Modifying those pesky caravan windows

Geraldton was reached without drama and soon I was performing the tricky manoeuvre of reversing the van up the driveway at our Son's house. On one side, the fence has a gate-post and the remains of a gate that had clearly been hit many times in the past and on the other side is the gutter of the house, which sticks out about 700mm. The result is that the clearance is about 60mm on each side of the van. Thankfully, Sue is excellent at giving directions and we completed the job without mishap or frayed tempers.

Our Son was at work and we were keen to get to the shops and start purchasing the things that we would need to replace the inner windows of the caravan. As mentioned in the previous blog, these windows are a right-royal pain in the rear end. The concept, where the insect screen rolls down and/or the block-out blind rolls up, is clever and would be a joy to have - if only they worked! Unfortunately, the insects were able to skittle around the edges of the screen, or the blind, for that matter, meaning that we spent many a night huddled in the van with all of the interior lights switched off, trying desperately not to attract the little blighters.

We attempted to do the recommended modification but this had the effect of putting too much pressure on the rollers, making it difficult to retract either the insect screen or the blind - and it didn't completely fix the insect issue. The solution came to me one night and after a quick discussion with Sue, it was decided to give it a go.

All of the windows were measured and we set off to buy the materials. The plan was to make wooden window frames with a recess rebated into them to accommodate a standard sized aluminium flyscreen frame. Once made, the aluminium frame would fit flush with the wooden frame and seal out the critters. Now, when measuring windows to make frames, always remember that it is length x width x 2. The times 2 bit is very important or you will end up only buying half of the material that you need, like I did.

We were able to get some Tasmanian Oak timber with a rounded, or as it is correctly described, bull-nose edge. This is the stuff that you will commonly see being used as skirting boards in houses. I purchased half as much as I would eventually need and we set off to see about getting the flyscreens made up.

The first glazier who we visited had just returned to work after the extended Christmas break. He had a backlog of work as long as your arm and declared that all of the other glaziers in Gero would be in the same position. He wouldn't be able to make the screens for a couple of weeks - much longer than we could hang around as we had booked a Pacific cruise for just a few weeks from then and had to get to Brisbane to join it. So we decided to purchase the aluminium frame material, the corner joiners and the spline and make the screens ourselves.

The glazier said that it would even take a day or two to have the aluminium frame lengths cut into two so that we could fit them on the car! What to do? Naturally, I ordered half as much stuff as we needed and settled for waiting a day or two because I could be getting on with the wooden frames while we waited. Because we were going to make the frames ourselves, I would need to purchase a saw blade specifically for cutting aluminium - $153.00 that I wasn't planning on spending. Never mind, our Son would probably be able to use it sometime in the future.

We purchased a couple of rolls of insect mesh, not even thinking that we would be able to re-use the mesh in the existing windows, which we later did. We spent just under $400.00 for everything, including the blade and a couple of other tools that we would need. Of course, this was for only half of the wood and aluminium that we needed and we spent another $120.00 when I realised my mistake and got the remainder. Still, if things went to plan, this would be money well spent.

Things did, indeed, go to plan. Routing the rebates for the screen frames was easy, cutting the 45 degree mitres on the corners was a breeze, joining the frames was a little tricky because the cheap, Chinese, corner clamps flexed as they were tightened but, all in all, they looked a million bucks when finished. All that remained was to coat them with some sort of finish. Sue was given the task of applying outdoor furniture oil to them and I busied myself making the aluminium insect screen frames. These were even easier and by the time I made the last one I had got it down to about 5 minutes per frame, including fitting the mesh.

Once the frames had dried I laid the old, plastic frames over each one in turn, using them as templates to drill the mounting holes in the wood. Next, it was time to fit the screens to to the wooden frames using piano hinge. I guess that I could have used ordinary hinges but I was wary of the amount of flex the frames would experience as the caravan trundled along and elected to go for the stronger option. Finally, I fitted good, old fashioned, butterfly clips to keep the screens closed and a small cabinet knob as a grip to open and close the screens with. Job done! Now it was time to fit the new windows. Using the old screens as a template was the best part of the design, allowing me to fit each window in minutes, without so much a a single hole being drilled in the wrong place.

Hooray, nice looking windows that actually work!

A close-up, showing the fiddly bits.

From start to finish the entire job took about ten days, although actual working time was much, much less. We had also built a 3m x 3m shed in our Son's back yard as his shed was bulging at the seams, mostly with our stuff. While at Geraldton we also had the caravan serviced. This included bearings, brakes, hatch cover replacement and all of the outside light covers being replaced as they had all gone brittle over the years. Mission accomplished, it was time to think about heading to Perth, via a stopover at Sandy Cape for a few days. We had much to get organised in Perth and could delay our departure no longer.

For those whom have not been to Geraldton, it is located about 400 Km north of Perth and has a population of around 30,000. The beaches are a feature, with stunning white sand and clean water. Geraldton is very windy during the summer months but much less so during autumn, winter and spring, when winds are usually accompanying the frontal systems as they pass through (less and less often these days, unfortunately.)

Geraldton was once the home port of a thriving crayfishing industry, but as the fishery came under pressure, the WA Fisheries were forced to implement some harsh conditions to ensure that crayfishing was sustainable into the future. This has resulted in a dramatic reduction in the size of the fleet, with many former skippers and deckhands turning to the mining industry for employment. Mining and farming are major employers, both directly and indirectly, of people living in Geraldton these days.

For the traveller, there are many caravan parks, hotels and motels. Geraldton could do with a few more restaurants but for those preferring simpler fare, there are plenty of pubs, cafes and takeaway places. If you need something, you will most likely be able to get it at Geraldton and the retail sector is strong in the town.

Visitors to Geraldton usually take time to look at the HMAS Sydney Memorial and the Foreshore and Marina developments, including the Geraldton Museum, which is located right on the waterfront. Geraldton is a logical starting place for touring the wildflowers destinations further inland, which have become almost legendary in status. Spend a day or two at Geraldton, you won't be disappointed if you do.

Part of the HMAS Sydney Memorial. The dome is made up of one stylised seagull for each of the crewmen who went down with the Sydney. The statue is of a lady gazing out to sea, trying to spot her loved one returning. As it happens, the direction that the lady is facing turned out, quite by chance, to be aligned pretty closely with where the Sydney was eventually found. 

Next issue....Sandy Cape and Another Crappy Gravel Road