We have just bought a 2012 Van and have found damp at the back most likely coming in from damage to the awning rail. Unfortunately the floor is now soft among the length of the back and there is damp in the back panels. Does anyone have any advice re: repairing this ourselves or how much it would cost to have repaired. I’m sure we aren’t the first people and we won’t be the last to make a mistake with our purchase. We are gutted to say the least but trying to be positive and remedy it as I know it is “buyer beware”! Thank you!
take it back to where you bought it from, this should have been found before paying for it
if getting it fixed professoinally it could cost £1000s! as for fixing yourselves, who knows until you find the source of the leak and the extent of the damage, this should have shown up on the damp report from its last service
I'm assuming that you bought the van privately as you are looking to fix it yourself.
From your description damp has been entering the caravan for some considerable time and you really need professional advice on how to proceed.
Damp through an awning rail is a relatively easy job provided that the wooden frame which the rail is screwed into has not become rotten and you allow the wood to dry completely. However a damp floor and back panel could require considerable work and, as marg6 says, could easily cost in excess of £1000 if repaired properly.
I have a 2011 Xplore 495. The usual place for damp on this age Xplore is through the rubber seals around the large front window. As a guide a professional repair to this, with replacement seals is around £300 provided there is no permanent damage. It would be worth checking this on your van at the same time.
I would advise you to have it inspected as soon as possible to prevent the damage getting any worse.
As well is two words!
How does a sage know everything about everything? or does he? or does he just think he does?
Remember, if you buy something you bought it, not brought it.
Thank you so much for your replies, I really appreciate it!
Unfortunately as it was a private sale taking it back wouldn’t be a option. We were aware of the damage to the awning rail on (both sides) and we did have a damp meter which showed readings in the Walls but were assured that he had fixed the damage himself very recently and it just needed to dry out. Unfortunately I don’t think the filler he put in is adequate (it was still wet!) and we will still need to source an awning rail. Our main concern was the floor as we had found damp in a bailey Olympus we had looked at on the timber floor which we thought would be a big job to fix. This caravan had a fibreglass underfloor so unable to take a reading through that and vinyl screwed down so we couldn’t pick up any reading. Once we got it home and investigated further the damp has indeed spread into a wood floor panel under the vinyl that I assume has insulation before the fibreglass base. This wood is very soft and damp.
I’m aware we shouldn’t have bought the van but unfortunately after over a year of looking for a caravan, paying for pre-purchase checks, travelling for hours to inspect them and having had a pretty bad year and needing something positive to look forward to, we ended up making a rash decision based on the fact that it was located in our village and was a reasonable price. Having looked at so many second hand caravans we came to the conclusion that damp was very common and in order to get one we might have to accept some level of damp.
My husband is pretty handy with DIY so I’m hoping we can repair it ourselves but I think having someone look at it to asses what needs doing would be the way forward. Unfortunately most of our funds have gone into the purchase so any professional repair would have to wait until we could fund it, allowing for further damage in the meantime.
I think what I’m after is some reassurance that the caravan can be fixed and we can safely use it. I really have no idea what a worst case scenario for a caravan in this state is? Is it a safety issue or cosmetic? If we can get 7 years out of it we will be happy (reasonably) to scrap it!
Also if anyone knows of any links to websites that have step by step advice for repairs I’d be grateful! Thanks again .
Unfortunately Lizzie, the seller was talking nonsense when he told you he had fixed it and it just needed to dry out. To effect a successful repair, having removed the awning rail, you must dry out the affected areas before any re-sealing is attempted. Ideally the caravan should be under cover to prevent further ingress and this could take up to a week depending on the weather. You are looking to achieve moisture readings of less than 15% if possible. Only then should the awning rail be cleaned and the wooden batten sealed using mastic, which can be bought in rolls specifically for this purpose. The rail is then screwed back onto its wooden batten. There are plenty of videos online explaining what to do.
Unless the damp is severe the problems are mostly cosmetic, although you may be able to smell the damp. Of more concern from a safety point of view is that with this much damp it is unlikely that the caravan has had a service for some time. This will make all the safety checks of the running gear, brakes, lights, tyres etc. as well as gas and appliance checks and a full damp report.
I hope you are able to get it sorted. We have ours serviced annually and we have towed it thousands of miles here and abroad. We find it extremely stable and have had very few problems.
Yes it definitely needs a service. I can’t actually believe we bought this van, we are normally so sensible! My husband managed to get the bunks out last night and peeled back the vinyl to see that the damp is a lot worse than we thought, and has spread the length of the bunk on the right hand side of the van nearly up to the washroom. It seems we have made a very big and expensive mistake.
Thank you for your advice. We haven’t got anywhere to store it undercover but will look at buying a cover for the van and hopefully it will give it a chance to dry out. Unfortunately the wood seems to be rotten so is definitely going to need replacing.
Thanks again for the help. I’m going to try and think positively about it all and look at it as a little project!
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Topic: Damp in Elddis xplore
via mobile 20/8/2020 at 4:30pm
