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Thank you! 😀

Changing down through the gears, upwards on hills …. I’ve learnt to change down early and keep the revs at the high end of the green eco-band. Steep hills are challenging, due I think to the age and distance the engine has completed. We are slow sometimes, but as we are in no hurry …. Yes, my driving has got better during the trip. Getting in and out of tight entrances especially. Big roads are easier of course, and keeping 90kph is relatively comfortable. There is a vicarious pleasure in driving something so large and slower than our other vehicles. The GoldWing trike you have seen and the wife’s SMART car :-). Hope to get to one of the European Bus Treffens next year and enjoying meeting other like minded road users. Keep up your videos; I’ll try and post more of our own too.

Marc, since DVLA changed to a hard-policy in 2018, its almost impossible for a 'bus' to be classified, as far as VED (road-tax) is concerned, as a 'camper van'. Probably the best that you can hope for is PHGV (private heavy goods vehicle). Though as the VED is the same as a campervan (currently at £165PA) then there is no discernible difference, as far as VED. However, there is an emergent requirement that some campsites are now following, that says that unless a vehicle is shown as a camper van on the V5, then that vehicle will not be permitted ! This is very much in the extreme minority but may change. Personally it matters little to me what it's classified by DVLA as. DVSA are the organisation that control the MOT stations, and provided you present a DVSA 75 rev Nov2018 form, you are certifying that the vehicle is NOT for carriage of goods and should be taxed as a Private HGV. So then a class 4 MOT with a brake test appropriate to the weight of the vehicle will take place. Remember that DVSA test"as presented". Insurers are now well aware of the DVLA stance, and most do not require that your V5 states 'camper van. Apologies for my tardiness and the lengthy response. Took the lifting of travel restrictions as an opportunity to go visit grandchildren :-)

@@appledore92 Thanks very much for this information. Puts things in perspective for me.

Thank you so much! First big road trip just completed. Look out for the video soon.

Glad you like it! We have just completed our first long road trip 1700 kms ! Will be loading that video onto my channel later today. We've proved that big 'bus-camper-RV's' can get almost anywhere. :-)

Thank you! Will do! Watching your videos and envying your sunny weather.

Thanks for your interest. We have been delayed by family issues. Elderly parent needs our attention more often. However, this year, (2020) we expect to finish and be touring UK and also several longer trips into Europe. Hopefully I will then have the time to update my video library and add the monthly updates of our long conversion.

Stelios The Greek Hmm, I guess you mean the raw aluminium then. Dislike chrome with a passion. The paint arrives this week and its starting as green. We have a graffiti artist who is looking at creating a design that we can both agree with... Watch for the updates and as we complete, I hope to get the hundreds of video clips and thousands of photos into a semblance of order and post them on here.

Andy Pollock We’re still working away Andy 😉. Weekly updates on Facebook and monthly(ish) on YouTUBE. Subscribe to the my channel and see the other video’s.

brian cantwell Original weight was (approx figures used) 12,700 kgs. We estimate we took out 2,500. Then put 2,000 back. Trike is around 600 fully laden. MPM is 17,000. We've a bit to spare, though public weigh bridge will define all in April when we get ready for road use. When we rebuilt the rear, figures indicate that the load there will be less than the design weight still; luggage and passengers considered. We're no lightweight for sure. 🤔

appledore92 thanks, can’t wait to see it finished and painted, enjoy your travels, are you staying in the uk or are you going to head straight for the continent ( sun )

brian cantwell we have got plans for some extensive touring abroad in our first year. But there’s a lot of the 🇬🇧 that we want to spend time in...

2-plans for that. We have a powerful 24volt motor that will lift via wire onto small pulleys. Greater torque, slow lift. OR, fallback is to use the 17,000-kgs recovery winch that lives just in front of where the trikes front wheel rests. That option won't have any problems. Just to note, the impetus to get the trike as far forward as possible, is to get the rear wheels closest to the pivot point. About 100mm is all; decreases the moment of force needed to lift. GoldWing trike is heavy fronted, hence my choice of the wheel type, not the original bike slim profile.

appledore92 having been through exactly what you plan you will soon get fed up with the wires and winching. I then went through thinking of alternatives and they are, use the onboard air system and fit airbags from the BMW X5 they give a 4 1/2 inch lift. Or there is the electric car jacks which give a 9 inch lift. Then there is what I went with which is the jacking system from a truck cab which gives a 22 inch lift and on the plus side is totally independent of the coach should any of your primary systems fail and is power up and power down, the others all rely on gravity. Just need to think outside the box ( I hate that phrase ) and get a little creative

OK, they are options I hadn't (yet) considered. Other projects on our build site use hydraulics, (tractors mostly) Had also considered the actuators that aircraft use. 24volt volts on helical drives. Seem able to cope with a lot of weight... Used for large gate openers too. Not seen truck cab lift motors. Something else to consider over our winter break. BMW airbags might not cope as we need a lot more height, though using levers may bridge the distance. Have you got any pictures on your setup you'd be willing to share. Plagarism is a form of applause after all ;-)

I'd go for the air bag lift option many choices of size, easy to fit and control.

duple dennis We have airbags as our suspension systems. Rear axle has 4, though even with the ferry height adjustment, which allows for the coach to rise an extra 4-odd inches, increases the ground clearance. I believe that will not suffice. Difficult to judge as at the moment, we are on our hydraulic, built in jacks. 4x10-ton lift capacity. This way we have leveled our vehicle, as our build-bay is not level. So our rear ride height is artificial. We’ll know more end of Feb when we get onto a flat hard surface. Then I’ll need to decide what final solution to use. In the meantime, we’ll utilize the 24v motor and wire lift ‘ropes’. Still not been able to find the truck cab lift motors as previously discussed. I have got a new 24v aircraft actuator, and having tested its lift capacity, it has got the capability... So still thinking / planning and open to suggestions 🤓🤔

MrHRY Intentions were high on monthly updates... The weather got better, then we did longer hours. Still taking photos and videos, downloading to a big hard-drive as camera capacity gets busted weekly. Weather in June was good, July got to silly temperatures, reached 40+ centigrade. So we took August off. We have a GoldWing trike, that's what the rear garage is for. Went touring for 5-weeks. Ireland, France, Belgium and Luxembourg. So of course it rained a lot. We're back working on the RV as its 15-20 C. Much more comfortable to work in. I will get back onto the video and upload the monthly videos, especially as evenings are getting darker.

Well done Guv'n'r. They'll always be a bit waiting for you to do. Even if its by remote control. Happy to take direction :-)

Plagiarism is the name of the game. See an idea you like, adapt it to your own purpose. Sit back and wait for the plaudits. There's a lot you can learn from CZcams, as I am actual proof of that process. Finally getting the hang of this upload process, keep it low-res' and then YT don't cauterise the length. Thanks for your comments too.

appledore92 Totally agree. We've found so many ideas on Pinterest. The boom in Tiny Homes has provided us with so many ideas to consider and make our own. The boating community also contributes a wealth of information.

I learnt welding from a youtube channel called SV Seeker. A 75-foot steel boat being built in Tulsa. About 1000 miles from the sea :-) Doug, the owner is an inspiration and his, 'can-do' attitude, outstanding.

Luke McAdie Yep. So your this side of the pond then ? :-). The T8 is a work in progress, hope you viewed the long version of this intro. I think FB has shortened the file, as its HD1080. So future uploads, (tomorrow?) will be HD480 I'm thinking. Want to see our back history ? Come find me on FB :-). I'll have a look through your pages and we'll go from there.