So we've just parted with nearly £6000 on a 2005 Elddis caravan which was to be our first caravan
It looked the part it was beautiful inside and out
We got it in safe storage 15 mins from where we live and booked a service in
Monday gave us the heartbreaking news that large parts of the van had readings of 80-100% damp on the meter readings, large parts which if we had remedied would cost us £4000 to remedy which we simply don't have
We borrowed the money in the first place from my mother in law who wanted to see her grandchildren enjoy caravanning holidays as my wife had when younger
I can imagine you guys have heard this many times before but as you can imagine this is come as a devastating blow
We started looking and were careful to get an engineer to sound out other vans but just this one van we took a chance and fell in love with it without getting it checked out and how wrong we've been
The previous owner is in no position to reimburse us any of the money we parted with so we're in a real position
Any advice would be really appreciated,I haven't dared told the children yet who have fallen in love with the van
Does it appear to be damp? Does everything work ok? PU sealant is your friend. Clean up any dodgy looking outside seams with meths & apply a bead of PU sealant into seams & get on with using it. It's 12yrs old it's not going to be perfect. My caravan is 10yrs older than yours & still going ok with only liberal applications of PU sealant. Brands are Sikaflex512, PU18, Tigerseal etc. Search Amazon for suppliers.
I would also be suspicious of anybody who wanted £4k to fix a caravan that to yourself appears to be in good nick. I'm failing to understand 100% damp. That's a swimming pool not a caravan. You think you have already been conned when in fact the con may be just starting.
So when going round with the damp meter they prongs which should just about press into the wood as its tested are sinking straight into the wood as if a sponge
This is in several areas all over the van from the front to the rear corners to all along the shower/toilet side of the van
Some places show 100% on the meter, others 80%
I would have thought that if the damp was that severe it would have been detected just by smell alone as a damp caravan usually smells musty and have viewed plenty of those in the past.
From your description it sounds as though this van was parked with a slight slope from side to side and end to end and damp has entered and travelled down one side.
The first thing to do is to try to find and fix the source of the leak to stop things getting any worse.
With wood so soft that the meter prongs go straight in, there is a risk that the structure is compromised, as this would suggest a long term leak.
There is indeed a risk that the potential repairer has spotted a novice and sees an opportunity for £££. I would get a couple more opinions from Approved workshops, to verify what you have been told so far, and go from there.
The difficulty with damp is what you have experienced - its hidden by plastic wall and floor finishes, so once your start stripping it down the job can quickly escalate and a repairer will know, and have to allow for this, when costing the job.
Any of us that use older caravans will probably tell you that you need to regard the caravan as an ongoing project. A hobby if you like. I keep my caravan at home so I am often doing stuff to it just for a bit of fun. As pointed out. Seal the outside as described & get on with using it.
I tend to think that if it was really as bad as you have been told, it would be obvious. Any older van will have some damp in it somewhere, it just depends whether it affects use of it. Our last one was a 1988 Elddis, and we used it for 4 years and then sold it on. Any damp there was in it didn't affect the holidays we had with it. We now have a 1992 Elddis, and hope to have this one for a few years too.
Find the source of ingress and seal it. Normal places to look are window seals, roof/sky lights, doors or anywhere water can get in (eg handles, corners ets). Seal it, heres the stuff: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HW7BYZO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Dont let it put you off, it may look a big job, but with a little diy skills you can sort it
Failing that, get a cover, put it on, run a convector heater for a couple of days and leave under cover after that. Go use, return and cover
DONT despair, if you need help or advice on fixing, there are loads of us here that are happy to help you
Most of the expense in having repairs to damp is in the labour charge because of the time it takes to fix. If you can do it yourself it should be a fraction of the cost and you will have a van that will last you for many more years.
Some years ago when searching to buy a caravan I became quite skilled at finding serious damp...and that was without a meter. I would have thought, as previously suggested, that if the meter was showing 100% that the panelling would be very soft when pressed with the fingers. I would have thought there would be some staining and a smell of damp.
As previously suggested, if it looks ok and feels ok, and no nasty smells there is no point in worrying about it and I would, as also suggested, seal everything on the outside that you can think of...roof vents, grab handles, seams, and anything that is screwed into the van like awning lights, door retaining hooks etc. They can all be sources of water penetration.
You mentioned that much of the damp is on the shower side...could it be caused by the shower leaking/condensation and not coming in from outside?
You could seek a second opinion and find that there is nothing seriously wrong or it could confirm the original findings...sometimes it's best not to know.
Is this on the door side of the caravan. If so it could be the awning rail. These tent to be more prone to leaks as they are under stress when the awning is attached.
Once you have sealed it, make small pin holes in the panel and put a heater in the van and hopefully some of the moisture will dry out. Or cut away sections of the wall board and cover with a small vent cover.
You could also but a dehumidifier in the van to draw out the moisture . But make sure you cover up,all external vents.
WB there is a post edit button for use up to two hours after posting, saves multiple posts.
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Topic: Heartbroken
