09:00 “What is the point?” Agree…we had a lovely (well, I thought so!) VWT25 c.1983 and in 2013 we thought we might renovate her but a very wise guy at Dubfest said, “ If you do all this then you’ll probably have to do it again in 10 years…is that really how you want to spend your retirement?” So we sold her to a young guy who was very practical (like you) and bought a T5 with the hope that IT would last 30 years too…ie: last us out😂 So far, so good! Thanks for your videos…informative and thoughtful as ever😉
It's definitely a hard call to make especially after living in them for a while! For now though, it's the right decision I think. Maybe the big van will roll again in the future.
I can understand how difficult it must be to pull apart the van that set the course of the life you’re now living. Pulling it apart to reuse rather than letting it decay makes more sense but still an emotional task. I suppose it would be the same feelings that the builders of your house and barn might feel if they were to see the changes you’re making to the farm. Closing each chapter of life is always a bit sad but necessary to start the next one. I’m so philosophical today! 🤣🤓
Absolutely right decision Ash. Think of your old van as an old corroded tool, that you salvage and restored to good use. If the beast has really past the point of no return, then this is a parting gift for you. You're correct about the tilting panel and efficiency, as it's similar to aligning a satellite dish for maximum signal strength. Not only will you have what you need fitted to the van for little or no cost, you will use and pay less for fuel, which isn't going to be cheaper anytime soon.
All very good points 👌 I wouldn't say it's beyond repair, I mean you've seen some of the things I bring back 😅 I don't know, maybe it can be a long term project. Or maybe a video will pop up on the other channel "restoring an entire van"...
Brilliant video Ash. Totally agree with tilting solar. When out with Woodland Nomads we tilted his up and had 80% more in winter. Its the best thing by miles.
Cheers dude 👍 when I first discovered tilting the panels in the alps i honestly couldn't believe the difference. Went from struggling every day and having to run the van for charge to almost unlimited power!
Yes!! Loved seeing the beast start! Hopefully you get around to renovating it at some point. I get a bit sentimental about cars that have been a big part of my life - my mini is like a brother to me lolz Really enjoyed this vid of you talking through ideas and getting on the tools.
It's definitely a tough situation but fortunately I'm in a position now to build another one and make decisions for it at my own pace. Can't see me getting rid if I'm honest though!
Ash, optimum angle for your solar panel should be around 41 degrees to obtain full power in Sweden - I know your old van has a lot of memories that will stay with you forever, but your doing the right thing by using her for spare parts & scrap material to build other projects instead of it rotting away - great to see you posting on youtube again (your channel along with exPAWers were the first channels I ever subscribed to), give my best wishes to Marie.
Thanks for the kind words 🙏 I may still get it back on the road at some point but its well covered up now so hopefully won't get any worse for the time being! Will do 😊
Ash, remember, green is an eco colour. You're are exemplifying the importance of recycle/up-cycle by donating parts from The Beast to Pup of The Beast. Your whole ethos of living off-grid and wanderlust is what your channel has always been about. Tilted solar is the way to go. Great vlog as always.
Hahah I'm so torn with this. As awesome as it would look I green/black I feel i might be ruining the classic nuffield red look! It does need a repaint either way though so will be getting a fresh colour soon!
Hi Ash... Couple of my thoughts.. Landrover Series Bonnet stay to hold it up... Electric Window Mech. to liftit up. Or easy solution for both.... Tailgate Gas Struts.... Love the Van build so far... 100% with you on recycling parts from your old van.. It's body is gone but it's heart lives on...
The geek in me wants to make a cool way to lift it but the practical side knows the safest way it to have a solid mount that I manually raise and connect then there's nothing to go wrong or fail on me 😊 good ideas though 👌
mint, you're smashing thru the build fair play :) I had the hard decision of roof deck vs solar on my Expert, ended up with split charger / suitcase solar panel and the ability to have beers on my roof XD
don't forget to stick a bit of wood over the hole on the roof of the iveco 4 foot of snow on the roof the cover might not hold........ be interesting to see your lay out in the expert most of the them are the same in little vans.......
Can go one better, stuck a whole pallet up there 😅 yea I mean obviously there's only so much you can do haha. Not a fan of folding beds or the classic L shape though so will see what happens!
I've thought about this. Only issue I'd have is if it was windy and they started to push down without me realising. Once they went past a point it would just drop and smack the roof
The Beast is the Beast and always will be the Beast even if his organs are donated to live on in the Pup of Beast lol. You never know you may find one day when your at a loss for things to do and you could revive the Beast. As for the people how don't believe in tilting solar, well just remember there are people on this Earth who can tell you the square root of a Jar but have no idea how to open it 😂😂🤣🤣 Top video as always Ash, thank you Regards Conor
Thank you for this Ash, I was just wondering about a good way to tilt my panels and your design is perfect. I'm just wondering if it's possible to power the raising of the panel as I have a high top Movano.
Loving the green paintwork. Loving the green theme with the fleet, but please Ash stand on me it wouldn't work with the caravan trust me on that. There was a time in one of the national parks the Lakes or Yorkshire where you had to paint your caravan green if it was pitched semi-permanent it wasn't an improvement to be fair. Hey, it's your call. The solar roof rack is mint. Are you keeping the Focus?
Given your floor has started rotting again and you're plundering it for parts. I wouldn't ve surprised if it becer goes backack on the road. The tarpaulin will eventually leak and through the passage of time things will stop working. I wonder if cutting of the front clip just behind the partition like people do on the old vw campers, keeping a manageable part of your van.
To be fair the floor repairs are actually ok! It's the chassis that has gotten in a state again haha. Next year I will get under there with a hammer and chisel, see just how bad we are talking. If it's too far gone then the whole van will be getting chopped up and recycled for other projects I think but we will see, I'd rather not! There's actually 3 layers of tarp on it now so hopefully will last the winter
Not tilting PV panels,, 🤪😅. Cheers Ash,, 🍻😎👍. (I would never dare start doing things, like paint etc, beore fixing all eventual mechanical things on the car. 😬)
Hahaha 🤣 to be fair I've had a good look over it and the couple of jobs are fairly easy for me to do. Tyring to get all the paint / sealing type jobs out the way before it gets cold 👌
Thank you for this Ash, I was just wondering about a good way to tilt my panels and your design is perfect. I'm just wondering if it's possible to power the raising of the panel as I have a high top Movano.
I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to put actuators on there connected to a switch inside. Just have to get all your angles right so they don't overload. I'm keeping it simple because that's just something else to break in low temps 😊
lovedthe start on pugsly the beast
SPOT ON
😊👍
09:00 “What is the point?” Agree…we had a lovely (well, I thought so!) VWT25 c.1983 and in 2013 we thought we might renovate her but a very wise guy at Dubfest said, “ If you do all this then you’ll probably have to do it again in 10 years…is that really how you want to spend your retirement?” So we sold her to a young guy who was very practical (like you) and bought a T5 with the hope that IT would last 30 years too…ie: last us out😂 So far, so good! Thanks for your videos…informative and thoughtful as ever😉
It's definitely a hard call to make especially after living in them for a while! For now though, it's the right decision I think. Maybe the big van will roll again in the future.
Loving having you back on UA-cam , I miss cj too ❤️
It's good to be back 😊✌
Can’t wait to see the next video👌
I can understand how difficult it must be to pull apart the van that set the course of the life you’re now living. Pulling it apart to reuse rather than letting it decay makes more sense but still an emotional task. I suppose it would be the same feelings that the builders of your house and barn might feel if they were to see the changes you’re making to the farm. Closing each chapter of life is always a bit sad but necessary to start the next one. I’m so philosophical today! 🤣🤓
Great to see you doing what a Midlands man does... Adapt and conquer. Top man.
Hahah Nice one Trevor 👍
Absolutely right decision Ash. Think of your old van as an old corroded tool, that you salvage and restored to good use. If the beast has really past the point of no return, then this is a parting gift for you.
You're correct about the tilting panel and efficiency, as it's similar to aligning a satellite dish for maximum signal strength. Not only will you have what you need fitted to the van for little or no cost, you will use and pay less for fuel, which isn't going to be cheaper anytime soon.
All very good points 👌 I wouldn't say it's beyond repair, I mean you've seen some of the things I bring back 😅 I don't know, maybe it can be a long term project. Or maybe a video will pop up on the other channel "restoring an entire van"...
Good show Ash 👍
Cheers fella ✌
looking good
Cheers ✌
Brilliant video Ash. Totally agree with tilting solar. When out with Woodland Nomads we tilted his up and had 80% more in winter. Its the best thing by miles.
Cheers dude 👍 when I first discovered tilting the panels in the alps i honestly couldn't believe the difference. Went from struggling every day and having to run the van for charge to almost unlimited power!
Good to see You back. Make me want to build an escape van too ;)
Good to be back 😊✌
Great vlog ash and what a great start to the mini Beast
Cheers Carl ✌
Great stuff man , you got a great set up now mate, life’s hard but it is what you make it and your defo an inspiration,🤘
Thanks a lot dude 🙏
Yes!! Loved seeing the beast start! Hopefully you get around to renovating it at some point. I get a bit sentimental about cars that have been a big part of my life - my mini is like a brother to me lolz Really enjoyed this vid of you talking through ideas and getting on the tools.
It's definitely a tough situation but fortunately I'm in a position now to build another one and make decisions for it at my own pace. Can't see me getting rid if I'm honest though!
@@LostInEurope It's not like you are pushed for storage space! ha. I get the feeling she'll ride again
Please never rely on a tarp.Cover the holes in roof with solids and cheep goop. Tarps break easy.
Ash, optimum angle for your solar panel should be around 41 degrees to obtain full power in Sweden - I know your old van has a lot of memories that will stay with you forever, but your doing the right thing by using her for spare parts & scrap material to build other projects instead of it rotting away - great to see you posting on youtube again (your channel along with exPAWers were the first channels I ever subscribed to), give my best wishes to Marie.
Thanks for the kind words 🙏 I may still get it back on the road at some point but its well covered up now so hopefully won't get any worse for the time being! Will do 😊
👍
Awesome 👏
Cheers David ✌
No worries mate, great to see you back
good vid thanks lee
Cheers Lee ✌
Brilliant! Once again throughly enjoyed your video and the ongoing build, so great to have you back ( can you work on c.j.? Really missing him too.)
Thanks a lot Paul ✌ I'm sure he will appear again when he's ready 😊
Ash, remember, green is an eco colour. You're are exemplifying the importance of recycle/up-cycle by donating parts from The Beast to Pup of The Beast. Your whole ethos of living off-grid and wanderlust is what your channel has always been about. Tilted solar is the way to go. Great vlog as always.
Haha I never thought of it like that! Thanks for the comment dude 👍
I think you should paint your tractor green because it does look nice on the van😁
Hahah I'm so torn with this. As awesome as it would look I green/black I feel i might be ruining the classic nuffield red look! It does need a repaint either way though so will be getting a fresh colour soon!
Hi Ash...
Couple of my thoughts..
Landrover Series Bonnet stay to hold it up...
Electric Window Mech. to liftit up.
Or easy solution for both....
Tailgate Gas Struts....
Love the Van build so far...
100% with you on recycling parts from your old van..
It's body is gone but it's heart lives on...
Clever idea with the electric window mechanism!
The geek in me wants to make a cool way to lift it but the practical side knows the safest way it to have a solid mount that I manually raise and connect then there's nothing to go wrong or fail on me 😊 good ideas though 👌
mint, you're smashing thru the build fair play :)
I had the hard decision of roof deck vs solar on my Expert, ended up with split charger / suitcase solar panel and the ability to have beers on my roof XD
I'm not going to lie, sitting on the roof working on this rack has got me debating adding a section on the back I can sit on up there 😅
don't forget to stick a bit of wood over the hole on the roof of the iveco 4 foot of snow on the roof the cover might not hold........
be interesting to see your lay out in the expert most of the them are the same in little vans.......
Can go one better, stuck a whole pallet up there 😅 yea I mean obviously there's only so much you can do haha. Not a fan of folding beds or the classic L shape though so will see what happens!
Where will your first adventure be I wonder, shame it won't be with C.J. another good video the Ash
Probably somewhere cold by the time it's finished 😅 I'm sure the convoy will be back in action one day!
maybe it's to CJ?!!
you should put some gas struts to tilt the panels and hold them up, be easier to lift too 👍
I've thought about this. Only issue I'd have is if it was windy and they started to push down without me realising. Once they went past a point it would just drop and smack the roof
@@LostInEurope yer good point that wouldn't be a nice way to be woken up in the middle of the night, the sound of your roof falling in 🤣
The Beast is the Beast and always will be the Beast even if his organs are donated to live on in the Pup of Beast lol. You never know you may find one day when your at a loss for things to do and you could revive the Beast.
As for the people how don't believe in tilting solar, well just remember there are people on this Earth who can tell you the square root of a Jar but have no idea how to open it 😂😂🤣🤣
Top video as always Ash, thank you
Regards
Conor
Hahaha cheers Conor ✌ I'm not surentgere will ever be a day when there's nothing to do around here 😅 I think that van will roll again though, one day.
@@LostInEurope yes sir
Is this the new A Team. Ash your new name is face. Loving the vids
Hahaha face it is 😅
Thank you for this Ash, I was just wondering about a good way to tilt my panels and your design is perfect. I'm just wondering if it's possible to power the raising of the panel as I have a high top Movano.
Have a look at Ladi and Margaret, they've done a powered tilting solar.
Loving the green paintwork. Loving the green theme with the fleet, but please Ash stand on me it wouldn't work with the caravan trust me on that. There was a time in one of the national parks the Lakes or Yorkshire where you had to paint your caravan green if it was pitched semi-permanent it wasn't an improvement to be fair. Hey, it's your call.
The solar roof rack is mint.
Are you keeping the Focus?
Hahah no plans to paint the caravan, that's just a waste of paint 😅 we're going to sell it just haven't gotten around to it yet
Given your floor has started rotting again and you're plundering it for parts. I wouldn't ve surprised if it becer goes backack on the road. The tarpaulin will eventually leak and through the passage of time things will stop working. I wonder if cutting of the front clip just behind the partition like people do on the old vw campers, keeping a manageable part of your van.
To be fair the floor repairs are actually ok! It's the chassis that has gotten in a state again haha. Next year I will get under there with a hammer and chisel, see just how bad we are talking. If it's too far gone then the whole van will be getting chopped up and recycled for other projects I think but we will see, I'd rather not! There's actually 3 layers of tarp on it now so hopefully will last the winter
@@LostInEurope if you would like inspiration that any car can be saved if you want it enough, suggest watching 'Cortina City'
Ah yes, the good old custom drainage holes on T1-T3 vans.
Did you manage to get your permanent residence sorted there mate? I remember you were waiting for a reply.
Yes 👌 we are both fully integrated here now
@@LostInEurope Awesome! :) Good on you.
Not tilting PV panels,, 🤪😅.
Cheers Ash,, 🍻😎👍.
(I would never dare start doing things, like paint etc, beore fixing all eventual mechanical things on the car. 😬)
Hahaha 🤣 to be fair I've had a good look over it and the couple of jobs are fairly easy for me to do. Tyring to get all the paint / sealing type jobs out the way before it gets cold 👌
@@LostInEurope Ok. I get it. Take care and thanks for sharing,, 💖
Have you sold Marie's van because it is not visible in the yard at all?
It's still here 😊 will be getting it back on the road next spring 👌
🌲🚙🙆🏻♂️
😊👍
(looks like u tube like u again! 😂)
Hahah we shall see 😅
Thank you for this Ash, I was just wondering about a good way to tilt my panels and your design is perfect. I'm just wondering if it's possible to power the raising of the panel as I have a high top Movano.
I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to put actuators on there connected to a switch inside. Just have to get all your angles right so they don't overload. I'm keeping it simple because that's just something else to break in low temps 😊
@@LostInEurope thanks mate, I'll give it a go 👍