No more Mellow Yellow for Bokkie

 Tuesday 16/08/22

This is the second post on work we've been doing on Bokkie during this sit - thanks to the warm and dry weather.

Another age-related issue with these Hymers is the gradual yellowing of many of the internal plastic material, mostly due to prolonged UV exposure.

Before and after of the driver's door.

The habitation door looking much better; we've also replaced the fly screen material.

You can see the difference as soon as the first coat starts to go on.

There are apparently ways to improve the discoloration with peroxide but there are concerns that this can make the already brittle plastic even more so.  We therefore opted to go the painting route followed by many other Hymer owners.  Although the paint may mark and chip with time, it will still be infinitely better than the current nicotine-yellow areas that contrast with the general clean, white areas inside.

Painting the window surrounds

The newly-revived passenger window surround back in place

You can see the contrast between the door, unpainted at this stage, and the window surround.
The problem is the ceiling which houses the bed now looks very out of place.
A future project!

We used a Multi-Surface Paint that gives good adherence to the plastic and should give quite a durable, washable finish and generally applied two to three coats.

While in the UK I had to re-seal the main skylight so used the opportunity to paint the surround 
which had also yellowed and looked terrible against the white ceiling.

One problem with starting a job like this is that once you spruce up one section you immediately want to tackle the next area that then looks a bit shoddy by contrast!  

Owning a 20 year old motorhome keeps one busy but we love Bokkie and enjoy treating her to a little TLC.

Refurbishing Bokkie's bumper

 Sunday 14/08/22

This is a technical blog about Bokkie's repairs, more for our record but some of you might find it interesting.

The quality on German-made Hymer's is generally very good but there are a few issues on Bokkie's vintage that tend to become a problem later in life.  

One of these is a delaminating topcoat on the grey bumpers; something you tend to see on all Hymers of Bokkie's age.  Also, as the front shocks are often an issue, the low front bumpers tend to scrape and crack over time.  Ours was no different - quite badly cracked when we bought her and we also had a minor altercation with a bollard in Calais last year. 

I followed the process on how to repair and paint the bumper on one of our favourite blogs, Jay and Ju of Our Tour

https://ourtour.co.uk/home/diy-repair-and-respray-of-a-hymer-motorhome-bumper/

This isn't' Bokkie but shows what the flaking looks like on Hymer bumpers after a few years

Last year, while at this same sit, I removed the bumper and repaired the cracks with fibreglass and resin in preparation for re-painting.  I have also been gradually peeling the loose, flaking paint to accelerate its removal.  While in the UK I bought all the paint and accessories I would need; I decided to o for spray cans as there isn't a compressor that I can use on this sit and had the correct colour made up.  I opted for respraying with the original Fiat colour rather than having a colour-match done to get an exact match - she's an old girl and if the bumper doesn't exactly match the rest of the trim, we'll live with it.

Although the cracks had been repaired from behind with fibreglass, they
needed to be filled and sanded smooth before painting.

Starting to paint.

Once we had settled in here, I removed the bumper and began filling the last of the cracks, peeling of the rest of the topcoat and sanding the bumper to a satisfactory finish for re-painting.  It's a long, laborious process and it's hard not to overdo it, seeking an absolutely blemish-free finish so we keep reminding ourselves that Bokkie is an old girl and we need to make her look better than she did, not necessarily like new.

Primer on, ready for the next stage.

Metallic base coat and top-coat applied, ready for polishing.

Once I was happy with the sanding, I started with three primer coats, sanding any remaining rough spots that became evident.  This was followed by six coats of base-coat, the metallic grey colour.  Then came about four clear coats, flatting off and polishing.  Unfortunately the huge polisher we had brought with for the job managed to self-destruct and shook itself apart.  This meant finishing the polishing by hand, another long job for already tired hands.

Getting ready to re-fit the newly painted bumper

Bokkie looking proud of her smile again.  I love the way the light is shining through her Hymer
sign onto the radiator (below the number plate)

Once polished, the lights and number plate were replaced and the bumper was fitted to Bokkie.  It's by no means at the same level as you would get from a professional paint shop but at around £130 for materials and some of my labour, she looks pretty good again and it's been nice to spend quality time on a project like this.

The horses of Monte Ruivo

 Tuesday 09/08/22

At last the horses were at the right place at the right time, taking advantage of the beautiful evening light for a photo op.

The aptly named Puppi, gas powered, puttering along, emitting a constant stream of methane gas.

Silke and Charmeur

Branco

Post drinking dribble-time

Quizzy Branco, hoping she'll convince me it's time for more hay.

Poor downtrodden Galant, always bottom of the pecking order

Of course, it wouldn't be fair to neglect the other 'wildlife'.

You can see how the cattle have grazed the fields to dust.

Even though Molly loves the heat, she still has to seek out a cool spot 
in the heat of the day.

For this trip we also brought more staple food stuffs (like rice, tinned vegetables, bags of oats & long-life milk) so we're not having to cycle for food shopping as often, which means we can focus more on other things.  One of the advantages of repeat sits is that we know what to expect so can plan really well.

We're filling our days with exercise and multiple jobs on Bokkie.  Some of them are coming to an end so we'll post some photos showing the results soon.

Sounds of Santa Luzia

 Wednesday 03/08/22

It's hard to believe July has come and gone; the year seems to be flying by!  

At the start of the year we were still in South Africa, then Brittany, then the UK and now we are in Portugal and it's August already.

A nice cool morning with the first of the grey mist from the ocean

We had a few very hot days in a row which was quite tiring but it has cooled down again which is a huge relief, this morning was the first misty morning and it works wonders for the temperature, especially as it means everything just cools down a little overnight and makes the days more bearable.

Finding the coolest spot to rest is a constant challenge

We're keeping busy with the usual stuff on the farm and some Bokkie jobs and will post some more photos once we start to get some parts finished.  We've decided to take advantage of the cooler weather tomorrow to do a cycle around the farmlands and hopefully stop for coffee and a pastry in Garvao.

Every evening, we finish off our day by sitting on the 'stoep' outside our room -  watching the sun set with the melodic (sort of) tinkling of the cattle and sheep bells in the neighbour's fields.  

If you listen carefully on the video you will get a taste of this as the flock of sheep move past the bottom of the property.

Keeping busy in Santa Luzia

 Tuesday 26/07/22

We love the evenings when it starts to cool down and we get magnificent sunsets.

On Monday we drove Bokkie down the very narrow lane in Colos to see the mechanic and, in spite of language difficulties, he managed to find and repair the cause of the brake problem.  

One side of the brake slave cylinder (the muscle that pushes the brake shoes onto the drum) had corroded and was not releasing the shoe.  This meant the brake shoe was permanently rubbing against the drum causing the tremendous heat build-up.  

We basically fixed Bokkie next to the road as his workshop was so full.

Luckily he could clean it up and we were soon back on the road again. He charged a ridiculously low fee for his time so we tipped him well as his expertise was very welcome, and he was super friendly. 

The drive down the narrow lane through the village to get out again was even more stressful, avoiding parked cars, overhanging roof tiles and overhead cables.  We wouldn't normally venture down such a narrow road with Bokkie but it was worth it.

If life hands you a lemon, just eat it!

The second heat wave seems to be breaking with a north-westerly wind keeping the temperature in the low 30's for a change, but the house is still very hot inside and will take a few days to cool down.  

We had a bit of a rough night last night, partly due to the heat and the fact that we were woken at 11:30 by the cat (just saying hello, hello, hello) and at 01:00 by Bokkie's alarm (spider spinning a web in front of the internal sensor).  We park Bokkie quite a long way from the house to find some shade so it's a fair old  walk to go and check up on her.

A lovely walk through the cork forest, very dry!

We decided to go for a really long cycle this morning (1.5 hours of dirt road, with plenty of hills and dust), so are both feeling a bit worn out today - but glad for the exercise. 

Molly, now worm and flea  free and as cute as ever.

Feeling the heat in Santa Luzia

 Sunday 24/07/22

We nearly stepped on this beauty, it flattens itself to make it look like a viper or adder.
Come on Charles, give us an ID.

When you pick it up, it shows it's true shape, long and slender.

We're back in our Portugal routine - busy mornings, exercising or working in the cool of the day and then sheltering during the heat of the afternoon.  The wind usually comes up in the afternoon and it has the same effect as a thermo-fan in an oven, blasting hot air over us.  

The temperature peaked just below 39 degrees yesterday and the house doesn't cool down much overnight, but we're not complaining!

This is why we love the place, it is beautiful!

Early mornings are great for cycling.

I've managed to make a little progress on Bokkie, the wheel problem is definitely the brake that is binding, I'm just not sure why.  We have an 'appointment' with a local mechanic on Monday so we'll see if he can help.  

I have fixed the step and spent a few hours trying to trace the source of the intermittent fault, still without success.  The most likely culprit seems to be a worn wire chafing somewhere which would explain why it happens on rough roads.  Ideally I need a reading from Bokkie's dated diagnostic system to point me in the right direction, maybe the mechanic can help with that as well.

Poor Bokkie's dash getting a work-out, tracing wires.

With the extreme temperature yesterday we managed to cool the horses down with the hose which they seemed to appreciate.

Shower time!

Followed by a dust bath.

And maybe a quick drink.

Charmeur getting in on the action

We realised Molly (the cat) was showing signs of a severe tapeworm problem and managed to order some medication online.  As we are completely off-grid here, we had it delivered to the butchery in the village and went to pick it up from them.  Kudos to the Portuguese postal service - the parcel arrived very quickly. (we were a bit nervous due to our remote location, and not quite knowing exactly how the address and postal codes work). 

Molly seems much more lively now and hopefully will get her body back to herself for a while.  She's allowed back on laps now that she is not permanently shedding tapeworm segments... 

We've been here a week already (time flies), and are staying for another 7 weeks or so - looking forward to many cycles, walking, relaxing and just enjoying this magic place.

Arrived at Santa Luzia, Portugal

Sunday 17/07/22

What should have been a relatively easy 4-hour journey to the house sit turned into an all-day ordeal with Bokkie misbehaving (not her fault, really).  As we turned in for our first rest stop I found the brake pedal offered no resistance and dropped to the floor, something I had noticed briefly on one of the long legs through the mountains the previous day.  Luckily, pumping the pedal reinstated the pressure and we could stop safely but there was obviously a problem.  I checked all the wheels and found the one left wheel was scorching hot.  

Talking of scorched, some of the recent fires, still smouldering, were quite a grim sight.

I had replaced one of the rear bearing in the UK but now the other wheel seemed to have an issue, either another bearing failure or a binding brake but repairing at the roadside in the intense heat was not an option.  Unfortunately it was compounded by the fact that the wheel has the exhaust just in front of it and was facing the sun most of the time.  

We resorted to driving 50km at a time and then stopping to douse the wheel with water, waiting for it to cool sufficiently and then repeating.  It meant we ended up driving through the heat of the day which we had hoped to avoid, and spent a lot of time in motorway services, gently boiling in Bokkie!

Bokkie has no air conditioning so we resort to old-school methods.
Windows open, dashboard fan and a water spray bottle.

It was slow, difficult going and once we were about 12km from the house, along the smaller, rougher roads, the intermittent limp-mode problem resurfaced.  It got so bad that when we turned onto the long, dirt access road we thought we might have to abandon Bokkie and walk the final stretch.  I switched her off, had a few words and tried again, managing to limp the last mile to the house.

Definitely some work to be done before our return trip.

The area is desperately dry and has been scorched by the heat wave but the horses are all fine and we are joined by Molly, a stray cat that has made itself at home at the house during the previous sitters' tenancy.  It's nice to have some company but she is super-talkative, and does take away from the peace and tranquillity a bit.

Molly, our guard-cat.  We might re-name her Skollie!

It's lovely to be back here; hopefully it cools down a little and we settle into a routine in this lovely place.