A couple of summers ago, having pulled up on the road outside the drive, we unhitched the "tintent" from the car and unlocked the battery box to turn on the motor mover.
Checking for traffic, I started to reverse the tintent into the drive, not realising my inside wheel was just on the kerb. As the van swung around, ready to head off down the drive, the wheel rolled off the kerb and the lid of the battery box, which was hanging down towards the floor, struck the kerb, breaking the hinge!
Cursing, I sorted it all out once in the drive and started to check the damage. The one hinge was snapped where the moulding on the box side had snapped away from the main cupboard. I tried gluing with araldite but it was useless. I tried Sikaflex and was pleasantly surprised at how well it held but, sadly, less than a season later it was hanging off again!
I searched online for spares or a new box. Replacement hinges are not available due to it's moulded in design and so I resorted to looking for a new or, second hand box. If you can get one new you are talking anywhere north of £150, second hand about half that figure. Then you have the job of removing the old door and box and fitting the new. I read someone managed to do it in a day but, it was hard work and may be better going into a specialist. That would really ramp up the cost!
A caravan, that is in the twilight of it's life, is hard to keep on the road as, sadly, spares are very often non existent! I checked online regularly to no avail but was given a little bit of an idea in a single post in a forum about someone managing to make a bracket to repair the exact same problem. That set me thinking...
So today... that what I did, just using some thin steel, tin snips, electric drill, screwdriver and four self tapping screws!
Pictures below should be self explanatory! Please excuse the dirty van it will be cleaned imminently... honest!!
The metal was cut by snips, bent in a vice by hand and once in place was marked up, for drilling. Once drilled, I fixed it to the van allowing the metal strip to act as a brace for the two pieces of broken hinge. I am pleased to say it worked well and once painted does not detract from the look of the 'van unduly! Oh... and the savings, well, it cost me nothing as I had everything in the garage fortunately! As I always say... Careful, not tight, dot co dot uk!
