Having taken our 23 yr old Cosalt Clubman 212 to "The Caravan Doctor" for a damp test, it seem that there is rot everywhere. He said that the four roof rails were letting in water all over the place, and possibly the rooflight - which was my first suspicion.
He recommended that the cost of repairs would far outweight the value of the caravan. If he removed the rail, he would have to replace all the rotten wood as there would be nothing to re-affix the rails to.
Having told him that my dad is in the window trade and therefor has access to mastic, he recommended that I do the job myself, seal the joins all over and would expect to get another four or five years out of the van on that basis.
Our caravan is in mint condition otherwise and well cared for - it would seem that the previous owner used a silicone to seal the rails and has effectively made the problem worse.
We have the mastic and the gun - what do we do next?
Your problem can be fixed but from the sounds of it will be a big job. lots of other people have fixed similar problems, the photo's and details of the projects undertaken can be found Here.
If you need any further help then there's always members of the 'fixed it club' around to lend advice.
I suppose what frightens me is that I know that I am going to find myself with this same massive job on my hands, and with the caravan being the age it is I don't expect it to be worth the work involved....
I was planning to reseal to just stop the water getting in. Having looked at the other posts, I know I ought to remove the rail etc, but it seems to be opening yet another can of worms.
I guess if I go ahead with this 'patch up' I shall endeavour to remove as much old silicone as I can with a plastic blade and some white spirit, then apply the mastic.
why not take some pics of the van where the damp is and either post them on here or e-mail them to the fixed it club members direct and we will help with advice on doing the work
as grub said , its not rocket science , all it takes is basic DIY skills and basic tools to repair the largest of jobs. I have nearly rebuilt my caravan and it has not cost anywhere near what I thought it would , I think i have spent a couple of hundred quid on the job as the most costly ting you pay for in a dealers/repair shop is labour , it will take you a fair amount of time to do the job but the satisfaction you get when its finished is worth the effort.
Okay - have just started looking through the variety of jobs that people have done and am starting to get tempted to have a go - especially having read your tale, which seems to relate to what we will have to do.
We do plan, however, to use the caravan as much as possible over the next few weeks, so is it sensible to use the mastic to stop further water getting in, or should I cancel all trips until the repair is done?
With regards to photos, I have some of the ceiling here from when I originally thought that I had a leaking rooflight:
Since then, I have noticed a sagging roof in the toilet cubicle from an old leak, along with black patches coming through under all front windows, down the toilet cubicle wall and under the ceiling cuboards. After the recent hot weather, rain started pouring in through the cupboard and in the front right hand corner - it seems that the heat is opening up gaps. Will try to add photos when I can (how do you do that?).
I assume that the only way of really seeing the damage is to start taking panels off...which frightens me...how do I get the roof panels off for example?
Blimey Jane, you are one brave lady to tackle that lot. It really does sound as the damp may have got hold of your van and rampaged through it like a tornado! Be careful you don't have a situation like Button did recently where they unearthed more and more and more problems and in the end it was not worth rectifying. I would personally want to have a full appraisal of my van before tackling anything so that I knew from the outset exactly what was required.
If its anything like a normal construction you will need to take off the awning rail and the sealing rail off the roof, then when you clean off the old sealant you should find that the panel is tacked onto the inner frame with panel pins and staples gently ease these out and the roof panel should lift off. be careful to look after the insulation as it can be expensive to replace.
Just bear one thing in mind Jane, you will not be able to fix a job of that size overnight. The best thing to do is to plan your work methodically in stages and complete one stage at a time, very similar to what Als Parker did with his van.
You are not alone in this, as Als and Wizard have already said, there is a multitude of 'Fixed it' club members here to help you along the way. Someone somewhere has done the same repairs as you are planning and all you have to do is ask for assistance. If you are not too far away from any of us, we will even come along and have a look at the van for you to assess the repairs you need to do. The acheivement you will get when it is complete is second to none and the money you will save in labour costs will be outstanding. It can be done, but take your time.
As Als and Wizard has already said, it's not rocket science and if you are capable of reasonable DIY jobs around the house, you will be able to fix your van. It will however be quite frightening once you strip down the areas and see the extent of the damage, but that's the worst bit and at least you will be able to formulate a repair plan once everything has been revealed. If you prefer to get the inside done first (as this was my case as I had to replace the rotten wood before I could re-seal and screw up the awning rail) you could cover the van with a large sheet of polythene or better still do the repair under cover as the bad weather will be upon us soon.
You have not put your location - maybe you are near to one of us?
Be careful you don't have a situation like Button did recently where they unearthed more and more and more problems and in the end it was not worth rectifying. I would personally want to have a full appraisal of my van before tackling anything so that I knew from the outset exactly what was required.
The thing is, you should'nt be scared to take off the wallboards to see the extent of the problems as it makes no difference....the problems are already there hiding behind the wallboarding whether you choose to ignore them or not, If it were me i would do it sooner rather than later so that you know exactly where you stand and if indeed if you are able and wish to tackle the problem. You must also bare in mind that if the woodwork framing in the caravan is rotten which from your description sounds very probable...then the strength of the caravan is severely impaired and may not be fit for towing, ignoring the problem for a while so as to have a few more holidays may not be the best idea as the caravan could be very dangerous to use and tow.
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Topic: Sealing a leaking caravan
