OUR 1983 PROJECT caravan had a Carver 1800 space heater – which had stopped working long before Practical Caravan bought it. Truma bought Carver in the 1990s, and the 1800 is long obsolete, so we decided to replace it.

I decided to fit a new Whale space heater in its place and, despite a delay in obtaining the new unit, I went ahead and prepared the bottom of the wardrobe to receive it. I fitted a plate to cover the hole in the floor where the old space heater had been.

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1

Removing the Truma space heater was easy. I undid the four screws securing it to the floor and cut the 12V cables. The gas connection had corroded so badly that I had to cut through the 6mm copper pipe. I then lifted the heater out.

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2

The back box was also easy to remove. My intention is to make and fit a door in place of the heater which will create an extra cupboard under
the wardrobe. But the immediate job was to fill in the hole in the floor.

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3

The hole in the floor measured 15in x 5in. I cut a 20in x 9in piece
of 6mm-thick plywood and ran non-setting bedding mastic around its perimeter about one inch from the edge.

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4

With the tourer on the lift, I was able to screw the plate to the floor.
I then sprayed the plywood underside with a coat of matt black paint to protect it from the elements.

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5

I wanted the top plate to be level with the existing floor. To accomplish this, I fitted three pieces of wood 6mm less in depth than the depth of the hole and used adhesive sealant to secure them to the bottom plate. I then filled the gap between them with polystyrene insulation.

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6

I cut a piece of 6mm-thick plywood to fit the hole and screwed it to the three wooden bearers. In due course I will probably cover the wardrobe floor with a piece of vinyl.

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