We haven't done much work on the van during this time; we just wanted to put her to good use. However, the gas locker has been switched 180 degrees (see previous post) and the sink waste goes directly outside now - much better than into a canister. We also topped the main table and work top with a more durable material, as scratches were beginning to show.
The major job was replacing the hinges on the pop top bed. One afternoon the ply base of the bed collapsed on my three kids who were happily watching TV. Fortunately, besides some short-lived shock, there were no injuries!
The gas props, which allow the bed base to lift up providing standing space, excert an incredible amount of force and the hinges used were too narrow. As a result the screws/edge of the ply failed - its worth checking out if you have an austop fitted before summer 2011. My solution was to replace the two hinges with three counter hinges and use bolts rather than screws. A job I finally got round to doing today.
Anyway, the verdict for year one is that the van is fab. We have so many great memories of the places we visited: North and South Wales, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, South London, Cheshire etc. It won't be long before we are back on our travels and I plan to document all the sites we stay at during 2012, plus any tweaks made to the van.
