We bought a 1990 swift challenger 490/5 SE (private sale) and in a nutshell were well and truly ripped off!!!
Anyway, after we bought it we realised it was well beyond the 3.5t including my huge car, so I advertised it, loads of people came to look and in doing so have pointed out a few things.
Most worrying thing first, the floor has been cut, there's a square in the door way that looks like original floor, the rest isn't, and it has really bad delamination, so, apart from the delam repair which I'm going to attempt, what about the cuts in the floor, will this affect the integrity of the caravan? Should I remove the new ply and relay including the square for the door?
Next, there are some bits of damp, the worst being under the kitchen window, do I need to replace the wall and wooden struts?
A couple of the window struts are snapped, can I buy replacement ones?
The fridge, and main door could do with replacing, where would I start to look to source these?
I guess the point of my post is, to repair and replace or to scrap and treat it as a learning curve?!
TBH, it looks a tidy van for its age, all things considered.
Whether or not you were "well and truly ripped off" would depend upon how much you paid for it in the first place.
Window struts break and are easy to replace, a door can be sourced from a breakers, as can a fridge (does it not work on any of the power sources?).
The pix don`t show the floor so its difficult to comment, but delamination is quite easy to repair at home (but can be more than a little messy). If the damp is localised it too can be repaired, fortunately (?) caravans are pretty much like big jigsaws and can be dismantled and re-assembled with commonsense and a little methodical effort.
Oh dear!!
I'm really sorry you've had all this trouble. Damp and delamination is, sadly, very common in older caravans and motorhomes.
It all depends on how good at DIY you are. Lots of people on this site have repaired their own, but if you're not "handy", then it might be better to scrap it and move on. I've had a caravan, then moved onto a motorhome and now have a campervan - each and every one of them a big learning curve.
You really need to have your wits about you when you buy an older caravan as they do get damp and need repair. If you decide to start again, buy a damp meter and take it with you when you look at other caravans. And get underneath and have a good look at the floor. Check all the windows too.
Oh and please don't get divorced over it! You're not the first to be in this position and certainly won't be the last. You must be SO disappointed, but, even though it feels like a disaster just now, this will pass.
I think the ripping off part was more because she swore to us it had no damp, over the phone, lengthy calls, then when we went to view rushed us as she had to get to work, so we went back for another viewing, rushed again, she definitely knows what she's doing!!
It was the part about the floor that upset me most the bloke that lifted the carpet said the van would have no integrity and 'you know when you've seen them flipped on the side of the road?' That's what did me! I've got four kids!
So, delamination, I'm fairly confident with DIY and I know how to use a drill, fit a bathroom etc, so I'm thinking il be ok with this.
It's the floor replacement and damp removal I'm worried about, I suppose I'm worried ill get it wrong and mess it up! Any help or tips or step by step instructions would be ace!
I`d be tempted to remove a couple of the screws, just establish if the previous owner has just placed some ply on top of the original floor as a bodge instead of fixing the delamination.
Can`t imagine he would have removed the top layer of ply!
If it is just a covering, it should be taken up so you can properly repair what is underneath.
Unfortunately, vans of this vintage without damp or delamination issues are a little like rocking-horse droppings.
I`d also be tempted to have a good look and poke about underneath the van, should give you an idea of what the structure is like.
My dads going to bring me some axle stands later on today and ill have a go at getting underneath, it looks like new ply to me, it looks like someone has bodged a delamination repair, there no dowels in the holes just some still sticky gluey stuff. Would I be alright attempting a delamination repair on an already bodged floor?
If the wood is solid I would go ahead and repair it.
The two pack resin I used on my old van sets SOLID - and I really mean solid! It will fill any gaps and you will end up with a rigid floor (assuming the floor is only delaminated and not rotten). It`s easy, but a bit fiddly, and can be really messy - so make sure all vent holes etc are well sealed, or the resin will find its way out onto your driveway (which may be expensive, wasteful and impossible to remove - I presume)
The other thing is that the floor has been cut at some point, would sealing this joint with duct tape be sufficient or would I need to fill it with something prior to attempting the repair, ie silicone so it flexes?
Looks to me like the top layer of ply on the portion of the floor just inside the door has been replaced, had to do this on an old van I owned as the door leaked and the top ply was rotten (also had to replace the battens along the door side but the bottom layer of ply and the styrofoam were solid).
I've added two photos, one showing the joins and the other showing an are on a join that is bowed upwards, also circled some screws that look like they've been put in to hold the bowing down. It looks to me like the only bit of original floor is the piece by the door, but I'm not sure on that.
Just looks like ply has been laid on top of the original floor in sections. Possibly in the hope of taking out some `bounce`.
I`d still take it off and do a proper repair, then replace it as it will add some strength.
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Topic: HELP!! This caravan could end in divorce!
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