Van life, brahh

Oh that’s a nuisance. You really need a minimum of eight feet between hang points.

Oodles of space

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Long story short, when I ripped out the old floor and put the insulation under it, I removed a screw that had been put straight through and into the fuel tank below!!!

Thanks previous owner, thanks.

So that meant when I filled it to full yesterday it began squirting out continuously.

Now I need to run through miles and miles more diesel, and pretend I don’t notice the diesel drip. Can’t drop the tank to fix/replace unless it’s empty, and currently it’s 3/4 full.

Needless to say this is a setback I had not anticipated.

and pretend I don’t notice the diesel drip.

Yea, take that cyclists!

Cyclists aren’t inside the cargo space of my van though, are they?

How did you notice the leak then.

Plastic tank isn't it? Soldering iron to melt the hole back up

Can you access the puncture spot without dropping the tank and at leat temp repair?

Because it was dripping from inside.

(This is after major cleanup followed by a second quick trip around the block.)

It was pumping up into the van and then slowly dripping out the side drain holes when stopped.

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Nope. I have placed a screw back in through the hole hoping it slows the leak a little until I can drop the tank.

I’ll siphon the fuel out if I can.

The drip is incredibly small and slow, but it’s still there. It stops very soon after parking now, where it’s just the little bit that has pumped up and out from the flex of the plastic.

Heh, given up?

My piece of advice, is if you had time go to the scrappy and see how hard it is to remove the tank, noting which bolts, nuts or studs are rusty and disintegrated. Then see if you can access the tank from above (noting an empty tank (fumes) can be more explosive than a full tank) If there is enough space between the floor and the tank for a nibbler.

Totally get your advice. I think the tank rests as flush as possible against the floor, so I’m keen not to make things even worse by trying to cut out access from above.

The tank is held on by two straps like so. It’s four bolts and two jubilee clips to drop the tank.

Also appreciate the fuel vs fumes, but I don’t have the strength to bench press 50kg, so I don’t fancy dropping, lifting, and one-handed mounting it while full.

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Could perhaps use some plumbers putty to seal it off whilst you empty.

https://www.diy.com/departments/evo-stik-putty-50g/191081_BQ.prd

Should create a watertight (or diesel) seal for long enough until you can get it repaired

In that case plus gas on the fixing before hand and then freeze spray when taking it apart.

Enlarged the drill hole and as feared, tank is flush against the flooring. So even dead-careful and it bit the tank.

So ABS filament (from a friend’s 3D printer) went in, and then my ABS/Acetone suspension on top to melt the tank into a chemical bond.

I won’t know if it worked until it has totally dried, which is a couple hours if I rush, or tomorrow if I want to be safe and conservative.

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Didn’t work completely. Massive improvement but not fixed. Gonna buy some holesaw blades and try to cut a hole big enough to work with

Go for it! Perhaps use a holesaw blade with a central drill point, but replace the drill with a stud. Drill off centre so that the stud butts up to the tank and set the gap to the steel depth. Should let you cut out a biscuit of steel without penetrating the tank?

(Edit) you would obviously need to drill a guide hole for the stud, but easily done using a drill bit with a collar first to the same depth setting).

Sounds like a fair shout.

I used my biggest drill bit and opened the hole enough to get a bolt to clear the floor.

See how this goes tomorrow.

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Leak hasn’t continued. Bolt fix seemed to have worked. Got some Quiksteel plastic repair in the van now just in case.

Plywood is so damn expensive. I hurt a little inside, paying for these sheets of 9mm from B&Q.

Only the floor replaced, and stuck it with tape not screws for the time being.

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Not had much time to work on the van. The short journeys have yielded no further leaks, but I’ve got a line on another fuel tank just in case.

Used, £150 fitted, worth it not to pollute the streets. Will keep an eye over the next journey if/when I can afford to fill up!

Visited a discount carpet place, spent £23 on 2x3m worth of leftovers. The guy was apologetic how much prices has skyrocketed.

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Not much of a spectacular update.

The orange dump-bin and black stackable crate finally in the cargo space. Fit under the bed when folded down.

Much tidier than my crap rolling about all over the place or trials kit hanging off the passenger seat.

Versatile enough to remove and leave full cargo capacity.

…

Deflectors for the windows to be bought shortly.

Asked a workshop about skylight fitting (cost/if worthwhile/etc).

Decided on straps to anchor the crates.

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Right here we go, some actual progress.

Ordered a couple hole saws, cheapo flimsy grille vents, and two G&C spinny roof vents.

I’ll eventually put a gas drop vent further in the cargo space. Forthe moment there are quite a few smaller drain holes providing just a little bit of air; the drain hole rubber bungs have been removed from the front and rear.

Now, between the door and floor there are two more larger holes with the grilles. The box section already has large cutouts, so these are off to the side of them, meaning indirect airflow and less likely that shit flings straight up.

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I’ve no idea the purpose of this old plug in the roof, but it was annoying me. Annoying me almost as much as placing a vent off-centre just to get rid of it.

Could and probably should have gone in front of it, but too late now.

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So that’s two spinny vents fitted.

Difficult to photograph, but easy to see how faded the roof is!!!

If I could, long-term I’d find a roof rack setup to mount solar panels onto. I was recommended against the adhesive flexy ones because it’s a dark coloured can so I’d be getting really poor efficiency.

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“How was it?”
“Like sleeping in the back of a van… but by choice”

Slept in the van on the driveway, to gauge the setup. Key takeaway is it’s possible and not awful.

Need:

• The better sleeping bag; it gets cooler than anticipated.
  
• A curtain or something to cut out the 0430 sunrise
  
• Sound deadening insulation or earplugs for the creaking and popping as I fidget.
  
  

Otherwise, minor success. I survived. Not a great sleep but most importantly the bed didn’t collapse yet.