The beginning

Big Bess in Assynt (Sutherland)

In February of this year  (2015) , I purchased a 1994 Autosleeper Trophy. She (vehicles are always female aren't they?)  seemed to be in great condition, but a bit of poking around soon revealed that she needed a bit of sorting out.  The front wheel arches had been filled and the rear wheel arches  had been 'attended to'.  In addition, there was a visible rust line and some bubbling on the seam between the middle and rear panels (photo to follow)

Apart from that she was in great condition: Better than I was at 21.  Everything worked inside and she drove well - albeit a bit clunky through the gears unless coaxed (a common VW T4 issue it seems).

I managed to put almost 10k miles on her in the first 7 months with two trips to Scotland (one to Assynt in the far north) and two trips to the lake district and a whole lot of shorter trips around Cornwall and Devon.  So far so good.  The only thing that went wrong was one of the poppers that held the Chintzy curtains to the inside panel, came away after a post pub wrestling match.  I solved the problem by removing the chintz completely.

Just recently, though I managed to prang the side of her (she is now called Big Bess) on a gate post and this left me with rather more than I had bargained with.   I naively thought that a trip to a body shop would sort her out.  A bit of welding here and a spot of filler there and she would soon be back on the road.

First things first.   Camper vans like these are filled with insulation which is generally glued to the inside panels.   Any grinding or welding is liable to set this stuff on fire and see your pride and joy disappear in a ball of flame.   Secondly - companies such as Auto-Sleepers, put these vans together on the assumption that you want to go camping.  Not on the assumption that you want to repair them. As such, the inside is bonded, screwed and lined in a manner that makes removal a job for the slightly deranged.  So, here's my blog which will outline how I will remove and renovate the inside of Big Bess.  How I will tackle the rust and how I will probably lose my marbles.