I know what you mean. Too often Brit vans are sold on lifestyle features and not on basic engineering excellence. And not just Brits, Lunar seem to have an extremely poor reputation for damp from what I hear.
Vans with a meagre softwood frame are always going to have damp problems as soon as water can ingress into the panels or corners. That's why I went German and bought a Hymer. They use a PUAL system which not only has great insulation properties but also is impervious to rot.
From Hymer web site:
"All Hymer body shells are based on the patented "Hymer PUAL" technology. The PUAL system ensures extremely good insulation, against both heat in the summer, and cold in the winter, in all Hymer vehicles. In addition, the construction is absolutely impervious to water and is rotproof. PUAL body components are cast in one piece and are therefore extremely tough and resistant. The outer skin made of stove enamelled alluminium is UV resistant.
Hymer grants a six year ingress warranty and has done so for 20 years. One reason why the vehicles are so impervious, is the Hymer bonding technology. The entire body shell including the floor, is adhesively bonded to the chassis. The bonding technology has a further highly beneficial effect, since the forces acting on the interior fittings are diminished"
The manufacturing tolerances, imho, are much finer and more consistent than UK vans I have seen. The design also has been really considered, with anti-condensation boards inserted behind upholstery etc to keep walls dry.
The full Hymer costs a little bit more than a UK van, but mine is a "Living" - a lighter and cheaper line from Hymer (now replaced by "Sporting" models) which is much more pocket friendly but just as well built. Mine cost me £15,000 new in 2006, and the current model of similar design can be obtained for £15,600 (the '465')
If you want second hand you can get a nice one for £7k - £10k depending on age. Im intending to keep mine for a further 6 or 7 years - it looks and feels brand new inside.
------------- Veni Vidi Velcro.... I came, I saw, I stuck around!
1997 Fleetwood Countryside water ingress around cassette door and flush tank filler,resealed by Dealer under warranty, all ok now,always need to be checking it as it occurs in sneaky ways.
NCC statistics say that there are 500,000 touring caravans and 135,000 motor homes in the uk.
If 10% of the caravans are damp, there are 50,000 damp caravans out there. This is a caravan forum, so you are more likely to hear about the damp 'vans than the dry ones. (Why is it that if someone says "I've got a damp 'van", someone else says "I've got a German one" ?.
If you have a caravan it makes sense to have a good damp meter. If you regularly check your 'van, you can address any problems as they occur, instead of waiting for them to become serious.
Our last 'van was a 15 year old Lunar. Dry as a bone. We chose our current 'van for its layout and took the view that if we looked after it we should have many years of fun from it, and if it needs fixing at some point, we'll fix it. We bought a Protimeter Surveymaster from ebay. Its a useful tool to have if you like UK style caravans.
When we were looking to replace our old Swift (she was old but we loved her) we viewed so many vans I lost count. Most owners and dealers would tell you they were damp free and 9 times out of 10 the dreaded damp could be found easily, even without a meter sometimes it was so bad. We were looking a vans about 4-5 years old at the time and I was horrified at the damp we found in relatively new vans which were still being sold at the time for anything up to £8,500.
Not going to get involved in the German is best argument though...just check my profile!!!
'If 1% of the caravans are damp, there are 50,000 damp caravans out there.'
I make it 5,000.
There are damp levels in all caravans that have wood. All wood has a natural damp level. It is excessive damp that is a problem and with modern service checks and 6/10 year warranties, the problem should be quite rare in the future. There will always be some damp due to condensation, but as long as its not dripping from the ceiling, it shouldn't cause too much damage.
Posted a report about my caravan last month as it is less than 2 years old and very damp on front off side. It is a 2010 Lunar Delta RS and eventually mended by the dealer under warranty. The repairer informed me that Lunar had left a 5 inch long strip under the awning rail with no filler! Lunar were not very interested and had to contact them myself.
My old boss bought a brand new hobby caravan direct from Germany in 2006 ??, Put it on a permanent pitch in North Wales and kept it their for 2 years before selling it for a static.
When he sold it it was falling apart and half the appliances didnt work, not sure if it was damp, but basically it was goosed and he got a low price for it.
My point............ not all that Glitters is German
Quote: Originally posted by bessie500 on 17/5/2012
My old boss bought a brand new hobby caravan direct from Germany in 2006 ??, Put it on a permanent pitch in North Wales and kept it their for 2 years before selling it for a static.
When he sold it it was falling apart and half the appliances didnt work, not sure if it was damp, but basically it was goosed and he got a low price for it.
My point............ not all that Glitters is German
Bessie
same as the cars and their legendary reliability then.mythical in my experience.
Just spent an idle hour (or two!) mooching through used 2 berth 'vans on Ebay. There's a particular dealer who has quite a lot for sale - but virtually every one is described as being damp. We're not just talking £1,000 'vans either - one, described as "The exterior chassis looks to be in reasonable condition but there is damp in the roof and in a few other areas of the caravan as the photos show. Most the caravan looks to be in good visual order and it is definitely worth viewing!" - has an asking price of £4,600 !
Also, they are all advertised as 'sold as seen' - my understanding is that a trader cannot do this nowadays - us buyers have certain rights, even on used cars/caravans etc. - or am I wrong?
------------- June - Old Brick Kilns, Fakenham
June - Long Acres, Boston Lincs.
Just spent an idle hour (or two!) mooching through used 2 berth 'vans on Ebay. There's a particular dealer who has quite a lot for sale - but virtually every one is described as being damp. We're not just talking £1,000 'vans either - one, described as "The exterior chassis looks to be in reasonable condition but there is damp in the roof and in a few other areas of the caravan as the photos show. Most the caravan looks to be in good visual order and it is definitely worth viewing!" - has an asking price of £4,600 ! Also, they are all advertised as 'sold as seen' - my understanding is that a trader cannot do this nowadays - us buyers have certain rights, even on used cars/caravans etc. - or am I wrong?
Christ i've just written chapter and verse about this the lost it,
I've seen the ad your talking about its just a trade in clearance, the ad states the van has been well used and is below standard £4600 or offers. This will be sold as seen no warranty implieds or given.
We actually went looking at p/x our 6 birth in for a fixed bed four birth, we've had our van from new and still looks new in every way, no dents stains damaged interiors or anything basically its still like new.
We went looking at 12k vans around the same age and they were horrendous dents all over the show damaged interiors and stunk, i would have sleeped a night in any of them.
They were minging
Some people just dont give a toss never service them or anything. you only have to look at some of the new cars on the roads full of dents and filthy as they are never cleaned and probably over running the services.
I actually work with a guy who washed his ;last car twice in 6 years never had it serviced and then complained at the px value
Look after your van and it will be fine, leave the sh*te vans to those who are happy enough to live like that
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Topic: How common is damp in caravans
