Wow. It been six years since I last posted in this thread. I see it still has some missing photos I need to sort out at some point. Bloody photobucket.
Anyway. Update time. This just happened...
That's a new fresh legal stamp of approval stating that its safe to take our house out for some hoons. We just put it through a COF test because we have sold the housetruck recently to a nice local family. Wow. So much to take in. Suddenly things got very busy around our place! But I better back track to a while back with some various bits of work we did to improve the truck...
In December 2018 we had a little leak from one of the skylights. Water was creeping through a spot, created initially by condensation on the skylight and had rotted the plywood roof around that area. It could possibly have been a local fix but we decided to take off the entire roof on that side, replace the ply, get rid of one skylight and make a new improved design with double glazing. A proper fix. It was hot and sunny,materials cheap and a satisfying thing to fix. Photos...
Old design skylights looking a bit tatty...
Rotten ply...
rip it down starting with the butynol roofing...
Open air bedroom...
Lunchtime...
new ply, new Butynol...
New roof. New improved skylight yet to be built and fitted. Not got a photo of that but will get some. Was actually a pretty easy job- made better by sunshine, music and drugs.
This dates the photo. Imp race car, Viva wagon. But check out that centre garden and compare it to the pics from when we first parked the truck up here 4 years previous to this pic...
We also re-roofed both popouts because the drains that used to block with leaves when parked up in the Nelson campground had created some issues in the corners. New improved roofs and covered in alloy (for now- but it looks unfinished so we have some baby iron to fit before passing the truck over to its new owners)
I didn't take too many photos- It was a job we just got stuck into. Here's what I did take. Luckily all the steel work was fine as. Some new wood, new ply and all good. Learned a lesson not to curse word about trying to make hidden drains! Keep it simple and easy to keep clean!
Fast fowarding on to this year. We had chosen a while back to sell this housetruck and put the money towards building another. A few reasons why...
1: this truck layout didn't suit the aspect of our land. It never will. Stuff is in the wrong place. The bedroom at the front facing north for all day sun when we aint in there is silly. Turning it around doesn't help because that the sheltered doorway is in full blast of the main bad weather directions we get in our valley.
2: we are not using all of the truck to its full- the spare room is just filled with junk. The bike box is wasted not being used. The truck is too big in the wrong ways for us two.
3: I want to build another housetruck. This is probably the main reason really. But the next truck will be designed around our land and be removable (on legs) so we can use the truck when ever we want (cof and other costs considered). But yeah. I've got itchy housetruck building fingers. So much learned, so many little ideas. No pressure this time either because we have the cabin and the (being built right now) mezzanine floor to live in. Find the right truck and have fun.
So a few people heard it was for sale, some came round and kicked its tyres and absorbed huge amounts of time but in the end it has gone to a young local family- who's parents had them growing up in a housetruck. Lovely people, staying local = happy sale. Its a great truck, they got a great deal and we are less stressed by keeping it local with friends.
We decided we would put it through a cof even though there is a good chance it'll be parked up again for a few years. But it means everyone knows what the deal is and the condition. A few jobs in the last week after booking it in for its test. Clean some stuff, source and fit some seatbelts because its now registered as a motorhome and then test drive it...
Just having a little look to see if its engine would fit the imp....
Such a lovely simple clean engine...
Luckily I have been really strict on a regular routine of hopping in the cab every so often and pumping the brakes etc. Occasional starts on hot days when the air is dry and rock the truck on the clutch too. It all worked so nice. One rear brake was binding slightly - has been a bit tightly adjusted ever since I had fixed that leaky hub seal year ago. I backed that off and we took it down to the beach...
Kevin joined us...
We broke some rules...
Hannah had a drive in the Abel Tasman carpark. She has not driven a truck since she owned her Bedford TK in Blighty. Happy Hannah wants to get her NZ truck license...
I did some laps...
We got home, gave it a really good clean, checked all the other bits and bobs. Today I drove it to Motueka VTNZ truck testing station where it was booked in...
The fella was super nice, liked the truck. We went for lunch and came back to a freshly cof'd truck. It needed an orange bulb as one indicator cover is faded almost white in the harsh Nelson sun and he's advised I tighten the bearings on one side of the rear axle (the opposite side to that what I had worked on when doing the brakes way way back in 2012)
We drove home happy but sad. Its been a great truck to us. Happy its going to a good home but still sad. Excited though...soon we can start hunting for another truck to buy!!! We had a beer to celebrate. Much work to do now- a few tidy up jobs on the truck and we have to finish the mezzanine to live in once the truck leaves our place at the ned of November! :-)
I'll have a few ideas to put forward for the next build. Some little designs that I would like to get others to view and discuss . Many minds etc etc. We will have the time to really make something sweet. I'm keen on another Hino - I would love a 4wd like our firetruck and have already been asking about via the various channels within Fenz (fire and emergency NZ - if you've not heard of that) plus there's a sweet classic truck down south I fancy.
Hmmmmm. Hino 4wd....
Next housetruck build will be shorter in length, have a one sided full length pop out that extends at least 1.5 m, a bedroom over the cab but that raises up high for full standing height and slide back roof for star gazing. Open plan living area at the back with roll around walls for inside outside flow onto a verandah (when this truck is gone we will be landscaping the entire area its currently parked up on)
Bloody excited really
Anyway. Update time. This just happened...
That's a new fresh legal stamp of approval stating that its safe to take our house out for some hoons. We just put it through a COF test because we have sold the housetruck recently to a nice local family. Wow. So much to take in. Suddenly things got very busy around our place! But I better back track to a while back with some various bits of work we did to improve the truck...
In December 2018 we had a little leak from one of the skylights. Water was creeping through a spot, created initially by condensation on the skylight and had rotted the plywood roof around that area. It could possibly have been a local fix but we decided to take off the entire roof on that side, replace the ply, get rid of one skylight and make a new improved design with double glazing. A proper fix. It was hot and sunny,materials cheap and a satisfying thing to fix. Photos...
Old design skylights looking a bit tatty...
Rotten ply...
rip it down starting with the butynol roofing...
Open air bedroom...
Lunchtime...
new ply, new Butynol...
New roof. New improved skylight yet to be built and fitted. Not got a photo of that but will get some. Was actually a pretty easy job- made better by sunshine, music and drugs.
This dates the photo. Imp race car, Viva wagon. But check out that centre garden and compare it to the pics from when we first parked the truck up here 4 years previous to this pic...
We also re-roofed both popouts because the drains that used to block with leaves when parked up in the Nelson campground had created some issues in the corners. New improved roofs and covered in alloy (for now- but it looks unfinished so we have some baby iron to fit before passing the truck over to its new owners)
I didn't take too many photos- It was a job we just got stuck into. Here's what I did take. Luckily all the steel work was fine as. Some new wood, new ply and all good. Learned a lesson not to curse word about trying to make hidden drains! Keep it simple and easy to keep clean!
Fast fowarding on to this year. We had chosen a while back to sell this housetruck and put the money towards building another. A few reasons why...
1: this truck layout didn't suit the aspect of our land. It never will. Stuff is in the wrong place. The bedroom at the front facing north for all day sun when we aint in there is silly. Turning it around doesn't help because that the sheltered doorway is in full blast of the main bad weather directions we get in our valley.
2: we are not using all of the truck to its full- the spare room is just filled with junk. The bike box is wasted not being used. The truck is too big in the wrong ways for us two.
3: I want to build another housetruck. This is probably the main reason really. But the next truck will be designed around our land and be removable (on legs) so we can use the truck when ever we want (cof and other costs considered). But yeah. I've got itchy housetruck building fingers. So much learned, so many little ideas. No pressure this time either because we have the cabin and the (being built right now) mezzanine floor to live in. Find the right truck and have fun.
So a few people heard it was for sale, some came round and kicked its tyres and absorbed huge amounts of time but in the end it has gone to a young local family- who's parents had them growing up in a housetruck. Lovely people, staying local = happy sale. Its a great truck, they got a great deal and we are less stressed by keeping it local with friends.
We decided we would put it through a cof even though there is a good chance it'll be parked up again for a few years. But it means everyone knows what the deal is and the condition. A few jobs in the last week after booking it in for its test. Clean some stuff, source and fit some seatbelts because its now registered as a motorhome and then test drive it...
Just having a little look to see if its engine would fit the imp....
Such a lovely simple clean engine...
Luckily I have been really strict on a regular routine of hopping in the cab every so often and pumping the brakes etc. Occasional starts on hot days when the air is dry and rock the truck on the clutch too. It all worked so nice. One rear brake was binding slightly - has been a bit tightly adjusted ever since I had fixed that leaky hub seal year ago. I backed that off and we took it down to the beach...
Kevin joined us...
We broke some rules...
Hannah had a drive in the Abel Tasman carpark. She has not driven a truck since she owned her Bedford TK in Blighty. Happy Hannah wants to get her NZ truck license...
I did some laps...
We got home, gave it a really good clean, checked all the other bits and bobs. Today I drove it to Motueka VTNZ truck testing station where it was booked in...
The fella was super nice, liked the truck. We went for lunch and came back to a freshly cof'd truck. It needed an orange bulb as one indicator cover is faded almost white in the harsh Nelson sun and he's advised I tighten the bearings on one side of the rear axle (the opposite side to that what I had worked on when doing the brakes way way back in 2012)
We drove home happy but sad. Its been a great truck to us. Happy its going to a good home but still sad. Excited though...soon we can start hunting for another truck to buy!!! We had a beer to celebrate. Much work to do now- a few tidy up jobs on the truck and we have to finish the mezzanine to live in once the truck leaves our place at the ned of November! :-)
I'll have a few ideas to put forward for the next build. Some little designs that I would like to get others to view and discuss . Many minds etc etc. We will have the time to really make something sweet. I'm keen on another Hino - I would love a 4wd like our firetruck and have already been asking about via the various channels within Fenz (fire and emergency NZ - if you've not heard of that) plus there's a sweet classic truck down south I fancy.
Hmmmmm. Hino 4wd....
Next housetruck build will be shorter in length, have a one sided full length pop out that extends at least 1.5 m, a bedroom over the cab but that raises up high for full standing height and slide back roof for star gazing. Open plan living area at the back with roll around walls for inside outside flow onto a verandah (when this truck is gone we will be landscaping the entire area its currently parked up on)
Bloody excited really