We have a 1995 Peugeot Chausoon which we purchased in March this year. One of the roof panels was a bit ropey looking and bubbling slightly, however since the bad rain this has worsened considerably and now there is water coming in. I took it to a dealer tonight who did a moisture probe/test. He has stated that the majority of the roof needs replacing as there is water getting in along both sides etc. The roof inside does now look quite bad. We were told it would cost around £6000 to repair. Thats a lot Iknow, but I am stuck between a rock and a hard place as its not really sellable in its current condition and we need to get it repaired if we plan to keep it/use it. Is this price about right or can anyone recomend a cheaper place. We live in Salisbury, Wiltshire. Looks like a bank loan I think.........
Well it does sound a bit extreme. When you say the roof is looking a bit ropey are you refering to out side or in?
Why is it leaking? and where from?
I am sure a new roof would be that sort of money but thats not to say it needs a new roof. It may be cheaper to locate where the roof is leaking, have that bit repaired and then reboard the inside. However all this will be subject to the amount of damage already done. Let me say one thing, repairs of this sort, although not particualy difficult are extremely time consuming. I have carried out a minor repair or two before on both my current motorhome and a larger repair on an older caravan. Not something to take on lightly. I would however make sure you get a few quotes for the work, it might well be financialy not viable to spend 6k on a repair, but will be on a simple repair/patch. Have a word with a dealer that's not so big, or oddly enough speak to a chippy or 2.
Thanks for the quick response. He did say its pretty bad and is labour intensive to do (wil take around a week, not including the drying out process). Not sure where the leak is originating from but all the cupboards down one side are saturated and in places the roof is crumbling. Al this is from the inside.
What does the outside of the roof look like-can you see where it is leaking?--I would have thought you could patch it using glass fibre cloth tape & resin--
No there does not seem to be a single one place I can locate where the leak is from. Could be roofbars, ariel who knows. I will get another quote today hopefully it will be cheaper than 6k at least.
whalley1 - no bother - we bought a campervan March 2007 too - damp as a wet night on the Titanic. Ok its damp but one weeks work does not cost £6000.00 - is a footballer doing the work - shop around - even in Leicester we found one decent chap who although not cheap was very honest - its always repairable - don't despair - shop around - when we bought ours we were well fed up with leaks - damp - but we like the van and we will use it & we have learnt our lessons - keep smiling - we are looking 4ward to the Spring - and we will use our experiences to make sure the next purchase in years to come are the right ones - you are not alone in feeling downhearted but think how lucky we are to be able to sit here and talk to each other about such trivial things. Happy Vanning. from the Dampervan.
Thinking a bit more on this, why not try fixing a tarpaulin over the top and drying out from the inside (you may need to remove cupboards/roof panels, maybe)? Then take the tarpaulin off and spray with water and see if you can find the leak(s).
Edited to add a piece from another post on damp:
Good luck with the repairs!
www.alanparkers.dsl.pipex.com/
Another member has kindly put a website up showing how he cured the damp prob in their caravan.:)
If you click the search at the top of the page and type in damp, it comes up with all the posts relating to damp probs and possible solutions.
Thanks for all your responses, I think the guy is chancing his arm asking 6k from some of the responses, I am awaiting a second quote as we speek. Thanks again, there is light at the end of the tunnel.
If you cant see where it is leaking, nobody else can, the £6k was probably a quote for worst case senario so it figures that a much cheaper quote may not fix the leaks. I think the tarpalin idea is good, at least it will stop the rain getting in & should help you locate the leaks--I would have thought if you can get it all dried out you should be able to diy.
OK the second opion is in and in essence on my roof are numerous holes that water has frozen and expanded the holes in the roof and leaked into the inside. They say areas of my roof look like a colllinder and the second place also say I need a new roof. A mechanic friend of mine has offered to dry out my van and fibre glass the whole roof in cream (same colour as van), leaving me to sort of the cosmetic damage inside. Does anyone know if this is likely to work (the fibre glass that is) as I know nothing of this sort of stuff.
hi mate, i know exactly how you feel, i have been there myself with 2 m/h first one was an autotrail cherokee, when the roof was made out of 7 separate sheets, the second one was a rapido 710.The autotrail cost me £2000 to repair but it would have cost a lot more if i had not gone to the actual manufacturer ie. autotrail in Grimsby, the rapido cost me a quarter of what was estimated in this country, i went to france and had it repaired it there by the manufacturer, again leaky roof in the toilet/shower compartment, what i'm trying to say is, have you tried the manufacturer yet, its very easy nowdays getting in touch by email, and maybe upload some photos of the damage so they can have an idea of what is involved. Its only an idea but worth a try. Good luck!
Your fibreglass man sounds like a decent option. This will depend upon if the seals down each side are ok. when you start taking hte seal rails out the fun really starts. There is a well known caravan member on this site called Wizzard. He appears to be a bit of an expert in what you may have to do in the inside. Like I have said before though, do not expect it to be an easy job, it,s not, its very time consuminng. But the result you get is really satisfying when done yourself.
Also you may need a link to oleary's motorhomes spares for wall board etc.
Good luck and take some pics as you do it to keep us all informed.
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Topic: I need a new roof !!!!
