Retro caravans, they're actually a thing now
At first I didn't really get it
You know, those dark musty interiors
You know, the single hand pump over the kitchen sink
the methylated spirits stove
Yeah not really my thing
But then if your modernize them a bit
and pimp them out
Well then they become uber cool
G'day I'm Ben from Beautiful Plumbing
I was approached by the owner of this retro caravan
after he watched a couple of case study videos
about gas installations that we did on a few campers
Now he asked if I was willing to do
the gas on his retro caravan
so he needs some 4.5 kilos bottles
put in his front storage box
gas main run underneath
A barbecue bayonet for the rear of the camper
and also to hook up a hot plate inside the camper
I said "Sure!"
A few days later he dropped the retro van
around to the workshop
It was then he asked if I could maybe fit a water tank
and also set up the plumbing so he could hook up
one of those Joolca hot water systems
I said "Sure it's all plumbing."
Now the solar and battery system on this van
The set up is amazing
Perfect for free camping
so when I called him I said
What size tank do you want? 50 60 80?
He said "Well maybe we can get two?
Would that be possible?"
I said "Well I don't know. We can give it a try.
Crazy not to."
One thing I was very grateful for is that
I was asked to install the two water tanks
even before I started the gas work
which was great because then we could really plan out
where all the pipes were going
Nothing was going to clash
and also that on the filler pipes on the water tanks
we could have beautiful seeping bends
and so it was so easy to fill them up
This not only saved so much time
it meant that we could keep everything
really neat and tidy
Okay so let's just start with the gas plumbing
Gav has installed this toolbox
on the front of the caravan for us
and inside I had to create a partition
Just here to separate the gas chamber
from the general storage
so if there's ever a malfunction
there's a gas leak
the gas can't get into the general storage
Cos you could keep a battery operated drill or something
in there that might be a source of ignition
Also I had to make sure it would seal
the whole way around the front box
so when the lid was shut it was totally sealed off
Now we also installed these two Oztrails
4.5 kilogram bottle holders
These are great quality
and really easy to install the bottles
We also installed a single regulator
as well as a very important vent
on the bottom of the gas storage compartment
so if there's ever gas leak or a malfunction
the gas can escape
Okay so we installed the new hot plate
along with the permanent roof vent
to comply with the regulations
We also installed a bayonet
on the passenger side of the van
That's for the barbecue
and on the driver side of the van
we installed another bayonet and that was
to service the new Joolca hot water system
and of course each bayonet we installed
the very important dust plugs
And now for the plumbing side of the van now
Because Gavin want to have two tanks installed
we have to remove this retro single filler from the van
and installed what they call the triple filler
so one of it, well this one here, takes the main
from your caravan park water
So you can just plug it straight in and it'll run the van
then you've got the filler for the rear tank
and the filler for the front tank under here
and also the two breathers
that all have to be plumbed up to the to the rear of this
so as you're filling the tank the air
in the top of the tank can escape
So we installed a 70 liter Rotomould water tank
up the front of the van
About 90 liter on the rear of the van
We also installed under the kitchen sink a little pre-filter
before the pump
and also a beautiful retro mixer
We also use those great quality fittings from John Guest
for the water pipes and also for the filler pipes
and the breather pipes for the water tanks
I also made up one of these dual filters
that are high flow
quick connect fittings as well
so you fill up the tanks in the caravan all the time
with great tasting clean water
keeps you nice and healthy wherever you are
Well I suppose you're wondering what this
Well it's an awesome invention
and it's a must for free camping
This is a flow meter that you need to install
just after the pump on your caravan or camper
Now this is the flush mount version
and it's connected to the 12-volt system of your caravan
Now don't stress about if the power gets turned off to this
It still remembers the reading what it was last on
and there's also a surface mount
which is just battery operated
So instead of having water gauges on each tank
which aren't that accurate
What this does it keeps the track of
how much water you actually use
and the best thing about it is it counts down
So for example this retro van has about 160 litres onboard
so you set the Topargee flow meter
to count down from 160
so you'll know exactly how much water you have left
so you can maybe stay an extra night
So how easy is it to hook up your weber gas barbecue
when Beautiful Plumbing has done the gas work
And to delete pain points
we have made the connections tool-less
by using quick release fittings on the hose
So to connect up your barbecue
All you need to do is to grab the hose
remove the dust plug from the bayonet
stick the bayonet fitting into the caravan
and give it a slight twist to lock it in
Now no gas will come out of this fitting
even though the hose is live
because there's a safety valve here that stops it out
All you need to do then is to grab the end of this
and clip it, snap it onto your barbecue just like that
So now you're cooking with gas
Hey baby, the sausages are ready
So now for the Joolca hot water system
It has to be quick and easy to hook up without tools
so how long does it take to hook up
your Joolca hot water system
when Beautiful Plumbing has done
the plumbing and the gas?
Well less than a minute
So first of all
you just need to hang your Joolca hot water system
onto the side of the van
Now we installed some pinch weld
on the back of it here
so when it rests up against the van
it doesn't scratch it
First up just remove all your dust plugs
from your gas bayonet and the quick release fittings
and grab your gas hose, grab the bayonet end
stick that in your bayonet
give it a slight twist, lock it in there
Now remember no gas is going to come out of this
even with the plug in it
because it's got a safety valve on that
You clip that onto the gas side of your hot water system
Grab your little hot hose
whack it on the outlet of the hot water system
straight into the hot line quick connect
under the caravan
Same with the cold
Always put the cold on to the inlet first
and then as you plug it in
you'll hear the pump jump into action
and start getting water
flowing through the hot water system
There it is
Okay so how quick and easy was that?
Didn't even have to use tools
Okay, baby. Good to go!
So we've got a large workshop
Now many years ago I worked as a plumber
at a company called Heeshen Shipyards over in Holland
Now they build these luxury aluminium super yachts
and that was there I was taught how to tig weld
because I had to make up brackets sometimes
where there weren't any support for these pipes
that I was putting in
so it's very easy for me to fabricate brackets
to hold bayonets or water connectors or something
for your for your caravan or camper
to protect them from branches, bushes
or just to support them
I don't know why
Sometimes I just find it hard to concentrate
So if you, like me, live in the best city in Australia
and you would like an extra gas bayonet
put in your caravan
or you think there might be a gas leak
or you just need the gas certified
on your camper or caravan
or even thinking you wouldn't mind
having a little hot water system plumbed in
or even an extra water tank
Give Beautiful Plumbing a call
We'll be happy to help
Hey thanks for watching