Hi I'm new to caravaning this year and was look for same advice on damp repairs in caravan I have bought. We have a 2005 Lunar quasar. And having bought a damp meter I have established that we have damp in our caravan in both back corners inside a floor level.
Can anyone suggest the best way to identify where water coming from and best way to repair.
Many thanks,
Steve
It could be getting in through the awning rail or coming up from underneath if the awning trim (Herzim strip) has been cut too short or fastened underneath to the wooden floor.
Hi Paul, Thanks for your advice it is really appreciated. My caravan is wet underneath in the corners so could be that. But whatever I do I can't seem to stop them getting wet every time it rains. Those plastic insert awning strips I have pulled out from rail and then stretched a little so they protrude past the bottom of body. The hope was that that this might direct the rain water away. Any thoughts. Many thanks Steve.
I had a similar problem with mine. I decided to park it nose-up to keep black streaks down the front to a minimum, bad idea. The rainwater runs down the back panel (it also covers the edge of the side too) and then runs off it onto the floor ply. The constant wetting stops the wood drying out and so it rots over time. I modified it to stop it happening.
Dave.
------------- Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you on experience.
Mark Twain.
Steve see how it goes, when the strips hang down they act as a drainpipe but it depends on where the waters coming from. The Herzim trim on mine hang down a few inches, but you could snip a cable tie off at the coupler and stick that under the trim if needs be.
Hi I have had the Herzim trim hanging down a couple of inches for a couple of months now so I guess this is helping water run off. However underside corner and now inside both corners are still wet. The reading are higher on the back wall part of the corner rather than the side wall. Am only using DIY damp meter but readings are as high as 80. Starting to be able to see visible sign of water on internal wall board. I am happy to experiment and DIY but not sure where water coming from. 🤔
I've got exactly the same issue with my 2016 Quasar based van. Slightly odd that highest damp reading (meter maxed out!) is on floor and adjacent rear wall which to all intense and purposes is 'inside' the one piece rear body moulding which has no cracks/damage or other obvious points of water entry (the rear lights and grab handles show no opportunity for water ingress)! The side wall adjacent to the awning/draft curtain channels is fine.
I used to store van nose up, but since I discovered damp I store it nose down to limit the amount of water running down rear panels, which over last couple of months has seemingly reduced size of damp area.
Storage site has been inaccessible for all but a few days due to Covid closures since I discovered damp, so have had very limited opportunity to investigate in much detail. Can't really check near side very well as the lined shower cubical is there, but off side inside wardrobe is definitely damp.
I've used a high end DIY/semi Pro pinless meter that has replicated dry area readings from last service by qualified caravan engineer, so reasonably confident the meter readings are accurate.
Steve if its in the walls its coming from above and most likely from the awning rails themselves or from the roof join.
However check the window seals etc as part of the search.
Hello, and merry xmas. Month I'm gonna move caravan to nose down today as on driveway and defiantly nose up at the moment. Good luck with yours wl be interesting to see what it's like when you can get into the storage.
Hey Paul B, Happy Christmas. I'm interested In your advice. I don't have roof joint as small van. But I do have head high and waist high joins on back end. What is the best way to identify where coming from with out dismantaling every rail or window frame etc? Many thanks.
Quote: Originally posted by Steve Grimston Down on 24/12/2020
Hi Dave, Thanks for your response, that sounds interesting. What modifications did you make. Many thanks.
I bought some plastic 90 degree angle strip from B & Q (other DIY shops are available) and cut it in suitable lenghts so that I could insert it between the back panel edge and the floor ply, ythis gives a vertical edge so that the rainwater dropps off instead of going farther on and wetting the floor ply. Once I acheived the required shape all round the rear corners I fixed them in place with some Soudal RV61 sealant/adhesive. Not rocket science and to be honest this type of anti- drip mod could have been designed into the rear moulding.
Dave.
------------- Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you on experience.
Mark Twain.
Hi Dave, that sounds like a good idea think I will do the same. Is it possible that water is soaking upwards from external ply floor and making wall damp inside. My wife has suggested we invest in a cover to prevent water getting to any of it whilst in storage. Not sure if this is a good idea any thoughts?
Hi Steve, that depends on the cover, there are good ones and not so good ones. However, I only use my cover through the winter months so I'd be looking for a year-long fix unless you want to be bothered covering it up every time you get back from an outing. Water ingress is a really common but equally difficult problem to pin down as it could be a combination of things together that are the result.
I'd advise you to concentrate on the most likely and the cheapest fixes first then you can hopefully eliminate them all over time because of the damage/expense if left unchecked for a while.
Dave.
------------- Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you on experience.
Mark Twain.
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Topic: Damp in corners
via mobile 23/12/2020 at 8:56pm
