Page 1 of 1

Folding a Portafold

Posted: Sun, 28 Jun 2009, 10:39 pm
by vauxhallbitz
This may be a stupid question but when you fold the sides of the van down do the side cushions remain in place and fold onto the base cushions or do they all have to be put on the floor?

This is the first time I have tried to fold the van down with cushions inside it,

Fraser.

Posted: Mon, 29 Jun 2009, 9:05 am
by Admin
Fraser,

The easiest way to do it is to have the long mattress cushions in the side 'pods' but at the front of the Portafold near to the wardrobes, that way they will miss the support moulding for the bunk across the back. You can then place a square cushion in the side pods at the rear end, below where the kitchen unit would go (or bunk).

You can then place the remaining four square cushions on the floor. If you have an original sink unit you'll need to leave a gap between the cushions for the sink to sit in. i.e. two or three cushions at the far end of the floor and another two or three cushions near to the door.

Hope this helps.

Posted: Fri, 17 Jul 2009, 11:19 am
by alexdundee
I recently used our Portafold for camping near London at three different locations and we take more stuff with us then we need to... like a windbreaker and stuff that doesn't go under the seats or in the car, so i have been putting the cushions under the seats closest to the door, it's a bit of a squeeze but they go in there nicely and we put 3 in a side, so leaves me the space in the footwell to put all the other long and bulky stuff.

Posted: Fri, 17 Jul 2009, 11:35 am
by Admin
Blimey, I wish I had empty lockers for cushions :lol:

Mine are all full up with 'stuff', one side has my fold away aluminium camping table, folding chairs etc, the other side has all my electrical gear, my ZIG unit, Status TV aerial and other assorted bits and pieces.

There is another place you can put cushions... You can always place them under the end wall of the Portafold. What I mean is, when folding down you first put both the sides down, then you can place two square cushions underneath the end wall (once the end is folded down they're under the window).

Does that make sense? :?

Posted: Sat, 18 Jul 2009, 1:45 pm
by Snorbs
I have put my cushions under the roof when the Portafold is shut down manys times.

Usually when i have filled the pods up inside the Portafold with more rusty objects i don't need but, they were cheap at a show, so would have been rude to leave them their :lol:

Also, if the Portafold is full and i can't get the pillows and duvet in i have put them under the roof panel, which also works well. :)

I don't always take all of the cushion's to the shows now as i found i did not need them all and i can fit other things i do need in better.

Also, alot of fellow Portafold owners have had problems sleeping on the cushion's the way they have made the bed up so, i showed them how i do mine and they sleep fine now.

I always place the 2 long cushions across the width of the Portafold and the smaller cushions near the door way end. This way you don't fall between the cushion in the night :oops: I also place a blanket over them 1) to keep them protected and 2) to help keep them in place and then a normal king size fitted sheet seems to work well on top of that. :wink:

Posted: Sat, 18 Jul 2009, 4:29 pm
by bigbird
I really want to use the underseat storage compartments to store things as my cushions are really a bit too deep and take up the central walkway when I fold her down. The problem is I can't use the underseat storage at the moment at the far end of her, because there seems to be a little bit of dampness inside her when it rains (lid closed down), does anyone have any idea where this could be getting in? it doesn't appear to be in the topside, as none of the furnishings or carpet is wet. The only thing I can think is that it is getting in somewhere under the hinges at the far window end? Does this make sense, I've almost confused myself.... :?

Water ingress at front

Posted: Sat, 18 Jul 2009, 4:58 pm
by txfsealord
Hi Bigbird,

I found on mine, if it's stored folded outside in a slightly nose-up attitude, rainwater gets in round the baffles at the end of the folded sides, lies on top of the front lockers & runs in past their lids. This only seems to be when standing, it's been OK when towing, so far. Mine's probably worse than usual in this respect as hull-distortion has caused the tops of both front-corner lockers to slope downwards towards the centre locker.

When folded outside, I leave it slightly nose-down. I drilled 5/16" drain holes at the lowest inboard point of all my lockers; I dislike sponging out puddles. When packing for travel, I put only metal or plastic things on the locker floors, with bedding etc. above these items. Seems to work, we've not seen any water in it since - other than when we've spilt it ourselves!

Steve Lord

Posted: Sat, 18 Jul 2009, 5:28 pm
by bigbird
Oh that's great Steve, many thanks, I'll try that. Pardon my stupidity, but I guess by 'nose up' you mean the end with the draw bar?

Water leaks

Posted: Sat, 18 Jul 2009, 8:55 pm
by txfsealord
Yes that's right, drawbar end. I've just re-read your post; it's worth checking for gaps in the tape along the joint between the front panel & the hull, especially if there is any damage to the fibreglass, from previously broken hinges etc. I've used ordinary Gaffertape here on mine, it seems quite adequate. There should be a flexible sealing-strip also, this is glued to the hull so it's covered by the front panel when the van's erected. On my van there's quite a large gap above this seal when erected, which doesn't seem to matter. If there's any "waggling" of the ends when putting the roof up (before the sides are pulled up to brace the ends) this waggling will heavily squash these seals. As you've observed, it's hard to control the roof's movement sometimes. So I doubt whether a damaged seal here would make a difference where leaks are concerned, as its function seems to be more as a movement-limiter for the panel when erecting. But it might help you to know it should be there.

I was sad to read of your roof-damage; I've been so close to having that accident myself, so many times.....

Steve

Posted: Sun, 19 Jul 2009, 3:51 pm
by bigbird
Thanks for that Steve, I must admit I was close to tears when it happened, I put in so much buddy hard work on it....You know what a labour of love these wee beasties are!! :) I've just checked and put some gaffer tape on the lose parts of the original tape. Hubbies just put the furniture back on the roof as well so she's starting to look more 'Portafold' like and less 'Coracle'.. :lol: :lol:

Jan

BTW Fraser, this was a brilliant thread to put on, I couldn't think of storing the cushions anywhere else but in the foot well!