Something a little different to a bus so hopefully this is ok in the resto section! After selling our last mobile catering business many years ago the wife, Hannah, has decided she wants to get back into that world. As always, she decided she just had to buy the first thing she saw so we are now the proud?! owners of a a Bahill horse box that had been converted at some point in it's past. On initially looking around I was expecting the brakes to need work and the flooring looked a little suspect, nice new vinly had been put down but it felt soft in places and it seemed to have untreated ply for the floor. The plan was to take out the worktop and cupboards, check the floor and replace if needed and then work on whatever else was found So yesterday after picking it up (and in hindsight probably paying a bit too much) I began the destruction! Before: During: And the underneath: So that was yesterday's progress. Floor is soaked and definitely needed removing. The plan now is to get the floor out fully in the next day or two, this will give easier access to work on the brakes and will give me the chance to clean up the chassis and get some paint on it. I was thinking red oxide primer with a black metal paint to give some protection unless anyone has a better suggestion? After that it'll be secure some panels that are loose, change the hatch to one that swings upwards (and hopefully stop some water ingress), see if I can get the other "doors" working and then rebuild the interior. Easy! The roof has had a repair many years ago but seems watertight, might be a candidated for replacement once we have earnt some money from this........
You have gone and bought yourself a load of work there, haven’t you Should be a doddle after looking after a bus though
Considering you're going to strip out the conversion and even change the hatch, would it not have been easier to start with an unconverted one? Or are you then in a more competitive market bidding against horsey types? Or are they just to poo and wee encrusted? Makes me shudder when I see a vehicle that's had a lifetime of animal excrement soaking into it converted for food preparation.
I definitely have or to be more precise the wife has bought me a load of work! Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk
We could have gone either way really. There were some unconverted ones for less money but very old and not touched in a while. There were some for slightly less but we would have had to cut the hatch which I didn't fancy and replace floors, do electrics etc. anything in better condition had the horsey premium. This one has been converted for a good few years and it will have all new flooring in so should be all clear on the hygiene front! However we just discovered one of the axles has a hole so it's probably going to get a little spender that we'd hoped, in hindsight we could maybe have got a better one I guess it's like buying an old VW in that respect Better to do it right though! Hopefully we'll still be a good chunk up on paying for someone else to do the whole lot...... Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk
I had to check Hannah was ready to share. But it's going to be dessert based this time, crumble pots. She will be adding updates on Instagram as we progress (nothing there yet!) https://instagram.com/the.crumble.bar Hoping to do a few events next year, aiming to start in April Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk
I did one for a customer a few years ago, coffee and Prosecco Think it’s still in regular use, was a nice change from busses
TBD but probably new car time. Got a 3 series a few months ago but thinking of getting a Tiguan or X1. 4wd would be useful Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk
As I eluded to earlier today revealed some unexpected corrosion on the axles. The bits I could see didn't look too bad but once the floor was up I found some crusty bits that turned into holes So the plan now is for 2 new axles, on the plus side they come with new brakes so that is one less job and offsets some of the cost. Also managed to find a local supplier with buffalo board at a reasonable price. @pkrboo it might work well the flooring job you have Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk
it definitely is, found more to fix than we hoped but too far in to stop now! Like I said before, it's very similar to a lot of van restos! Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk
For sure similar to van resto and nice project to keep you busy. At least when done you eliminate any nasty surprises and it’s done right and will serve you well
While you are refurbing and have it stripped out it will definitely be worth rewiring the unit , so it complies with the 18th edition of the wiring regs , there is a section on mobile units which covers catering vans and trailers, it will cover earthing , height of inlet for mains hook up, types of circuit breakers , rcbo, rcds etc , correct wiring types and sizes , zones containing gas and electrics , and vibration chafing wires , Good luck with your project and the business going fwd .
I think (hope!) The dismantling stage is nearly over. Luckily the rest of the metal work seems ok, some rust but having cleaned it up it's not looking thin so just some treatment and painting to do. The side panels are aluminium so other than being loose in places they don't need a lot. I've probably cursed it now though..... I have a friendly electrician for a neighbour so i'll be asking him to take a look for me Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk
The floor is all out now and I need to drop an axle at the weekend to get some measurements. In the meantime i'll be keeping busy with cleaning the rails and getting some paint on them. I decided to go down the poly abrasive pad route, had a 5 minute play with them earlier and they seem really good. So a couple of questions, I went over one piece and it ended up looking alright (pic below) I was planning to go straight on with some red oxide primer. Does that sound ok? Or should I be using some rust treatment first? Second one is opinions for the outside. The side panels are aluminium so I gave them a quick tickle with the pads as well, it's had quite a few layers of paint over the years! Now I'm torn between taking it all the way back for paint or a quick rub down and paint on top. Thoughts? Final bit of pondering is around the floor. I've seen a horse trailer specialist who puts down a layer of 50mm square galvanized mesh down made from 4mm thick wire. This adds strength for horses but I think in my case it would also stop the wood sitting directly on the rails so would stop any water being trapped. Have I missed a downside to this? Sent from my Pixel 7 using Tapatalk
