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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324  
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I’ve spent a lot (probably too much) time recently refitting the wardrobe, which is a locker on the off-side of the trailer. It’s beneath where the tent opens and is accessible from within the annex below.
As built, the wardrobe was kitted out with some shelves made of the same material as the trailer body, which is a 15mm thick plywood/plastic laminate. It’s very strong but also very heavy and had been fixed in place with a combination of plastic blocks and silicon. Underneath this space is a void inboard and forward of the wheel arch, which contains the heater, water filter and various tank and electrical connections, all of which was concealed beneath a 12mm thick plywood floor. Together, it was an overly heavy and awkward arrangement:  Click image to enlarge The challenge then, was to replace all of that with something that was lighter, more useable and easier to disassemble when required, and this is what I’ve come up with: Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Because the door opening is quite a lot smaller than the wardrobe, the shelf depths have been tailored to make access easier. The larger void on the right hand side will be used for a laundry bag that can be lifted out of the way when required. The floor has been replaced with two 9mm ply panels and the shelves are formed of 12x44mm timber slats. The central divider is 12mm ply but has been ‘hollowed out’ to remove unnecessary material. All was varnished to protect against moisture (and dust), which has taken an age to dry 
Click image to enlarge All of this is supported on 25x25mm aluminium brackets with M5 countersunk rivnuts in strategic positions to allow it all to be bolted together: Click image to enlarge Each shelf is secured with two bolts towards the front edge and an ali tab bracket at the rear, so they don't move around in transit. The whole lot is very solid but can be removed in less than five minutes. The downside to all of this is that it’s taken me around 40 hours to build, with all of the various bracketry being a significant chunk of that time. On a more positive note though, it’s probably 40% lighter than the original installation whilst providing more and better shelf space, so it’s been worth the effort. Whilst there’s still lots I’d like to do to this thing, the immediate priority is getting ready for a trip away in a week or so’s time. To that end, the next jobs are sorting out the contents (it’s been treated as a glorified shed whilst I’ve been working on it) and ‘normal’ trip prep such as sterilising the water tank, etc. Plan to get the tent out next weekend, too 😊 Darren 110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia Last edited by LandRoverAnorak on 16th Aug 2024 8:24pm. Edited 2 times in total |
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12th Aug 2024 9:01pm |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324
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Thanks, Rosco
 Darren
110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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13th Aug 2024 11:04am |
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| John P Member Since: 26 Dec 2013 Location: West Sussex Posts: 322 
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What type of ply are you using? Is it a Birch or Marine ply?
Looking good.  |
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13th Aug 2024 11:26am |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324
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Thanks, John. It's common or garden Birch ply. Darren
110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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13th Aug 2024 2:55pm |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10782 
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Great work there Darren, to me it's a job very well done as now it's so more practical in all the ways you have described
I always say that " a good job always takes that little bit longer " I have missed your " jobs input " great read, thanks again 1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up.
Keeper. Clayton. |
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16th Aug 2024 7:29pm |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324
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Thanks, Clayton. There are a few more bits and pieces to take care of over the next few days, which will find themselves on here. Darren
110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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16th Aug 2024 8:26pm |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10782
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Looking forward to your update Darren
 1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up.
Keeper. Clayton. |
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16th Aug 2024 8:47pm |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324
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I've finally gotten around to sorting out the bungee that secures the ladder whilst travelling. As a proof of concept, I lashed up a means to retain a bungee cord threaded through the top rung of the ladder but as it's quite close to the back of the tent, it really needed to have a lower profile. I came up with this odd-shaped widget, cut and filed from a piece of engineering nylon:
Click image to enlarge I re-worked the bungee cord so that it's a continuous loop, threaded through the ladder rung again and restrained at the inboard end with the widget: Click image to enlarge The outboard end was equipped with a stainless carabiner, which neatly clips to an existing fitting: Click image to enlarge Another job ticked off the list  Darren
110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia Last edited by LandRoverAnorak on 20th Aug 2024 8:01am. Edited 1 time in total |
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19th Aug 2024 7:00pm |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324
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Also sorted out a few minor issues: firstly, fitted a new cap to the water tank:
Click image to enlarge Secondly, replaced the brackets that support the leading edges of the wheel arches. When I originally fitted these, I used thick rubber sheet to form the connections between body and arch. However, the arches are under a degree of tension and the front ones had developed splits. I've therefore replaced them with aluminium sheet, with rubber in the mounts to provide a degree of flexibility: Click image to enlarge Also took the opportunity to try the tent again today, put the bedding in and try the annex. Obviously not pegged down but it was useful to give it a try and work out how it all fits together: Click image to enlarge Apart from sterilising the water tank, we're pretty much ready to go Darren
110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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19th Aug 2024 7:41pm |
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| Mo Murphy Member Since: 01 Jun 2008 Location: Letchworth Garden City, Herts Posts: 2244 
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Looking good, it's a fine job you've done there ! 👍
Mo The Land Rover 90 - Many are called, few are chosen. 50 Shades of Pennine Grey |
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19th Aug 2024 7:57pm |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10782
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Great thought with the widget and neatly done with the securing method
That is good news that your ready for the big off soon Darren, have a good time and enjoy 1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up.
Keeper. Clayton. |
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19th Aug 2024 7:58pm |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324
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So, the last couple of days have been a bit of a disaster, although mostly now resolved
Firstly, a spectacularly ham-fisted attempt at putting the tent away saw me completely stuff the zip for the cover. So much so that the only way to resolve it was to cut off the zip head with a hacksaw  I've now ordered a new cover from Tuff-Trek but it won't arrive for a few weeks so a couple of extra straps will have to suffice to keep the existing one in place for the time being.
Secondly, a more complicated problem arose whilst trying to commission the water system. I'd filled the tank with water dosed with steriliser a couple of days ago and yesterday, I thought I'd run it through the system. I turned the pump on and then discovered water pouring out of the bottom of the water heater casing. With it stripped down, the problem was obvious: Click image to enlarge I'm at a bit of a loss as to what's caused this as the system was completely drained after its last use. Anyway, I cleaned up the split, closed it up again and soldered it shut: Click image to enlarge It isn't pretty but it does the job. On testing, I discovered another, smaller split to another pipe, which was repaired in the same way. With the whole thing back together again, I then discovered that the plastic bowl of a strainer in the system was also split: Click image to enlarge I tried gluing it but couldn't get it to seal properly and as the system wouldn't pressurise, the pump ran continuously. Fortunately, I was able to order a replacement, which arrived today. With a new bowl screwed into place, the system pressurised almost immediately and we were back in business. There was one other minor issue in that the drain cock for the heater, which consists of a ball-o-fix valve that's been swaged onto a smaller pipe, was leaking ever so slightly. This has been resolved by fitted a straight coupling and a blanking plug: Click image to enlarge With all of that drama out of the way, the gas bottle was returned to the locker and strapped in, and I added an appropriate sticker to the outside: Click image to enlarge Time for a lie down in a darkened room. Darren 110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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21st Aug 2024 8:01pm |
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| L110CDL Member Since: 31 Oct 2015 Location: Devon Posts: 10782
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Good that you were able to sort out the leaks and fix them for now
1996 Golf Blue 300Tdi 110 Pick up.
Keeper. Clayton. |
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23rd Aug 2024 7:29pm |
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| LandRoverAnorak Member Since: 17 Jul 2011 Location: Surrey Posts: 11324
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We made it! First trip out after a lot of refurbishment work, with new wheels and a new tow car:
Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge It towed perfectly and everything worked as intended, which was a relief. The new Tuff-Trek tent was very comfortable and I'd recently acquired some side panels for the Fox Wing, which was a real bonus as where we were camped was bloomin' windy! Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge Click image to enlarge One of the challenges of the set-up that I hadn't appreciated was that of a sloping pitch. Because the trailer is so short and so high off the ground, there's relatively little scope for levelling fore and aft. The size of the pitch we were on dictated which way around the trailer needed to be positioned, which happened to be nose downhill. The jockey wheel quickly ran out of travel, which was solved by putting my waffles underneath, and there was barely enough space to drop the rear legs. It all worked out but when re-hitching I was glad of being able to raise the D4's air suspension. When hitched, the trailer is almost level, which is nice as I thought it might be more nose-down than when I towed it with the 110. With the D4 suspension in off-road height, it's ever so slightly nose-up, but absolutely fine at slow speeds when that might be necessary: Click image to enlarge There are a couple of niggles to sort out, which only came to light with use:
That'll keep me busy for a while  Darren
110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia |
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26th Aug 2024 8:26am |
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