[jeff1]

Fantastic Jeff, thank you SO much for this, this is great.

Btw, I can't get my head around the steel tubes, from the picture, it looks like it's solid, but if it's solid the bolt can't go through can it? So it must be hollow?

Thanks Tim 

Hollow steel tubes for your bolts to pass through, if you look at the fourth picture down you can just see there hollow.

[dmlservices]

hi jeff
looks a good clean van what year is it? have you got a pic with cage installed?protecta cote looks very good , how did you apply it?

daz

[jeff1]

hi jeff
looks a good clean van what year is it? have you got a pic with cage installed?protecta cote looks very good , how did you apply it?

daz

Its a V reg, you wouldn't have said that when Michelle bought it, it was a painters van, the outside had paint all over it and the inside was also covered in paint, I managed to remove all the external paint but the quickest way to hide the stuff inside was to paint it with pretetakote and I applied it all with a brush.

Here is a before and one with the tank installed

[dmlservices]

cheers jeff, looks the business,i have a 04 scudo, have seen loads of older ones , still in very good nick, have not seen any rusty ones , so am confident mine will last a while,thanks for taking the time to post pics, this is a very good informative topic.


daz

[jeff1]

Your welcome daz

I went with Michelle to buy it and the first place I end up is on the ground inspecting they underneath sections including the chassis then into the engine compartment, once I was happy with that, I took it for a fair old run to test everything, apart from the cosmetic appearance of it, on the whole it was a good van with no rust and it runs very well.

They only problems I could see was the cosmetic appearance and only one lock worked, all the others were broken and a small dent on the front bumper that I can easily remove when I get some spare time.
Took me a while to remove the external paint using just T-cut and I had all the locks working within a couple of hours, all in all its a very nice van.
Vans aren't my cup of tea though I still prefer my Trailer

[dmlservices]

yep , the locks are crap, one of mine has gone on sliding door , just turns , was told it is an in built security feature ,where if some one tries to break in using wrong key, it snaps of something in barrel so key turns all the way round, you can get a set of locks of ebay , but are over £100 


daz

[jeff1]

yep , the locks are crap, one of mine has gone on sliding door , just turns , was told it is an in built security feature ,where if some one tries to break in using wrong key, it snaps of something in barrel so key turns all the way round, you can get a set of locks of ebay , but are over £100 


daz

A £100    I think I better start charging my daughter then  I fixed them all myself, the back door lock was the worst one to remove, take off the panel at the side door and check that the cam arm has not come off, that's what was wrong with one of her side doors 10 seconds later it was working again.

[geefree]

Hi Jeff, i am just getting a guy to steel strap my tank in, hope you dont mind me showing him these pics,.... more to the point .. i hope he does not mind me interfering 

just one little question for the ever cautious me!! 

are those little square plates underneath , strong enough to secure a 650 upright, with the force and pressure they will excerte whilst cornering and breaking....

knowing how precise and safety concious you are.... it maybe a daft question...

but i thought i would ask, for my peace of mind Jeff.

Thanks.

Gary.

[JSMC]

what type of steel for plates was used and also size cut

[jeff1]

Hi Jeff, i am just getting a guy to steel strap my tank in, hope you dont mind me showing him these pics,.... more to the point .. i hope he does not mind me interfering 

just one little question for the ever cautious me!! 

are those little square plates underneath , strong enough to secure a 650 upright, with the force and pressure they will excerte whilst cornering and breaking....

knowing how precise and safety concious you are.... it maybe a daft question...

but i thought i would ask, for my peace of mind Jeff.

Thanks.

Gary.

Hi Gary
No safety question is daft in my mind.

The plate underneath is large enough for your tank you can make them larger if you wish, there is no need for them to be to big unless you have a couple of bolts within a short space of each other then the plate needs to be long enough for both bolts.
You may be supprised just how stong chassis are on vehicles but the plate helps to spread the load on the chassis.
One point I must make to you, is you will need to add larger nuts/bolts for your tank, than the ones I used the bolts take a lot of pressure.
I don't mind you showing your guy, I just hope he's understanding lol

what type of steel for plates was used and also size cut

I used Mild steel,  I measured them to fit my daughters van, Just pop underneath your van with a tape measure and measure the width of your chassis, its not a problem if the plate is a little wider than your chassis.

My own plate was 6mm x 60mm x 150mm and thats fine for my own tank

[JSMC]

see my other thread about 400ltr in a vivaor. i am thinking of using square U bolts on the chassis rail

[jeff1]

Just had a read of it  and although I like the idea of U bolts I can see a problem or two.
1. You will need a spreader plate underneath and above on your chassis.
2. When the bolts come through into the van, what are your intentions on fitting the cage to the 2 bolts, of each U clamp? Again I think another spreader bar would be needed because the holding area will be so small, it would be fine for everyday driving but with out the plates above and below, if you were to have an accident they would not hold due to the strain exerted on the frame.

This is only my thoughts and I may well be wrong, but do have a good think about how you will fit 2 bolts for one fixing mount.

[JSMC]

jefff the bolts are square U bolts so should hopefully grip chassis rails and themn the two ends will come up through floor into 2 holes on frame of tank.  a small plate would also be added like you said.

not sure about spreade ron the underside though

[jeff1]

There very good, I'll see if I can get hold of some from my supplier.

I mention the spreader bar underneath to take the pressure off the chassis, If you have ever used those ladder clamps on a roof rack you'll know what I mean, if you over thighten them, they will deform the chassis without the extra support.