Hi new to this forums , I bought a 2001 bailey pageant bordeaux few months back privately , had our first trip at easter then parked up at home . I noticed about a dozen small pin holes in aluminium skin just above the bottom rail either side of the wet locker on closer inspection around wet locker on the inside and seen the flooring just inside the locker was wet, looking further the wall ( up to about 4 inchs up from floor)the wallboard is spongie and the wooden batton that sits just on top of the floor is rotten more so just benieth the wet locker door. Can not see where the water is coming in from around the door as the black seal looks good, the white stick on seal around the inside of the door frame however is past it.
Anyway I am beside myself as i talked the wife into van rather than spending the money on 1 trip to euro disney with the kids as we could have much more holidays buying a van .
Local dealer said would need a complete new side costing more than the van so it is not viable, i have good DIY skills but am un sure where to start, what the wall strucure is like, where to sorce parts and what the correct fixing / sealing methods are. Could anyone please give me advice on where to start and if someone with experience lives local to me could call and talk me through i would be very grateful.
1. What can i apply to skin on the inside to stop the rot and cover the holes from inside intially
2. What process do i follow to fix repair
3. What adhesives / sealants do i need to used to fix in new frame
4. Where do i get wall board to match existing
5.What is the best way to cut out bad wood/boards to prep for repair
6.How/what do i treat the remaining wood with
7.Where do i get the replacement seal for the wet locker black and white
Sorry for giving a list but just want to do the job right, im sure i will have a lot more questions as i get into it
Hi welcome to the forum. Sorry you're having a tough time of it. My advice is to have a through read through of this section of the forum. You will find all the info you require. I wouldn't stress out too much as from reading through various threads here most things can be fixed. Have a look here
http://www.1carpc.co.uk/wcdr/favorites.htm
Some people have overcome damage that I would have thought was pointless even attempting until I found this place.
Honestly, the questions you are asking have been asked hundreds of times, just have a look and you will be sorted. First thing to do is find where the water is getting in and stop the leak. I am sure if you are handy with diy and have a bit of time you will get there.
In my opinion you done the right thing choosing the caravan over Euro Disney. The only mistake you made is being a bit unprepared when you went to buy your caravan. What's done is done though, don't stress, you can still make this work. Good luck.
Agree with brody76, first job is to find out where the damp is getting in,if in doubt reseal it.
Secondly, rip out furniture in the way, remove wallboards and rotten wood to good wood. Remove insulation, treat good wood with wood hardner, then let the van thoroughly dry out.
Once dry,splice in new treated timber, cover pinholes from inside with sikaflex 512, then bond in new insulation.
Next bond on new wallboard with solvent free gripfill, so as not to melt the new insulation. Replace furniture, and bingo job done.
Wallboards from Olearys motorhomes easily cut with stanley knife, seals from leisureshop direct, hope this helps, but as richard has already said, scour this forum and it will give you the answers to nearly everything. I know, have been in the same boat as you, cheers Keith....
Many Thanks for getting back , I have read through a few posts the more i read the more confused i seem to get, i will keep reading though , some say wood harener melts foam is this the case? . Is the wall glued to the skin? will it come away ok when i strip out and do i just glue frame to skin, if i use sikaflex 512 will this stop skin getting holes in it and rotting or is there a treatment to put on it first to stop skin rotting before rebuild?
The pin holes are caused by the aluminium skin being in contact with the damp wood, as I suggested the sikaflex applied to the inside will stop anymore damp getting in through them, unfortunately the only way to make it look good from the outside is what the dealer said to you.
Wood hardner does melt the foam but the foam will have been removed before you apply the hardner.
The new frame is bonded to the skin, I used gripfill then added an extra piece alongside with gripfill then screwed through both pieces top and bottom (if that males sense), used solvent free gripfill to bond in new insulation, and same again to bond wallboards..... Once the damp is removed the pin holes dont get any worse ( just a bit unsightly) some kind of chemical reaction that causes it...
Thats great , thanks for the advice and your time helping . I am slowly reading through fixs on the site and am getting more comfortable carring out the fix myself i will try to get pictures and upload when i start.
Started to take things out today , looks like i will have to pull the water storage /heater out now as wall is spongie behind it , lifted floor covering and the floor is soaked and rotten in places can this get any worse, have found the source of the leak is is the wet locker door (not the seal around it though) it is leaking in past the plastic door surround and the insert , insert is also spongie just trying to work out how the insert comes out of the frame without breaking it , if i just dry out the insert and put back in with plenty of sealer where it meets the door surround will this suffice and if so which type of sealer? , tried to up load some pictures on here but do not seem to be able too
Still trying to work my way through the rot i am going to be replacing any timber with pressure treated timber is this a good idea?.
Couple of the problems i still have is there is a partially rotted timber just on top of the floor (bottom part of the sidewall) this is bonded to the side wall of the van is this ok to pull apart to replace only concerned as it runs under the wet locker so only small section of body and im afraid of it ripping the skin.
What do you recommend to rebond in new peice of timber ive bought solvent free grip fill is this ok?( just seen above you aswered this one Fleetwood sorry that much in my head at mo)and is this ok to rebond in the insulation as well.
Still no help with how to slit out Thetford no 5 locker door
Removing partially rotted timber from the skin is probably the most difficult part of the job. Just go carefully , you can tell when its pulling the skin. I used an old hacksaw blade slid between the wood and the skin to remove mine. Go very carefully tho as the skin is really paper thin
As for your next prob, any solvent based adhesive will melt the insulation, so solvent free is theway to go.......
Fleetwood you have been a real help would not be tackling this job without knowing i could come on here to ask my questions, i appreciate it. Thanks again.
Got the rotten timber away from the skin so releaved at that (hacksaw blade was a great tip) had to make up few other items to aid the removal have been taken pictures as ive been going along maybe get round to posting them if i ever get done.
Have other question do you know if solvent free gripfill reacts with 512 sealer?
Also there are some gaps in the blue insulation under the floor is it ok to fill these with new foam wall insulation of is there a reason for the gaps?
Dont think the two sealers react,never really noticed. As for the gaps I would fill them all with insulation as it will only cause a cold spot,,,looking foward to the photos
We had problems with pin holes in the body of our Fleetwood Colchester when we repaired it. We used JD Weld on our van which is a cold weld to seal the holes up. It's a case of painfully checking over the walls once they are clear to see where all the holes are.
Good luck with your repair, it'll all be worth it in the end
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Topic: Damp / Rot problem on Bailey
