Been a busy few weeks, so haven't had a chance to update.
We managed to tie-dye the main mattresses before going away for our first trip to Wales.
Started off with a light blue/green base colour.
Then, my sister Nix had to check on the chicks.
Added more string over the base colour.
Then stuck it in the darker colour.
Once we'd washed the covers out nicely, I sewed 3 strong magnets on the back, inside of the cover so that it sticks to the side of the truck to stop the mattress of falling as you drive.
...and in!
Now that the bed was sorted, we were ready to test it. There's a special place in Wales that we've visited over the years, so we decided to head back there with my folks, my brother and my sister.
My folks have a 4.5t Euramobil Motorhome. It's by no stretch of the imagination roughing it and is VERY comfortable. My dad has loads of gear in there, including 4 120Ah batteries, 3 solar panels, LPG generator, toilet, etc.. Fully self contained. We've done some big trips in it in the past, through to Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Romania), etc..
They tow a Pug 107 behind it as a get around when they stop somewhere. My dad greased it up, then connected up.
Love the scenery in the UK at this time of year.
Arrived at the campsite outside Betws-y-coed. Not the hoodie on my brother - that's not his fashion. It was a cold, summer weekend.
Set up and fire started. Getting ready for a good feed of steaks.
Rianna and Nats prepared the veggies on the shelf on the back of the troopy.
Steaks on the go.
Shelf outside working well.
Food ready.
No matter the weather, we will have a braai.
The next day we wandered around Betws-y-coed and had some nice coffee, ice cream and nice food, took some photos and generally relaxed.
The girls deliberated on which basket was the best for Nix (sister that stayed home to look after the farm).
The next day the weather was terrible, so we decided to take a slow and scenic route home. Stopped at the Black Rock Beach and drove onto the beach for lunch. My folks have visited this place several times in the motorhome, but never had the guts to drive the beast onto the sand in case it got stuck. This time, because we were with them with the troopy, they ventured out. No problems at all. That sand is pretty solid.
Wind was blowing about 4,000mph outside, so we had lunch in the motorhome.
...almost home, over the Bristol Channel.
One of the things that Rianna and I realised on the trip was that if we need to cook inside the troopy if the weather is bad, we have no where to put a stove. I asked a while back where I could get a one of those stove boxes, but at £200+, I decided I'd make my own plan.
The logical place to put it was on the back door, above the current stove box. This would mean the following:
1) we can use it inside when the door is closed and still get into the fridge
2) we can use it outside when the door is open as a shelf, when we cook on the lower shelf
So, I spent about £25 on eBay getting 2 pieces of 3mm tread plate for the base and back board, 1 piece of 1.5mm alum for the spash/wind protectors, stainless pop rivets, hinges, nylon webbing.
Started by taking off the netting on the door.
Then started assembling the unit.
Marked and drilled the holes for the hinges.
Pop riveted the hinges on.
I then marked where I needed to cut for the splash/wind protectors. They would be cut at an angle, because the door is angled, so we'll hang the base plate accordingly to keep it level.
Pop riveted the splash/wind protectors on.
We then screwed it all to the door, before attaching the webbing to hold it up.
Finished. Webbing done.
I'll take better photos in the light and show how it works inside the cab with the door closed.
