I am embarking on my first caravan purchase and a friend told me not to even start to look at one without a damp meter to hand.
So I have purchased one off e-bay and it works a treat but the question is people, how do I use it in a caravan.
I have read that no wood will ever be 0% as if it were it would crumble and for decent wood I should expect a moisture reading of 10-15%.
So my question is can anyone give me advice on how and where to use it when I look at a caravan and what reading should ring an alarm bell.
I feel sure many here will have a lot of experience using these meters
Thank you people
I have never used a meter so can't answer your specific question. I am sure others will be able to answer it.
However, some years ago I bought a caravan (now back to a tent) and searching for one was certainly a learning curve. I never met anyone who admitted their caravan had damp and yet most of them did.
The places to look are around windows, the walls inside the front seat lockers under the cushions front and side, the roof, especially around skylights although water leaking into the roof area will run down to the lowest point so could be pooling anywhere, walls in shower rooms and wardrobes, around doors, inside cabinets...so, as you can see, pretty much everywhere but mostly the areas you can't easily see like under sinks...and do not forget to examine floors around doors and in the corners for rot inside and out. They should feel solid not springy.
If the damp is bad and has been around a long time the walls go spongy like cardboard and can be pressed in with the hands...and believe me, some of them you can pretty well press your fingers through! If it has had damp that has been cured the dried walls may sound 'crispy' when you press on them. You need to ask for any evidence that damp has been cured such as a repairers bill.
In the end I managed to get a nice little caravan with no damp (a small area had been cured and I was given the paperwork to prove it) and I sold it for the same price I paid for it a little over a year later.
Good luck and don't let your heart rule your head and say, 'Oh it's only a little bit' because what you can see is only a small part of the overall damage.
thanks..very good advice. I will probably go to a dealer as I think there is more chance getting a damp van privately than through a reputable dealer. but I take on board all your good comments
Good advice from Bob61. However I would also take your damp meter if buying off a dealer.
You could also get an independent caravan engineer to check out any caravan you are thinking of buying whether private or a dealer. Worth the cost if parting with a few quid for a van.
Even new caravans can leak like a sieve as has been shown on threads on this forum.
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It is a fool who has to say something.
You cannot test the wood unless you push the probes all the way through the wallboard into the wood beneath. But they are spaced apart so knowing where the wood is will be difficult anyway.
Dont be surprised when an owner tells you where to stick the meter. To test properly you need to insert the sharp probes into the board.
What reading should you get, will depend on the weather and material being tested. Find a material thats electrically conductive and you may think your testing a swimming pool not a caravan.
Unless the meter is a calibrated one then you need to treat and figures with caution.
What it should be thoug is fairly consistent. So test several places and see if anywhere gives much higher readings. Dont just get trapped by the % readings.
The air may have a high humidy on the day so higher readings maybe expected. Also the meaterials your testing will also vary the readings.
Quote: Originally posted by Graeme1783 on 29/7/2017
thanks..very good advice. I will probably go to a dealer as I think there is more chance getting a damp van privately than through a reputable dealer. but I take on board all your good comments
I found it cheekily best to go to the dealers and try my damp meter out in a few vans. Lots of dealers allow you to look at vans unsupervised.
Obviously look for previous damp test holes and use those or test in areas that can't be seen so wont spoilt the look of the van. Underseats, by window rubbers, in wardrobes.
I found initially I went around my home and garden using the meter so that I understood exactly how it works e.g test your fence posts after rain, if you get no damp the meter is poor or you are using it wrong.
Finally when you find a suitable van get a caravan workshop approved engineer to check it pre purchase.
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Topic: Caravan damp testing
