I went up to my good mate's house first thing Saturday morning and we set to building the battery box. The first order of the day was to replace the two rear hardboard panels with 6mm plywood. Thin enough to bend but thick enough to provide some support to the battery box frame. We went to the local wood supplier and bought two huge sheets of ply and a few 2"x1" planks for building the frame for the box. We also picked up a ton of screws. But we were unable to find a couple of piano-hinges we were looking for. So we knew the doors to the box would have to wait for now.
We got back and marked out the two panels in plywood.
Then with the help of my mate's electrical carpentry kit and his expert knowledge we whipped around the template with a jigsaw. Well, he did.
Net result, a pair of rear panels almost ready to go in.
Before they could be fitted I drilled the holes through which the plastic rivets would pass, and did a lot of sanding. No one will get a splinter off these panels!
This was when we hit frustration number one. The panels would not go into the back of the van. As far as I could see the template was fine and all the holes lined up okay. The issue was that the default VW plastic clips were simply too short to bite properly with the thicker and less flexible plywood. This simple problem totally threw a spanner in the works. Not only did it mean we couldn't finish the job in one day (which would have proved impossible time-wise anyway as it turned out) but we couldn't completely work out how we would attach the box to the panel as we couldn't fit the panel in place.
Anyway, undaunted we continued on with the work. We measured, cut and built the beginnings of the battery box. This was one construction by the time it was done but was made of loads of bits of 2"x1" for the frame, plywood to cover, and to make the shelves, and a gazillion screws. It comprised a box to cover the rear wheel arch - this box will also hide all the electrical wiring when completed - and an upper box into which we can put the leisure battery, charger and 12v coolbox. Sweet.
There is some space spare for more storage and there will be easy access to everything via latched doors on the front of the box. We still plan to have a double 12v socket on the front, and one inside the box so that the 12v coolbox and one other appliance can be plugged in, out of sight. When the mains hook up is added a double 240v socket will be put on the front and one 240v socket will be inside, for the mains charger to plug into.
I didn't take a picture of the final state of how far we got the box at the end of the day as we were in a rush to get on and watch the England vs. Wales Six Nations match (one bit of good news in the weekend!). I'll edit this post and stick one in tomorrow when I have some daylight.
Anyway, I've just ordered a bunch of double length replacement plastic rivets and as soon as they arrive I should be able to install the plywood replacement panels. Then it's time to arrange to get back to the mate's house and finish off the box.
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