never have fitted it, so I guess that makes it All My Fault? When I've saved up enough pennies I'll buy one that fits correctly and does the job properly. Harrumph!

The leaks in the fuel system need to be properly sorted out. I can do a proper job on the bits I can see but given the level of amateur bodging discovered so far I think I need to drop the tanks and have a really good look at everything. There's still a small leak from somewhere at the top of the main tank....but I've fixed the problem with the fuse box. There're supposed to be 4 screws that hold it all together. Only 2 were fitted, so the bank of terminals on the bottom were loose and only making an intermittent connection. Two M5 screws and a couple of minutes and all's well.

The most pressing job is to replace the tent cover, so we're getting the tape measure out to make sure the new one fits.....a bit better than the one on it now. We might, given the potential cost, have Tim make a cover that goes over what's there now. This will be an easier solution since we won't have to take the tent off to do it. Believe me, this is a major faff!