Lockdown tasks
 

Well last year we bought a little 2nd hand van for relatively no money at all (just under the £1000) so yes we knew it was dated, we knew there were jobs to be done and we knew the front offside corner had previously had damp (resolved) but it all depends on what you are wanting and what you feel you can do.

The Van is an Abbey Domino Two as the name suggests it is a two berth, the range was introduced at the Caravan show at Earl’s Court in 1995 when it was introduced as the companies most controversial tourer to date, with its new maple furniture design and all the gadgets (for the era) it was the glass-reinforced plastic sides that were the talking point, a design taken from the Swift Motorhome Division. It met with some success and in 1997 the Domino 4 berth was introduced.

Anyway our van is a 1996 model, large double bed at the front, end kitchen with full oven/hob and a ‘compact’ toilet/shower room, as mentioned the exterior is full GRP sides so amazingly had stood up well to the test of time, in fact when
walking around the van you struggle to find any imperfections in any panels.

So the plan was to clean up the interior and just make the most of it, then hit lockdown ..... thankfully the van is stored at home so I am able to potter along with a few little jobs.... that was the plan !

The previous owner was a contractor so used the van as accommodation rather than getting lodgings, so made a few mods such as drilling a hole in an interior panel to run an extension socket through, the sort of things you look at and think ‘jeez what we’re you thinking’

Anyway we ( wife and I ) sat and asked ourselves what do we want to spend ? And so to do what we are hoping to will probably cost around another £1000 ... wow !! I know a lot of good vans out there for £2k but our thinking is, this is a lovely little van, it was a unique design in its day with some history, why not bring it up to date, it has had a full service (September 2019)
I have replaced the rear light clusters as they were discoloured and lenses were brittle with age ( new pair were £55 plus anther £8 for new fixing grommets) all the exterior marker lights have been ordered to freshen the look up ( £34 for the lot).... the toilet compartment floor is the ‘shower tray’ and has cracks in it and the full plastic wall that incorporates the sink/vanity unit etc had some damage, so a replacement wall and tray have been sourced from a breaker and will arrive next week (£150 inc delivery)

Linda (wife) is removing the cushions, curtains and window pelmets and intends to reupholster them, as she already has the materials, that keeps the cost down.
We have been in touch with a company across at Lancaster who remove the old carpets and lay a modern wood effect vinyl floor (quote £270) and another company who make new removable carpets, like you get in new vans (again around the £250 mark) apart from that the jobs are cleaning and minor task like tightening hinges and personalising little things etc.

Oh we just acquired a beautiful Isabella awning with fibreglass poles, as new at a snip of £100 from Facebook marketplace

So for less than £2k we should have a nice little comfortable tourer, lightweight at a mere Maximum weight of 1000kg ....Looking forward to next years season

I hope you enjoy the van as much as we enjoy ours and the two before it. Our first makes your look modern :)
Isabella, awning for £100, that's a good price
what sort of sites will you go for, one with all the bells and whistles or the basics that just have 5 caravans ?


spending 1k on the van is an awful lot compared to purchase price.

macafee2

I understand what you’re saying about the spend, but initially we thought use the van a little then get a more modern one, and we saw a few that looked fresher and brighter starting around the £2,450 mark and we re-evaluated things, this little van is solid the panels are excellent and as previously said with GRP sides you don’t get the issues of aluminium ones and the ‘seams’

The replacement of light lenses is purely cosmetic and just makes it look fresher on the outside, the replacement of the carpet for vinyl is an alternative to trying to get a 24 year old carpet looking new, if I come in on budget it will be less than £2k for a van that will last for a long time, and self satisfaction of knowing the van inside out.

I am indulging in a spend on a motor mover, but that just helps due to health etc, and I am not counting that in the budget, after all motor mover can be removed and kept/sold on if needs be.

Awning is the best bargain though. Attached picture of actual awning.

Regarding sites we have no preferences, as long as they are not all singing and dancing with club houses and kids clubs ...... old gits on site lol

The basic caravan site with shower block and green spaces would suit me and my son Keith, but the wife and daughter want,”things to do and entertainment “. I feel there may be half and half holidays coming on.

Isn’t this what Rover 75 members do, purchase cars etc for a low price then continually spend big money on making them how they want them
:duh:

Exactly . Owning a " classic" caravan can have the same expenses as owning a classic car.:shrug:;)

Having lived in caravans while I have been working away from home, the van has to be perfect, if you have to spend money on it.. so what? It has to provide what you expect, clean, dry, warm, comfortable.

What price do you put on a dry warm home in the middle of winter? If you have to spend a few hundred to get what you want, is it that bad??

That van looks really modern compared to our 1990 ABI Downstate. We've had ours for around 12 /13 years now. It's showing signs of wear but it's dry and damp free, I've done a few repairs/bodged on it (I'm no diy man) & spent a bit of money on it, new taps some upholstery work but nothing major. As it won't fetch much on the market these days we've kept it but only use it once or twice a year, t'other is not so keen as I am even tho I have to do everything lol.

Our caravan is 13 years old in September and still looks really smart. A couple of things on the interior starting to show wear now, but we only use it 3-4 times a year. Usually Easter twice in summer hols and sometimes a long weekend in May/June half term and October half term. I can't keep it at home permanently as it only just fits the drive, and the car and van have to stand on the road.I may see about getting some of the cushion backs re covered as they just stick to the frames with velcro,and the material around the velcro tape has worn away.
On the open market I would maybe get 1/4 of its purchase price from a dealer and a bit more from a private buyer, but will never sell it until it starts costing me in repairs. The most I have spent on it was 250 parts and labour to have the piezo igniter for the fire replaced. The new part had different wiring to the old one so the technician had a bit of unpicking of the harness to wire it in .

Here's my 1994 Abbey Expression
https://i.imgur.com/9tcQ5Fm.jpg?1

At the moment I'm in the middle of removing the rear seating and small over bunk and replacing it with a set of 6' 6" x 2' 6" bunks so that it can sleep four adults in a bit of comfort.
Surprisingly the replacement bunk bed weighs a little less than the seating etc that I've removed.