Hi Just bought a 2000 Abi Brooklyn 400/2 from an ebay classified advert. We checked the van thoroughly and found a few minor repairs but on the whole van was excellent condition for year. Having got the van home on our drive we are dismayed to find that the side panels have scattered all over lots of tiny small dents which we hadn't noticed at all They only seem to show when the sun shines on sides but not when looking face on and when weather is dull. We are wondering if a hail storm may have caused this damage having seen an article concerning this. We know this will affect the value but are not planning to sell van but keep in storage at a cornwall site for several years. Does anyone have another explanation for this kind of damage?
Some friends of ours were in Italy (believe it or not) last summer, and there was an almighty hail storm which damaged their caravan - roof in particular.
Insurance paid out a settlement as it wasn't worth them getting repaired, and they just learnt to live with it. Personal choice I suppose.
Hi 47lake, Welcome to the forum, If you did'nt notice them at first,cant be too bad, though very disheartening, Driving hail can leave dents in van,had a few a couple of years ago, breathable van cover will stop that happening,and will keep all the dirt and leaves off van while in storage, will also help prevent the black streaks from rain running off the rubber seals,stops birds feet from marking roof, wash,polish van at end of season,take to storage yard cover van, If dents are small and round,very probably hail, If not it could be stone damage,that normaly happens when towing, mostly on front of van.Dont let it take away the joy of your new van,and happy caravaning.
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Have you got these dents on the roof ?funny them just on the side panels,was wondering if the van was next to a road and it could be road salt being layed.Enjoy ur van.
Hi, Was thinking the same thing about the salt, jeff, If none on roof, van could have been stored under car port with the damaged side exposed,How far up the van are the dents. could you post some pictures of the dents on the van.
------------- If everything runs smoothly then I must have done something wrong
If in Doubt Check it Out.
Thanks for all replys. As mentioned before only on sides,door side not as bad as other side and dents right up to roof rail. We have cleaned the roof and not noticed any.Will take advice about cover and look forward to our first holiday in it.
If you really have any doubts, you may be able to get a refund if the goods were misdescribed, i.e. seller stated it was in excellent conditionetc even though it is a private sale.
My friends' dad had a similar experience all down one side of his caravan. It was hail but looked like it had been shot with a machine gun. It was quite badly damaged and they too had an insurance settlement on the van.
We had hail damage with our previous caravan. It was in storage over the winter so didn't realise it had happened until the Easter. The damage that you have explained is identical to ours and hadn't noticed it immediately. Tiny bullet marks peppered over the side.
Surprisingly, like yours, the roof had not been damaged.
Cost a lot to repair but insured.
It does sound like hail storm damage to me.
Hi 47lake, Unlikely to be any thing other than hail stone damage as its up to rail level, if grit damage it normaly be on the off side of van and not the door side, would you have paid the price you did for van, if you saw hail damage, and as you say it is in exellent condition,if not you could do as Surfer01 post,one word of caution if you go down that road you may start and dislike your van and not be happy with it, If you can live with the small dent, I would just enjoy it, there are car polishes that fill in dents/scratches, they might help hide the dents. Just go out and enjoy your new van. Good Luck, and Happy caravaning.
------------- If everything runs smoothly then I must have done something wrong
If in Doubt Check it Out.
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Topic: Hail damaged caravan?
